A Broken Heart = Church Broke

[Bosch]

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked to give the HPG lesson. The lesson was on Elder Cook's conference talk "See Yourself in the Temple."

1st - I rarely go to HPG. It is painfully boring.
2nd - I thought I had been on the banned list of teachers in the ward.
3rd - I hated that talk. Just about everything about that talk pushed my disaffection buttons. I haven't had an active temple recommend in ages.

I should have said no, but how do you overcome so many years of conditioning and programming?

One of the items that came up was what do we sacrifice in the modern temple? A broken heart and a contrite spirit? One gentleman, who is an CES Institute Teacher said that to have a broken heart, you needed to be Church Broke, just like you needed to break a young horse to be completely obedient to its master. Broken hearted mean that we will follow the leaders of CHQ without question. This is what is being taught to Institute students these days. That breaks my heart.

ps. I have a son getting married next year. I am deeply conflicted about renewing my recommend to go to his wedding. This is breaking my heart, too.

[Red Ryder]

You bring up an interesting topic that I've been struggling with.

I recognize this pattern religion creates by convincing people they are weak and then offering up opportunities to overcome this weakness. John Larsen did an excellent mormon expression podcast about this. I've been trying to flip this thinking on its head and rewire my brain to think in different terms. Here's what I've come up with so far:

The church:
Wants me to be weak, humble, submissive, and obedient to the leaders of the church.
This binds me to the church as the source of happiness.
When I'm not happy, it's my fault.
So be obedient to the leaders of the church and happiness will follow.
Find a personal relationship with God while binding yourself to the church.
Rinse and repeat.

RR's new thinking:
If God (I'm still trying to get to know this man/women) is all knowing and all powerful then he would expect us humans to become strong powerful human beings so that we can defend the world against evil and stand up for what's right. Protect the weak, help them grow into strong independent human beings with future certainty to become God. This is the same God that threatens them with eternal damnation and empty threats to be kicked out of the sky mansion and become cut off from the celestial laundry room forever.

If we are not raised to be strong and powerful, how else will be become future Gods that destroy populations of our wicked children with earthquakes, famines, and all other acts of nature? How will we command our prophets to kill their own children on an alter? Or command our prophets to marry teenage brides, inflict damaging policies, and confound and confuse members with teachings of past prophets with the teachings of current prophets? How will we become schizophrenic Gods if we live this life as weak and humble church broke members subjecting our will and freedom to the leaders of the church?

[wtfluff]

One gentleman, who is an CES Institute Teacher said that to have a broken heart, you needed to be Church Broke

I'm curious, did the aforementioned "gentleman actually use the words: "Church Broke"?

[Corsair]

Quinton Cook's talk was among my least favorite in the latest general conference that had more than a few annoying talks. His "Valiant in the Testimony of Jesus" is more accurately "Valiant in the Testimony of the Modern Institutional LDS Church". The "See Yourself in the Temple" talk feels like a passive aggressive way to shame you into getting a new TR.

"Church broke" is not a meme that any faithful Mormon should be embracing. It is easily deconstructed since we actually should be followers of Jesus Christ. The Mountain Meadows Massacre occurred, in part, because too many faithful Saints were "church broke" and followed Isaac C. Haight and John D. Lee instead of pointing out that murdering a bunch of pioneers was definitely not a Christlike activity. Every LDS family that kicks out an LGBT child is church broke. Every faithful LDS spouse that divorces a spouse due only to apostasy is church broke. Every couple that marries in a temple even when one parent without a TR can't attend is church broke. Every mission president that tells a missionary to stay on their mission despite having a dying family member back home is church broke. The BYU Honor Code is defended by men and women who are church broke. Every Mormon who insists on standing when a visiting GA walks in the room is church broke.

We need more men and women who are thoughtful followers of Jesus Christ and fewer people who are "church broke".

[Jinx]

We need more men and women who are thoughtful followers of Jesus Christ and fewer people who are "church broke".

Can I get an amen?

When I heard that terminology in the leaked videos I was sickened and appalled.

[Enough Is Enough]

To me, the phrase “church broke” is emblematic of what’s wrong with the modern church. I mentioned it in my introduction because it just might be my number-one cultural issue with the church. It’s wrong on so many levels. As a parent, I can’t imagine wanting to “break” my children. I want them to grow and think and learn and, yes, call me out if I do something wrong. But (putting on my residual Mormon hat) I’m to believe that God’s intent for the leaders of “His” church is to “break” the members like horses and command, order, and (directly or indirectly) compel them to obey? It’s too bad Adam and Eve ever partook of the fruit of the tree of knowledge. Lacking knowledge and awareness, they would have been so much easier to herd and compel (to go on missions, pay a full tithe, never question, obey every command, etc.). (Yes, I understand most readers here no longer accept Mormon doctrines; I’m just trying to also make the point within a Mormon context.)

The fact that the notion of “church broke” has taken root in the culture also suggests something about the quality of leadership in the church. Sure, members who obey without question because they’re “broken” are easier to rule or control, but the job of a leader in any church isn’t to rule but to lead, teach, encourage, exhort, and even learn. The leader who can inspire members to choose to do something is mature; an immature leader tells them to do it because it’s a required duty. Of course, the do-as-I-say style of leadership also subverts feedback from lower in the hierarchy and facilitates an environment of one-way accountability and transparency (always pointing down the hierarchy, never up).

It’s an unhealthy culture that accepts and encourages such nonsense as “church broke” members. To me, it’s closely related to the notion of an Abrahamic test, in which the person tested is expected to violate their innate moral sense and simply obey the higher authority. Another anecdotal but related and worrisome symptom involves the (verified?/unverified?) account(s) of Elder Bednar teaching that we give up our agency when we accept baptism. All in all, I see several deeply rooted trends all pointing in the same direction. If this style of leadership and administration were implemented anywhere else Mormons would scream “persecution!” and “unrighteous dominion!”

[2bizE]

It’s an unhealthy culture that accepts and encourages such nonsense as “church broke” members. To me, it’s closely related to the notion of an Abrahamic test, in which the person tested is expected to violate their innate moral sense and simply obey the higher authority. Another anecdotal but related and worrisome symptom involves the (verified?/unverified?) account(s) of Elder Bednar teaching that we give up our agency when we accept baptism. All in all, I see several deeply rooted trends all pointing in the same direction. If this style of leadership and administration were implemented anywhere else Mormons would scream “persecution!” and “unrighteous dominion!”

This!
It is leadership run amuck. Our leaders keep leading us into places that bind our minds from rational thought. No different than the Nazi regime or Jonestown. We have all had too much punch to drink.
Breaking free of these bindings requires greater strength as our fellow members cannot see how they are being held captive.

[Hermey]

One of the items that came up was what do we sacrifice in the modern temple? A broken heart and a contrite spirit? One gentleman, who is an CES Institute Teacher said that to have a broken heart, you needed to be Church Broke, just like you needed to break a young horse to be completely obedient to its master. Broken hearted mean that we will follow the leaders of CHQ without question. This is what is being taught to Institute students these days. That breaks my heart.

This is so inherently evil and is what allows for something like the MMM to eventually take place. Or its modern day equivalent, the November policy - where families are being destroyed and kids are killing themselves.

[AllieOop]

"Church broke" is the term that was used to describe former Senator Gordon Smith when he was introduced to speak to some of the 12 behind closed doors in the recently leaked videos. It's a dangerous term, IMO, but the leaders seemed to understand its meaning.

http://www.sltrib.com/lifestyle/faith/4 ... discussing

Quote from article:

Former Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore. and a Mormon, spoke to church leaders in 2009, shortly after his term expired, saying he regarded "his [LDS] temple recommend as more important than an election certificate."

Ralph Hardy, then an LDS authority who served in the Washington, D.C., area, introduces Smith and describes the senator's staff, who were not Mormon, as "church broke."

"In fact," Hardy says, "not many months ago [Smith's] legislative director called me on the phone and said, 'Ralph, you haven't called us in six weeks, what are we supposed to be doing?' "

Hardy and Smith tell the leaders that having Latter-day Saints in the Senate has "inestimable value to the church," particularly when it comes to assisting the faith's missionary goals.

*****

[deacon blues]

Church broke is a phrase that points to my main problem with the LDS church, which is loyalty to an authoritarian organization. The emphasis on deemphasizing the gospel of Jesus Christ to promote piercings, Word of Wisdom, tithing, odd temple ordinances, odd temple interviews etc. etc. is so ticky tack, paddy cake, namby pamby, mote and beam sickness-like, that I try to ignore it in all its manifestations, which is hard when you want to see a family member get married.

[Bosch]

One gentleman, who is an CES Institute Teacher said that to have a broken heart, you needed to be Church Broke

I'm curious, did the aforementioned "gentleman actually use the words: "Church Broke"?

I'm not sure if he specifically used the term "church broke", but he did say that having a broken heart would be like being "horse broke" - with us being in complete obedience to the leaders of the church.

BTW - It's good to see this site back up. Thanks to those who put this whole thing together. For a time, I felt like a lone wanderer in the lone and dreary world.