Controversial Topic: Which will cause more members to leave?

[scott715]

I'm working on a talk for tomorrow. Same section

41 No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;

42 By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile—

43 Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;

44 That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death.

And then the promise:
46 The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.

We will have the Holy Ghost with us. In the end it leads to exaltation with our families.

[Cougarfan87]

I'm working on a talk for tomorrow. Same section

41 No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;

42 By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile—

43 Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;

44 That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death.

And then the promise:
46 The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.

We will have the Holy Ghost with us. In the end it leads to exaltation with our families.

I haven't looked it up in a while, but there is a scripture in the D&C where it states the Holy Ghost will tell you all things which are expedient for you. In other words, the scriptures and talks from our leaders tell us in general the things we need to do, but the Holy Ghost can pinpoint the exact things you need to work on right now. What a great priviledge. Hopefully, we are not living beneath it.

[billbillbillbill]

With today's events, I have been thinking about the sifting process in the church. I remember as a teenager when President Hinckley gave his "B's" talk, the most controversial thing was his teaching on the appropriate number of earrings for girls to wear. The discussion in seminary the following day was interesting as the girls either defended or expressed frustration at the edict. I remember wondering how such a simple call from a prophet would be such a stumbling block. Oh to only have to worry about that simple thing and not the issues making headlines today.

I found this quote from Elder Elray Christiansen from 1971.

This is a time of sifting, a time when, more than ever in the history of the modern world, the adversary and his followers have shown themselves to be enemies of God. Yet as we heard our prophet and president say this morning, we need not fear the fiery darts of the adversary, because each of us has the power to avoid becoming entangled in sin more definitely than ever before. The time has come for each member of the Church to keep close to the Lord, to be steadfast by sustaining and upholding and following the counsel of his divinely appointed servants, avoiding, as the Book of Mormon says, the vainness, the frailties, and the foolishness of men. We must purify our lives and sanctify our homes.

https://www.lds.org/ensign/1971/12/the-sifting?lang=eng

I know it is going to get harder but I know which side of the line I want to be on. I just am sad with those who are letting this take them away.