I once attempted to explain eternal families to a non-Mormon friend. He seemed confused. He was under the impression that all families would be together in heaven, no matter what, as long as they were mostly good people.
This concept was strange to me. I believed, as the Church taught, that eternal families were a conditional blessing.
If we are to forget the idolatrous costs of Latter-day temples, we still have an issue: the ordinances performed in the temple are anti-Christian.
The Biblical Christ and the Book of Mormon Christ never mention eternal families. They never mention temples as the place for ordinances. To the Biblical Christ, it would seem that families are eternal no matter what.
To the Latter-day Christ, conditions apply.
The Christ of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only Christ, to my knowledge, who does not allow all families to be together forever. Mormons are very familiar with the phrase “families can be together forever.” [1] Most Christians, however, would say that families “will be together forever.” Without restriction. Without conditions. All families will be together for all time.
For a Latter-day family to be together forever, they must meet certain requirements. They must be righteous and worthy. They must be straight (or act straight.) They must have access to the big white building made of stone. They must meet together and perform the ordinance. They must continue to live worthily (according to Latter-day standards of worthiness.) They must never consume coffee or alcohol. They must always retain a testimony of current Church leaders. They must never do wrong. If they do, they are at risk of losing their family forever.
The Latter-day Christ is the only Christ who will separate most families from each other in the eternities. All non-Mormon families. All unrepentant coffee-drinking families. All families who do not believe in the current Latter-day Church prophet. They are damned by Christ to live separately forever.
Is this Christian? Maybe it is. Perhaps Christ is the vindictive, merciless man of the Mormon Church. It is strange, though, that such a harsh restriction would not be mentioned in either the Book of Mormon or the Bible.
I have this image of the Latter-day Christ:
He sits atop a castle on a hill. It is His house. Atop His castle is a glistening golden statue. Inside are marble hallways, art of great value, crystalline chandeliers, gold fixtures, expensive rugs and carpets and wallpapers, ornate chairs and statues, and beautifully painted pictures of Himself. Around his castle is a tall fence. Inside, the Latter-day Christ sits atop a pile of money worth almost $300 billion. The money has been given to Him by those who want to go inside His castle to meet Him.
He rifles through a stack of bills. A poor woman and her child knock on his castle door. The Latter-day Christ refuses to see them. They have not paid their share to his pile of money. The woman drinks coffee in the mornings. They are not allowed into His house. As they leave, they ask for a few dollars to take the bus back home. The Latter-day Christ refuses. He needs the pile of money for a “rainy day.” [2] As they leave, a man arrives. He has recently, after many years of loneliness, found love with another man. For the first time in his life, he is truly happy. He has come to share his newfound happiness with his Savior. His Savior refuses to see him. As the man leaves, broken and defeated, his Savior calls after him. “Repent!” says the Lord.
This is the Latter-day Christ.
[1] This motif is regularly expressed in Mormonism: in songs, in sermons, in devotionals, in prayers. It may be considered the most foundational of all LDS doctrines.
[2] The phrase “rainy-day fund” has been used ad nauseum by Church officials to describe the Church’s massive wealth. Most recently, it was used by Christopher Waddell of the Presiding Bishopric (the body of the Church which regulates its finances,) in a post-whistleblower interview, when news officials asked what the funds were being used for. He replied, saying the church is unable to predict “when the next 2008 is going to take place. If something like that [an economic recession] were to happen again, we won’t have to stop missionary work.”
Why, it must be asked, would the Church be unable to predict such a thing, if it is run by Prophets and Seers?
