"Let us remember that forgiveness for our sins does not come from the Church, but from our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ." p. 237
"Elder Dale G. Renlund reminded us that 'a saint is a sinner who keeps on trying.'" p. 238
THE KINGDOM OF GOD ON EARTH
"The Church of God has always been present when the priesthood is upon the earth." p. 239
"The power of the priesthood keys ... is delegated to local leaders to establish, regulate, and govern the Church, as well as protect the integrity of the doctrine and maintain a standard of worthiness for its members as they participate in saving ordinances." p. 239
THE SACRED RESPONSIBILITY OF CHURCH LEADERS
"I emphasize once again that repentance and forgiveness come by and through the Lord Jesus Christ. [Church leaders] have a sacred responsibility in protecting the ordinances and ministering to members relative to their worthiness to participate." p. 240
President M. Russell Ballard: "For those who have strayed, the Savior has provided a way back. But it is not without pain. Repentance is not easy; it takes time -- painful time! You deceive yourself if you believe you can break the promises you have made with Heavenly Father and suffer no consequence." p. 240
"At times, temporarily withholding the privilege of taking the sacrament or attending the temple can bless the person desiring to be worthy once again." p. 241
ORDINANCES, COVENANTS, AND COUNCILS
"These councils are not tribunals of persecution or punishment. Absolutely the opposite. Their purpose is to lovingly help someone return to God. The highest priority of the priesthood leaders in these councils is to protect others who could be harmed." p. 242
"These councils may be encouraged or required when the following sins are committed: murder, incest, rape, abuse, apostasy, robbery, theft, selling illegal drugs, fraud, perjury, other criminal acts, adultery, a pattern of fornication or sexual relations outside the laws of God, transgression of a predatory nature, ongoing patterns of transgression, serious transgressions that are widely known, and serious transgressions committed by an individual in a prominent Church position." p. 243
"All other sins may be forgiven, depending on the individual's desire and willingness to repent." p. 243
"For someone who is a member of the Church and has broken serious laws of God, a council may be conducted on the ward of stake level..." p. 244
"The person who has come to the council is respected as a child of God and is lovingly given time to express the feelings of his or her heart about the issues before the council and about his or her faith in the Savior." p. 244
THE LORD'S REDEEMING LOVE AND FORGIVENESS
"...as I placed my hands upon their heads to restore their blessings, I unequivocally felt the love and forgiveness of the Lord Jesus Christ for these men and women." p. 246
"She had found the strength through her undaunted faith in Jesus Christ and HIs Atonement to forgive her husband and prayed that he could return with her to the house of the Lord." p. 247
"I humbly witness, as one who knows, that it is only through the merits, mercy, and grace of Jesus Christ, and only by His incomparable gift of redeeming love and forgiveness. This is the miracle of forgiveness!" p. 247
LANCE
Lance met Jack's girlfriend, Sabrina. Hailey and Sabrina got along really well, and Lance hated to admit it, but he kind of liked Sabrina as well. He liked how Jack treated her and how Sabrina seemed to temper Jack's impulsiveness. Jack and Sabrina are engaged and will be married later in the summer. Lance had decided to let Jack live his life and to try not to judge his brother's decisions. Who knows? Maybe this will turn out to be really great?
Lance and Hailey are getting more and more serious as well, and Lance plans to propose to Hailey soon. They've talked about marriage a few times and both love each other and feel confident that becoming married is not only the right thing to do, but they can't imagine not having one another in each other's life.
Lance met with Bishop Jones last Sunday. He is meeting with the bishop less and less frequently as Lance's pornography issue has become less and less of a problem, but Lance had some questions for the bishop that he hadn't yet asked.
"So, when I came to talk to you about my porn stuff about a year ago, you were so chill about it. I mean, I left that day feeling better than I did when I came in. I felt like I was really loved," Lance became a little emotional and tried to collect himself, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, "I just wanted to thank you for believing in me."
Bishop Jones replied, "Lance, you are good, good man. Jesus and God know you're a good man, too. You just became a little lost in the process of growing up and understanding what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. Of course, I believe in you ... it's because He does, too." Bishop Jones pointed at a picture of Jesus that was on the far wall.
"I admit that I was so scared and nervous to come talk to you," Lance faintly smiled, "but I knew I had to. I needed help. I was in a rut. A huge rut, and I didn't like who I was. Life felt empty. But coming in here, I felt safe. I felt like someone had reached down in the water and pulled me to solid ground. That sounds dumb, I know."
"Not at all," Bishop Jones smiled back, "That's why I am here. Jesus uses me and all the other bishops and priesthood leaders throughout His Church to remind people where safety is ... and that's with Jesus." Both men were quiet for a moment and then the bishop said, "So, I hear from a pretty reliable source that you and Hailey?" Bishop Jones pursed his lips as his eyes widened and his eyebrows arched.
Lance laughed, "Yeah, I think so. I mean, yes. I plan to propose soon."
Bishop Jones said, "I think that's fantastic! She's a great young woman. She fits with you. You fit with her. I am so happy for you."
CASE STUDIES
You are the priesthood leader. Read through the scenario(s). As the priesthood leader(s), discuss the facts as you understand them. How will you ensure that the 1) innocent are protected, 2) the member will be brought to Jesus' redemptive power and 3) the Church and its ordinances will be protected? How will you help the member to feel love and understand that their actions have caused harm? What might the Lord want for this member to help him/her to fully repent? Remain in good standing? Formal membership restrictions? Withdrawal of membership?
David began looking at pornography when he was 11. At first, he felt uneasy about looking at the pictures he saw online, but as he continued to sneak glimpses of these photographs and videos, the more curious he became. By time he was 17, he had a full-blown pornography addiction and had to logon to view it at least daily. David has progressively gotten into worse pornographic material as time has gone on. He feels like garbage and does not want to talk to anyone about this problem, but he's finally come to you for help.
Trent and Marcia have been married for three years. They have an 18 month old baby boy and a baby on the way. Over the past six months, Trent has been distant and even irritable with Marcia and the baby. One day, Marcia saw a text pop up on Trent's phone's home screen from someone she didn't know. She just happened to look over and saw the words: "Are we still on for tonight? Can you get away from the fam?" Marcia's heart sank. Later, she asked Trent about the text. Trent played it off as if it were nothing, but the more Marcia probed, Trent finally caved and admitted, "She's just a girl I dated in high school. We were going to get together tonight for dinner just to catch up." It was month's later that Marcia happened to see another text from the former girlfriend: "Last night was the best! When can we do that again?" Marcia confronted Trent once again. Trent wouldn't admit to anything. After a few days, she called the bishop asking for help. The bishop texted Trent: "I've talked to your wife recently. If you feel like we need to talk, I'm here." Trent texted back: "That would probably be a good idea." They set an appointment and Trent confessed to the bishop of an affair he'd been having over the past 10 months.
Sophie wants so badly for the approval of others. When she was in high school, she never felt like she was quite good enough to hang out with the popular kids, so she started to steal things from various stores in the community and gave them as gifts to people, to try to win their friendship. Sophie became pretty expert in shoplifting and for about two years, she got away with it. One day, Sophie's luck ran out and a security guard at Target stopped her on her way out. She had taken $200 worth of clothing. As she later confessed to the authorities, they determined that over the past few years, Sophie had stolen at least $5000 worth of goods.
Scott went through a long repentance process in order to serve a mission. Throughout high school, he had had multiple sexual partners. He knew he was breaking the law of chastity, but he also felt pressure from friends and from girls to "be a man". Scott didn't want people to think he was weak or a sissy. Scott served a mission and had a good experience, but when he came home, he became depressed and withdrawn. To cope, he started to use pornography and when that wasn't enough, he looked up online escort sites and hired girls to satisfy his sexual feelings. Scott's depression only worsened. His mom and dad asked him to go see the bishop to see if the bishop could help in some way. They don't know about Scott's sexual encounters. Scott reluctantly showed up at your office and shared his story.
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