The Problem of a Shifting Standard
What would the streets look like if stop signs were only a suggestion? What if the law behind that red octagon was changeable according to the whim of either the driver or the local government? Chaos would soon follow. Any rule, whether its a standard of measure or a speed limit, must be consistent or people will make up their own to benefit themselves. We depend on fixed standards so that we can enjoy an orderly society.
The highest standard for human life is the Word of God. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith states, “The Holy Scripture is the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience.”1 So what happens when we change God’s revelation to benefit ourselves? That is what The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) did on April 4, 2019. In an announcement from their General Conference Leadership Session, the organization changed its position on same-sex marriage by declassifying it from apostasy to immoral conduct. This move opened the door for the LDS to receive gay and lesbian couples into membership.
The announcement prefaced this reversal by saying, “While we cannot change the Lord’s doctrine, we want our members and our policies to be considerate of those struggling with the challenges of mortality.” But change they did, because of pressure from LGBTQ+ members who felt alienated from the organization after the 2015 conference that strengthened restrictions on homosexual behavior.
As long as men are the arbiters of revelation it will never be fixed. They will find a way to shape it for their own benefit. For the LDS leadership, it sounded like this, “These policy changes come after an extended period of counseling with our brethren in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and after fervent, united prayer to understand the will of the Lord on these matters.”
Fast forward to Monday, December 9, 2019, when the LDS leadership announced their support for the Federal Fairness for All Act, HR 5331. It appears their reversal in April set the stage for their support for Federal legislation in December. In their recent statement they say, “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints commends the introduction of federal legislation that seeks to preserve religious freedom and protect LGBT individuals from discrimination.” Discrimination will be the result of the Fairness Act as the church (not the LDS organization) finds itself the object of societal bigotry.
When we abandon God’s standard for our own, we can expect disorder and chaos to follow.
1 The Baptist Confession of Faith and the Baptist Catechism, (1689; repr., Port St. Lucie, FL: Solid Ground Christian Books, 2014), 1.