Doctrines, Principles, and Practices
All Latter-day Saints would be better off if they understood the difference between doctrines, principles, and practices. (As taught by my Eternal Families professor, Dr. Larry Nelson.)
This is doctrine: a true, broad phrase heavily repeated throughout scripture and at the pulpit during General Conference, and can never change. In order to experience eternal happiness, all should live by these and it is possibly for absolutely anybody to live by doctrine.
A principle is an if/then statement based in doctrine. These are promised blessings should we follow God's commandments. Many of these are also found in the scriptures, and in General Conference talks, but they can change.
Finally, there are practices among the Latter-Day Saints. These are day to day activities and habits that individuals create in order to align themselves to God's doctrine and principles. Practices are personal. One will never hear a General Authority promote a practice. They differ based on the person.
For example, God is our Heavenly Father. This is doctrine.
A principle is an if/then statement based in doctrine. These are promised blessings should we follow God's commandments. Many of these are also found in the scriptures, and in General Conference talks, but they can change.
Finally, there are practices among the Latter-Day Saints. These are day to day activities and habits that individuals create in order to align themselves to God's doctrine and principles. Practices are personal. One will never hear a General Authority promote a practice. They differ based on the person.
For example, God is our Heavenly Father. This is doctrine.
Because God is our Father, we should pray to Him. This is a principle.
I will only use honorific language when I pray to God. This is a practice.
Amen to the testimony that is based solely on a principle. Lots of members leave the church whenever there is a policy change. Surely there are blessings from living by principles, but the Saints should always remember that these are not as permanent as doctrine.
Should one Saint compare her practices to other's, the first could feel inadequate, or worse, the latter could be judgmental of the first. God gives us doctrine and expects us to live up to it as best as we can personally. Practices are judged by God alone.
As a twenty-two-year-old in my Relief Society, I can sometimes feel overwhelmed because I absorb practices I hear from my fellow sisters as doctrine and I feel this intense desire to mold my life to it. This can only cause me stress. I also become disillusioned by all the practices I attempt to apply. There has never come any blessing into my life by following a practice I heard from someone else in church. I can find blessings rooted in the principles and doctrines of God. There is no such promise in a practice. Heaven forbid I fill my life with meaningless practices and wake up one day and wonder why I am doing the things I am.
When I focus on the doctrine, I know exactly why. I know I pray because God is my Heavenly Father and I want to talk to Him. I know I go to church because God has given my the Sabbath. I know I attend the temple because God is not just my Heavenly Father, but the Heavenly Father of everyone who was ever on the earth, and I must labor to return them to Him.
I will only use honorific language when I pray to God. This is a practice.
Amen to the testimony that is based solely on a principle. Lots of members leave the church whenever there is a policy change. Surely there are blessings from living by principles, but the Saints should always remember that these are not as permanent as doctrine.
Should one Saint compare her practices to other's, the first could feel inadequate, or worse, the latter could be judgmental of the first. God gives us doctrine and expects us to live up to it as best as we can personally. Practices are judged by God alone.
As a twenty-two-year-old in my Relief Society, I can sometimes feel overwhelmed because I absorb practices I hear from my fellow sisters as doctrine and I feel this intense desire to mold my life to it. This can only cause me stress. I also become disillusioned by all the practices I attempt to apply. There has never come any blessing into my life by following a practice I heard from someone else in church. I can find blessings rooted in the principles and doctrines of God. There is no such promise in a practice. Heaven forbid I fill my life with meaningless practices and wake up one day and wonder why I am doing the things I am.
When I focus on the doctrine, I know exactly why. I know I pray because God is my Heavenly Father and I want to talk to Him. I know I go to church because God has given my the Sabbath. I know I attend the temple because God is not just my Heavenly Father, but the Heavenly Father of everyone who was ever on the earth, and I must labor to return them to Him.
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