Today I received a comment on my post I did a few days ago called, "Mask of Tolerance". I was going to post it and reply but the reply would be too long so I'm going to do a separate post to address the comment.
Here is the comment I received:
[My Two Cents] New comment on Mask of Tolerance.
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Mask of Tolerance":
Interesting. The sins of the LBGT lifestyle are sins yes, yet everyone sins. So will you shun everyone then and judge them all? Seems like your post is all about shunning and not loving. Is not the second great commandment to love thy neighbor? I think you may have forgotten that. Christ wants us to love all and tolerate everyone without losing our beliefs.
Posted by Anonymous to My Two Cents at Feb 8, 2024, 10:47 AM
First of all, the commenter was too cowardly to post their name, but their location came up as Pocatello, Idaho. Which could be just a general vicinity. The location is not always accurate. But most likely somewhere in Idaho. So, anonymous person in Idaho, I will address your comment. (By the way, I have a good idea of who you are.)
I'm posting your comment to highlight your ignorance. You obviously did not understand the point of my post. So let me explain it to you, in perhaps simpler terms. My point was to elaborate on President Monson's words of wisdom, "The face of sin today often wears the mask of tolerance. Do not be deceived…" (April 2008). I used the example of sin masquerading as tolerance as members of the Church tolerating and embracing LGBT sin as loving their neighbor. (Which is exactly what anonymous in Idaho is doing – and is exactly what President Monson warned about.) That is not what Christ taught. He never embraced sin. Loving our neighbor does not mean we must embrace sin. Yes, we all sin – that doesn't make it right. But according to your comment, anonymous in Idaho, we should all tolerate sin because everybody does it. That is messed up – and not true.
We can love people and get along with those who don't share our beliefs while still maintaining our commitment to truth while not tolerating and embracing sin.
President Dallin H. Oaks clarified this in a talk given at BYU on September 11th, 2011 titled "Truth and Tolerance". You would be wise to go read it. I will give a few excerpts here:
"Our tolerance and respect for others and their beliefs does not cause us to abandon our commitment to the truths we understand and the covenants we have made. …We do not abandon the truth and our covenants. We are cast as combatants in the war between truth and error. There is no middle ground. We must stand up for truth, even while we practice tolerance and respect for beliefs and ideas different from our own and for the people who hold them.
"While we must practice tolerance and respect for others and their beliefs, including their constitutional freedom to explain and advocate their positions, we are not required to respect and tolerate wrong behavior. Our duty to truth requires us to seek relief from some behavior that is wrong."
President Oaks makes it clear that we should not tolerate nor respect wrong behavior – of which breaking the law of chastity is. It doesn't mean that we shun the sinner nor judge them unrighteously. That is absurd.
Never once in my post did I state that people should be shunned. Nor did I even suggest shunning anybody. Again, that is absurd. I have no idea where you got that from, anonymous in Idaho, except that maybe you are so indoctrinated with Satan's lies and believe that loving our neighbor means tolerating and embracing their sins.
Present Oaks clarified the seriousness of breaking the law of chastity when he spoke of cohabitation. Which also applies to homosexuals as well as heterosexuals. Here's what President Oaks said:
"Cohabitation we know to be a serious sin in which Latter-day Saints must not engage, whatever the circumstances. When practiced by those around us, it can be private behavior or something we are asked to condone, sponsor, or facilitate. In the balance between truth and tolerance, tolerance can be dominant where the behavior does not involve us personally. If the cohabitation does involve us personally, we should be governed by our duty to truth. For example, it is one thing to ignore serious sins when they are private; it is quite another thing to be asked to sponsor or impliedly endorse them, such as by housing them in our own homes."
We live in a world where breaking the Lord's law of chastity is not only tolerated but is condoned and embraced. Does that mean that we should also tolerate, condone, and embrace sin in the name of loving our neighbor, while betraying truth? The answer is emphatically NO.
We must always honor people's agency and their choices to break God's commandments if they so desire. But, we must not "condone, sponsor, or facilitate" sin.
As I said in my original post, we can love people without embracing their sins.
Well said. Although I still don't think "anonymous in Idaho" will comprehend this- because you literally quoted Pres. Monson in the previous post, "Mask of Tolerance," and she still implied YOU were judging others and not being tolerant. You were simply stating doctrinal truths (as taught by a prophet of God, and according to God's eternal LAW). NOTHING in your previous post was even close to shunning anyone! That is laughable to me. It reminds me of the time the parable hater said Jesus was "shunning" the 5 unwise virgins in the parable of the Ten Virgins. Clearly, Jesus doesn't shun anyone. But Jesus DOES speak truth. Because TRUTH is loving. Funny how these people always accuse those who speak truth as being "judgmental" and "unloving." Quite the opposite. People think being loving is all fluff. It's not. It's truth. This is what it sounds like to be Christlike, "Wo unto him that has the law given, yea, that has all the commandments of God...and transgresseth them, and that casteth the days of his probation, for awful is his state!..When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they SET IT ASIDE, SUPPOSING THEY KNOW OF THEMSELVES, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not, and they must perish. (2 Ne 9:27-28) "And he that fighteth against Zion shall perish, saith God." "..for they who are not with me are against me, saith our God. For I will fulfill my promises which I have made." (2 Ne 10:13, 16-17) "I will be merciful unto my people, but the wicked shall perish." (2 Ne 23:22) The Law of God must and will be fulfilled. He stands with open arms. He urges all to repent and come unto Him. Yes, we all sin. And that's why the Savior came to atone for us- so we can REPENT daily. There's a difference between messing up while TRYING and STRIVING to follow God, and out-right open rebellion against His commandments. Having same-sex attraction isn't a sin, but breaking the law of chastity IS. It should be pretty easy to comprehend. Although, you can teach truth to others, but you can't understand it for them. Hopefully, "anonymous in Idaho" is able to gain a greater understanding of what your post was actually about.
ReplyDeleteGreat reply. A complete misunderstanding of the plan. It's like getting mad at a personal trainer at a gym for not encouraging proper form when performing an exercise. We seek to uplift all and to rid ourselves of all impurities.
ReplyDelete