To clarify my position for anyone who may be confused. I agree with all of the following:
J. Reuben Clark, Jr.:
"Unless we enjoy the Spirit of God we cannot understand the things of God; in fact, the things of God will appear foolish to us."
Boyd K. Packer:
"There are three areas where members of the Church, influenced by social and political unrest, are being caught up and led away. ...The dangers I speak of come from the gay-lesbian movement, the feminist movement, ...and the ever-present challenge from the so-called scholars or intellectuals."
Lynn G. Robbins:
"Lowering the Lord's standards to the level of a society's inappropriate behavior is apostasy. The scornful often accuse prophets of not living in the 21st century or of being bigoted. They attempt to persuade or even pressure the Church into lowering God's standards to the level of their own inappropriate behavior, which in the words of Elder Neal A. Maxwell, will 'develop self-contentment instead of seeking self-improvement and repentance'."
Joseph Smith:
"Men who...have no desire for the principles of truth, do not understand the word of truth when they hear it. The devil taketh away the word of truth out of their hearts."
Harold B. Lee:
"There are those among us who would set themselves up as critics of the Church, saying that the Church has gone out of the way. ...We should warn these, as well as those who are in danger of being led astray, of what the Prophet predicted. He said, 'That man who rises up to condemn others, finding fault with the Church, saying they are out of the way, while he himself is righteous, then know assuredly that that man is on the way to apostasy, and if he does not repent, he will apostatize, as God lives'."
Ezra Taft Benson:
"Suppose a leader of the Church were to tell you that you were supporting the wrong side of a particular issue. Some might immediately resist this leader and his counsel or ignore it, but I would suggest that you first apply the fourth great civic standard for the faithful Saints. That standard is to live for, to get, and then to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit."
Neal A. Maxwell:
"Studying the Church through the eyes of its detractors is like interviewing Judas to understand Jesus."
Neal A. Maxwell:
"Satan need not get everyone to be like Cain or Judas, he needs only to get able men to see themselves as sophisticated neutrals."
M. Russell Ballard:
"Those who live according to Heavenly Father’s eternal plan will not want to absorb any information that is illicit or untoward, nor will they destroy their spiritual sensitivity through immoral acts or the consumption of any harmful substances. Neither will they search for doctrinal loopholes to find reasons to challenge the ordained leadership of the Church nor tamper with the simple truths of the gospel. They will not attempt to justify any lifestyle that is contrary to the plan of happiness."
Thomas S. Monson:
"Every day is a day of decision, and our decisions determine our destiny."
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