Friday, November 19, 2010

The other side

I frequently am bothered when people that are very critical of the church, both from within and without.  On the other hand, I'm not one to tout the church as perfectly run or error free.  I do feel that the critics focus too much on the negative without taking advantage of the positives.  There are a ton and they aren't publicized enough.  Much of the greatness I have in my life is due to the influence of the church.  I wish that would get more credit, it is definitely due. 

Here is a good article from an outside source doing just that...
http://beta-newsroom.lds.org/article/major-new-study-of-religion-has-much-to-say-about-mormons

2 comments:

the narrator said...

To be fair, David Campbell is a Mormon and BYU graduate.

Anonymous said...

So true Carson. A couple of things that come to mind when you say this is the parable of the Mote and the Beam. Sometimes we focus so much on the minutia that we miss the bigger picture (I know, no the perfect parallel, but its what it reminded me of). In this case, the bigger picture is that the church provides so much good for the world, the nation, the family, and the individual. From billions of dollars in welfare and aid, to wonderful organizations that assist those with addictions or other problems, to the correllation within the church that support and strengthen the family and the individual, to the spiritual uplifting that comes from the guidance of a living prophet, the inspiration that comes from the Book of Mormon and other scriptures, and the peace that comes from prayer. There is so much good and so many miracles that occurr within the church that many don't realize, or fail to remember (how important is that word in the scriptures, "remember").
It also reminds me of armchair quarterbacks, if you will. People who sit back on their sofa and criticize the quarterback for his play, but were they to actually step foot on the field, would fail miserably and not even come close to the level of play of those they are so eager and quick to criticize.