No mission = breaking commandment

[byu71]

For those who believe that, is there any other commandment you can break, not repent of and still go to the Temple?

If you are breaking a commandment by not going, how can you continue to get an ecclesiastical endorsement to attend BYU. Maybe CB would be a better place to ask the question.

[Maximus]

For those who believe that, is there any other commandment you can break, not repent of and still go to the Temple?

If you are breaking a commandment by not going, how can you continue to get an ecclesiastical endorsement to attend BYU. Maybe CB would be a better place to ask the question.

It all depends on your definition of a commandment. I think it is in a way, but that does not mean you are not worthy of the temple or anything like that. It is disobeying what the leaders of the church have counseled.

[Moliere]

It all depends on your definition of a commandment. I think it is in a way, but that does not mean you are not worthy of the temple or anything like that. It is disobeying what the leaders of the church have counseled.

Counsel <> Commandment

However, obeying wise counsel is always a good thing.

[All-American]

I don't believe it's counsel. I believe the church has commanded every worthy and able young man to serve a mission. If a young man has made choices that render him unworthy or unable, he may very well be held accountable for those choices.

I don't believe you should consider yourself worthy to enter the temple unless you have repented of your sins. (Understand, though, that I believe the repentance process is remarkably simple. The Greek word in the New Testament which we translate as "repentance" is μετάνοια (metanoia)-- literally, "a change of mind." Our English idiom makes it seem a little more whimsical than it actually is; it may be better understood as a change of mindset, or a paradigm shift. Where once you engaged in certain conduct and behaviors, you no longer do.)

The consequence of those two ideas is that if a worthy and able young man elects not to go to on a mission, he shouldn't go to the temple. But neither should somebody who sped on his way there. The church shouldn't bother trying to enforce these kinds of things; de minimis non curat ecclessia. Given all of the different reasons why a person might not have gone on a mission, it isn't in anybody's interest to use it as a screening method. That goes for the bishop giving a recommend as much as an instructor in Sunday School. It's up to the individual to answer the last question of the temple recommend interview and decide whether he is worthy to enter. The question, then, is a personal one, and I wouldn't feel comfortable telling somebody else how to answer it, except to say that you should not enter if you don't feel that you have your life squared away with the expectations of God.

[wuapinmon]

I don't believe it's counsel. I believe the church has commanded every worthy and able young man to serve a mission. If a young man has made choices that render him unworthy or unable, he may very well be held accountable for those choices.

I don't believe you should consider yourself worthy to enter the temple unless you have repented of your sins. (Understand, though, that I believe the repentance process is remarkably simple. The Greek word in the New Testament which we translate as "repentance" is μετάνοια (metanoia)-- literally, "a change of mind." Our English idiom makes it seem a little more whimsical than it actually is; it may be better understood as a change of mindset, or a paradigm shift. Where once you engaged in certain conduct and behaviors, you no longer do.)

The consequence of those two ideas is that if a worthy and able young man elects not to go to on a mission, he shouldn't go to the temple. But neither should somebody who sped on his way there. The church shouldn't bother trying to enforce these kinds of things; de minimis non curat ecclessia. Given all of the different reasons why a person might not have gone on a mission, it isn't in anybody's interest to use it as a screening method. That goes for the bishop giving a recommend as much as an instructor in Sunday School. It's up to the individual to answer the last question of the temple recommend interview and decide whether he is worthy to enter. The question, then, is a personal one, and I wouldn't feel comfortable telling somebody else how to answer it, except to say that you should not enter if you don't feel that you have your life squared away with the expectations of God.

Very nice post. Thank you.