Also, I am well aware that this might be the post in which I cross the line and get myself into trouble.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints recently made changes to the Church Handbook of Instructions, specifically with regards to internet use and social media. You can see some of the changes here. In that article they also link to the Handbook itself where you can read more. I followed that link and read this in the section about the personal use of the internet by the members.
Members are encouraged to share messages from official Church websites and social accounts, as well as their own words, images, and media. As members express their own thoughts and feelings, they should not give the impression that they represent or are sponsored by the Church.
It concerns me because we are repeatedly asked to be representatives of the church, to share the gospel with everyone we come in contact with. In that context, I think this has the potential to back fire.
"I'm a Mormon! Ask me about the LDS church! But you should know that nothing I say actually counts. It's just my opinion, not church doctrine."
Even when I was a child we were asked to write our testimonies in the front cover of Books of Mormon and give them to people. Now it seems like if we want people to follow this rule regarding things that the church might not want reflecting poorly on them, we also need to add a disclaimer to every testimony shared.
"I know the church is true. I know Joseph Smith was a prophet. But those are just my own thoughts and feelings and do not represent and are not sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints."
It's messy. We are the church (the body of Christ, diverse individuals with one purpose) but we are not the Church (First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve, PR department).
On one level, this instruction is great because it acknowledges that we are one church but we don't necessarily all think and feel and believe the same things. But it also gives the impression that anything that doesn't come stamped with the Church's famous trademarked logo doesn't count for anything, when in reality, it is the testimonies, thoughts, and feelings of the members that are at the core of what many believe the church to be.
It's good to stop and think about what you are sharing. Using phrases like, "In my opinion," or "In my experience," or even, "I believe," would make some church meetings far more bearable. There are a lot of things that aren't exactly doctrinal that get shared in Sunday School and other meetings.
The hard part is determining what is actually doctrine and what is not. In the Mormon world lines get blurry between doctrine, policy, and culture. And don't think you can look to past and present General Authorities to sort things out. For a wide-range of ideas, I can find conflicting statements from different prophets, seers, and revelators. Part of that comes from the fact that we believe in continuing revelation. Generally what we are taught is that the doctrine that counts is what we have heard most recently from our leaders. Brigham Young and Bruce R. McConkie (and a lot of others) were wrong about black people.
The other thing that bothers me is that the Church (capital C) makes statements on my behalf that I don't necessarily agree with (especially regarding same-sex marriage). Because I am a member, people judge me by the actions and statements of the entire Church. But…I am only a member, and the Church (whoever The Church is) doesn't want my thoughts and actions reflecting poorly on them. I get it, but I don't like it.
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