"It is through the grace of the Lord that individuals, through faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance of their sins, receive strength and assistance to do good works that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means."
David Bednar, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
What the hell?
Is he seriously trying to say that good works ONLY come from people who believe in Jesus and repent? Or that without a belief in Jesus it is impossible to do anything good? It seems Bednar is implying that the only good works done in this world are done by LDS people.
True repentance can only come from LDS church authority, so only those who are members of and forgiven by the church can do good works.
So, Bednar, good works have nothing to do with the intent of your heart or the ability of your muscles to do work? It all has to come from Jesus. I guess every work of charity that is done by non-LDS people or athesists must be the work of Satan and counts for nothing.
As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Bednar is considered by millions of Mormons to be a prophet, seer, and revelator. Anything they say IS the word of the lord.
To all my non-Mormon readers, sorry. Your good works and charitable acts mean nothing in the eyes of god.
This is an example of Mormon arrogance at it's finest!
9 comments:
Its so hard for me to read quotes by church leaders anymore. I really have to concentrate to understand what the hell they're saying. Its circular logic most of the time and it makes me dizzy.
This post is funny. First off, this quote didn't even originate with Bednar- he's quoting something else.
Second, you have to actively ignore Bednar's comments before and after this quote to draw these conclusions, as it quite clear that he does not say what you say he says.
Better luck next time!
Heather, it's scary when you look at a quote and really take a good hard look at what they're saying. It's almost scary how they can be so obviously deceitful.
Brian, ok he's quoting someone else... So what? That someone else is most likely a Mormon authority as well, so it really makes no difference who said it.
Second, why don't you enlighten us and share the rest? And btw, I did not ignore the rest. This quote came to me in a news letter that my local ward sends out, and the bishopric member who shared this quote is the one who not only attributed it to Bednar, but also failed to share the before and after. I'm simply sharing it EXACTLY the way a Mormon shared it with me. So if you're going to complain about me using it out of context, then "the Lord's annointed" is also guilty. Would you write to this bishop and complain to him about using it the way he did? Of course not!
Funny how a quote can be used by them to promote their BS without the "before and after", but if anyone on the outside uses a quote in the same manner, they have a cow!
Thirdly, of course it doesn't say what I say it says. But if you read the quote, and then put it into context with everything you know about Mormonism, that is EXACTLY what it says. This little quote is designed to give all the Mormons a feeling of superiority and grandeur so that they will stay faithful and strong in their arrogant belief that they, and only they, have the full and complete truth.
ha ha!
whatever floats your boat, I guess.
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2004/10/in-the-strength-of-the-lord?lang=eng
Here is a single choice quote from early on in Bednar's talk that Brian posted the link to. It demonstrates the typical Mormon arrogance and in this specific case, Bednar's ability to fake humility.
I have reflected on the teaching of Paul that “God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty” (1 Cor. 1:27). This morning I take great comfort in knowing that I am one of the truly weak things of the world.
I don't know about you but it appears that he, in a pseudo-humble way, just said he was better than other people. There really isn't anything before and after that counters it. He's already established that any sort of weaknesses he has will be turned to strengths that make him better then others, because of his belief. The irony is that he has no idea how he has been confounded by the foolish beliefs of his religion.
Does this make me sound arrogant? Yes, it does. But at least I'm aware of it.
I used to be like this guy. Decades ago, before Bednar was an apostle, I used to somehow believe that only church members, only people who have the keys of the priesthood and the gift of the holy ghost, were not only the only people who had ability to do good works, but were also the only ones who had the ability to do anything of value in the world, such as science, engineering, business, and art. I know, seems completely ridiculous but I had it drummed in me my whole pre-adult life by Utah/Arizona/Idaho Mormons that Mormons were the ones who will solve the world's problems, bring peace, end wars, and embrace everyone.
Instead we got, Prop 8, a multi-billion dollar shopping mall to make the church more money it still doesn't use to solve the conditions of poverty and hunger in the world, and Mitt Romney whose life was spent on contributing to worsening those conditions.
TL;DR Mormon's are too arrogant to think they're arrogant.
TGD, thanks for sharing. Yes, what a truly arrogant prick to first quote Corinthians about the small confounding the large and then bragging about how small he is. Arrogant in the most humble of ways.
I suppose when you just KNOW its all true, arrogance is an automatic side effect. It's hard to be humble when you just know you're right.
Other than the humanitarian work the church does (which they brag about to no end and even show up wearing bright yellow shirts so that everyone can see them), what good have they really done for the world?
Nothing other than their self-delusion of spreading the only truth, which is nothing more than a sick joke created by a very dishonest and deceitful man.
TGD---- wonderful response.
You have a knack at misquoting and misinterpreting. You wrote, "Bednar is implying that the only good works done in this world are done by LDS people." The only one implying is YOU. I have read the quote, I have read the whole article. Never, ever, ever did I read anything about mormons being the only ones to do good works. It just isn't there. You have CREATED words that aren't there. He DID say through Christ we receive ASSISSTANCE to do good works. I think you failed to notice that part - Your emphasis on this quote is unfortunately misplaced. It isn't on the works. Great works are done all throughout the world by all people. But thru Christ we are strengthened - to do more than we would be normally capable.
This shouldn't even be an issue - just simply misread and over-dramatized. It happens to the best of us.
I mean, just take a look at TGD - He likes to imply as well. Again, never did I read any words containing, "I am better than other people" But TGD likes to create the idea that he said it, and wrote a whole long post on the idea that he did say it. BUT THERE IS NOTHING THERE. The whole article is about humility. He just got called as an Apostle. He feels inadequate. He feels undeserving. But he takes comfort for feeling those things - Why? Because God chooses the weak. He takes comfort in knowing he is chosen by God, despite these inadequacies. That he is not alone. That his weaknesses will not hinder the work, but be strengthened to do the work he has just been called to do. That is the whole point of his talk.
And your going to take a snippet of words and IMPLY something he never said. And never call someone a prick and arrogant when you don't know anything about this person. I just wish your readers would really read your words, and see what you really write - misquoting, misinterpreting, demeaning people without even knowing the character of that person.
But here's the problem. You take one little line and dramatize until it becomes reality in your head. You take one small issue and overgeneralize, over dramatize, and create a world of bitterness. Your whole objective is to belittle - not edify. To put down - not lift up. For once, I just wish you could make a better change in the world. Instead of creating an unnecessary "RED ALERT" over a misguided interpretation over the words "good works" - how about you tell us what good works are. What do you do that are good works? Instead of focusing on what other's believe - tell us about what you believe? what is atheism? what good does it do? what part does it have in our society? I have yet failed to read anything on the subject. All I know on the topic nothing, nothing, nothing. I'm beginning to conclude you believe in nothing. And a man who believes in nothing is a very scary dis-reality. This would be a whole lot more informative if it actually had . . you know . . information -
In my comment to Brian above, I stated right there that in order to truly understand the depth of that quote, one has to put it into the entire Mormon context.
Bednar states that "repentance" is a necessary part. What do we know about Mormon repentance? That it requires faith and sometimes priesthood intervention. Mormons view themselves as being the only true church, therefore, every other faith is wrong. Therefore, only a person who has repented in the Mormon church is capable of receiving assistance from Jesus in doing good works.
I know that reading this quote from the inside, it appears that I am extracting anything I can to complain about and make into a negative. But to those on the outside, it is very clear that this is an arrogant quote by an arrogant man.
All you have to do is think.. there are people of all faiths who do good works. Therefore, Mormon repentance is NOT necessary in order to do good works. But Bednar has clearly stated that it is. Therefore, he is lying. It's that simple.
In addition to saying "assistance", he also says, "that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means."
One more thing. You don't know his character either. You've just been told that he walks and talks with god and anyone who speaks negative of him is evil. It's all a matter of perspective...
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