No Sock McCraney

September 16, 2019

Table Of Contents

LDS Communion Prayer
The Result of Religious Rule-Making
Rule-Making and Its Wide Impact
The Challenges of Conditional Religious Beliefs

Heart of the Matter, Salt Lake City, Utah

Live from the Mecca of Mormonism, SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH. This is Heart of the Matter, where we try and get all people to walk toward the love of Jesus Christ.

And I am Shawn McCraney, your host. Let’s have a prayer.

LDS Communion Prayer

MONDAY September 16th 2019 Show 7a HOTM Redux PRESENTATION Socks.
(FOLLOWED BY) Show 7b HOTM REDUX RESPONSE Tuesday September 17th 2019 Socks.

We left off last week saying that in the LDS Communion prayer, there is a three-part renewal of the covenant they make at baptism: “To take upon the name of Christ,” “To always remember Him” (which we said if you are going to have a communion these are good biblically based things) but then they add the third, “To keep His commandments which he has given them that they may always have His Spirit to be with them.”

And we talked about how this line is the MANIPULATOR and it subtly pounces on the LDS people in two distinct ways:

Interpretation and Implication

First, it allows the LDS leadership to interpret for its members, since they are supposed to follow their prophets and leaders, what the commandments are which He (Jesus Christ) has given them. Secondly, it directly implies that it is required to keep His commandments, as the LDS leadership defines them, in order to have His Spirit to be with them.

Before we break these things down I want to reiterate that our goal is to serve as FREEDOM FIGHTERS to any and all who long to be freed from the chains of bondage – especially religious bondage – imposed upon them by Man. Secondly, our messages are especially to those people who are Sons and Daughters of God – no matter where they are or exist in life – and we speak as a means to support them in their personal convictions on how to grow in love.

These two are related – LISTEN – because the only way to really love as God wants us to love, a person must have the freedom and liberty to believe, and act, and love. In other words, there is an inhibition on genuine agape love (that comes through us from God) when it or other elements to life are mandated, coerced, or demanded.

How can a person really love others from the heart when they are forced or threatened? How can they, again FROM THE HEART, choose to love God if His love toward them is conditional and predicated on performances, obligations and demands. Can’t happen. Won’t happen.

A Personal Experience

So, let’s talk about the two dastardly factors in the LDS Sacramental prayer that 1, the LDS leadership interprets for its members what exactly the commandments are which “He (Jesus Christ) has given them.”

Last week we tossed a laundry list of commandments that are constantly taught and emphasized to members of the LDS church – there is a lot of them. Let’s forget about the dozens of commands the LDS leaders heap upon their members but let’s just create one rule that Christians are expected to keep outside of believing and loving unconditionally as Jesus delivered. Just one material rule – as a means to please God and stay in His love (our CAMPUS crowd is used to this example so apologies).

And let’s say that the one rule men impose upon people going to Church is… you must wear socks to church. I use this example, by the way, because when I was a teenager in Huntington Beach there was a stake dance and I had a bishop who thought it was his personal call and duty to police my life. And all my friends were going to this dance and it was going to be really fun because it was local and I went dressed in the attire of a local beach kid going to a stake dance – long pants, shirt, tie, shoes and no socks. I was there. I could have gone other places. I wasn’t using substances. I was trying. But I never wore socks – and this bugged this guy.

I walked in the dance, went to the stage where my friends stood and watched as this bishop entered the cultural hall, saw me, made a beeline to me and said: “lift up your pant leg.” I did and he said, “go home.” Which I did – alone – while my friends who were also NOT wearing socks – were not checked. Made an impact on my soul.

So this is the one and only man-made rule – you must wear socks to church. The LDS have dozens (which we read last week) but we are going to just use this one example.

The Result of Religious Rule-Making

one.

What is the result of this one stupid rule given to people in the name of God?

First, some will conform to it. Blindly or with great intentionality. Either way there will be conformity to an external material rule and most of those who conform to it will be . . . proud of their allegiance.

Remember, it IS a rule. And obeying it pleases God. The pride some people feel will lead to all sort of other things, but just know at first that a certain percentage of those who comply to the sock rule will be piously proud of it.

So proud that some will begin to embellish on the rule – they will decorate their socks with jewels and sequins while others will wear only the very best socks on earth. These types will then begin to inspect the socks of others,

“Can you believe that Nancy was wearing JC Penney socks to the event today! It was really rather uncouth.”

In time and among those who comply to sock wearing, we will discover divisions based on manufacturer (custom, designer, off the shelf, budget) color, style, length and on and on and on. The youth will really go to town to distinguish themselves – showing obedience but also individuality – and the faith, which ought to be based on nothing more than faith and love, becomes something else – and that is in the lives of the obedient. And in the end, even among the obedient, there will be divisions among the sock wearers.

Consequences of Rule Compliance

Some will only receive those who wear socks that are blessed, some with those who wear socks that are dark, American made socks, socks that go to the knee – you name it, this ONE single rule will cause division, alienation, judgement – all from those who are willing to comply with the rule!!!! None the less.

Then there are those who will break the sock rule. Of course there is an automatic rejection of them from the sock wearers, but there is rebellion in the heart of those who will not comply. They will create their own system of religion – represented by all sorts of forms of emphasizing their rebellion. Some males will pull a Red Hot Chili Pepper stint and put socks on their units as a means to appall and challenge. Some will tattoo the fabric of socks over their ankles. Some will challenge the definition of sock and wearing, and all that. And in the end there will even be division between the rebels.

The conformists will look down on the non-conformists and the non-conformists will mock the conformists for complying with the rules of religious man. All because of one rule – to wear socks to church.

Rule-Making and Its Wide Impact

Can you IMAGINE the constant subtle covert and over judging that goes on amidst a people – and then against the world – when a religion presents DOZENS – DOZENS of rules and laws and commandments upon their people as coming from God?

Can you imagine the amount of conflict to reason and logic? Can you imagine the death of liberty and freedom but most importantly the proliferation of PRIDE (for the complicit) and SHAME (for the resistors)?

And that is all in house, among the members? Imaging the attitudes developed toward the inactives, and then the world itself!

The pious judgement that falls from the minds of people on others who wear a bikini, drink a cup of coffee, have a beer in the garage, or swim in the pool on Sunday? One simply stupid rule on wearing socks will divide the world! Truly!

And God new this. Which is why God accomplished everything in and through the Nation of Israel and their promised Messiah and then destroyed it all materially once and for all.

Looking around we can see that human beings insist on imposing rules, and rituals and traditions on others – it affirms their need for certainty.

But God says, “Hey, individual human being with a mind and heart, made in my image. How about you come to me because you want to, and live the life that I have given you, and choose to love me from the heart – not through what the traditions of man deem necessary.”

But the most sinister frosting to this fugly LDS cake labeled, “keeping the commandments which He has given them,” is the follow-up reason associated with complicity:

“That they MIGHT (might, might!) always have His Spirit to be with them.”

Forget about the dozens of commandments LDS people are told

The Challenges of Conditional Religious Beliefs

Jesus has given them. Go back to the sock rule with me. What the Mormon Sacrament prayer allows these poor people to believe is that IF they don’t wear socks to church (meaning if they see an R-rated movie, or if they get more than one piercing, or if they skip Family Home Evening, or If they question the Bishop or turn down a call from the same) they might lose the presence of God by His Spirit to be with them. All for not “wearing socks.” And people wonder why the suicide rates are so high in Utah among kids, and why the use of anti-depressants is so high in Mormonism.

And in the end these people who are really trying to live up to every word that they commit to in their temples, and at the weekly Sacrament table, and at their water baptisms, are no different than yoked oxen, pulling a loaded wagon through the mud hoping to someday lift off and earn entrance into their man-made heaven. One rule about socks can do this – let alone several dozen.

But the most devastating product that this Sacramental prayer has on its members is it – and the leaders who use it on people – makes them believe that God’s presence, and therefore His love for them – is conditionally based. That if they do NOT live up to every covenant made in the temple this day, they will not only lose the spirit of God, but they will be in the power of Satan. This is what that LDS Sacramental prayer suggests. We don’t find this in other communion prayers and services. It is unique to Mormonism.

Impact on Mental Peace and Liberty

And its effects to peace of mind, serenity in God’s love, and therefore liberty to freely love others, can be devastating – at least in the lives of LDS people who take their vows and covenants seriously. See, if they are really honest, they cannot EVER live up to all of the commandments which the LDS leadership say He has given them. Therefore, they might NOT always have His Spirit to be with them. And therefore the result is self-delusion which suggests that someone IS actually keeping all the commandments, or depression because they know that they can’t, OR one of deception where a person presents to be keeping all of the commandments.

The False Gospel: Delusion, Depression, Deception

Delusion
Depression
Deception

The products of this false gospel. Quite frankly, the products of all materially based, tradition-holding, man-made religions. God set all of us free – first from sin and death, and then to choose to receive Him in faith and love. Nothing more. He LOVES us – the world – so much so that He gave His only human Son to DO – to DO what we could not ever do. We look to Him for strength, solutions, and the power to become sons and daughters of God. And he gives it to any and all who believe. Walking on earth His Son said:

My toke is easy. My burden is light.

He said:

I will NEVER leave you.