Episode 136: Let’s Talk About The One True Church
“I know this church is true.” Many Latter-day Saints rely on this anchor phrase when bearing testimony, but what do the words really mean? In Episode 136, Cynthia and Susan discuss the implications—good and less so—of believing an organization carries the divine stamp of approval. Could devotion to a label like ‘The One True Church’ come with a shadow side?
Notes & Quotes:
The benefits of shadow work and how to use it in your journey, BetterUp blog, by Maggie Wooll, 06/13/2022
Shadow Work Archives, Center for Action and Contemplation
Peacemakers Needed, by Pres. Russell M. Nelson, April 2023
Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer, by Richard Rohr
“The shadow includes all those things about ourselves that we don’t want to see, are not yet ready to see, and don’t want others to see. We try to hide or deny this shadow, most especially from ourselves. […] The more we are attached to any persona, bad or good, any chosen and preferred self-image, the more shadow self we will have.” —Richard Rohr, CAC
“As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are to be examples of how to interact with others—especially when we have differences of opinion. One of the easiest ways to identify a true follower of Jesus Christ is how compassionately that person treats other people.” —Pres. Russell M. Nelson
“I also hope that you will look deeply into your heart to see if there are shards of pride or jealousy that prevent you from becoming a peacemaker.” —Pres. Russell M. Nelson
“When you talk this way to people, they often shrink from the experience. They say, ‘I’m a Catholic (or a Protestant or a Muslim or a Jew); I don’t want to learn another way to look at things.’ They act as though they have God all figured out. These people betray a need for control at all costs; unfortunately the cost is high indeed.
“Jesus talks frequently about metanoia: turning around, or changing your mind. I remember having problems with that myself. I thought, ‘What am I supposed to turn around? I’m baptized, I’m confirmed, I’ve gone to the Eucharist, and I’m even ordained. I’m right. I’ve got the truth and the education to prove it.’ How foolish. That’s precisely the blindness Jesus is talking about. That’s why some people in high religious positions can be the blindest of all. People, the most obedient to commandment and church formulas, can very often be the hardest to convert. They’ve taken the symbol for the substance. They’ve taken the ritual for the reality. They’ve taken the means for the end and become inoculated from the experience of the real thing.
“That’s called idolatry, when we worship and protect the means. It actually keeps us from the journey to the end. Religions should be understood as only the fingers that point to the moon, not the moon itself. But much of institutional religion seems to give people just enough ‘God talk’ to enable them to forever avoid any direct and frightening religious experience.” —Richard Rohr, Everything Belongs, p. 50-51