It’s General Conference weekend! For those who might not know, General Conference is a weekend when Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gather around the world for a televised broadcast. I got thinking this morning — what would I say to fellow members of the church if I had the chance at the pulpit? Here it is!
Dear Sisters and Brothers and Members throughout the world,
It is a pleasure to be with you today. I am honored with the opportunity to speak with the whole church – what a beautiful and striking responsibility. I hope that something I say resonates with you today. Please, as always, let the Spirit guide you to know what to take from my words and what to leave behind.
Over a year ago, I began reading the New Testament for the first time all the way through. Sure, I had read bits and pieces throughout the years and in seminary and institute classes, but I never took the time to read it like a child, absorbing the words and themes of our Savior’s ministry.
I read the New Testament with no guidebooks, no commentary, just me and scripture and God. And so, it wasn’t until this year, that I read Matthew 15. For me, it was a life-changing chapter.
After a dispute on whether a religious ritual of washing hands before a meal is necessary, Jesus calls the people together and says, “It is not that which goes into the mouth [that] defiles a man; but that which comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”
Immediately, the Pharisees were outraged by this teaching. The Pharisees were so concerned with the little things – what they ate, how they ate it, what they did to worship, how they prepared to worship. For them, their religion was manufactured by strict guidelines and rules. Within those confines, they felt safe. They felt correct. They felt certain.
Jesus flipped their certainty over in on itself, and both the disciples and Pharisees didn’t understand what he was saying.
Jesus continues, “Do you not understand? Do you not understand that whatever enters into your mouth goes into your belly, and then is cast out into the draught? But those things which come out of your mouth come from the heart – and they defile the man. Out of your heart comes evil thoughts and murders and adulteries and thefts and false witnesses and blasphemies. These are the things twitch defile a man; but to eat with unwashed hands defileth not a man.”
I read those verses again and again. Was Jesus really saying that what we did was not what counted? Was he saying that those religious rites and rituals (or lack thereof) was now what was condemning you – instead it was your heart?
I thought about the Article of Faith #8 – “We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly” – I wondered if maybe this was a mistranslation, and how we could ever know. Have I been secretly discounting the important teachings of the Bible my whole life?
But no, upon further reading, it was clear. This theme of “it’s the inside that counts” is reinforced repeatedly throughout the New Testament. It was a principle that was extremely hard to get into the minds of Jesus’ followers. For a people so bound to their religion, they had a hard time shifting away from religious duties to a personal relationship with Christ.
Essentially, at the heart of what Jesus taught, it is this: it’s not about what you do, it’s about who you are.
For much of my life, I focused a lot on what I was doing. I thought what I wore, what I ate, how many times I went to the temple, weekly church attendance… I thought it was those things that would get me in relationship with Christ.
Don’t get me wrong, taking care of your body and building community in Christ – those things can help! But I was missing the point.
The point wasn’t what was going into my mouth – it wasn’t my actions, it wasn’t how many piercings I had or what clothes I was wearing, it wasn’t my sparkly church attendance records – those things could not and do not make me clean.
It’s what comes out of my mouth – It’s who I am on the inside that shows my true heart. It’s the words I say, how honest I am with others, who I give credit to, how I treat the people who annoy me, and how I speak about others… that’s what Jesus cares more about.
I wondered why I went so long without understanding this principle. I wondered why I struggled over how many inches away my shorts were from my knees, why I strained my eyes to see whether or not other people were wearing garments, or why I felt guilty eating coffee-flavored ice cream.
It seems that, somehow, the heart of Jesus’ ministry has been weighed down. It’s been weighed down by ideas of unwashen hands, by what should not be eaten, by who will be the greatest in heaven. 2000 years later, as a people of God, we are still struggling with understanding what the disciples struggled to understand. I could point fingers at the lessons and manuals that gloss over these important themes, but I desire to look forward, not backward.
With each new generation of the church, we are blessed with changing perspectives, priorities, and awakenings. Gen Z and Gen Alpha are showing they are more concerned with authenticity, with sustainability, and diversity than previous generations. The US Census reports gen Alpha to be the most diverse generation in history (source). They are growing up more socially aware than any other generation before. They are interconnected, personally and online, with those in the world. As they strengthen their relationship with the Divine, they will be a living example of being in the world, but not of the world.
As we welcome in this new generation of believers, can we balance respect for our elders and openness for our youth?
God is unchanging – does that mean the Church has to be unchanging, too?
Absolutely not! The true Church is the people. It’s not an organization, an institution, or a social club. It is a community of believers who strengthen and lift each other and worship together. As these new generations come in with deep empathy and understanding of people, will we as a Church be receptive to the changes they will undoubtedly bring? Can we let down our walls of pride and certainty and instead embrace the mysteries of God?
Can we think of our sins not as crimes in need of punishment, but of wounds in need of healing? Can we disentangle Jesus, unearth Him from the confines we have put Him in, and see how Love can reach new depths and new heights and snatch us from our faulty traditions? Can we realize that is is not our covenants that save us, but Jesus Christ who saves us? Can we focus more on what comes out of our mouths than what goes into them?
I want to end with my testimony that God is bigger, wider, grander, than we can imagine. God is full of Mercy, of Truth, of Grace. God is full of knowledge and deep understanding of the intricacies of the human mind. I believe that God at the core is unchanging, but religious practices can and should change as we grow in our understanding of God. He is guiding us in these changes, and is actively bringing generations, communities, and societies throughout the world together with basic principles of kindness, love, and compassion.
Thanks for reading,
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This was beautiful! This needs to be read in all of our sacrament meetings!! Loved it so much ❤️
I would go to your general conference any weekend!