To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.In the April 2018 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ there were some changes announced to programs that had been in place for many years. These changes were warmly welcomed by many members, with a few expressing anxiety about practical implementations. In all of the changes a few scattered voices opined, "Finally we can do away with that burdensome old program!"
-- Ecclesiastes 3:1
I have seen a few changes to Church policy over the years. During my mission we made the shift away from memorized discussions to using prepared lessons. As soon as the change was announced the American missionaries universally tossed aside the discussion booklets and said, "Hallelujah!" But some Latino missionaries took longer to change. They were accustomed to the previous method, some of them had joined the Church because of those discussions, so they were reluctant to give them up.
When the change was made in both cases it was immediately apparent that the new method worked better. We had better talks with people about the Church, and being able to really care for members instead of checking to make sure home teaching is done by the end of the month really makes a difference.
So what about the old ways? Were they for nothing? Were they the wrong thing to do?
Obviously not. At the time they were the new method. They made things easier. They improved on the old way of doing things. At one point members looked at the new method and said, "Finally we can do away with that burdensome old program!"
There is a temptation to say that if they are the wrong thing to do now, they were the wrong thing to do in the first place. I think that is a mistaken way of seeing it. The Church, the world, and society has changed in small and subtle ways, and will continue to change.
As we go into a new season of the Church there will be changes to how we do things. Policies may change. Even some things that may seem more than policy will be implemented differently in the Church. Eventually changes will be made to priesthood quorums. Right now Aaronic Priesthood quorums are tied to age. At some point they may not. The missionary program may change. How we conduct church services may change. They hymnbook is changing already.
Those changes will come and when they do, it does not mean what we did before, or what we are doing now is wrong, or counterproductive. It is just a different season of the Church. To everything, live in the season of the Church and neither condemn nor wish for what was before.
As we are going into Fall and the temperatures are falling, it is positively silly to say, we don't need to wear coats, we didn't wear coats all Summer. Times change and conditions change. When it is time for change we can resist the changes or go with the flow. However, some things never change and we need to recognize that the difference between things that change and things that do not.
ReplyDeleteWahoo! Thanks for posting. I always enjoy your posts. (It's been awhile, and I've been wondering if we'd hear from you again.)
ReplyDeleteNow to try to add something to the conversation... There are a lot of reasons why policies are the way they are, and I'll just mention two. Sometimes it's because we aren't ready, or as a way to prod us toward growth. (I'm counting this as one reason.) I suspect that the restrictions on the priesthood was an example of the former, and the change in the missionary discussions an example of the latter. The other reason is advances in technology. For instance, I don't think that the "Come, Follow Me" program would have been workable a decade ago because we didn't have such widespread and pervasive internet access.
It's nice to see you back on line. As usual, your comments are on point.
ReplyDeleteSam, that may be true, but I like to look at most Church policies as a seasonal thing. We do them because they are what is needed at the time. Much like the clothes you wear. In winter you wear a coat until it gets warm enough to take it off. It is not a matter of not being ready, or making us grow. It is just what is needed at the time.
ReplyDeleteOther policies such as the priesthood ban may be more to how we administer the Church, and how the Church behaves as a whole and not the individuals in the Church.