cofchristcousin

Anthony, the words of counsel to the world church did not specifically mention gay marriage and ordinations. Here is part of the text that is relevant, nonetheless. greater than initially assumed. Following the approval of Doctrine and Covenants 164, I continued to prayerfully explore certain principles in it. A particular focus was paragraph 5, where the following words appear, approved by the World Conference as authoritative for our life together: It is imperative to understand that when you are truly baptized into Christ you become part of a new creation. By taking on the life and mind of Christ, you increasingly view yourself and others from a changed perspective. Former ways of defining people by economic status, social class, sex, gender, or ethnicity no longer are primary. Through the gospel of Christ, a new community of tolerance, reconciliation, unity in diversity, and love is being born as a visible sign of the coming reign of God. As indicated in the preface to Section 164, study of Galatians 3:27–29 was foundational to this counsel. Following the approval of Section 164, I persisted in asking God about the meaning and implications of paragraph 5 and Galatians 3:27–29. I sought additional understanding of the spiritual condition that would allow us to see ourselves and others from the changed perspective emphasized in Section 164:5. My journey continued as I was encouraged to study John 17. John 17 conveys the prayer of Jesus for his disciples as he approaches death on the cross. As I reflected on this text, the Spirit urged me to invite the church to go much deeper in its understanding of the oneness with and among his disciples, who Jesus prayed for. Catching sight of the possible future, I marveled at the blessings that could be enjoyed by the church as we respond. I was left with two questions: “Are we willing to continue to become such a community for Christ and the cause of Zion?” And, “What will it take for us to truly be a community of oneness, mutuality, and revelation of divine love through Christ?” The following words arose as the Spirit’s voice to the church in response to that experience and those questions: More fully accept and embody your oneness and equality in Jesus Christ, who dwells in oneness with God. Oneness and equality in Christ are realized through the waters of baptism, confirmed by the Holy Spirit, and sustained through the sacrament of Communion. Embrace the full meaning of these sacraments and be spiritually joined in Christ as never before. However, be aware, it is not right to profess oneness and equality in Christ through sacramental covenants and then to deny that equality by attitude, word, or action. Such behavior wounds Christ’s body and denies what is eternally resolved in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. You do not fully understand many interrelated processes of human creation. Through its wonderful complexity, creation produces both diversity and order. Be not consumed with concern about variety in human types and characteristics as you see them. Be passionately concerned about how God is revealing divine nature through sacred communities of love, oneness, and equality that embody God’s revelation in Jesus Christ. Oneness and equality in Christ do not mean uniformity. They mean unity in diversity and relating in Christ-like love to the circumstances of others as if they were one’s own. They also mean full opportunity for people to experience human worth and related rights, including expressing God-given giftedness through the church community. Regarding priesthood, God calls whoever God calls from among committed disciples, according to their gifts, to serve and reach all humankind. Priesthood policies and procedures provide a clear way for disciples to respond to calling. They also define the difference between a sense of call as potential and the need to align one’s life with principles of moral behavior and relationships that promote the well-being of the church community. 041413wordsofCounsel

Hi everyone! I've been lurking for a few weeks since few people have emailed recently. It's nice to be missed lol. I finally recovered my password so I can post with you all. :) I know the original poster irl somewhat. Community of Christ decided to consider gay marriages and ordinations in countries where it is an issue. Australia and Canada, and now the USA conferences have recommended removing the restrictions, policies will be formally changes in about a year. The special conferences required 2/3 of the delegates to approve, rather than a simple majority. The USA approval was by about 75 % and Australia and Canada were in threads and 90s. That being said, I think it's not quite so high in many congregations. I know many who are struggling. To answer prisonchaplins question, most congregations are mixed theologically and politically. There might be evangelical saints next to very liberal, next to someone very focused on Joseph Smith and the book of Mormon. A blessing and a challenge lol

The last time I went to the mormon village at Kirtland the guides were husband and wife. They called each other Elder ___ and Sister____. I think that might be when I got curious.

Is there a thanks button here? Thank you all for your responses. very helpful

Thanks Pam. I think in other cultures within my church there might be more formality. In the West it's generally first name, and our President is most often referenced as "steve". I'm getting more lds fb friends lately and thought I'd ask some questions here. I don't want to unintentionally upset any of them with a cultural gaffe on my part. But they all seem very down to earth.

LOL! I left that rather vague. If you knew the apostle before they became apostle, I'm guessing you would call them by their first name? In an informal setting, like a weekend retreat, would the apostle be called by their first name by everyone, after awhile? In formal settings our apostles are called brother/sister and their last name. In other settings we call them by their first names. and most have fb accounts and post about their daily lives, much like a regular member does. I just wondered if it was like that in the lds church.

Hi, I am from Community of Christ and have just been curious about our cultural similarities and differences. For instance, are regular members in the pews on a first name basis with Apostles and the First Presidency? Are they on fb?

We (Community of Christ congregational leaders in Northeast/midwest US will be studying Jesus: Uncovering the Life, Teachings, and Relevance of a Religious Revolutionary by Marcus J. Borg . Class is in January and I need to get started on the book! Amazon.com: Jesus: Uncovering the Life, Teachings, and Relevance of a Religious Revolutionary (9780060594459): Marcus J. Borg: Books

I'm involved in a chat ministry in my denomination. It's an hour bible study and a chance for visitors to ask questions about our church. For the past 6 or 7 years we see about a dozen or more gay lds young men per year asking us how a gay person is treated in our church. They say they afraid or unwilling to return to their church. Although we have the same policies as the lds, and some congregations will reject a gay person, a few of the LDS join us because we are close to change. I don't know what becomes of the others. Perhaps they eventually return. I am sincerely glad that both of our church cultures are changing to be more compassionate and better receivers when a vulnerable person risks coming out among us.

Yes! PC is doing a great job articulating what would take me an hour to capture and type out! thanks!

The basic beliefs at the end are to be the non-negotiables of public ministry. People can and do have private beliefs. More like..." I just don't get the idea of the trinity, but I will not challenge the statement in my ministry." That person would likely not address the trinity in their sermons, or in a class they might have a variety of people present different christologies while also affirming the church's statement. We believe that ever age of the church discerns and seeks to be God's church, but they are also limited by the knowledge they have at hand. Previous and other nation's cultures did not have the same knowledge base and maybe a more restricting climate than we have today in the West. We acknowledge that we also have blindspots, and seek to hear and do what God is calling us and leading us to do in thiz place and culture and time. For instance, what the Spirit is moving the people in Africa to be and do will be different than the issues facing us in the US. Africa is battling witchcraft, superstitious forms of christianity, widow cleansing, and poverty and violence. In the US we face divisive political and religious rhetoric, a new era of poverty because of the economy, and questions on immigration, who is our neighbor? how do we address homosexuality, drugs and alcohol? etc. God's movement will call the us church to different ministries and emphasize different messages of truth than the African church. That's where the enduring principles found in the We share statement come in. Those are our common calling of life as we see it in Jesus' lifestyle, and the way we hope to live no matter how widely our beliefs and cultures vary.

Not all members grasp that diversity is allowed, so there can be that tension, especially locally. It's gets better when you meet and discuss beyond the local congregation. We have members that see Joseph Smith, Jr with a reverence equal to the LDS, and all across the spectrum to not thinking about him at all, to seeing JS as a farce. Most are somewhere in the middle. But there can be tension. There is tension in the ambiguity of things, but there are blessings in the freedom to explore, and be challenged by new ideas, and to find genuine respect and love for people that seemed outside the lines.

My denomination was born in dissent, and we have kept that up. It's a strength, it's a curse. We have members that range from literalist to just as far the the left. People publish without reprisal, as far as I know. There are some issues that were/are being resolved from a bottom up influence, and vise versa. I have a feeling that some of this wide ranging sharing is going to be reigned in some, and Priesthood will need to use the WE Share document as their public theology in ministry.

Many members of the Church who would be the first to leap up to support one another in illness, in bereavement, in poverty, have metaphorically washed their hands of the responsibility to support gay members. I don't think God will let them off that easily, and I do believe there will be a reckoning one day. But meantime, there are a lot of people whose needs are not being met, because the people who have a responsibility to meet them have turned away. And we wonder why gay members don't want to hang around? I think the gay folk that hang around in Churches and boards engaging the hard questions have a special calling... To do as your President Kimball states in the quote. In many ways the gays are serving with their stories to bring Kingdom-level challenge and support to the whole. Holding their struggle and brokenness and bewilderment with love-seeking-understanding transforms conjecturing and speculating into authentic compassion. A religion's beliefs might not change, but hearts do come to see and hold the other closer.

This is great! thanks again