After taking a well deserved break from all things Mormon, Melissa’s back! Yay! One of the first things she did was send me a link for a video and when I mentioned that I’d like to use to straightaway she suggested it’d be a great segue for her Visiting Teaching Message for April.

So here’s the link – it takes all of 3.5 minutes and it’s a cartoon on missionaries showing up at your door. Let us know what you think!

What the Missionaries Don’t Tell You – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VKT4hrBTuk

*************

The message for April 2015 continues to reflect on the attributes of Jesus Christ. In this part of the series the Visiting Teaching message is focused on cautioning the members to be without guile or hypocrisy.

As I read over the message and took the time to look up the meaning behind the word guile as used in the scriptures, I was struck by the hypocrisy that went completely unchecked in the message.

One of the quotes used in the message is by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, he said:

“A person without guile is a person of innocence, honest intent, and pure motives, whose life reflects the simple practice of conforming his [or her] daily actions to principles of integrity. … I believe the necessity for the members of the Church to be without guile may be more urgent now than at other times because many in the world apparently do not understand the importance of this virtue.” (Emphasis mine)

So would a person who has pure motives and is honest in their intent lie or withhold information? I ask because this is exactly what the missionaries for the church, and most likely members of the church do when asked about the deeper doctrines their religion.

As a Mormon I knew I was lying and withholding information when someone asked me about things like polygamy, temple work, and the sacred underwear. My intent was far from honest and my motives were less than pure. I did it because I was trying to protect the church and myself from ridicule because on some level I believe I knew those things weren’t in agreement with the Lord.

I believe that the members of the church are doing their best to live the lives God wants them to live. The thing is they don’t have to live of life that’s based on works. They believe we “will be judged according to our actions the desires of our hearts”, but miss out on the part that grace plays into it.

If we are to be judged by our works and hearts alone we are all guilty and deserving of hell. I truly hope that Mormons do learn to live without guile and hypocrisy. Jesus was always honest in what He stood for and how one received salvation. Unlike the Mormon gospel, He didn’t withhold things or only gave the information to a select group of people. Maybe one today we’ll see Mormons do the same, or better yet denounce the false teachings of this religion and embrace to true gospel of Jesus Christ.

In Christ,

Melissa Grimes (melissa@lifeafter.org)

Reference:

April 2015 Ensign