Like everyone, I just heard of Kate Kelly's excommunication. I expected to feel somber at the news. I didn't expect the tears.
I do not agree with Sister Kelly's actions in any way. Yet, I had still hoped there would be a way for her to repent before excommunication happened. I imagine to myself what it would feel like to be cut off from the Church. That it would be devastating is without doubt. I imagine her family, her children, her husband and herself. This has to be a sobering experience.
While I would probably have chosen no differently, had I had to make that terrible decision, still it cuts me. I may not entirely understand it, but I mourn. I mourn any time I hear of someone leaving the Church for any reason. I wish that she had not felt that she had to give up her covenants in order to "be authentic."
I hope and pray that she finds a place in her heart to make those covenants again.
Being Excommunicating from the Church is not the tragic part. Having been excommunicated myself, it was not the Church's response to my actions that was the problem. It was my actions that lead to the Church's response that was the tragic part.
ReplyDeleteHubris is a killer, I speak from experience. Sister Kelly would not humble herself before the Lord. She put herself above those she had sustained as Prophets, Seers, and Revelators.
It took me about ten years to return to the fold, I suspect because of the media attention and the legion of "supportive" fans that it will take Sister Kelly much longer to return.
Hi SilverRain,
ReplyDeleteI suppose I didn't cry because I have had various ancestors who were excommunicated in the past, and I have therefore a bright hope in the power of God to redeem even those who go to their graves without regaining their blessings.
In the case of my ancestor who was an apostle when he erred, his lack of blessings persisted for 100 years after the act that caused the excommunication. But then, quietly, his blessings were restored based on the information in the familysearch database. I blogged about it at the time, Out of the Blue.
As I wrote then,
"The record now shows John and his wives eternally and uniquely bound together (assuming, as always, that they so choose and God agrees). Not only that, but the sealing dates for two of the wives has been updated to reflect the day on which they were married in 1901, and their children are now shown as "born in the covenant."
"All thirty-six are gone now, the last one gone to her grave in 2004. But those who comforted John's children and heard their cries know how much this means.
"We who remain are left to contemplate this scripture, given to Joseph Smith in March of 1830, before the Church itself was even founded:
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Woes shall go forth, weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth...
Nevertheless, it is not written that there shall be no end to this torment, but it is written endless torment... that it might work upon the hearts of the children of men, altogether for my name’s glory.
Behold, I am endless, and the punishment which is given from my hand is endless punishment, for Endless is my name.
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"For the descendants of John Whitaker Taylor the torment of separation is now over. All is knit back together. The family can be at peace."
Meg, when Lazarus died and his sisters wept bitterly at Jesus' feet, Christ knew that Lazarus would be redeemed from death, resurrected and made whole. He knew that the sorrow of the sisters he loved would turn to joy. He knew that the glory of God was about to be made manifest. Yet, He didn't rejoice in those things at that time.
ReplyDeleteInstead, with them, Jesus wept.
I have only in the last couple of years begun learning what it means to mourn with those that mourn. It has made me vulnerable, my heart tender, and my eyes a whole lot more prone to weeping. I, also, do not agree with Sister Kelly and how she acted, but the situation feels so devastating to me. My heart aches for her family and for myself, who was unaccepted at church while growing up and feel a sense of being able to relate to being set aside by others. It's frightening to think that adults are capable of casting people aside.
ReplyDeleteI've been reading your blog for a while now and I think along a lot of the same lines as you. It's refreshing. Thank you for sharing your mind and heart.
Years ago I had a difference of opinion with my Stake President. It was a difficult very sad time. I was counseled to let it go and to always remember that the Stake President was the presiding high priest in my area . Unless he committed a real and terrible sin, he could do things the way he wanted. So I privately mourned.
ReplyDeleteTime has passed and things changed. I no longer remember exactly what it was that put a wedge between us. It was better to let go of it than to let it fill me with bitterness and despair.