If you climb into the right Delorean and set the dial to April 1982, you would find me sitting in my Mission President’s front room with a bunch of other missionaries. We had no idea why we were there.
Communication was such that we didn’t know that the week before, in General Conference, President Kimball had announced that the length of men’s missions would change from 24 months to 18. The main reason cited was financial, and the hope was that a shorter mission would allow for more young men to serve. The President explained to us that those of us in the room had a decision to make: Go home, stay the full 24, or pick a number in between. And we had the night to think about it, call home, and give him an answer in the morning. High pressure!
Having already served for 18 months, my immediate thought was, “That’s a dumb change!” I knew that many of the missionaries who struggled with the language were just coming into their own and had just gotten to a point where they were effective – and now they were going home. Some chose to go home immediately, and some stayed the duration. Solomon-like, I chose 21 months so I could attend my sister’s wedding and avoid the looming change in Mission President. (Side-note: I came home wearing 1-piece garments, and immediately bought some 2-piece.)
Jump to two years later, November 2, 1984, the First Presidency issued a letter stating that missions would return to 24 months. The main reason given was, “many missionaries have felt that at the conclusion of their missions they have had to go home at a time when they had developed the greatest capability to do the work. Particularly is this true of those who have learned a language.”
My response was, “Duh!” and “Good!” (I was young and arrogant. Now I’m not young.)
The reason this came to mind is that when the Church recently announced that Sunday School and auxiliary meetings would return to their every-week schedule, my response was “Duh!” and “Good!”
Then, just this past week, the Young Women announced new names for the girls. There has been a lot of discussion, some positive, some negative. Not a big deal for me. When I was a kid, I was a Targeteer and a Blazer! (It is amazing how often class names have changed over the years. Here’s a chart)
(FWIW, I grew up going to Primary on Wednesdays after school, and heading to the church three different times each Sunday.)
The church changes stuff ALL THE TIME. It always has, yet people still get worked up over them. To quote Neil Peart and the band Rush, “We know constant change is here to stay.” (link)
Here’s my view: I am change-resistant by nature. The way things used to be worked well for my family and me, so I am emotionally attached to them. But that is looking in the rearview mirror, when the church is looking ahead. Things are different now: The size and scope of the church, the society we live in, the proximity to the Second Coming, etc., have all evolved.
Since I am a stubborn and change-resistant man, I can honestly say that I don’t like the majority of the changes in the church that have occurred over the past decade. No, I am not on the low road to apostasy for thinking this way. Let me explain:
I have an answer to myself and anyone else who doesn’t like it when the church changes specific things. Some are simple, like a class name, some are more complex, some are temporary, and some are no-brainers. (The answer applies to recent and historical policy and procedural changes.)
The answer to disliking a change?
“So what?”
So what if I don’t like the change? Not liking it doesn’t mean it’s a mistake. It truly doesn’t matter if I like it. It doesn’t matter if I’m unhappy with it. There is no rule – that I’m aware of – that says you have to like every change that comes down the pike.
However, there is a rule about complaining about it. (Even to the point of vitriol) It’s called sustaining our leaders. (Recommend question #4)
When I find myself pushing back against a change, I have found success and solace in trying to keep my mouth shut. Sometimes I gain a greater understanding of why changes happen, sometimes I don’t. This is not the church’s responsibility. It’s on me!
Some people use constant change as a weapon to criticize the church, especially when it reverses a previous change. Sadly, it gets under some members’ skin to the point that they begin to question the truthfulness of the entirety of the gospel and living prophets. It is tragic when changes – both small and large – leads to abandoning the church.
When the Savior asked His apostles, “Will ye also go away?” (link) Peter responded by saying, “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.”
The same question is still valid: Where else are we going to go?
It sounds harshly binary, but the authority, doctrine, and potential that can be found in the church doesn’t exist anywhere else. (to see some stats about some of the”fruits” of being an active member of the church, check out the charts at the end of this previous post.)
What the Laurels/Gatherers of Light are called has absolutely no bearing on my testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. How long missionaries serve, or at what age, has no bearing on my testimony of living prophets. How many hours we attend church has no bearing on my conviction that the only way for my family to be united eternally is by following the covenant path.
I acknowledge that some changes hit closer to home and have a greater impact than others, and that they affect people differently. When they affect us personally, they can be tougher to sustain and engage with. Also, I acknowledge that a barrage of change can feel destabilizing. It has for me at times. Eventually, the dust settles, and we keep moving forward. Most of the time, what felt like a “dumb” change proves to be wise.
Again, when it comes to the crucial elements of testimony, the constant changes, both large and small, shouldn’t have an impact. And if they do, we should take it as an early warning sign and sort it out with God.
I fear that one day we will realize how much time, talk, and emotion we waste on things that don’t really matter, or are not our problem. We can get caught up in the thick of thin things/straining at gnats.
This is Christ’s church, changes and all. Where else are we gonna go?
When it’s time to change, then it’s time to change
Don’t fight the tide, come along for the ride
Don’t ya see?
When it’s time to change, you’ve got to rearrange
Who you are into what you’re gonna be
(“Time to Change” by the Brady Bunch)
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Right on point Brad! My mom and grandma call this “don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.” As in, keep your testimony, don’t chuck it out when things get muddy. The best explanation of this point that I’ve heard comes from Elder Lawrence Corbridge in a BYU devotional, “Stand Forever.” Here’s a link to the talk – it’s literally changed my life:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSEsLtwKzvw
This was great, Brad! Your blog posts always make my Sunday. This was no exception!
Thanks for guilting me!😁
You ending prompts my own take.
When considering the alternatives offered by harborers of doubt, my exercise of my moral agency, intellect and reason persuades me to respond as did the apostles of old who were asked by Jesus if they would also go away as did those whose expectations of Him were disappointed, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.” (Jn 6:68)
I here make an optimistic restatement of Pascal’s wager.
If I am wrong, I wasted my life engaged in a joy that can only be found in service. I have loved others and sacrificed my time for them, rather than using them to advance myself. If I am wrong, I needlessly kept the commandments that blessed me with health, safety and happiness. If I am wrong, I blindly followed an imaginary Savior, that made me more kind and more forgiving. If I am wrong, the comfort I felt when losing both of my brothers, my father and mother to the grave was imaginary, provided by a “false” hope of eternity with them again.
In other words, even if I am wrong, my ”error” made me a better man, a better husband and father, a better bother and friend. I have lived a life of resilience and fulfillment. I have learned to respect and serve others, to be kind and generous, to donate if I have extra, and to be humble enough to ask for help when I don’t have enough.
In short: If I am right, my Eternity is beautiful. If I am wrong, my Life is beautiful.
I love this so much! I feel the same way.
I loved this. Thanks for bringing us back to what really matters. Thanks for your example of staying faithful amid change even if we don’t understand or agree. Thanks for the charts and the classic Brady Bunch song. Thanks for teaching me it’s “coming down the pike,” not pipe.
3 things this made me think:
1. this is the true and LIVING church and living things change and respond to surroundings.
2. As a parent we have introduced SO many incentive plans with our kids in various aspects of their development (behavior, grades, etc), like sticker charts, allowance, Harry Potter style house points, etc and the main takeaway is that anything works- but only for a while. We have to shake it up again after people get used to it and aren’t actively thinking about making changes in their own lives. Take that for what it’s worth in terms of the Church, that’s just what I thought of and I’m not sure how far that applies, but I’ve heard that the gospel is to “comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable” so a little stirring the pot might make us reevaluate things that need to change.
3. When my kids complain about not liking to do something like clean their rooms, etc., they hate it when I say, “That’s ok, you don’t have to LIKE it, you just have to do it… ;)” I don’t have to like the way something is done to work with it. It might make it less enjoyable, but it doesn’t have to, and I might even become more of what I’m supposed to be or learn what I’m supposed to learn.
All that said, it’s easier said than done; none of the changes so far have given me heartburn, mostly because I can see pros and cons on both sides of most things and I’m willing to give things a try, and also because none so far has involved anything near and dear to my heart. I hope I can be as faithful when it does.
Great comment, thanks!