Heresy in a time of continuing revelation
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“Giordano Bruno, an Italian mathematician and astrologer, made the audacious claim near the end of the sixteenth century that there were countless suns surrounded by countless planets in a centerless cosmos. This flew in the face of Roman Catholic doctrine at the time. Namely, the earth was believed to be the center of the cosmos . . . because the Bible clearly pointed to humankind’s paramount position in the universe. The case did not end well for Bruno — he was burned at the stake in 1600 AD for heresy.
“Though we no longer burn dissidents at the stake, I have to wonder if we’re doing harm in more subtle ways,” ponders Thomas Wirthlin McConkie, founder of Lower Lights School of Wisdom, in his book Navigating Mormon Faith Crisis. He continues:
“Do we punish those with different worldviews on the grounds that they are anti-religious or heretical? It is a sobering question. What we may have mistaken for willful rebellion and open dissent against Church authority in the past may in some important cases have been an issue of colliding developmental perspectives.
“When we understand the developmental underpinnings of a person, we are less likely to demonize their point of view. Is there a way that we can all be healthier together in the fullness of our perspectives? What other colliding perspectives may hang together more elegantly than we supposed?” (Thomas Wirthlin McConkie, Navigating Mormon Faith Crisis [Sun Print Solutions, 2015], 86-87, emphasis added).
This idea of perspective is especially valid in an age of continuing revelation. Starting in Primary years, children can spout “we believe that [God] will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God” (Article of Faith 9). At the same time, some may have been blessed to see a vision beyond our current day or our current doctrine, even before more truth is revealed. That vision may feel like a bright yellow bell pepper in a sea of red peppers. Some may feel roasted, like Giordano Bruno. But our faith is in Jesus Christ, not in a man or woman or even ongoing doctrine.
In my lifetime, LGBTQ LDS policy has changed dramatically, and I believe more changes are coming. As new truths are being received, we can look forward with an eye of faith, knowing all things will be right in the end, especially for our LGBTQ siblings.
(P.S. - I think often of this quote by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland: “So be kind regarding human frailty—your own as well as that of those who serve with you in a Church led by volunteer, mortal men and women. Except in the case of His only perfect Begotten Son, imperfect people are all God has ever had to work with. That must be terribly frustrating to Him, but He deals with it. So should we. And when you see imperfection, remember that the limitation is not in the divinity of the work” [“Lord, I Believe,” April 2013]. I suspect that goes for Elder Holland himself.)
-Marci
Read another excerpt from Thomas Wirthlin McConkie’s book Navigating Mormon Faith Crisis here: “Healthy doubt, healthy faith”