The people in Pinesdale are being put to the test
because of the devastating AUB induced split.
The poor leadership, sexual molestation allegations, and financial scandal
are turning the once unified community of Pinesdale into a “No Man’s Land”
lined with deepening religious trenches.
Ever since LaMoine’s death in 2014 and the controversial appointments of
Lynn Thompson and Harry Bonnell, the community has been one of constant turmoil
as their once seemingly solid religious footing has quickly eroded. Short Creek at least took a couple of
generations to transform from a devoted religious flock into blinded followers
of a sexual deviant. Unfortunately however,
the AUB transition seems to be happening at an accelerated rate.
So what is Pinesdale to do? They see the rock and the hard place they are
in and something has to change. The
problem is they don’t know how to change because their religious culture has
locked them into viewing religious matters from a top down approach. However, Pinesdale has always operated on more
of a grassroots level. For that reason
they gathered in the Pinesdale chapel on Tuesday, February 16, 2016 in hopes of
deciding how to proceed regarding the AUB split. They naively thought they might be able to settle
a religious problem by using a political solution and so they asked for a vote
of who wanted to stay with the AUB and who wanted to keep the status quo. The town hall style approach netted a large
portion who wanted to see things stay under the AUB. Some attendants estimate that the numbers
were 80% in favor of staying with the AUB.
The problem was that the question was asked at the beginning of the meeting
where everyone was in a spirit of coming together to solve a problem. Nevertheless, as the meeting proceeded,
problematic issues with the AUB were articulated and defined. Lines were drawn
but even still the meeting produced no majority momentum one way or the other. In the end, the meeting essentially
accomplished nothing other than to provide an outlet for people to listen or speak
their minds. The meeting was a little
bit like the acknowledgement of a married couple who has finally decided to
divorce but wants to find a way to keep the kids together. The town gathering was a necessary first step
but the members of Pinesdale will eventually find out that their religious problem
will not get settled politically. Matters
of belief and faith are far too complex and too personal to handle by voting.
The people of Pinesdale may be splitting from the AUB
but to say it is a simple matter is simply wrong. Take a look at the results of a recent poll of
approximately 100 regular church goers conducted by Kent Jessop in the adult
Sunday school class two days before the town meeting. The poll is far from scientific but it does
provide an insightful glimpse into the pulse of the community.
Has the council handled the
recent allegations properly? 70% of
those polled thought the allegations were not handled properly with 24% saying
they were unsure. Those results are an
overwhelming 94% indictment of the AUB council and how they handled the
controversy of the sexual molestation charges.
However, when you look at the other questions of the poll, the issue of
splitting from the AUB is not quite as clear.
Do you support Lynn Thompson and
the current AUB council? 56% do not support with 16% who are unsure. That means that 72% of the people in
Pinesdale DO NOT support or at least have serious questions about supporting
Lynn Thompson.
Furthermore, when asked the question of whether Pinesdale should remain under AUB leadership the numbers change. Only 31% would like to see a break from the
AUB with 31% unsure. This 62% figure is
still a clear majority of the people who have a serious problem with the AUB
but only half of that 62% are ready to make the break right now.
The people of Pinesdale have a hard choice to make when
it comes to the AUB. It may seem like an
easy and obvious choice to someone from the outside. After all, their newly appointed leader is an
alleged child molester and has been sexually abusive of women. Their leading council increasingly is looking
like a den of corrupted vipers, hell bent on maintaining their power while hiding
behind the misleading disguise of peace and unity. Again, this looks like an obvious
choice. However, when their seemingly
obvious choice comes face to face with the reality of families staying together
and a community built on blood, sweat and tears crumbling down around them, their
seemingly obvious choice gets clouded with the emotional history of a people
who have sacrificed nearly everything for their belief system. To the people of Pinesdale, walking away from
their history feels a lot like quitting, and they are anything but
quitters.
They will however eventually realize that the religious
split they are experiencing can only be decided on an individual basis. They can’t put it to a vote. Each individual has a multiple choice test to
take.
A.
Do I stay
with the AUB and accept the leadership of Lynn Thompson and the new Pinesdale
Bishop?
B.
Do I
declare my independence from the AUB leadership?
C.
Should I
seek my religious faith in another organization outside of Pinesdale?
It’s not an easy test to take, there is no obvious correct answer, and
unfortunately, there isn’t an “all of the above” bubble to fill in.
1 comment:
I find it humorous that someone on the outside is trying to tell us what we are all thinking or what we have to do. I think Joe's motives are questionable and it looks like he enjoys stirring the pot while pretending to be unbiased. I for one add my faithful feet to the one true priesthood vine. We have have only one obvious choice to make and that is to stay faithful to the correct and clear line of authority that has been passed down to us from Lorin Woolley and is now in the hands of Brother Lynn. So what if the controversy was not handled very good. It's time to forgive and move on in performing the Lord's work.
Post a Comment