I don't consider exchanging point for point back and fourth to be a contentious argument.Meili wrote:Despite my desire not to argue, I want to answer those things you addressed that I have not covered yet.
I sure hope I have cast no stone at the church or anyone with my words. I have been mindful of my covenants as well. I have fulfilled them all.
I expect my testimony is not complete if I do not boldly say that I do not believe the LDS Church is the bride of Christ. I believe the lines that delineate between the church of the lamb and the church of the devil are not set by any specific institution. I expect that when the time for the marriage comes, there will be those both in and out of the LDS church who are invited in. If I did not believe so, I would still be in the LDS church. The heart of the matter is, when I stopped believing I had to remain in the LDS church in order to be saved, there was nothing left keeping me there.
It only becomes a contentious argument when one person withdraws their love and sincerity.
While you wish to bear witness and testimony of your personal feelings, of which I appreciate and have total sympathy towards, I too wish to bear witness and testimony to truths that are clear and explicit in the Word of God that have bearing upon this subject of vital importance. There are prophesies that when carefully considered teach very clear and simple truths. I agree that many people will attain glorious levels of salvation through Christ who are not members of any particular institution. There are indeed many mansions in the Father's House and it sounds to me like you have become comfortable accepting whatever mansion befits you. Because of this I do not wish to press you one way or another assuming that I know which mansion is best for you. I am also of a like-minded acceptance that I belong somewhere in the grand scheme of it all and that it may not be what others think I should strive for or desire.
My current frame of reference has me understanding that the "woman" spoken of in Revelation chapter 12 is in fact a distinct tangible being of flesh and bone, which means that it is a body of people united together by way of a consistent and uniform covenant administered by a priesthood organization that has the authority to represent God's side of the covenant. This means that to be a part of this body means that there is a specific organizational structure to it that you could call an institution but it in fact is supposed to be the Church of Christ. The way that God operates through the priesthood doesn't give allowance for this body to be a nebulous grouping of disparate people but rather a specific group of people who are striving for union and unity of faith, doctrine, belief, prosperity, etc. This is the context wherein which the Lord speaks of the only true and living church upon the face of the earth because it is the only covenant body that has been ordained and authorized through valid priesthood power. The creation narrative wasn't Adam and his harem but it was Adam and Eve. This is the Bride who is the "woman" who is Michael's bride prophesied of in Daniel 12 and Rev 12. All are invited to be a part of this true and living Bride and to be received into union with the Bridegroom. But, we also learn, there are some perils and challenges that this Bride suffers and endures before that wedding is complete and their union in Celestial Exaltation is fully consummated.
From what I hear you saying you desire with all of your heart to have the deepest most intimate connection with the Bridegroom that is possible and that you really wouldn't want to suffer any degree of separation from this full potential. I understand this to be exaltation in the highest degree of Celestial Glory, which is an entirely separate matter from the many varying degrees of salvation people can otherwise obtain. This is why I feel to urge you to consider doing a re-calibration of your perspective on the distinct tangible church body that represents the new Eve of the new Creation that is being brought about right now. This victory that we seek is to fully overcome the collective sin and darkness that prevails in our world right now through obtaining union with Christ at the deepest level. Before this happens we are to be proven true and faithful in all things, which means we will be subjected to many trials and tribulations and even perils. All of this will have far reaching consequences when you look at what Eve goes through before She is cleansed and redeemed and exalted in this manner. Being a member of this body in its cleansed, redeemed and exalted state is the manner in which we can attain to this highest degree of connection and intimacy with Christ. This is why I implore you to keep your eye upon the distinct and tangible body that is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is the only body that fulfills all of the criteria in prophecy that points you to being ready to meet the Bridegroom when He comes. She started out being placed in the Garden of Eden, which we know as Jackson County Missouri, and that She transgresses and goes through a season of buffeting and tribulation in the wilderness, which we know as the Great Basin wasteland that became Utah. We know that She becomes severely polluted and usurped by the adversary during this time but that She does eventually get redeemed and is able to yet enter into exaltation in the highest degree of glory in the Celestial Kingdom as the Mother of all Living for the new Creation she is the exalted Mother in Heaven of.
This is why I urge people to guard their feelings carefully in regard to this specific body of people. There isn't any other specific body of people who meet all of these detailed criteria. There are so many other aspects that align the Church with Eve that it is unequivocally and without question that the Church is Eve and that its destiny to be exalted as Eve is sure, no matter the pains, perils and pollutions endured along the way. It is easy to spurn Her while she is in the midst of peril as a usurped and polluted institution that is totally infested with tares, but it is so vitally important that you do not lose sight of the cleansing and redemption that will come. Maybe you needed to tap-out to step away from the front lines of this spiritual battle and perhaps you have a mission to accomplish to prepare the disenfranchised remnant that will be ready and waiting in the wings for when the cleansing is to take place and the tares who are all about the Luciferian usurpation are finally fully exposed and purged and the rightful saints can come back in and receive their blessings, the blessings you obviously are sincerely intent upon partaking of.
On a more personal note and a confession of my own is that having your eyes wide open to the pollution and corruption and the usurpation of Lucifer that has the Church in great peril and understanding the eternal consequences of these perils being reaped by people who, like you, claim to want to be closer to their Savior, but who through strong delusion are in fact among the Savior's fiercest enemies, it is a heavy weight on my soul to bear and I do just get downright lonely wishing for others to also have a vision to see these truths so that perhaps this weight can be shared and eventually lifted off of the truly penitent who sincerely want to do nothing more or less than build up the Father's Kingdom that our Savior gave his life to make us eligible to do so. We all have a part to play in this and we have a perilous journey to endure in order to bring it to its full fruition. I truly hope to see you there when all is said and done and Eve is cleansed and redeemed and exalted.