The Mormon Church Doesn't "Seek Apologies, And We Don't Give Them."
Apologies Create Difficult Questions, And Questions Are Not Permitted.
Elder Dallin H. Oaks says The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints doesn't apologize for past missteps. How does that fit with Mormon theology? Surely a conflict?
The Mormon church's refusal to ever apologize tells us a lot about the Mormon leadership. And yet why does the Mormon church require its members to repent and apologize while the church itself is unwilling to do the same? After all, if the church does not model Christlike love, it does not show humility or apologies; how can they expect the same of everyone else? Just like my parents many years ago. As a ten-year-old, my parents insisted I attend the local Methodist Sunday school. I asked them if it was so good why they did not go. I never went again.
I would suggest that the refusal to apologize is related to the LDS church's claim that it alone, and no other church, holds the divine keys to absolute truth and religious authority on earth. This bold assertion yields significant dividends for Mormon leaders, but at the same time, this assertion also has substantial long-term consequences. As years and centuries pass, societal norms change and evolve. Life is like that. The Mormon church must, therefore, also change and evolve. And it does, contrary to what most members will tell you. As a result, the Mormon church was never the same as found in Jesus's time, no matter what the missionaries may say. It is not even the same as ten years ago.
Here comes the issue. When so-called divine revelations are changed at a future date, it seems that the original revelation was more of a man strengthening his authority and not from a God. Unless, of course, the Mormon God changes his mind regularly.
Surely Mormon prophets and leaders would not make up modern-day revelation to avoid answering tricky questions. Would they? After all, a Mormon God, or at least a Christian God, would not be a vacillating God. Would they? These kinds of reactions don't look like divine actions at all.
Honestly, I have never fully understood why an all-powerful God would need a tiny earth guy to tell the world what God himself could say so easily. Writing divine messages in clouds would be much more God-like. Or even a booming voice from heaven would be just perfect. Faith is always the answer you receive to that particular question. However, faith is just a construct. A human construct.
Apologies Do Create Difficult Questions, And Questions Of Mormon Leadership Are Not Permitted In Any Shape Or Form. And So, No Questions Means No Apologies. That you can guarantee.
By the way, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints PR department has the last word on the subject of apologies —
"Church leaders were adamant that . . . should not be construed as an apology. We don't use the word' apology.' We used 'profound regret.'" insisted Mormon Church spokesman Mark Tuttle. Enough said!
© Stephen G. Arrowsmith 2022
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