I have met many people who have lost faith - either completely or partially - due to hypocrisy in church. These have included friends who are Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and who belong or belonged to other churches. The viewpoint, as near as I can understand, is that they see people who are in good standing and viewed positively by the congregation, but they have seen disregard one church principle or another. It becomes more and more uncomfortable to hear this person's viewpoints, to deal with them in church, etc. and eventually this gets upsetting enough that one no longer feels happy in church and decides to pursue spirituality through some other means.
This might not perfectly describe everyone's situation, but this is how its been for most of the people I've known.
This is something I've thought about a lot; I admit I'm also bothered by situations like this. Its tough to hear someone go on about a principle when you have seen that they do not live it. I won't go into specific examples, but I'm pretty sure we've all seen this before.
The first question I try to ask myself is: how do I know that he or she doesn't live that principle? If I believe in the Atonement, then living a Gospel principle means doing your honest best and having faith in the Lord's sacrifice to make up the difference between how well you can live it and how well it should be lived. I will admit that my personal best can vary greatly at times in my life; I'm grateful that God doesn't hold me to my absolute best at all times. I believe that He judges based on every situation.
If I accept that, should I say that I know that someone is a hypocrite? Or could it be my evidence is based on an idea of a best effort that didn't match them that day or doesn't match them ever?
Another question I try to ask is why do I go to Church? Why do I consider myself a Mormon? Certainly, I would like to be completely comfortable and happy at Church. I would like to be surrounded by exemplary people who make me better by association, but that really isn't the reason. I want to know my Father in Heaven. I feel a deep need to know Him and to learn truth. If I have issues with others in the congregation, does it change the truth? Does it change the experiences I've had? For me, it doesn't. I think President Uchtdorf said it correctly: I should "hold fast to the words of eternal life."
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2 comments:
For me personally, I've come to an understanding that a person can KNOW that a principle is true, and have a testimony of it and still disobey that commandment from time to time. It's not what Heavenly Father wants ideally, but it's part of the growing process sometimes to have to repent of something we once held to be a sacred truth.
It's the natural man that makes that kind of behavior happen. If I see a brother or sister teach or testify of a principle that I suspect they are not living themselves, I cannot just assume they have no idea what they are talking about. Perhaps they feel godly sorrow for their sin and feel compelled to teach others how to avoid it. The spirit still works through those of us who are weak.
I agree with this as well. I think the most important part is to not let what others do affect how we live the Gospel.
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