Good video

I watched this on a friend's Facebook and it was really good. It's quite long, I just listened to it while I played with Donovan.

http://vimeo.com/2120177

This is a comment she made to someone after he had commented on her remarks, saying she may have been mistaken on one of her points. I really hope you take the time to read this. She is a very intelligent girl and an example of how I would like to be! I have to say I agree with her wholeheartedly and being in the mission field has confirmed this belief for me as well. There are many good people in the world, LDS or not. I do believe that we have the fullness of the Gospel, but I don't believe that means every other religion is wrong. As I have been taught, every religion has pieces to the puzzle, they all teach good doctrine, but no other church has the keys that we have. No other church has all the pieces. I hope that doesn't offend anyone, but I won't apologize for what I believe.

"Thanks so much, Mark, for your compliments and especially for your suggestion. I just read D&C 1:30, and it definitely got me to thinking. There is a difficult balance between ecumenical outreach and assertion of truth, and I definitely have so much to learn before I can find that proper balance. So I appreciate your comment.


D&C 1:30 "And also those to whom these commandments were given, might have power to lay the foundation of this church, and to bring it forth out of obscurity and out of darkness, the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which I, the Lord, am well pleased, speaking unto the church collectively and not individually—"

I assume that you were referring to the phrase, "the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which I, the Lord, am well pleased" in your comment.

While we are definitely entitled to interpret this differently as inspired by the Holy Ghost, my interpretation of the scripture is as follows:

First, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only True and Living Church on the face of the whole earth.
Second, the Lord is well pleased with this Church.

In other words, I don't interpret it to mean that this is the only Church with which the Lord is well pleased. I believe the phrase "with which I, the Lord, am well pleased" is an adjective phrase modifying "church" and not an adverbial phrase modifying "only."

I believe the word "only" applies to the Church's status as the "true and living church" - meaning the only church that is endowed with power and authority from God (see President Eyring's recent *awesome* talk, "The True and Living Church," Ensign, May 2008, 20–24). This is evident also from the context of the scripture, where the Lord talks about the restoration of priesthood keys and the authority of His priesthood servants.

I don't take D&C 1:30 to mean that the Lord is only pleased with our Church and displeased with every other church “upon the face of the whole earth.” That smacks a bit of the folly of the Zoramites, evident in their prayer in Alma 31:16-18 "Holy God, we believe that thou hast separated us from our brethren; and we do not believe in the tradition of our brethren, which was handed down to them by the childishness of their fathers; but we believe that thou hast elected us to be thy holy children... for the which holiness, O God, we thank thee... And again we thank thee, O God, that we are a chosen and a holy people. Amen."

Rather, I believe that God is "well pleased" with "anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy" (Article of Faith 13) - wherever it may be found, in whatever religion.


Thanks again for your encouraging and constructive remark, Mark. And thanks to everyone else as well, for your comments and especially for your additional testimonies."