Recently I was invited by the moderators of the liberal Mormon blog Wheat & Tares to be a guest contributor on issues related to Community of Christ. This post, published earlier today, is my first contribution for them.

By Rich Brown

Thirty years to the week after approving priesthood ordination for women, the Community of Christ is extending the sacraments of ordination and marriage to gays and lesbians in the United States. A two-year interim period begins on Monday, March 31, after which it will be reviewed and considered for permanent status. This follows similar action resulting from national conferences in Australia and Canada.

Lessons learned from what turned out to be a tumultuous (many might say disastrous) beginning for the 1984 landmark event have been put into place by CofC leaders today. Although a few church members in recent months have either turned in their priesthood cards or left the church, it’s nothing like the major exodus that took place three decades ago.

For starters, this time there was a three-year preparation period leading up to a special USA National Conference held right after World Conference in Independence, Missouri, last April. The 2,000 USA delegates spent several days listening, testifying, and worshiping together before overwhelmingly recommending that the First Presidency and the USA Team of Apostles issue the changes. The official conference report is here.

Here’s the specifics: The marriage sacrament is authorized for individuals in a same-gender relationship wherever such civil marriage is legal. Elsewhere CofC congregations may celebrate a special covenant/blessing worship experience. And ordination can be extended to individuals with same-gender orientation who are either in a committed, long-term relationship or who are celibate. For those wondering, the same rules apply to straight folks.

Thirty years ago World Conference delegates were caught off guard when RLDS President Wallace B. Smith presented an inspired document to priesthood quorums and orders on April 3. Two days later the document was approved by the conference as a whole and it became Section 156 of the Doctrine and Covenants. The document was mostly about a proposed temple to be built in Independence. But the last few paragraphs brought general counsel regarding priesthood, including the following:

I have heard the prayers of many, including my servant the prophet, as they have sought to know my will in regard to the question of who shall be called to share the burdens and responsibilities of priesthood in my church. I say to you now, as I have said in the past, that all are called according to the gifts which have been given them. This applies to priesthood as well as to any other aspects of the work. Therefore, do not wonder that some women of the church are being called to priesthood responsibilities. –Doctrine and Covenants 156:9

“Wonder” wasn’t exactly the operative word for traditionalists and conservatives. Already suspicious of what they viewed as dangerous liberalizing tendencies in the church for at least two decades, they were incensed and vowed to fight the move every way possible. Business meetings in congregations, districts, and stakes where priesthood calls for women were presented often turned into angry shouting matches. People made sure every one of their baptized children was on hand to vote yes or no depending on the parents’ direction.

My own stake (Blue Valley, which included a portion of Independence and eastern Jackson County) had its rules of operation suspended because people simply couldn’t get along. It was a sad, ugly, and unfortunate time even while marking a new era of broadened ministry in the church. Today women and men serve alongside one another. If you didn’t know what happened decades ago, you’d probably never suspect there was anything unusual about the way priesthood functions now.

Numerous resolutions on same-gender issues were submitted to the past few World Conferences but were ruled out of order by the First Presidency, mainly because they were considered important to church members in a select few nations rather than as something critical for the international church. The CofC has an official presence in more than 60 nations.

In 2010 inspired counsel to the church called for creation of national conferences, specifically to consider issues related to same-gender orientation. With somewhere around half of all CofC members living outside the Western, industrialized countries in North America, Australia, and Europe, this was believed to be the only way same-gender issues could be dealt with in the church.

Delegates at the USA National Conference engaged in a unique process aimed at reaching “common consent.” This meant that a significant majority (at least 66 percent) would have to make a recommendation for top church leaders to act.

In mid-March of this year, the five apostles responsible for USA mission centers sent a copy of President Stephen Veazey’s “Statement to the Church: National Conference Recommendations and Interim Policies” to priesthood members. It was mailed to all USA pastors and high priests, evangelists (referred to as patriarchs before women were ordained), bishops, and seventy. They presented the president’s statement as “inspired by the Holy Spirit.” A DVD titled “President’s Reflections” will be available in April to church members and include four sections: Let Me Be Clear, What Does the Lord Require of Us, My Personal Testimony, and Room for Everyone.

President Veazey’s statement, which spills over onto a fourth page, is essentially a point-by-point counter to criticisms of the new same-gender policies.

To those who argued that these new policies were in opposition to previous revelation given to the church, President Veazey had this to say:

Doctrine and Covenants 111 provides instruction regarding marriage in the church. It is a statement written in the mid-1830s to counter rumors about adultery and polygamy in the church. Same-gender marriage was not conceivable, much less a question, in early 19th-century thought. To conclude that Doctrine and Covenants 111 definitely resolves the question of same-gender marriage ignores its historical context and stated purpose. Also, although Section 111 was included in the Doctrine and Covenants, its historical preface clearly states it was not a revelation.

To those who have pointed to certain Bible verses used to condemn same-gender orientation and relationships, he offered this:

Let me be clear. Continuing Revelation approved by the World Conference means those particular Bible verses are not the final word on these matters. Such verses now are understood through insights offered in Continuing Revelation approved by the church…. However, the real issue was not just several Bible verses, but how we understand and apply scripture.

He identified Doctrine and Covenants Section 163 as important counsel in these matters:

Scripture is an indispensable witness to the Eternal Source of light and truth, which cannot be fully contained in any finite vessel or language…. Scripture has been written and shaped by human authors through experiences of revelation and ongoing inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the midst of time and culture. Scripture is not to be worshiped or idolized…. It is not pleasing to God when any passage of scripture is used to diminish or oppress races, genders, or classes of human beings. Much physical and emotional violence has been done to some of God’s beloved children through the misuse of scripture. The church is called to confess and repent of such attitudes and practices. –D. and C. 163:7 (excerpted)

President Veazey concluded that Section 163:7

applies to the verses used to deny persons of same-gender orientation access to all sacraments. It also applies to situations where scripture verses are used by some to dominate, oppress, or exclude others who are different from them. Because the World Conference approved Section 163:7 as an expression of God’s will, the Bible verses most often used to categorically denounce same-gender orientation and relationships no longer should be presented as the final word on these matters.

He said it “is clear that God is maturing us as a `prophetic people’ who discern divine will by responsibly engaging scripture, tradition, Continuing Revelation, knowledge and reason, personal and community experience, and Spirit-led consent…. I believe more-than-sufficient revelation has been received to resolve issues about same-gender relationships in nations where those issues are pressing matters.”

Near the end of his official statement, President Veazey wrote: “As I have continued to seek direction on behalf of the church, the Spirit has brought assurance that questions about same-gender orientation and marriage are primarily related to life on Earth. They do not have necessary bearing on salvation, the divinity of the church and the sacraments, or the ultimate fulfillment of God’s purposes.”

No doubt people both inside the CofC and outside it will be examining these words and trying to read between the lines. For me, it’s clear that “Continuing Revelation” is the most important consideration for the church as it deals with these and other critical issues.

It reminds me of an essay by theologian David Ford who described religion as God speaking to us from the past. Think of that as the accumulation of scripture, church tradition, and wise people who’ve used reason and intelligence to bring the church to where it is today. Ford identified revelation as God speaking to us from the future.

If God is free to open history from the future then the future need not mirror the past. In the Church this combines with the message of the cross to allow for discontinuities and innovations. –David F. Ford, `Faith in the Cities: Corinth and the Modern City’ in “On Being the Church” (1989)

Ford cited the example of the apostle Paul who claimed authority as an apostle through direct revelation from the risen Christ rather than an institutional authority handed on to him from Peter and the other apostles in Jerusalem. To that I would add the experience of Joseph Smith Jr. in the early 19th century, who served as God’s instrument in bringing forth a “great and marvelous” new work.

We are all caught somewhere in between religion and revelation, and every church/denomination finds its own point on the continuum. With this “Statement to the Church” President Stephen Veazey is not only prompting the Community of Christ in an obvious direction but in a curious way he mirrors the examples of Apostle Paul and Joseph Smith in challenging the church to understand more fully what it means to be a prophetic people.

The word “podcast” still seems a little novel for my vocabulary.  When explaining these things to friends, I’ve tended to use the phrase “internet radio talk show” — although radio obviously isn’t involved.  Podcasts, however, have now been around for a long time and they’ve become a big part of the “Bloggernacle” (an umbrella term for the online Mormon community), probably dating back to 2005 when John Dehlin founded Mormon Stories.  Over the years, I’ve been on many podcasts, including Mormon Stories, Mormon Expression, Feminist Mormon Housewives, Mormon Matters, and the Sunstone podcast.  The purpose of this post is for me to have a single place where I can post links to all of these podcasts.  If you’re interested in listening to me talk about a host of issues for hours on end, you’ve come to the right place. (I’ll update this post as I do more podcasts and as I remember and find links to others I’ve already done.)

Mormon Stories

Mormon Stories Episode 116: “John Hamer (Part 1) The Succession Crisis of 1844 and the Beginnings of the RLDS Church”. January 24, 2010. John Dehlin and John Hamer talk about the succession crisis from the RLDS perspective, including the early history of the Reorganization.

Mormon Stories Episode 117: “John Hamer (Part 2) From RLDS to Community of Christ”. January 27, 2010. John Dehlin and John Hamer continue their discussion about the history of the Reorganization and its modern transformation into Community of Christ.

Mormons Stories Episodes 422–423: “John Hamer on Returning to Mormonism through the Community of Christ”. June 14, 2013.  In a 2-part series, John Hamer tells his own “Mormon Story” to John Dehlin.

Mormon Stories Episodes 426–429: “A Visual History of the Community of Christ (RLDS)”. July 9, 2013. John Dehlin and John Hamer engage in a 4-part YouTube video series on Community of Christ history, including dozens of original maps and charts, along with historic images.

Gay Mormon Stories

Gay Mormon Stories Episode 43: “John Hamer talks more about being gay and his journey as a gay man in the Community of Christ”. July 8, 2013.  In a follow-up to Mormon Stories Episode 423, Daniel Parkinson talks to John Hamer about how being gay has informed his path in the Restoration.

Mormon Stories Sunday School

Engaging Gospel Doctrine Episode 40: “This Generation Shall Have My Word through You (D&C and Church History Lesson 13)”. March 22, 2013. Jared Anderson lays out information for LDS Sunday School, including a discussion on the nature of the scriptures composed by Joseph Smith with panelists Jessica Duckett Finnigan, Ben Bernards, and John Hamer.

Engaging Gospel Doctrine Episode 62: “Brigham Young and the Succession (D&C and Church History Lesson 33)”. August 28, 2013. Devery S. Anderson lays out information for LDS Sunday School, including a discussion on the Succession Crisis and Brigham Young, with panelists Konden Smith, Cami Alex Thurman Ashby, and John Hamer.

Engaging Gospel Doctrine Episode 71: “Continuing Revelation through Prophets (D&C and Church History Lesson 42). November 2, 2013. Jared Anderson discusses the topic for LDS Sunday School, followed by a panel discussion with regulars Brent, Amy, and Patrick. John Hamer joins in to bring a Community of Christ perspective.

Excavating Scripture Episode 39: “Deeper Introduction to the Doctrine & Covenants, Text and Context (Part 1)”. March 19, 2013.  Hosts Laura and Brian discuss the history of the early D&C along with the LDS, Community of Christ, and other variants with John Hamer.

Mormon Matters

Mormon Matters Episode 1: “An Introduction, PBS’s ‘The Mormons’, and an Ensign Article”. June 7, 2007. In this initial podcast, John Dehlin introduces Mormon Matters and discusses the PBS documentary “The Mormons” with panelists Julianne Hatton, J. Nelson-Seawright, Ann Porter, and John Hamer.

Mormon Matters Episode 3: “The Mountain Meadows Massacre”. June 25, 2007.  At the 150th anniversary, John Dehlin recalls the history of the Mountain Meadows Massacre with panelists John Hamer, J. Nelson-Seawright, and Ann Porter.

Mormon Matters Episode 6: “LDS Church Finances and the ‘Approaching Mormon History’ Press Release”. July 14, 2007.  John Dehlin discusses whether the LDS Church should be required to reveal its finances with panelists Ann Porter, John Hamer, Paul M., and Blake Ostler.

Mormon Matters Episode 9: “Big Love and Mormon Fundamentalist Polygamy (Part 1)”. August 7, 2007. John Dehlin talks about fundamentalist Mormonism and its depiction on the HBO series “Big Love” with panelists John Hamer, Ann Porter, and Tim Grover.  The discussion was continued in Episode 10 (Part 2).

Mormon Matters Episode 13: “Our Discussion on Inoculating the Saints (Part 1)”. August 29, 2007. John Dehlin reviews a Sunstone presentation on the idea of teaching Mormons uncomfortable truths (rather than white-washing history) in order to “inoculate” them against later faith crises with panelists David King Landrith, Blake Ostler, and John Hamer. The discussion continued in Episode 14 (Part 2).

Mormon Matters Episode 14: “Inoculating the Saints — Listener Feedback”. September 9, 2007. Eric Soderlund (who blogs as “Equality”) and “Mayan Elephant” join the conversation on inoculation with John Dehlin, Ann Porter, and John Hamer.

Mormon Matters Episode 17: “Book of Mormon, Introduction, Lamanites and Native Americans”. November 9, 2007. John Dehlin talks about the LDS Church’s change in the wording to the introduction of the Book of Mormon and the implications for literalist interpretation that Native Americans are Lamanites with panelists Ronan James Head and John Hamer.

Mormon Matters Episode 18: “Same-Sex Marriage and Mormonism”. November 16, 2007. J. Nelson-Seawright discusses the controversial topic of marriage equality and Mormonism with John Hamer, David King Landrith, and Rosalynde Welch.

Mormon Matters Episode 19: “An Analysis of Mitt Romney’s ‘Faith in America’ Speech (Part 1)”. December 7, 2007. John Dehlin discusses Mitt Romney’s speech on his Mormonism with panelists John Fowles, John Hamer, Tom Grover, and Russell Walker. The discussion continued in Episode 20 (Part 2).

Mormon Matters Episode 209: “New LDS Statement on the Book of Mormon.” January 6, 2014. Host Dan Wotherspoon is joined by panelists Katie Langston, John Hamer, and John-Charles Duffy in a discussion about the LDS Church’s new statement on the Book of Mormon “translation” process.

Feminist Mormon Housewives

FMH Podcast Episode 36: “An Elect Lady, the Story of Emma Smith (Part 1)”. February 15, 2013. Lindsay Hansen Park talks to John Hamer about Emma Hale Smith Bidamon.

FMH Podcast Episode 37: “Meet Emma Hale Smith Bidamon (Part 2)”. February 16, 2013. Lindsay Hansen Park and John Hamer continue their discussion about Emma and her life.

FMH Podcast Episode 42: “The Succession Crisis and LDS Priesthood”. March 4, 2013. Kaimipono Wenger hosts a discussion on the 1844 Succession Crisis with panelists Ben Park, John Hamer, and Danielle Mooney.

Mormon Expression

Mormon Expression Episode 36: “Mormon Schismatic Groups”. January 5, 2010. John Larsen and Tom talk to Newell Bringhurst and John Hamer, co-editors of Scattering of the Saints: Schism within Mormonism, to discuss the various branches of the Latter Day Saint movement.

Mormon Expression Episode 58: “The Doctrinal Differences in the Community of Christ”. May 25, 2010.  John Larsen, John Hamer, and David Howlett discuss differences in doctrines and practices between the LDS Church and Community of Christ.

Mormon Expression Episode 92: “The Kirtland Temple”. November 9, 2010.  John Larsen, John Hamer, and Barbara Walden (former site director of the temple) discuss the history of Kirtland Temple.

Mormon Expression Episode 192: “Myths Concerning the Community of Christ”.  March 19, 2012. John Larsen and John Hamer discuss popular Mormon myths about Community of Christ.

Infants on Thrones

Who Wrote the Book of Mormon? (Part 1).  September 30, 2013. Hosts Glenn and Randy interview John Hamer about the authorship of the Book of Mormon, outlining the evidence for Joseph Smith as the author and why the Spaulding Theory can be discounted.

Mormon Expositor

Mormon Expositor Episode 54: Who are James J. Strang and the Strangites?  November 6, 2013. Hosts Clay Painter and Brandt Malone talk to John Hamer about the 1844 succession crisis, why and how James J. Strang emerged as a serious rival to Brigham Young and the history of the Strangite Church since Strang’s martyrdom.

Sunstone

Sunstone Symposium 2013 Session 111: “Neither Protestant nor LDS; Community of Christ’s Unique Understanding of Scripture”. August 1, 2013. In a presentation at the Sunstone Symposium in Salt Lake City, John Hamer discusses the ways in which the Community of Christ conception of scripture differs from both the LDS and Protestant conceptions.

Radio West

James Strang’s Brief Kingdom. February 19, 2014.  Doug Fabrizio of National Public Radio and KUER interviewed John Hamer about the history of James Strang and the Strangite Mormon Kingdom on Beaver Island in Lake Michigan.

Interesting Canadian Mormons

Interesting Canadian Mormons Episode 12a: John Hamer and Community of Christ (Part 1) and 12b (Part 2). August 3, 2014.  Host Sampson Nordquist interviews John Hamer about misimpressions Mormons may have about Community of Christ.

Note: The following are my thoughts on Living Scripture and the Living Restoration in Community of Christ.  I’m excited to share them, but (as always), you are not obliged to agree with me to be in communion with me.

The seekers in upstate New York who came together on April 6, 1830, wanted to restore the true church of Christ, which they believed had been lost to the Earth. They called the new church they founded the “Church of Christ” because they believed (based on scripture) that Church of Christ was the original name of the “primitive”* Christian church in 1st century Palestine. In the 19th century seekers’ view, they weren’t “founding” a new church, they were merely “organizing” the old church that had fallen into error and become disorganized. As they moved onward from New York to Ohio and Missouri, and ultimately to Nauvoo, Illinois, they earnestly believed they were literally restoring (and experiencing once again) the church of the 1st century.

And in this belief, they were quite literally wrong.

The restored Church of Christ was not the primitive church reborn again identically from where it had left off. There were no high priests, no patriarchs, no First Presidency or Stake High Councils in the primitive church. There were no Stakes, no wards, no relief societies. There were no Christian temples in the primitive church. The Nauvoo endowment had no precedent whatsoever in antiquity. Rather, the Nauvoo endowment was based directly on the rites of Freemasonry, which likewise (despite Masonic claims) were entirely modern. And, of course, no notion of Joseph Smith’s late theological speculation on eternal progression had ever been imagined among primitive Christians.

The fact that the Restoration was not literal shouldn’t come as any surprise to us. “You can never go home again” is an aphorism, but in history it’s true enough. When Community of Christ re-built Joseph Smith’s Red Brick Store in Nauvoo on the foundation of the original Red Brick Store, the original Red Brick Store didn’t come back into being. When the LDS Church re-built the Nauvoo Temple, the original temple was not somehow resurrected. Rather, in both cases, new replicas were constructed. Both new buildings have all sorts of differences from the originals — not the least of which being that the original buildings were original, while the new buildings were structures that were deliberately patterned on structures existed in the past. By their very natures, a replica (in the case of a building) or a revival (in the case of an idea or institution) are inherently different from something original.

I don’t point this out to dismiss the latter-day Restoration or the earnest faith of its early adherents. While they got some things very wrong, I believe they also got some things very right.

Among the most important ideas they got right was a rejection of the “Golden Age Myth.” Living, as they were, in the wake of the Enlightenment, they and people all around them had begun to read symbolic stories as though they were merely literal history. This change created new and highly distorted readings of sacred, symbolic stories in the Bible. New literalists couldn’t help but notice that in the Bible, animals occasionally talked, prophets turned sticks into snakes and caused the sun to stand still, and God talked to humans like humans talk to each other. They likewise noted (correctly) that such things did not happen in the present day. From this, many believers understandably concluded that the past era was different from the present era. In the past there had (apparently) been a spiritual or heroic age filled with miraculous, enchanted happenings — a Golden Age — while in the present age, the heavens were closed. The spiritual gifts of the past were no more.

The early members of the Restoration disagreed. “The heavens were not closed!” they declared. The same spiritual gifts that were ever available of old continued to be available. Prophets could yet respond to the Divine in the prophetic voice. When the Restoration’s first historian, John Whitmer, began his history of the latter-day movement, he used the same scriptural language — so identified in English because of the then unchallenged popularity of the King James Bible — that Joseph Smith used in composing the Book of Mormon and the revelations that formed the initial sections of the Doctrine and Covenants. For the early members of the Restoration, scripture was not just consigned to a heroic past or Golden Age — scripture could still be lived today.

This was partially because early members remained in a liminal period — they had one foot in a world of unexplained enchantment and one foot in a more fully understood and explained world. Standing on the threshold, they were not always to discern between the symbolic and the literal. For example, the witnesses who viewed the plates understood that their visions were visionary,† but many who read the testimonies the witnesses signed did not.  The members who saw angels in Kirtland temple understood the difference between the eye of the spirit and the physical eye. But early members who took up arms at the Battle of Crooked River did not understand that the Biblical account of Gideon’s defeat of Midianites (Judges 6-8) was a myth. In imagining God would similarly deliver their enemies, early members of the Restoration came close to precipitating their own actual extermination in the 1838 Missouri War.

As people in the 21st century, we have largely crossed the threshold into a post-enchanted world. And ironically, that means for the bulk of Restoration believers today, the heavens are again closed — there is no new scripture; there are no new revelations.  The early Restoration now represents a Second Golden Age whose sacred stories (in many cases) are once again misunderstood to have been literal. This is a shame because there are miracles (such as the miracles of love, forgiveness, and transcendence), even if there is not (and never was) magic (such as demonic possession or turning water into wine). The latter can still be meaningfully understood symbolically, while the former can be meaningfully experienced literally.

Fortunately, in Community of Christ, the canon continues to be open. The river of revelation is ever flowing and we are renewed with new scripture that speaks to our experience today. And we are all called to feel inspiration and respond as a prophetic people to our own individual encounters with God.  We are living scripture as our scripture continues to be living.

In my view, the Restoration was never meaningful as a set of correct answers that had somehow been forgotten were relearned. Rather, its true value is understanding that the scripture must be continually Restored as human understanding expands, so that gospel is a living thing that can still be lived meaningfully today.

__________________

* In the 19th century, the adjective “primitive” more generally referred to the earliest form of an institution or custom.  The word in our own time has narrowed to refer more specifically to cavemen.

† The plates artifact was handled by multiple witnesses under a cloth and/or lifted while sealed shut in a wooden box; and many people were able to visually inspect transcriptions of the characters.  But there were no direct physical sight eye-witnesses of the plates; all visions of the plates were visionary.