In her critical essay "
The
LDS Church: From Proposition 8 to Religious Freedom", Valerie
Hudson mistakenly observes, "
The Church perceives, rightly in this
observer's view, that religious freedom is an issue around which a
broad consensus can still be built within American society."
It is not evident from her essay exactly how Hudson discerns exactly
what "The Church perceives", either with her gratuitous approval or
not. The rest of her criticism fails on the basis of this pivotal
false assumption.
It
is evident, from hundreds of years of Church history, that "broad
consensus" has
never been one of the operative decision making
points on which Church policy turns. Although this is quite
difficult to communicate to those minded like Hudson, those who seem
to put their faith in the intellectual theory of "social
constructs", and promote popular politically-correct perspectives.
This philosophical approach, though proponents claim common
membership and carry Temple recommends, neglects the consideration
of greatest significance in relation to Church policy and Church
membership.
Elder Oaks said of this academic approach,
I admire those scholars for whom scholarship does not exclude
faith and revelation. It is part of my faith and experience that
the Creator expects us to use the powers of reasoning He has
placed within us, and that He also expects us to exercise our
divine gift of faith and to cultivate our capacity to be taught
by divine revelation. But these things do not come without
seeking. Those who utilize scholarship and disparage faith and
revelation should ponder the Savior’s question: “How can ye
believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the
honour that cometh from God only?” (John 5:44).
God invites us to reason with Him, but I find it significant
that the reasoning to which God invites us is tied to spiritual
realities and maturity rather than to scholarly findings or
credentials. In modern revelation the Lord has spoken of
reasoning with His people (D&C 45:10, 15; 50:10–12; 61:13;
see also Isa. 1:18). It is significant that all of these
revelations were addressed to persons who had already entered
into covenants with the Lord—to the elders of Israel and to the
members of his restored Church. (Historicity
of the Book of Mormon)
I find it common among such advocates of heeding or being
"sensitive" to popular consensus that they tend to confuse this with
the principle of common consent. But this idea is problematic,
because common consent as practiced in the Church relates to our
opportunity to sustain by covenant, and is unrelated to any sort of
political veto power. It is our opportunity as Church members to
participate in a common and united expression of faith.
President Monson urges us to walk against the tide of popular
criticism. What we seek is the approval of God:
It is this sweet assurance that can guide
you and me—in our time, in our day, in our lives. Of course, we
will face fear, experience ridicule, and meet opposition. Let us
have the courage to defy the consensus, the courage to stand for
principle. Courage, not compromise, brings the smile of God’s
approval. Courage becomes a living and an attractive virtue when
it is regarded not only as a willingness to die manfully, but also
as a determination to live decently. A moral coward is one who is
afraid to do what he thinks is right because others will
disapprove or laugh. Remember that all men have their fears, but
those who face their fears with dignity have courage as well. (The
Call for Courage)
There is a difference between prudently using the power of the tide, and just passively going with the flow because it is the consensus or seems overpowering and inevitable.
When I was SCUBA diving in coastal ocean waters in Southern
California, as we did not have a boat, we frequently used the tides
to access areas far from our entry point on the seashore. We would
identify areas of tidal outflow, popularly known as "rip tides".
And we would purposefully swim out into one of these "rip tides" and
allow it to carry us out into deeper waters. Thus instead of
wearing yourself out trying to flounder directly through the onshore
current and battering waves, we would let the tide work in our
favor, to save time and energy.
