In a recent video, Elder Corbridge said that if you are really converted, “Darth Vader could be your Bishop, the culture could be like Alcatraz, and it will not drive you away.” He said “belief trumps discomfort.”
But there is something besides belief implied in his statement.
Obedience and Sacrifice
After all, why can’t you believe that it’s true but not stick around for the abuse in such a scenario?
Because the doctrine is clear, God requires obedience and sacrifice.
As a believer, I embraced this idea of obedience and sacrifice; there was something heroic about it. A perfectly loving, all-knowing Heavenly Father was going to give me the exact trials that I needed in order to forge a celestial character.
In a way, this represents the best in the theology, the idea that true happiness requires character.
But there are two big problems.
Character is forged by learning and following correct principles, not by sacrificing values.
And the notion that happiness is primarily for the next life always leads to sacrificing this one.
The truth is, as a believer I tried to have it both ways. I would claim that living the gospel brought maximum happiness in this life, while also claiming that faithfulness would eventually require me to sacrifice everything.
Elder Corbridge claims that those who are leaving do so because they aren’t converted. In a way he is right; they are leaving because they are no longer convinced that sacrifice is a good idea.
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