Segmenting Life

You know how sometimes you peel an orange, and all the segments come about nice and easily? I like it when that happens!

Sometimes though, two of the little segments will kind of get stuck together. And then as you try and pull them apart, the membranes separating them will rupture, and you end up with a mess of juicy little sacs and it's kind of hard to tell where one starts and the other ends - and you end up sticky and messy.

Keep that in mind, because I'm going to come back to it.

Thanksgiving was really great in the Koda household. We had a fairly large contingent of Mrs. Koda's family actually stay with us most of the week. They're great people, which is helpful when you have 14 people all sharing a home. On Thanksgiving Day, the rest of the family, with 2 unfortunate exceptions, joined us for the meal. Since I know longer pray in public, or semi-public settings, I asked my father-in-law to offer the blessing on the food.

My father-in-law is an incredible man. He's led an interesting life, and there was a time when he used to scary the living hell out of me, but underneath his rough exterior is one of the greatest men I know.

Prior to offering the blessing he shared a few thoughts. They were obviously very special to him, and as he shared them, a solemn hush fell over the room, even amongst the more rowdy of the Koda clan. There is something special about sharing events or feelings close to our heart, but that's a topic for a different day.

Due to the nature of what he shared and his feelings about those experiences, I won't be sharing them here, but he did end with an exhortation of sorts for those of the family who might have need to bring their lives in order, to take the steps necessary, because he would like to be able to spend eternity with all of us.

I'll admit that a little guilt welled up inside of me, since I no longer share some of the same beliefs he does, and I'm sure I was one of the family members to who it the challenge was directed, but then I realized that there were a number of us there to whom it was likely directed. The great thing about Mrs. Koda's family though is that when another member is perceived to be doing something other than what they should, there is very little negative talk about it, if any. It's always positive, reassuring and uplifting. I'm not sure if this ties in with the topic I had in mind today, but I wanted to share it anyway.

Moving on... Throughout the remainder of the weekend, occasionally chats were had amongst various members of the fam. Mrs. Koda's bother and his wife spent some time discussing my current standing within the LDS Church. Mrs. Koda explained that a large part of my disaffection is due to the dishonest portrayal by the organization about it's history, and the associated hypocrisy with that. Her brother responded that the Church is full of hypocrisy and that it's important to focus on the Gospel instead.

I've heard or been told that a number of times in the past few years, either the same way, or in similar terms. The trick I think is trying to separate the Church and the Gospel.

And this is where the orange analogy comes in... The membrane between those two is kinda thin and very prone to breaking. At time it almost seems that the membrane is non-existent as the two segments flow freely into each other. I actually think there may be more than just two segments though. This post, is my attempt to try and clarify those in my mind.

I think the Gospel - at least how people view it, seems to actually fall into 2 sections. There is is the traditionally accepted Christian gospel, as outlined in the New Testament and then there is the Doctrine formulated by the organization, surrounding that.

The basic gospel is basically surrounding the life of Jesus Christ. Whether that life is viewed as literal, or mythological, I think it holds a great deal of merit. It contains the essence of who we are and our relationships to others. It's the Golden Rule of Do unto others as you would have them do unto you and of neighborly love.

The doctrine is a specific organizations interpretation of that.

And then the organization can kind of be broken down into two segments. You have the general membership and you have the hierarchy.

Often the general membership is cast aside when problems are pointed out. I grew up with the mantra - The Church is true, the members are not. Church could mean any number of things, but I think in the case in which I heard it, it referred to the hierarchy and the doctrine.

I tend to think that the general membership are actually a good thing too. Generally people are good and if you combine that with the teachings of the pure and unadulterated Gospel, I think you get a win/win.

The problem is that you have a hierarchy with a specific agenda, and it's not necessarily in line with the gospel. They institute doctrine to further than agenda and try to shepherd the membership around that. That's when the membership runs into trouble, when they confuse doctrine with the gospel. The other problem is when the membership start jockeying for positions within the hierarchy. It's supposedly frowned upon by the hierarchy to do this, but yet they hold their positions up as a reward for righteous behavior, which is generally only righteous as defined by the hierarchy itself.

So where does this leave me...

I think the gospel is awesome. I appreciate the stories of Jesus as contained in the New Testament, and think you would be hard pressed to find anyone who does not agree with them being held up as a good standard for mankind to follow. With that said though, I tend to believe that the character of Jesus is merely a conglomeration of past deities and teachings, passed down through time and reinvented and the God of the New Testament. I could elaborate on this more if anyone is interested... I don't think that believe diminishes the teachings at all, just perhaps provides a different perspective, or perhaps a more accepting approach to other deities and faiths.

I think that Church membership (of any denomination) are good as well. Are we not all part of the same human family, and with that a responsibility to treat each other with respect.

My quest now becomes, how do I separate doctrine from gospel, membership from hierarchy, and is that even possibly to do?

I think if I try to accomplish this using the organizational oranges, I could well end up with sticky fingers and more than likely a squirt of juice in the eye!