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A: Thanks
for visiting our website. And thanks for writing. By your comments and questions
it sounds like there are some questions being asked by people in your branch.
Thank you for giving me an opportunity to address them. You ask what a member should do when leaving
the Community of Christ church. Our principle concern is for the person’s
spiritual relationship with Jesus Christ. Their church affiliation, while
important, is always second to this. When a person leaves the Community of
Christ church they should first and foremost pay attention to their relationship
with Jesus. This will involve confession and repentance for having been deceived
by a false prophet and his false religious system, including false scriptures,
false doctrines and a blasphemous priesthood system. If they have been in
leadership positions or held priesthood this is especially critical, for they
have not only been deceived themselves, but have most likely taught others the
errors they themselves have followed. Jesus said, “But if anyone causes one of
these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a
large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things
must come, but woe to the man through whom they come (Matt. 18:6–7)!”
It is indeed a grievous thing to teach others scriptural and doctrinal heresy in
the name of Christ. These sins, while serious, will be forgiven—but only
upon confession and repentance. I cannot stress this enough. Regarding church affiliation, I would
certainly never suggest that a person become unchurched, that is to cease
attending church. However, choosing a good church with which to affiliate with
can be challenging for a person who has newly left. They need to choose a sound
Bible-believing, Christ-centered church. But they may not yet be scripturally
grounded in order to evaluate such a church. Reading and studying the two books
available on our website could help in this area, because both will help a
person to recognize errors in doctrine. (In the future, if time allows me, I
would like to write a second book to specifically address this issue, in order
to help former RLDS move into genuine Christianity.) The new church should both
preach and teach from the Bible and you should hear about many aspects of the
salvation provided by Jesus, because without Him we have nothing, with Him we
have everything. Such a church should enable all who attend to grow into
spiritual maturity in Christ. There are many ways they can do this, but they all
center around the work of Christ. If you don’t hear much about Jesus, keep
looking until you find a church which talks about Him, and is centered on Him.
There is no better sign to look for in a church. You ask why a person can’t just stay in
the Community of Christ church, and effect change from within, that is if they
follow Christ’s teachings and witness to others in the church. There are many
reasons why this doesn’t work. Perhaps the most important is that you simply
can’t follow the teachings of Christ and remain a part of the Community of
Christ church. That’s the whole problem to begin with! Your church seriously
misrepresents Christ and His teachings. Now how in the world can you follow the
teachings of Christ while still belonging to such a church, and being
subordinate to its unscriptural spiritual authority? It’s an oxymoron. It’s
like asking why you can’t stay dry while swimming in the ocean, or stay clean
while crawling through a slime pit. You can’t. Neither can you be spiritually
clean by continuing to promote spiritual uncleanness, which is exactly what you
do by remaining a member. And how about witnessing to other members? The
greatest witness you can provide is to come clean yourself, and then encourage
them to as well. If you have ever flown on a commercial airplane, you will
remember their instructions about oxygen masks. They always tell you to get your
own mask on first, BEFORE you try to help others (children, the elderly, etc.)
who are reliant on you for help. The same thing is true spiritually. You would
like to change the church from within? Unless you are an influential leader in
one of the leading quorums of the church, you simple won’t effect any change.
They will (and have already) have more spiritual impact on you than you will on
them. To think otherwise is just wishful thinking. Or an excuse to avoid the
painful work of coming clean, and thereby witnessing to others the seriousness
of their dilemma. And many people have chosen just such an excuse. (If you are
in fact an influential leader in one of the leading quorums of the church, I
want to talk with you further. I have some very serious things I want to talk
with you about. Please let me know—seriously.) By the way, if you think
ministry to RLDS from outside the church is “safe and non-confrontational,”
you’ve got another think coming. You ought to see some of the email we
receive. And some of the dialogues in which we engage, both by mail and in
person. From this standpoint, it was much safer in the church. You ask, “How can anyone claim that modern
day revelations from God isn’t possible since all is possible for God?” I
would answer that most Christians do believe God still reveals
Himself today, in many ways, and for various purposes to continue blessing His
people with His presence and with much needed guidance. What Christians reject
are the revelations of Joseph Smith (or others) which establish radical new
doctrines which flatly contradict what God has already said in the Bible. It is
very important for you to understand that there is a big difference here! You
can read more about this on our website. You also ask, “Jesus Christ is proclaimed
the Savior and Redeemer of us all by the World Headquarters of the Community of
Christ Church. How can that be wrong?” It is one thing to proclaim Jesus
Christ Savior and Redeemer, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the
demons believe that—and shudder (James 2:19).” It is quite another to 1)
follow Him “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23), and 2) to obey His
commandments “Why do you call me,
'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say (Luke 6:46)?” The foundational
scriptures, doctrines and priesthood system of the Community of Christ church
all contain many serious errors which misrepresent Christ and lead people away
from His truth. That, quite simply, is what is wrong with the Community of
Christ church. I invite you to explore the books and other materials on our
website to begin learning the scriptural truth about your church. We’re not
talking about minor tweaks of doctrine here and there. We’re talking about
wholesale spiritual fraud and heresy. You have asked some
legitimate questions here. I hope I have encouraged you to begin your own study
to understand the many serious errors which separate the Community of Christ
church from genuine Christianity. Please feel free to write again if you have
additional questions along the way. May the Lord bless you, Paul Trask |