| Note: Although this
letter is addressed to the First Presidency, it’s content is intended to
open the eyes of anyone, that they may see how the church is pulling the
wool over their eyes, or as
Isaiah 5:20 explains it, calling evil good and good evil, putting darkness
for light and light for darkness. In 2007, I was excommunicated for embracing 2 Nephi 32:5. This action implied that the church believes this passage is evil. And, as you can see, the church still doesn’t want to embrace the goodness of this passage, as evidenced by their reluctance to answer a simple question, is 2 Nephi 32:5 true, or not? Please read my P.S. below for full details of how I believe the church is putting darkness for light. August 11, 2018 THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS OFFICE OF THE FIRST PRESIDENCY 47 EAST SOUTH TEMPLE STREET SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH 84150 Dear First Presidency, 2 Nephi 32:5 states, “For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do.” Please officially indicate the church’s position regarding this passage by circling either (a) or (b) below. Please be aware, that my local leaders will not provide this to me and neither will they ask you for it. (a) The church recognizes this concept as being true, if a person will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, “it will show them all things” what they should do. (b) The church does not recognize this concept as being true, if a person will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, “it will not show them all things” what they should do. Sincerely, Aaron McMillan P.S. In 2007, I was excommunicated for embracing 2 Nephi 32:5. This action implies that the church believes those who embrace this principle, are apostate. But, are they? Or, are those who won’t embrace this principle, apostate? It’s my belief, that those who won’t embrace 2 Nephi 32:5, who won’t believe the Holy Ghost is meant to show us “all things” what we should do, are apostate. And, I can explain why, but before I get into the long version of my explanation, I’ll give you the short version. SHORT EXPLANATION The LDS church has replaced the idea of being led by the Holy Ghost, with the idea of being led by the voice of church leaders, which has the appearance of light, but is actually of darkness. Church leaders promise that members will be blessed, if they’ll obey their voice. Thus, members are led to seek to be blessed, or in other words, they’re led to selfishly want blessings for themselves, which is apostate. Worthiness, which is greatly emphasized in the church, is about determining if one is qualified to receive blessings. Thus, the concept of “worthiness” leads people to selfishly seek to be blessed. If the church led people to selflessly bless each other, they wouldn’t even mention “worthiness,” because we can bless each other without ever being judged worthy. In the New Testament, Paul taught that love is the fruit of the Spirit. Thus, those led by the Holy Ghost, don’t seek to be worthy of blessings, but instead, they only seek to love and bless others. On the other hand, those who aren’t led by the Holy Ghost, who instead, are led by the voice of church leaders, they appear loving, but because their actions are motivated by a desire to be judged worthy of blessings for themselves, their motivation is selfishly of darkness. Hence, it’s my belief, that those who reject 2 Nephi 32:5, who aren’t led by the Holy Ghost in all things, who aren’t selflessly seeking to bless others, who instead, are selfishly focused on being blessed, are apostate. Also, think about this. There would be no divorce, if couples were always led by the Holy Ghost, where they only sought to love and bless each other. All divorce, stems from one or both spouses selfishly wanting to be blessed more, where they consider themselves, as “worthy” of something better. Basically, all selfishness and hatred, stems from people believing they’re “worthy” of something better, or in other words, from their desire to be blessed, as opposed to all selflessness and love, which stems, only from desires to bless the lives of others. It’s ironic, that the LDS church, which claims to be the answer to the great apostasy, claiming to be the Lord’s restored church, is itself, an apostate organization, where its focus is on worthiness, on selfishly seeking to be blessed, rather than leading its members to be guided by the Holy Ghost, which 2 Nephi 32:5 states, will show us “all things” what we should do, which only leads people to selflessly love and bless each other. Please, just answer my question, does the church believe 2 Nephi 32:5 is true, or not? LONG EXPLANATION My parents are LDS, my grandparents are LDS, I was born under the covenant, I served a mission, I was married in an LDS temple, I paid a full tithing and was active in the church until the age of 40, at which time I was excommunicated for practicing what’s taught in 2 Nephi 32:5, which is a passage from the Book of Mormon, which the church claims to be the “word of God.” Since my excommunication in 2007, I’ve written countless letters, visited with local leaders many times, and implemented this current every ten-day request numbered mailing campaign in 2015, to obtain, from the church, an explanation regarding the church’s rejection of 2 Nephi 32:5, but still, you’re unwilling to answer me. Why is that? Rather than responding to my actual question, is 2 Nephi 32:5 true or not, in every conversation with church leaders, including general authorities, they’ve simply told me that I’m to obey the dictates of church leaders, or else. So, on the one hand, we have 2 Nephi 32:5 telling us that the Holy Ghost is meant to show us all things what we should do, and on the other hand, we have church leaders saying that we’re to obey their dictates in all things, or else. In 1831, just one year after the church began, it appears that 2 Nephi 32:5 was fully embraced. When disorder appeared in the church, Joseph Smith emphasized the idea that everyone must be spiritually enlightened for themselves, for he believed, as is recorded in D&C 50, that this disorder was because members were blindly trusting those who were teaching them false doctrine. But then, 12 years later, in 1843, it appears that Joseph Smith changed his mind about how to establish church order. This time, rather than encouraging people to be enlightened for themselves, he now encouraged them to obey church directives, with the promise of blessings for their compliance. Recorded in D&C 130, Joseph Smith declared, “there is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated. And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.” Basically, this new way of thinking changed the focus of church members, from seeking a heart filled with love, which is the fruit of being led by the Spirit, to seeking blessings, through obeying leaders. Thus, enlightened faith of the Spirit, the fruit of which, is love, which seeks to bless the lives of others, was replaced with un-enlightened obedience, to laws conveyed through the voice of church leaders, accompanied by a selfish desire to be blessed, or a “what’s in it for me” mentality. Then, a few months later, Joseph Smith cemented the concept of obedience even more in the minds of members, by declaring, in D&C 132, “Behold, mine house is a house of order, saith the Lord God, and not a house of confusion.” In essence, the church’s entire program was changed, from leading members to experience the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, to leading them to experience the fruit of obedience, which is order and the hope of promised blessings. Then, 47 years later, in 1890, the idea of rendering un-enlightened, or blind obedience to the words of church leaders, was completely programmed into the minds of the latter-day saints, when it was declared by President Woodruff, “it’s impossible for a prophet to lead the church astray.” And, blind obedience continues to this day, with such great momentum, that now, those who want to be led by the Holy Ghost in all things, who embrace 2 Nephi 32:5 and D&C 50, who won’t render unquestioning obedience to church leaders, are judged as apostate and excommunicated. But, even with all this emphasis on blind obedience, still, there are those in leadership who oppose blind obedience, such as President Faust. If you search LDS.org, you’ll find talks by President Faust, which speak of our personal responsibility to determine, for ourselves, the “divine validity” of what the prophet speaks, that we’re to refrain from blindly following the prophet. In these talks, President Faust quotes Brigham Young on the subject, who clearly opposed the idea of blind obedience, who said, “let everyone know by the whispering of the Spirit of God to themselves, whether their leaders are walking in the way the Lord dictates, or not.” However, even though blind faith was denounced by President Faust and Brigham Young, still, years ago, when I questioned a church position that the Holy Ghost wasn’t verifying to me as truth, all hell broke loose between me and church leaders, until the day they decided to excommunicate me as an apostate, because I refused to accept a church position blindly, for they said to me, “we’re to accept church doctrine without question, because it’s not possible for a prophet to lead the church astray.” So, with all this in mind, let’s think together about my assertion, that the LDS church is calling evil good and good evil, putting darkness for light and light for darkness. Are you open-minded enough to consider this possibility? Let’s analyze the concept, presented by Joseph Smith, that “all blessings come from obedience to laws upon which they’re predicated.” Let’s think about the desire to be blessed. When we obey, with the desire to obtain blessings, are we thinking about blessing others? No. So, isn’t this a selfish desire? In each circumstance of life, aren’t we presented with a choice between two paths, where we can either want to be blessed, or we can want to bless the lives of others? It’s as if there’s one spirit leading us to want to be blessed, and another, different spirit leading us to want to bless others. Here’s another way to look at it. Either we’re wanting to be loved, or we’re wanting to love, but never do we experience both of these desires at the same time, although we might bounce back and forth between the two. So, back in 1843, why was the idea of being led by the Holy Ghost, in order to experience a heart filled with love, with a focus on blessing others, replaced with the idea of being led by the voice of church leaders, with a focus on being blessed? Aren’t these paths, inspired of opposing spiritual voices? Didn’t this constitute a 180 degree change in church direction, from members seeking the goodness and light of selflessly wanting to bless the lives of others, to the evil and darkness of selfishly wanting blessings for themselves? Love, is the fruit of the Spirit. Love doesn’t come from obedience. If we obey the command to not steal, it doesn’t mean we feel love for the person we didn’t rob. And, if we don’t kill, it doesn’t mean we love the person we didn’t murder. It could just mean, that we fear to be punished. Also, if our objective in obeying, is to get blessings from it, then that’s not love either, because it’s a selfish motive. As a church member, is your desire to obtain blessings, or is your desire to experience a heart filled with love? In your interviews with church leaders, do they discuss the feeling of love in your heart, or are they focused on obedience and associated blessings? When interviewed for a temple recommend, are you asked if your heart is filled with love, which would mean the Holy Ghost is with you, or are you asked about obedience to leader voiced commandments, such as being honest, being chaste, attending church, paying tithing, and your perceived worthiness based on obedience? The truth is, if you simply felt love in your heart, you would be honest, be chaste, attend church, and pay tithing. Feeling love takes care of everything else. Romans 13:10 explains it this way, “love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” Jesus taught, that there‘s more to the commandments than just obeying them, that it wasn’t enough to just refrain from committing adultery, that even looking upon a woman with lust was adultery, and so, He taught that we need to maintain a loving heart that won’t lust, in order to avoid being adulterous. John wrote, in 1 John 3:15, that it’s not enough to simply refrain from murdering, but that if you hate your brother, you’re a murderer, and won’t inherit eternal life. Again, there’s no other option, than to be led by the Holy Ghost in all things, the fruit of which, is love, for if our hearts aren’t always filled with love, we will hate, and be guilty of murder in our hearts. In both Matthew 7:12 and 3 Nephi 14:12, Jesus said, “all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” He didn’t say, obey laws, in order to be blessed. He said, love and bless others, as you would have them love and bless you. Jesus also declared, a new commandment I give unto you, that as I have loved you, love one another, and by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples. He wasn’t saying that His disciples would be known by their obedience and associated blessings, but by their desire to bless the lives of others. In worthiness interviews, have you ever been asked, “do you abide by the Golden Rule, or do you love as Jesus loves?” During the many years I was in the church, I never was. Why is that? Isn’t it because worthiness is about determining if we deserve blessings, where love is about blessing others? People who obey the words of church leaders, seek to get blessings. People whose hearts are filled with love, seek to bless the lives of others. So, doesn’t it make sense, that with the introduction of blessing seeking by Joseph Smith, it led to a church-wide darkness of selfishness, that has the appearance of light? Obedience to directives can look loving, but it’s never quite loving, because there’s always selfishness attached to it. It’s been interesting to me, that in all my interaction with church leaders since my excommunication in 2007, and this was even the case in a letter I received from a previous first presidency, they’ve only focused on encouraging me to obtain blessings for myself through obedience to church leaders. But, why would I want to hearken to their counsel, to follow their example of selfishly seeking to be blessed, when I’m enjoying a heart filled with love, where my desire is to bless the lives of others? It’s taken me a long time to realize this, but I believe the church is mainly interested in providing the hope of great blessings, in exchange for tithing dollars and obedience. How seductive is it, to promise that you’ll be with your family forever, that you’ll live with God, and that you’ll be a God, if you’ll simply render unquestioning obedience? Prior to my excommunication, church leaders tried to scare me, into believing that the Holy Ghost would leave me, if they expelled me from the church, but the truth is, my heart has remained filled with love, which is the fruit of the Spirit, and so I discovered that excommunication doesn’t actually cause the Spirit to be removed from anyone. However, through excommunication, I did lose the hope of those amazing promised LDS blessings. The whole idea behind excommunication, is to judge people as “unworthy” of those blessings. Except, that didn’t matter to me, because I felt so much love in my heart, which felt better to me, than the thought of wanting any blessings for myself. Because of this, I’m thinking the church mistakenly believes the Holy Ghost is the peace associated with the hope of promised blessings, rather than believing it’s the peace associated with possessing a heart filled with love. And, I’m thinking this belief is so ingrained in the minds of members, that after being excommunicated, if they want to regain their membership, it’s not because they want to feel love in their heart, but rather, they want to feel, again, that selfish hope associated with wanting those blessings. In fact, I’ll bet that if I were to visit with my stake president, letting him know that I wanted the blessings associated with church membership, that I wanted eternal marriage, that I wanted to go to the Celestial kingdom, that I wanted to be a God someday, that I wanted to obey leaders in all things to obtain these blessings, with a selfish motive, where I said nothing about love, I’d be welcomed back with open arms. Or, on the other hand, if I approached my stake president, letting him know that none of these blessings mattered to me, that my only desire was to feel love in my heart, through always being led by the Holy Ghost, where my only desire was to bless lives of others, I’m sure I’d still be considered apostate and rebellious. So, isn’t the church calling evil good and good evil, putting darkness for light and light for darkness, because those who won’t obey church leaders, with a selfish hope of blessings, who rather, want to selflessly bless others, through only being motivated by love in their own hearts, are being kicked out and kept out of the church? Thus, hasn’t the church replaced the idea of being motivated from within, of being led by the Holy Ghost, with requiring that members be motivated from without, or manipulated by their leaders? Four years prior to his declaration of obedience, associated blessings, and the Lord’s house being based in order, in 1839, in D&C 121, Joseph Smith made one last exerted effort to keep the church in line, not by requiring obedience and promising blessings, but by emphasizing the power of love based influence. He stated, “We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion… 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; By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile…” Then, in 1843, through declaring obedience, associated blessings, and the Lord’s house being one of order, it’s my belief that Joseph Smith, himself, gave into the temptation of exercising unrighteous dominion, where he abandoned the principle of love. For, it was in 1843, that Joseph Smith introduced the “commandment” of polygamy, which many people can’t agree with, where the Holy Ghost won’t verify the truth of that principle to them. And, according to D&C 132, we read that polygamy was actually presented to Joseph’s wife, not with gentleness and love unfeigned, but with harshness and threatening. Perhaps Joseph Smith wanted polygamy so badly, that he was willing to alter the entire direction of the church, from members being led by the Holy Ghost, to being led by obedience to law, which polygamy was a part of, with amazing promised blessings for their compliance, even the blessing of being Gods, themselves, through the acceptance of this principle. You know, the devil, when tempting Jesus, always promised the most wonderful blessings, if Jesus would just bow down and worship him. Could it be that the devil has had a hand in the church’s transition to believing so much in obtaining blessings? Joseph Smith came on so strong, letting everyone know, “Behold, mine house is a house of order, saith the Lord God, and not a house of confusion,” but have you ever thought to inquire of the Lord, for yourselves, regarding whether or not His house is actually based on order? When I questioned the Lord about this, my mind was illuminated with a different answer. I was taught, “my house is a house of love, saith the Lord,” which makes more sense, for it’s not by our orderly conduct that all men will know we are His disciples, but it’s by our love. There’s been so many times, where church leaders have said to me, the Lord’s house is a house of order, to justify how they’ve treated me, in their exercise of authority over me, but who can argue, that the Lord’s house is more accurately described, as a house of love? In Luke 22:24-26, Jesus spoke to his apostles, “And he said unto them, the kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve… I am among you as he that serveth.” Here, Jesus taught His apostles to refrain from exercising governing authority over others, that instead, they were to serve, as if they were “younger” than those in their care. In essence, wasn’t Jesus telling His apostles to love those in their care, considering those in their care, at least as equals, rather than bossing them around? But, is this how the LDS church operates? Actually, haven’t these instructions been rejected by the church, in their establishment of “general authorities,” who are bossing church members around? Basically, this explains why the church won’t answer my simple question, is 2 Nephi 32:5 true or not? Because church leaders consider themselves “authorities” over others, where they want to govern others, they reject the idea of people governing themselves through being led by the Holy Ghost. I’ve remained outside the church since 2007. I’m not welcome, because I won’t agree to selfishly seek for church blessings, through obedience to church leaders. I’m waiting for an honest discussion about the concept taught in 2 Nephi 32:5, were it’s stated that the Holy Ghost is meant to show us all things what we should do. When can we have this discussion? In both the New Testament, and Book of Mormon, it’s taught that the Holy Ghost will lead us into all truth. In these books, we’re also commanded, at all times, to abide by the Golden Rule, which is only possible when we’re personally inspired in all things, for we’re to do unto others, not as we’re told to, but as we would have others do unto us, according to our own inspired understanding of love. Why is it, then, that church leaders want to tell people what to do? Isn’t this a violation of the Golden Rule, because no-one who tells another what to do, wants those they’ve instructed, to tell them back what to do, do they? And, there’s another example of this, in the church handbook of instructions, where it’s defined as apostasy for members to criticize leaders, but leaders are not restricted from criticizing members. Hypocrisy is a term used to describe those who violate the Golden Rule. And, even though it’s taught in the Doctrine and Covenants, that only by persuasion, and without hypocrisy, is priesthood power to be exercised, that hypocrites are to be detected and cut off from the church, in reality, those who sustain and support hypocritical leadership, are being placed in leadership positions, to keep hypocrisy going. It’s been my experience, that the spirit within church leaders, isn’t leading them to abide by the Golden Rule, but rather, it’s inspiring them to exercise governing authority over others, which is hypocritical, because they don’t want those they govern to govern them back. So, how can these leaders honestly claim that the “Spirit of God” is guiding their leadership? If leaders were led by God’s Spirit, they’d always abide by the Golden Rule, they’d lead people to bless others, rather than teaching them to obey in order to get blessings, they’d be inspired in all things for themselves, they’d teach others to always be inspired for themselves, they’d believe 2 Nephi 32:5 is true, and they’d eagerly want to answer my question about that passage. Perhaps the spirit that guides you, is leading you to exercise authority, because you blindly believe what Joseph Smith taught, that “my house is a house of order, saith the Lord God,” rather than thinking for yourselves, and knowing the truth, that “my house is a house of love, saith the Lord.” LDS worthiness interviews always focus on obedience, rather than love. People are never asked if they love others as Jesus loves. Nor are they asked if they abide by the Golden Rule. Rather, they’re only questioned about their obedience to commands pertaining to the establishment of church order. But, obedience to priesthood authority will never create love. Love comes only through one’s personal line of communication with God. Just as, selfishly seeking to get blessings will never lead to selflessly seeking to bless others, perfect order will never lead to the establishment of perfect love. Perfect order, which is the same as perfect fear, is obtained through people being perfectly disciplined. Perfect love, which casts out all fear, is obtained through people being perfectly self-disciplined by the Spirit, where the Spirit of love shows them all things what they should do. Those perfectly disciplined, and those perfectly self-disciplined, look identical from outward appearances, but one is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, full of fear, and the other is full of love. Those who are governed, fear. Those who govern themselves, love. Those who lack love, are ruled. Those who love, rule themselves. Was Jesus ruled, or did He possess a loving heart, which enabled him to govern himself? Is the church seeking to establish a disciplined house of order, where leadership rules everyone, or a self-disciplined house of love, where everyone possesses a loving heart, enabling every member to govern themselves? Do the scriptures declare, “God is order?” Or, do they declare, “God is love?” In the LDS sacramental prayers, it’s promised that those who are governed by keeping commandments, will have the Spirit to be with them. But, it can’t work this way, because the Spirit of love empowers people to govern themselves. We can, either govern ourselves by the Spirit of love, or we can be governed by laws, but never both. Also, let’s think about the commandment to love as Jesus loves. Because love is the fruit of the Spirit, it’s impossible to obey this commandment, and then be blessed with the Spirit. Rather, we must be endowed with the Spirit of love, ahead of time, in order to keep this commandment. So, the LDS church has it backwards. It’s not about keeping the commandments, to be blessed to have the Spirit with us. It’s about having the Spirit with us, to maintain a loving heart, that we may always bless the lives of others. Course, there’s great peace associated with obedience. The hope of promised blessings seems almost as peaceful as having the Holy Ghost with us, like a devil transformed into an angel of light, but those who’ve experienced the Spirit of love, can tell the difference, and they’d rather be kicked out of the church, than live without that Spirit. In fact, it’s been my experience, contrary to what the church teaches, that the Spirit of love has been with me, only when I haven’t expected blessings, only when I’m not thinking of any strings attached. The truth is, if we selfishly desire the Holy Ghost as a blessing for ourselves, we won’t ever receive it, because the Holy Ghost can only be properly desired, and is only given by God, as a means for us to bless the lives of others. The sacramental prayers, as they stand, create a house of order, and provide the spirit of hope in earned or deserved blessings, but they don’t produce the Spirit of love, because the Holy Ghost is an unearned and undeserved gift, of a means, that only enables us to love and bless the lives of others. If the LDS church were creating a house of love, the sacrament prayer would state, “and they covenant to receive the Holy Ghost, that they may be enabled to keep the commandment which He has given them, to love as He loves, which fulfills the law.” Again, we read in Romans 13:10, “love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” And, it’s not by obedience, but by their love, said Jesus, that His disciples would be known. Joseph Smith believed, “all blessings come from obeying the laws they’re predicated upon,” but in this, he was mistaken, for a heart filled with love, doesn’t come from obedience of any kind. Rather, it’s a gift, given by the grace of God, to believers. Certainly, the “gift” of the Holy Ghost, which could be considered our greatest blessing, which saves us, which is a heart filled with love, can’t ever be deserved or earned by doing works, lest any man should boast, as Paul explained in Ephesians 2:8-9. Also, those who enjoy the “gift” of the Holy Ghost, who love, even their enemies, end up blessing the lives of others, who didn’t earn or deserve the blessing of being loved, through any sort of obedience. Jesus didn’t obey any law, with the idea in mind that he would be blessed by that obedience. He wasn’t selfishly seeking for blessings. Rather, He sought only to maintain a heart filled with love, in order to bless the lives of others. So, like Jesus, are we to be led in all things by the Holy Ghost, the fruit of which, is love, or are we to be guided by commandments, given through and enforced by priesthood authority, with the selfish expectation of blessings, the fruit of which, is order? Isn’t it true, that in 1843, darkness was put for light, and light for darkness, good was called evil and evil good, as the church replaced love, with order, as the church changed from being led by the Spirit, the fruit of which, is love, to being led by obedience to laws, with the motivation of selfishly seeking for blessings, the fruit of which, is order? And, perhaps, the only way possible for polygamy to be accepted in 1843, was for the church to alter their program, to focus on blessings, to promise members that they would become Gods if they practiced such, because, maybe, the Holy Ghost will never verify the truth of this principle. Have you ever thought about the fact, that polygamy violates the Golden Rule? In polygamy, a man will seek multiple wives, but in this, he’s not doing unto his wives, as he would have them do unto him, for he’s not wanting his wives to go out and find more husbands. Is it possible, that this is why the Holy Ghost won’t verify the truth of this concept? So, is there a problem in the church? Is evil called good and good evil? Is it considered good, to selfishly seek for blessings, and evil, to selflessly seek only to bless others? Is it too late for this to be corrected? Please, just answer my question, does the church believe 2 Nephi 32:5 is true, or not? |