Cwic Show- Natasha Helfer Disciplinary Council Explained

Natasha Helfer Disciplinary Council and Ideology

Recently, The LDS disciplinary council of Natasha Helfer has been in the news and all over social media. There are talking points on both sides, mostly in support of her. This commentary is not to support or denounce excommunication or disciplinary actions for Natasha Helfer. Rather, based on research, it is to show where the church stands against certain ideologies critical of the LDS Church.

Note: After the production of this video, Natasha Helfer announced that she had been excommunicated.

 

 Raw Transcript

welcome to this episode of the quick
show
today we're going to be talking about
the disciplinary council of natasha
helfer
now typically i would not bring
something like this up
but she's been very very public about
this a lot of interviews
she's done her own youtube video uh
it's all over social media and
washington post the washington post did
a write-up on this actually very
well-written article
so at this point it it's kind of you
know
it's it's public knowledge enough that i
feel comfortable
in doing this what i do want to say is i
do not want to demonize
natasha helfer right she seems like a
lovely woman seems like a very nice
person
and my guess is as a therapist
that she's done a lot of good for a lot
of people and really helped a lot of
people
and so i think for that reason she's got
kind of a lot of support
behind her in in this
disciplinary council now i don't know
what's going to happen from this
this is not an episode that's about
whether or not
um well not specifically whether or not
she's
this is something that should uh the
hammer should come down
on her or or or anything like that right
i'm not the judge of that but because it
has to do so much with the church
and because she's been so public against
some of the teachings of the church i
think it's important for us to see
something
and more importantly beyond her
right in in this scenario here what i
want to talk about is actually where
it seems to be that the church is and
and she brought up
publicly uh an example of of you know
galileo
right where where it's it's it's science
against religion
and that basically i'm paraphrasing here
but that basically the
the church lags behind science
and the science that she has tells
informs her that she needs to publicly
advocate her position as a therapist as
a professional
and that that position is contrary to
what the church teaches
and she's not shy about it there's just
some principles here that i think
number one where
it's appropriate i want to defend the
church and you know what
i i'm just surprised that there's not
more voices out there that are doing
this i don't understand it i don't
understand why we're not
more concerned about some of these
things that are cropping up and i'm not
talking about her specifically i
i'm talking about some of these
principles that i'm going to go over
here
that are very obvious and blatant and
out there and they are
fighting strongly against the church and
we sit and watch this i i don't
understand we don't need to demonize her
right but i am going to go over her
words which are very public
and and and talk a little bit about
those things and try to be
somewhat intellectual about this and and
uh
i'm not intellectual somewhat
intelligent about this
and and look at where the support's
coming from and why
because i think that these trends are
something that are important for us to
be
aware of and
to be able to grapple with in in our
minds on on
the forces that are fighting against the
church and and if you have kids
that are these are ideologies
and ideas that they're
that are getting to your kids i promise
you right they're getting to your kids
and members of your family
and and they're not good they're not
good things
right so they're couched in compassion
always couched in compassion and so at
first it sounds like a bumper sticker
that that means
love and happiness right but that's
that's not what it is
right it's a trojan horse this is uh
this isn't a statement that she made
on this she says the reason i'm being
called to such a meeting
the reasons i'm being called to such a
meeting all have to do with the fact
that i am a mental health professional
and certified sex therapist okay
so what she's doing here is she's
pitting specifically
her profession against the church
and this is very a very conscious effort
by her to do this
and she does this over and over again
okay
and i am public and vocal about my
stances
supporting and educating about sexual
health
well i'm thank goodness right i mean you
want experts on that
right which it seems they do not see
as within compliance with doctrine with
church doctrine
okay so that's the the statement i want
to open with here because
that's what this is about it's about a
a movement certain uh ideologies
and about the way she's using this as a
galilean uh
example um you know with galileo of of
how religion is is fighting against
science
i don't think that's the issue here but
not the primary issue but it is an issue
and it's going to come up more and more
i think and and uh
typically right i'm one that really
wants to pull science
and faith together i think that they
both have the same
objective but here they don't
this is not an example of that okay so
she talks about the letter that she
received from her stake president that
that
uh goes over five concerns that they
have for her here they are
number one is my support for same-sex
marriage
now i think it's very important to
understand
that of the five points this is the only
one that has
anything to do with the lgbtq community
right the only thing but if you look at
the support that she's getting it's
almost
all focused on this right it's almost
all focused on this
so that's a problem because nobody's
talking about everything here
right number two is masturbation
right about 10 years ago i think it's 10
years ago maybe a little bit longer she
wrote a blog
that was basically saying look this is
fine especially for kids
it's not a sin right it's not a sin
so this was this was something that's
kind of her first
foray into kind of going against the
church and the doctrine of the church
right and what does it have to do with
and this is the important issue here
it has to do with the law of chastity
or it has to do with the law of chastity
that's the first thing with the law of
chastity
number three the stances on sexually
explicit materials
pornography i have been educating on the
difference
uh between a values model and an
addiction model
so basically for her under certain
circumstances pornography is fine and
healthy
erotic images and other things are fine
and healthy again
what are we talking about we're talking
about the law of chastity
and and it's not just something that
she's even
talking about in private with her
clients right
she's out there very strongly as a
proponent of these things
and very public about them number four
critical of church leaders now she
denies this that's not true
that part i don't understand why i mean
just come out and say it
because it's very obvious on on several
occasions where she is
by name called out the first presidency
and and and gone against them
in a very derogatory tone and and
approach
in public in public meetings right
and the number five concerns that i have
encouraged people to leave the church
she she denies that as well and i'm not
going to cover that at all because i
have no idea
if that's the case i'm not i'm not
judging her i'm judging her i'm trying
to judge her words
and what she's gone and put out there
publicly that's what i'm looking at
right
okay so the two things really we're
looking at here is the law of chastity
and then she's going to move in a lot on
her statements as she does these
interviews
and in the past it has to do with
surprise surprise
with social justice and and everything
that that encompasses right it's
identity politics
it is about uh um those that are
marginalized
and again i think she's probably helped
a lot of them i i don't
doubt that i think she's very sincere in
that way
and and so i want to make sure that's
clear
but this ideology
is is to me a religion
and and it's a value system that is put
above
the church and that is the problem
that's what's happening her values
hierarchy
it is not with the church her values
hierarchy
is with her profession and with
this movement of social justice that is
starting to align
much more with her profession right
okay so why do i bring up victimhood
with social justice it's because
it's it's about the shaming that's her
issue here what's one of the things that
she really brings up here
it's about what she sees as consequences
in the church
that are shaming individuals because of
their breaking the law of chastity
that she thinks is not a sin and not a
problem so here's what
uh what she said on that she said after
much education
into all of these matters i not only
speak to my perspective but also from
personal conviction inappropriate shame
harms people well agreed the question is
what is inappropriate and what is shame
to her
consequences in the church because of
breaking the law of chastity
right is shame so if you can't take the
sacrament
one week because you've broken the law
of chastity and you've gone to the
bishop
to her that needs to be eliminated in
fact going to the bishop at all about
breaking the law of chastity
should be eliminated now i'm not
including adultery in that i would guess
she still believes that
but uh otherwise to her
there's no reason for this because
that's what her profession says
that's what she's calling science right
the social science behind
shame now she's also said
unnecessary sexual shame is a poison we
all can participate in expelling
we see it in our churches we see it in
our political spheres
and our legislation we see it in our
educational systems we see it in our
cultural norms
and our family systems you know she
wants to throw off what she sees as a
medieval
type of a puritan unnecessary
um uh sexual shame and i'm sure there's
some
you know ounces of truth in that i i
think there are some ounces of truth in
that
but not taking down the system
she wants she she's got a problem
obviously with the law of chastity here
she goes on and says our children and
teens deserve a home where they are not
shamed for their sexual feelings
thoughts and actions
right so again it's
shaming to her is consequences in the
church
the idea that you even have to go talk
to a bishop over something
and again it's a matter of what is the
law of chastity meaningful
does it matter
it seems to me like it's one of the most
important things that we can
that we can follow right i mean it's
it's it's a
covenant now maybe she doesn't keep this
front and center for herself
i don't know but these these are these
are covenants
that we're supposed to keep right
commitments that we make
that that for her are are our
our antiquated right they're
old-fashioned
and again i'm not i'm not trying to
focus in on her but i'm trying to
trying to focus on her words here and
what she says
and then rounding out a little bit about
this law of chastity here
she she talks about um an early part of
her life right she says
early on she grew up lds i was receiving
a steady flow of
abstinence-based fear-based and
shamed-based sexual education
so in other words teaching kids that
they should
be at they should abstain from sex is
harmful
because when they do it's shameful and
they and they feel bad about themselves
it's a victimhood mentality it's putting
the blame on the church
for for i mean we believe in the law of
chastity
this isn't difficult and of course this
is not talked about by
her supporters they never bring this up
she says one of the experiences and
messages that i was grappling with
early on in in life as a teenager is the
one that
taught that premarital sex was a sin
and that it would separate me from the
presence of god in my life
and his continual guidance and
protection so again for her
this should not be taught right it's
natural it's what she calls normative
behavior
and that we shouldn't we shouldn't be
the church shouldn't be
shaming our kids our teenagers and our
young adults
because by teaching them that
abstinence is good right that's
antiquated in medieval
on another occasion she said there's
room for casual sex
i'm not trying to shame that
right so again it's she she doesn't
believe in the law of chastity
that's an issue here that's that's and
why do i bring this up
it's not because of her right it's
because
this is where this attack is coming from
that's that's what i'm that's why i'm
bringing this up
it's because her profession
and many others don't believe in the law
of chastity
we do and yet she wants to
change the church she publicly
denounces the church and its leaders
because
of her science right that is above the
law of chastity we should change and
throw out the law of chastity is what
she's saying
that's that's ultimately what it is
that's the conflict
they hit head-on her words and the law
of chastity hit
head-on so the support for her
right is i'm sure friends and family and
and other
uh professional colleagues are
supporting her and again she seems like
a good person
right i i would love to sit down and
have lunch with her
right she seems like a really good
sincere person
so i'm not attacking her i'm trying not
just
i'm trying to separate these things
between her words and and
and herself her her value her being
right
but the support that she's getting and
why is this important for you
by the way because this is the struggle
in the church this is the struggle
for your families for your kids for your
siblings for
your family members and your friends the
these are the ideologies that are
growing
stronger and stronger it is this whole
academic quite frankly hydra
that has all of these heads that are
coming together right and and forming
this this ideological
uh force that is
sometimes called social justice and
those that would fight against that
would say what so you don't believe
you believe in racism or you believe in
homophobia or
no of course not there are ways to do
this in a christ-like manner
to reach across and to help others
without having to
diminish demean
the leaders of the church and the
commandments
right it's the commandments and to
uh eliminate the law of chastity
right those are those are not negotiable
those are those are not
issues that are negotiable if you are a
covenant path member of the church those
are not issues that are negotiable
so the support around her and not all
the support right i'm
i'm i'm i'm bringing up a few of the
support
supporters here that are that are behind
her they don't bring up the charity
the the law of chastity issues they're
not going to talk about those things
of course because they know that you're
not going to agree with that so they're
going to go to something else
that is very effective for them and that
is the lgbtq issue
which is a very tiny part of what the
letter talked about
right and even then it was only same-sex
marriage
that it talked about right but that's
what they go to right for example i mean
i knew that this was going to happen but
but like today she did there was another
interview that was put out there
it was actually chopped up from an
interview last week and of course what's
the topic it's about her daughter
who identifies as lgbtq and
as if that's the primary issue here it's
not
that is not the primary issue and the
other one is is that it's
a it's her profession and we need these
professionals and absolutely we do
and and it's it's it's framing the her
the support for her as if
um the the church is ignorant of certain
things and
that she is a professional in this area
and therefore we should listen to her
but it
doesn't address the fact that she is
fighting on several different fronts
against the law of chastity i wonder why
why wouldn't they bring that up here's
here's from a uh uh feminist blog
that's out there and here's what they
say this is uh one
specific uh uh blogger on this she says
i am sorry to report that another
latter-day saint woman
has been called to defend herself before
a male
disciplinary council as a punishment for
expressing her opinion so
this is simply because she's expressing
an opinion that's not what it is
she's very blatantly out there
uh going against the going against the
law of chastity
and calling out by name the
the first presidency right
i'll get to that in a minute here
they go on here with this and say a
marriage and family therapist who
specializes in sexual health
has been called to a church disciplinary
council by one of her former state
presidents for
professional opinions consistent with
the literature within her field of
expertise
now this is building up towards
something that i really want to go over
this whole
idea of of of science versus faith
okay so the person writing this
writing this uh letter or this blog of
support for her
is talking about hey the church what are
you doing you're going against her
profession
right doesn't matter about these other
things but hey
that seems to be the issue you're
fighting against her her profession
okay sister helfer it says
also blesses our faith community by
using her professional expertise
to make suggestions about how we can
make our church
a stronger safer and more nourishing
entity
to support people like her clients in
accordance with the scriptural counsel
and then they quote dnc 3011 you shall
ever
open your mouth in my cause
okay so you can see how this is
you know muddy this is very muddy
right you know she's certainly not
supporting
here in her words publicly the law of
chastity in the church and
and others and the the cause of zion in
that case at all
they're they're they're again they're
not they're not giving any specifics on
what she has said
and they're talking about the literature
that is that is consistent with her
profession well
that literature is against the church
that they're specifically citing and
there's a lot of literature that goes
against what she's saying by the way
that i've looked at the studies that go
against what she's saying
but there are studies that that support
what she's saying
about masturbation and about pre-marital
sex
and uh even open marriages right
so as that builds up and becomes more
and more of a consensus within her
community
within her professional organizations is
that something the church
should just automatically go along with
and you know what it's going that
direction
so so what are we going to see in the
future with with more therapists and and
those that are in in counseling
positions
are they just going to pull from that
instead of from the church
it's it's an issue it's it's going to be
a problem
moving forward here they further say
silencing people with her unique skill
set instead of encouraging them to open
their mouths
think about what she has said is less
likely
that lay leaders and policy makers of
the church will hear diverse
insights with potential to benefit the
work of the church okay
there's some truth in that right there's
some truth in that i i
doubt that i i don't think that any of
for example the the first presidency or
the
12 apostles have any background in
therapy or
counseling or psychology maybe they do i
don't know
but they may not so it wouldn't it would
be wise to
gather experts like that and i know they
do that
they do do that but they're not going to
say okay you know what
sister helfer you're right we need to
get rid of the law of chastity
let's just get rid of it because we
don't want to shame anyone we don't want
anyone
to feel bad for natural urges
that's basically what it says and you
know i would i would say to sister
health okay well
what happened to bridle your passions
right i i it it's
i i think that there is uh um
the problem here the primary issue here
is the law of chastity
right it's it's and and it's and it's
buffered it is it is buoyed by
the ideology of social justice and
everything that comes along with that
is is is a part of the support for her
right of identity politics
intersectionality
um radical feminism um all of these
things that are
are are are basically built on
groups that's what is booing her up
here right so the idea of faith versus
science is going to be
i think something that continues to be a
problem and it has been in the past for
the church also it's not like this is
something new right it is you ha you
have people that have believed in
evolution and not believed in evolution
you've got leaders of the church that
believe in evolution and others that
don't believe in evolution those that
are more
in line with science and others that
aren't
but you i don't care what the science
says
right or or or the idea that that
because a lot of the science in her
field
is based off of well do i feel any harm
from this well
you're gonna feel bad that's part of
repentance
is you need to feel bad and humbled
by making a mistake and and
what she's going to say is well in
therapy no they should never feel that
in the first place
right that's going to be a problem going
forward
especially within this this profession
this industry
right so she brings this up herself she
says
the intersection between faith and
science is an age-old story
and she brings up the idea again of
galileo and so she's basically saying
i'm on the side of
science right you're on the side of
medieval religion
and faith is basically how she's
positioning that
then she says this and this is important
and this is understandable this part is
very understandable
i am bound by ethical and regulatory
processes
to bias my professional services through
my own religious beliefs
or background right to do that would be
unethical she said i
i don't doubt that i don't doubt that
right it causes undue harm okay that i
wonder about
and could get my license revoked that's
all very possible
so she's pitting her professional
credentials
against the law of chastity and saying
that i have to advocate for this
and and again this is this is not just
about what she says
in private to clients
i don't think this would even be be an
issue
if it was what she was saying privately
to clients
right it's that she's been so public
about the whole thing
and there's more to it right there's
more to it
so she goes on here and says a few more
things she says
this isn't about natasha helfer or about
myself right she says this is about
clinicians
clinicians cleaning up the bloody mess
that we are leaving in the wake of our
religious orthodoxy
you know when we are rigid
or this is so textbook
this is nothing new this is this is and
again i don't think we should be
rigid in in any way i mean and of course
you when you look at these things what
comes up in people's minds is the
is the church lady right it's the most
judgmental person
in the ward it's the it's it's and
that's not the way most people are
they're just not like that right and
and that doesn't mean that we get rid
of of of discipline
it doesn't mean that we get rid of a
bishop as the judge in zion
it doesn't mean that we don't go through
a repentance process
because if you don't have the rep
process of repentance in place
what good is the atonement and therefore
what good
is christ quite frankly
what what is the point going through a
repentance process
is a big part of the gospel you know
remember those
first principles and ordinances of the
gospel faith
repentance this whole idea that we're
moving toward in western culture
of victimhood as a value as a high
values and in some cases the highest
value is
unbelievably damaging to all of us
and we've we've got to figure out a way
to fight this off we have got to fight
off the whole idea
of victimhood we want to overcome that's
what christ did being like christ
is not just saying well don't judge
people like the pharisees were
it's taking on everything look what he
did he took
everything on and then he beat it
right he he resurrected with glory
and with perfection he was victorious
over it
he didn't stay the victim
right he he
he overcame everything and that's what
we're supposed to do so if we're
supposed to follow that example
we need to take on the burdens and we
need to beat it so we should be
supporting each other in our afflictions
and in our
burdens not to keep someone in a
victimhood status
but to help them overcome that is
charity that is love and
and that is exactly the opposite of what
she's talking about here
then she goes further here with the
science thing she says when a church
which refuses to accept science
you know never mind that several of the
church authorities have have been
scientists
and and when she says church sometimes
she's talking about the culture and
certainly there are a lot of
people in the church that don't fully
accept science
in some places that are pretty proven
right that's true
but but you don't break down the system
because of that
you don't take down the patriarchy
right be because of that that is a
cultural issue
but when a church which refuses to
accept science
and by the way there are studies that
show that lds
members are some of the most educated of
any religious group out there period
right education is a very high value for
members of the church
broadly says that this discredits the
people that can most help that community
so in other words if you're attacking me
as a professional
as a scientist kind of as what she's
saying
then then you know i'm someone who can
help the church and that is true
but not the way she's doing it not by
breaking down the law of chastity
not by attacking the church publicly
right this this does not give you
license to do that if you want to help
the church
talk to others right and and say well
what about that you know
you can't you can't take your profession
and put it above the law of chastity
that just makes zero sense
uh second nephi 9 28 just to interject
right here when they are learned they
think they are wise
and they hearken not unto the counsel of
god for they set it aside
supposing they know for themselves
right i i you know i'm sorry but i
that's that's what comes to mind
when i think about this
having a degree does not put you above
the law of chastity
and in a professional organization with
a consensus that
says that these things are okay and good
and it's going to move more and more
that way right
does not put you above the laws of god
it just doesn't now last point i really
want to make on this
uh overall well okay it's not the last
point but
something else i want to say on this is
about the the there are therapists that
are supporting her and i understand that
i get that it's like
there there is a bond there there is
they're all fighting for good things or
at least for the most part they think
they are
i think they're sincere i think they're
good people right these are sincere
good people that are that are are
on her page right but but i want to
bring up a couple things here again
we're talking about this whole idea of
science versus religion a couple more
things that
that uh that they are saying uh
in support for her right and again
i think that they probably do wonderful
things they are in the trenches with
people
i'm not putting them down i don't want
to do that that's not what i'm doing
but the principles here are important
here's what one said for her about her
says one thing i
really have grown to love about social
work or being a therapist
is the huge social advocacy component
right this is about social justice
the huge social advocacy component and
that i think is hard for me
to at times because i don't tend to be
more of
because i tend to be more of an
introvert and stand back
and help in the background but i think
voices are needed
right so again this is going to the fact
that hey
natasha thank you for talking so much
about this
and and and for uh being an advocate
for for social justice all right it's
the same thing that we see over and over
again in the past where these things
come up
they're putting that religion that
ideology above
the law of god on this right i do
appreciate this opportunity to speak up
for our professional
code of conduct
so that's more important than the church
it's more important than the law of god
it's more important than the law of
chastity
that's that's the issue that is the
issue
here's another one we're not just
private people but our commitment to our
code of ethics
means that we actually engage in public
advocacy
this is the same idea that's this is not
just the therapists
right this is the whole idea of critical
theory and post-modernism
and and anti-racism it's all the same
thing
right anti-racism is really not
anti-racism what is it it means
you can't just agree to
have a loving heart and and reach across
races and
and have love between each other you
have to be an
activist and if you're not an activist
then you are a racist and it goes all
the way around right it's not just race
it's homophobia right it's misogyny
if you're not an advocate in other words
it's not enough
for this ideology to own your mind they
have to own your behavior
that's that's what it's saying and
that's the way all that's why all
totalitarian states start
it's the same thing that's a little
doomsday-ish i know but
but that's it's a bad policy it's a bad
ideology
it is cultish it really is
and and so they're supporting or saying
we're glad you're being a public
advocate for this
because that's what our our our calling
is here in our profession
is to be a public advocate right
further on she says
i think one of the reasons we're here is
because we
very much want to support one another in
that public advocacy
even as it may seem to be in opposition
to what we hear from the pulpit
right so they're conflicted on this you
can see it
but but it's they're they're they're
going with their
profession over the church that's what
they're doing i'm sorry
and these are people that work within
the church and
again i think they do a lot of good i'm
not i'm not here to judge
them and what they do and all the work
that they do i'm not i'm not doing that
you know i might go to see them right
and and
our family member might go to see them i
don't know but but i don't but what
they're saying here
is that the profession and the code of
conduct and the ethics that they have
with the profession is more important
than the law of chastity
that is what is said when you break it
all down that's what they're saying
you know that that that idea of that
activist approach
is not a positive one it creates massive
division
that doesn't mean that the church
doesn't need to change in some things
right that's not the issue the issue is
do you sustain
the leaders of the church you may not
agree with everything but do you sustain
them
this is not sustaining
right there's things that i don't agree
with
and and you know i i don't go out and
and use the platform here that i have to
go out and try and
beat that pulpit you know and and try
and say that we've got to change this
uh with the church and and calling out
the church leaders that is just
that's not sustaining them it's a bad
it's a bad policy
bad bad way to go right now
lastly what i want to say is the what
brings this together here what brings us
all together here
is this idea again of of social justice
and authority
it's the whole idea of of hating
authority
bringing down the patriarchy right
we don't want you know anything that's
in authority is
is colonialism it's misogyny
it's the patriarchy imperialism
right it's those are all words and
concepts
that have been used in totalitarian
societies in the past or the
societies that have fallen to totality
in areas totalitarianism
it's all the same thing it's exactly the
same thing there are a few things more
that she had said here it says
oftentimes with
social justice or sexual health concerns
our church
has used its revelatory power in ways
that kind of lag with the times
what does that mean they've used their
revelatory power in ways that kind of
lag
with the times so in other words we need
to be up with the times
more than doctrine more than the law of
god
right i see a values hierarchy issue
here right
okay so she's got a problem with some
things and i don't doubt that there are
very legitimate things that she's got a
problem with i don't think we've always
addressed the lgbtq issue for example
very well
in the past so it's it's there there are
problems there but i think there's now a
lot more effort in trying to help that
out
but they're not going to change the law
of chastity
right that you're calling for you're
calling for the change of the law of
chastity
on this and the other thing is is that
with this social justice and this
pulling down of authority the theme is
we're not going to stop
we are not going to stop until you
change these things
so when you think about those that are
critical of the church or that are that
are
actively pursuing uh criticizing the
church
we should understand it's not about just
one issue
it's not about one thing having women
hold the priesthood
or or the lgbtq issue that
these issues will never stop they'll
never stop
right until the entire church has for
them
changed to and probably not even then
right to what is more along the lines of
what they believe in
and and that's not really how it works
right we need to submit ourselves
broken heart and a contrite spirit to
the law of god
that doesn't mean the church is always
right with everything that's not what
i'm saying doesn't mean that all their
policies have always been
correct that's not what i'm saying but
in a relationship with god right we
submit to him
and to his law and the law of chastity
is not just a policy
right it is it is a law of god right
and so we get examples like this here's
another supporter who says we're not
going to stop
shining a light on this evil practice
until it goes away
talking about church disciplinary
councils
right and then she says this the church
is not acting true
we're ostracizing people christ's
message is all
about non-judgment no it's not
christ's message is not all about
non-judgment you can't just
isolate the examples that he gives
especially with the pharisees
and and and with uh with those that
judged him
at uh at jerusalem he also gave
commandments he's also given
commandments from the very beginning
so it's also about obedience
right it's also about covenants it's
also about trying to progress
to become more like him
and so you can't you can't say that
you're isolating something really small
and it's not all about non-judgment
that's not what it's about we need
judgment
some judgment i mean improper judgment
is wrong
but you can't you can't grow without
judgment there you know you believe in
justice you're talking about social
justice so
you obviously believe in justice
judgment goes with justice
right and and anyway
a couple more here to to finish off
things that have been stated that i
think are important here
in terms of authority right and again
this is all
let's go against the authority here of
the church
publicly in in a speech she had said um
i've been working with this population
for over 20 years let's talk about the
mormon population
and again i think she's probably done a
lot of good things for a lot of people
right
let's balance that let's keep that in
mind
and then she says of course here i have
authority to great applause
right because of her experience and
because of her credentials her
profession
my authority comes from expertise what
is she saying
you might have authority but my
authority is more important
it comes from from expertise here and
then she says we want a place
in a church where gospel principles and
trauma-informed mental health standards
are not in conflict with one another
well which do you think she wants to
change
it's it's it's not the mental health
standards
right our children and teens deserve a
spiritual home where their worth is not
measured by behavior that is such an
interesting statement
their worth is not measured by behavior
and we should never teach that or say
that or anything else and i'm sure
there's
people that sometimes have said that
somehow implying that our worth is based
off of our behavior it's not
but our behavior is important it's
everything
the whole new testament is about
behavior and and it's about
bringing on the doctrine of christ
within ourselves so
behavior is important and if we have the
wrong behavior we need to try and change
right not not affirm the wrong behavior
okay and then she finishes off here in
in
in calling out each member of the first
presidency in a pretty derogatory
tone right i mean she's not happy with
them
and uh and says this and this is the
principle i think that we need to look
at as far as this entire
movement right of of social justice or
or critical theory
and post-modernism that is that is
honestly it's a massive
massive threat to the church we need to
speak up more against this
and and and parse it out from our
compassion right compassion you don't
and and and judgment we we we need to
have better ways of doing this
right it it it needs to be done under
the law of god
it needs to be done in a loving manner
not not in a way that is is going to go
against the laws of god
and there are organizations that do that
there are
supportive organizations that that do
these types of things
now this was actually about the uh uh
the bishops and the interviews and i
i would guess that they actually did
change the policy right that this helped
change the policy about interviewing
one-on-one and allowing your parents to
come in and those are good things
those are positive things again i'm not
i'm not i'm not this is not a
a condemnation complete condemnation of
everything it's not
again i think there's good things that
she offers here and i think she's a good
person
and and again coming to a closer i want
to make sure that that's clear
but but i want to talk about these ideas
these principles and and we need to be
aware of these things
as they will continue to come to our
families in our homes and
and uh and to the church
and the science that she's talking about
i mean i can go to psychology today and
here's a few uh uh of their
of their headlines right an inside look
at open marriages
new research offers a clearer picture of
the pros
and cons right so is that part of the
science
uh are open marriages psychologically
healthy for couples
eye-opening new research on alternative
relationships
so again you know the church and those
laws
even though the policies may be changed
from time to time
the laws of god are an anchor and and we
need to hang on to those
and and look at what
some of these ideas are that are that
are really challenging the church and
challenging individuals
and uh be wary of them
they're easy to get sucked into because
they always lead with compassion and
that's you know it's going to pull on
your heartstrings
and that's natural right but there's a
lot more underneath there
and and and a lot more that is you know
again like
i typically talk about these things like
there's a carrot
that's going to draw you forward but
they don't show you the stick and the
stick is there it really is
i'll talk to you next time
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