Mormons cannot stand still

There's a proverb that says “standing still is moving backward”. As a person, I strongly believe in that. Not in the sense that it's wrong to never pause to reflect on something. That's even very necessary to move forward better afterward. You occasionally have to look at where you come from. But I strongly believe in the mission to make progress and to learn, especially from your mistakes. That is one of the foundations in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that appealed so much to me.

However, I also realize that change always evokes resistance. As an entrepreneur, I have had to consciously learn to deal with this so as not to make too many or too sudden changes to the company. I therefore understand that some Mormons are now somewhat concerned by all the changes that during the General Conference of April 2018 were announced. Therefore, I want to pause and reflect on this, hoping it would prevent some of my brothers and sisters from doubting the truth of their testimony.

Change is to be expected

Anyone who stubbornly wants to cling to existing rituals and customs does not really fit in easily with the Mormons. It is actually quite funny to observe that there are members who, when you ask them to name a number of things in which the Mormon church differs from other Christian churches, rightly answer: "We have living prophets and we believe that God still speaks to His children through prophets", only to later hear them say that changes would mean that the church is not trueis.

Fundamentally, you cannot ignore that if you believe in the principle that both individually and as humanity we learn rule upon rule and make progress, if you believe in living prophets to guide that process, and if you believe that God regularly speaks to us, then there will be changes. Some people then object, “yes, but the Scriptures state that God is unchangeable.” That’s right, He is, but we are not, nor are people and the world around us. Did Jesus already have to warn in His Sermon on the Mount about drunk driving behindthe wheel of a car? Who would have understood Him?

By the way, the unchangeable refers to doctrine. Truth is what it is and does not change. The things around that doctrine, however, can always change. More than that, they will and must change as our understanding changes. Wearing a white shirt in church out of respect is a beautiful custom, but belongs to the “folklore” of our religion. The way we make our covenants, also in the temple, is a ritual that is presented symbolically. Those symbols can change, the covenants cannot.

That home education is now replaced by ministry, is nothing more (and certainly nothing less) than the next step in progress. Anyone who concludes “yes but, then home education was never the right thing” is wrong. Yes, home education was for decades the right way to take care of each other. But now we have so many other possibilities and other needs, that it's time for something else.

Standing still is not for Mormons

Standing still is not for Mormons. It is fundamentally ingrained in our faith that changes happen. Sometimes in small matters, sometimes in large matters. You cannot expect God to speak and then only say “everything is good, keep it that way”.

If we can accept that now, we must also immediately accept that things were different in the past of our church. That doesn't necessarily mean they were wrong and therefore the church as a whole is wrong. Not even if things were wrong. We learn line upon line, so we will also be corrected change upon change where necessary.

Perhaps I'm going to say something very surprising now. Often the warning is given “do not deviate from the straight path” and we see depictions of a path that leads along the rod of iron to the tree of life in a straight line. But in the scriptures one speaks of the “strait and narrow” path. Perhaps it is a winding path and therefore the rod is needed to follow it better? I believe that the path to success and/or happiness is rarely a straight line that we follow. And even if there were a straight line, it is still we who often deviate from that line and need to be corrected.

So even if there are mistakes in the church's past, so what? Again, be glad we have living prophets who can guide us on behalf of God. If symbolism or rituals have been changed so that we now understand them better: great. If we now have less stricture to do something: isn't it great that we have come so far that God now gives us more responsibility!

Standing still is really not for us. We pride ourselves on things changing outside of doctrine. Even if change is sometimes difficult: as long as we know we are on the right path, we can move forward cheerfully.