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| Walk in
the Old, Old Path |
Let Us Not Wander in Strange Roads!
By Richard Price
One of the dangers to us who have joined the Restoration
Branches Movement in order to preserve the original Gospel of
the RLDS Church, is that we will forget our religious roots and
accept false doctrines. Nephi explained concerning some of the
people in Lehi's vision, "And after they had tasted of the
fruit ... they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost"
(1 Nephi 2:76). Yes, even some of those who followed the Rod of
Iron to the tree of life and partook of the precious fruit, afterward
wandered "in strange roads" until they departed from
the faith. This danger is always present, for the Lord has given
us a definite set of doctrines and ordinances, and all we have
to do is to depart from them—and suddenly we are lost in
apostasy!
It is amazing
how easily some set aside the original teachings of the Church
and accept new theories and practices, which are contrary to the
Gospel which Christ restored in 1830 through the Prophet Joseph
Smith. Even some of the leading ministers in the Restoration branches
today add to this tendency by making such statements as, "The
first thing I want to affirm is that the Gospel of Jesus Christ
is not so much about what church we belong to, or what set of
doctrines we hold to, or what kind of apologetic we can present....
It is not about pitting one church against another or one doctrine
above another." The truth is, that is exactly what the Restored
Gospel is about! It is true that we all must accept Christ as
our Savior, and we must preach salvation and atonement through
Him, but we must also keep His commandments by adhering strictly
to the RLDS Church's doctrines and practices. Christ went to all
the trouble to restore the New Testament Church just the way He
wanted it, and it is extremely important that we learn all the
points of His doctrine and adhere closely to them. As the Book
of Mormon says, "How strict are the commandments of God"
(Alma 17:43).
The Lord has promised to preserve the RLDS Church
and build Zion through it, and thousands of Saints are at the
present time, as in times past, longing to assist in that great
and marvelous work! In addition to the faithful Saints who are
in the Center Place, many have recently left their homelands and
moved here specifically to give their time and talents to help
"establish the cause of Zion." But in spite of the longing
to assist, the possibility of canceling our efforts by believing
the wrong doctrines, serving incorrectly, performing ordinances
in wrong ways (and thereby going into apostasy) is always before
us. It is so easy to decide to take a different road than the
"Old, Old Path" that the Lord has commanded us to walk
in—to try to do the Lord's work in our own way and not in
His way!
We must study the Scriptures and Church history
carefully, and follow their directions.
The possibility of wandering in strange roads—that
is, of doing our Church work in ways we like, even though they
are contrary to the commandments of God—is especially prevalent
at the present time, since we in the Restoration Branches Movement
have no Prophet or apostles to guide us by revelations from the
Lord. Today there are many elders and other leaders who are crying,
"Lo here," and "lo there!"
And to make matters worse, many of us do not
study the Scriptures and good Church books enough to know what
the true path is which God wants us to follow. As a result, sometimes
we do not know what the true doctrines and established practices
are; and so false doctrines are taught or preached, and the ordinances
are performed incorrectly.
Some do not even know to what church they belong—they
seem to have forgotten that they received their membership and
authority in the RLDS Church, and that the orthodox portion of
the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is
still God's only true Church. If they do not belong to the orthodox
part of the RLDS Church, to what church do they belong? Where
do the Scriptures say that God will accept any other church —or
even another name for the true Church? Nowhere! Those who give
a different name as the official name of the church to which they
belong are in danger of having left the true Church.
Another example of departing from the Faith is
that in some branches the Saints are using charismatic music,
instead of the time-proven "traditional" music in the
hymnbooks, which have inspired true worship and holiness for so
long. Some branches are allowing, or even encouraging, charismatic
or Pentecostal forms of worship, such as waving of the hands and
shouting "Amen," or speaking in false tongues. Some
priesthood men no longer respect the Lord enough, nor want to
show Him dignity and honor, to even wear suits while serving on
the rostrum. Some branches are being governed by supreme directional
control with their leaders insisting that common consent is unanimous
consent, when really it is the vote of the people, even if the
majority is only fifty-one percent.
The answers to all the above problems are in
prayer and the study of the Scriptures and the good books of the
Church. The priesthood especially must study the Doctrine and
Covenants, the Priesthood Manual,
and the General Conference Rules and Resolutions.
The doctrines found in them are the "Rod of Iron," which
we must cling to if we are to assist in bringing to pass the cause
of Zion. No other system can be used.
What a tragedy it will be if we serve God incorrectly
during this our time of probation, and find when we pass over
that if we had studied diligently the Scriptures and the Church
books which contain the laws of God—and if we had prayed
earnestly—we would not have gone astray, but would have
done all these things correctly and thereby brought glory and
honor to God, and joy and comfort to His people.
Let us cling strictly to the Rod of Iron by adhering
to the doctrines and practices which the RLDS Church believed
and used during the days of the Prophets Joseph Smith, Joseph
Smith III, and Israel A. Smith, and not become lost by wandering
in strange roads! |
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