Defend The Faith, Defend The Church!

Defend the church "Be strong. Live the gospel faithfully even if others around you don’t live it at all. Defend your beliefs with courtesy and with compassion, but defend them." —Jeffrey R. Holland First and foremost know that everything that I present here is my opinion and my interpretation of scripture and leaders’ words. I don’t want to lessen my resolve and feeling that the way I see it is true with a disclaimer, but I want to be clear these are only my thoughts. I’ve seen this politically correct (PC) statement for some time called “crisis of faith.” I do not subscribe to this point of view. I do not believe in a crisis of faith (COF). I believe that some people may have questions and may not have a very strong testimony, but this COF business to me is a PC way of saying “I’m weak and vulnerable and some yahoo showed me a snippet of information or a quote that has me doubting.” Or worse, “I’ve just learned (through some “helpful” ex-member) of a policy that doesn’t agree with my present narrative of how the Church should handle fill in the blank.” I’m not saying someone can’t have their beliefs challenged because I know that you can. I’m saying that some people are shaken pretty easily. It’s not easy to be an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It takes faith. And faith requires action. And action usually is work. Changing our lives to be more in line with our Heavenly father is sometimes painful. But, of course, it’s always worth it. In these troubled times the current political climate directs many to man-made ideas and wrong roads to follow. I’ve watched it many times. Apostasy starts in small, seemingly innocent, ways. If a person can ground their testimony in Christ, not necessarily in the Church, church policy, or even leaders, then a foundation will be more difficult to shake. I’m not saying a testimony that the Church is true or that we have living prophets, seers, and revelators is not important. It is. But without a foundation in Christ, it’s easy to lose faith in people and organizations. This is why it is important to defend our faith and our Church. Many years ago as I was serving my mission I starting to collect anti-Mormon material. This was pre-internet and information was slow in moving. I didn’t obsess over it, I just happened to have it reach my hands. I had the largest collection of anti-Mormon material in the mission. I bequeathed it all to my last area and hopefully they just disposed of it. I also didn’t study the information very much. It’s not very deep and they quote each other. Nothing has changed except it has moved to the internet. The anti-Mormon movement has become more sophisticated, but the foundation has not changed. In the 70’s and 80’s it was “The Godmakers”. Now it’s “The CES Letter”. In “The Daily Beast” an article by Tarpley Hitt titled The Bizarre Cult of #DezNat: Alt-Right Mormons Targeting Porn and the LGBTQ Community Updated Jan. 28, 2019 12:01PM ET / Published Jan. 24, 2019 5:15AM ET (https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-cult-of-deznat-alt-right-mormons-targeting-porn-and-the-lgbtq-community) In this article Hitt described a hashtag that was started in August 2018 by @JPBellum. “In early January, a post appeared on the Twitter account @MormonQueerconf, a page devoted to anonymous confessions from LGBTQ members of the Mormon Church, about a new hashtag circulating in LDS Twitter: #DezNat. “I am ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED of #deznat,” the post read. “I feel like it’s only one meltdown away from being the one who ends up killing someone like me.”” The article is pretty good about covering #DezNat’s origins, but rather than reporting Hitt decided she doesn’t believe the creator of the hashtag and that it has some ominous meaning or purpose on Twitter. I also found this article to be more about what former members and anti-Mormons think of Dez Nat rather than members that use the hashtag. Just by the title of the article it’s clear of Hitt’s opinion rather than an objective, journalistic view. But this is typical of most media these days. I suppose she would lump me in with alt-right Mormons but frankly, I’m not that concerned about the media, especially internet media. The only reason I mention this is I like the original idea of the hashtag. It was created to identify those willing to defend the Church. It has been used by all kinds including those that believe it stands for Deseret Nationalism and has acquainted it with skinhead-Nazi-anti everything stupidity. I do not believe this hashtag means those things. DezNat is something that I feel is needed. People defending the Church online. Wikipedia says this about DezNat: “#DezNat (shortened from Deseret Nation) is a Twitter hashtag created in 2018 by Twitter user JP Bellum, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church); Bellum stated the hashtag recognizes faithful Church members as "a unique people and should be united spiritually, morally, economically, and politically behind Christ, the prophet, and the church." It also refers to a loosely affiliated group of likeminded Church members who use the hashtag. It is considered by press outlets, such as The Daily Beast and The Daily Utah Chronicle, to be an alt-right, white nationalist hashtag. Many users of the hashtag disagree with these accusations. According to Bellum, "#DezNat is not endorsed by the LDS Church or its leadership. Instead it is the idea that devout members ought to work together to support the church, its doctrines, and each other, on social media and in their communities to further build the Kingdom of God.” Many have been called progmos or progressive mormons. I believe these people exist. I’m sure you have come across them. They seem to know more than the rest of us because they are “woke”. It’s my opinion that they don’t last as members but will fall away or leave the Church in other ways. Then they become exmos (ex-mormons) which of course is a former member of the Church. Some exmos move on with their lives but some can’t help but become antimos (anti-mormons). This is one who speaks out and fights against the Church. They can leave the church but they cannot leave the church alone. I do not believe in violence for violence sake. I do believe in neutralizing the threat. I do not think we need to defend the Church with violence. That may come but that day is not today. I do not agree with those that want to commit violence against those they feel are not welcome into the Church. What kind of crap is that? Defend, yes. And I’ve got to ask. What do these guys really know about violence or killing? Have they ever really been involved in either or are they just macho idiots who think it’s no big deal to harm or kill another human being. These are light thinkers who need to talk to someone who has experienced violence, and have been preparing for it, a large part of their life. So what do I mean by defend? It is just that. Do not allow derogatory remarks without some type of defense. If detractors know that there will be a consequence with every jab, they might think again. At the very least, detractors and anti’s will know they’re not just dealing with meely-mouthed little snowflakes. On August 23, 2021 an Apostle, Elder Jeffery R Holland, gave a devotional at BYU Provo. He spoke about how BYU has changed and how it needs to be. I believe because of some members and non-members, BYU has had this change come about. Because liberal, or extreme left, ideologies have crept into this school, it is no longer what it used to be. BYU doesn’t always uphold the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is in some areas with some professors and students. I believe it should be rooted out, and I believe Elder Holland agrees. This talk was very controversial. Many members (my guess is progmos and other left leaners) had a real problem with it. I believe Elder Holland wants a change at BYU. He defends the gospel tirelessly. Detractors of the gospel already have hit Elder Holland and his “militant” attitudes. John Dehlin, one of my favorite exmos, did one of his shows “Mormon Stories”on this very talk. He called it “Losing control over Mormon LGBTQ support at BYU”. Believe me. If people supported Elder Holland and then heard this talk and no longer support him, I have doubts about the original support. What do people think? That this great apostle is giving new ideas? He signed the Family Proclamation. His views have not changed. Again I commit this challenge to you from Elder Holland in 2014: “Defend your beliefs with courtesy and with compassion, but defend them.” But in his BYU devotional in August 2021 he spoke of defending as did the builders of the Nauvoo temple “who worked with a trowel in one hand and a musket in the other.” He told of this quote coming from Neal A Maxwell. I could not find this in a talk by Elder Maxwell but he is quoted on a BYU website as saying it. I think it’s in reference to Nehemiah 4:17: “They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon.” Brigham Young uses this in Journal of Discourses: “…the great Prophet Joseph, in the stone quarry, quarrying rock with his own hands; and the few then in the Church, following his example of obedience and diligence wherever most needed; with laborers on the walls, holding the sword in one hand to protect themselves from the mob, while they placed the stone and moved the trowel with the other, (Neh. 4:17) the Kirtland Temple—the second House of the Lord, that we have any published record of on the earth, was so far completed as to be dedicated.” JD Vol2 Num 6, Brigham Young, April 6, 1853 I might update that statement to “Holding an AR15 in one hand, while holding a DeWalt impact drill in the other.” Some may read this article and believe that I am condoning violence. No, I am not. I’m sure some of the name-calling will happen too. I have spent a lot of time in the military and working on military bases and posts, but I don’t consider myself militant. But I have seen real violence up close and personal. I don’t care to see it again. Violence is rarely the answer. But when it is, engage first. This is not defense of this church. I’m not sure, and I hope, I’ll never have to defend this church with physical violence. But I will defend it with all the training, experience, knowledge, and faith that I have. Others should too! Be a thundering voice for the gospel! Be nice, but defend! Semper Paratus Check 6 Burn