#like this also implies Black churches can be run by Black leaders and don't need white oversight on their (Black) congregations

[not-so-superheroine]

i can't stop typing once I do. i didn't hammer on this but I do believe it is a God Inspired revelation. And that's a big reason that it shouldn't be removed. the Doctrine and Covenants is a book of divine revelation after all. that comes first. and look at what it has come to pass! good fruit. which is proof of the revelation being good. this goodness comes from the Lord.

scripture comes through flawed men and then can be misused/abused to cause harm. that goes for scripture in general. not just the Doctrine and Covenants (or the Book of Mormon). it's absurd to throw the messy bits down the memory hole. esp when the core is GOOD like this one.

no cap/hj throw away the book of revelations b4 this section imo.

no cap /srs revelations is a powerful book one can use to talk real about imperialism but i didn't encounter that until my latter day conversion. so it's not a common take (from my limited world view) so, imo, it's probably for the best that most christians ignore it. many don't and make it everyone else's problem that they don't have the context and will not seek academical context and think it's ridiculous to do so. the catholics have a Point about that “who interprets the scripture” thing. i seek professional help,for scriptures!,all the time. And in church I am asked to do so. and encouraged to take classes through the church program with the seminary. Leaders and teachers are just an email away. Sometimes a phone call away. Someone you KNOW KNOWS their scriptures may even be a call or text or knock on the door away. For me, call or text or email is definitely true.

but...

i also observe my right to record my experiences with God and any Divine narratives the Divine decides to reveal to me as scripture. And God has spoken to me and may speak to me as She spoke to Sarah and Deborah. When my Divine Mother does, I write.

The Duality of a Saint.

My article on Doctrine and Covenants 116 (RLDS), why it should remain as scripture...

(...and white paternalism in the church.)

I never posted this here because I don't know any Community of Christ saints on tumblr (shout out to tumblrstake saints for letting me hang out with them) Please read if interested in RLDS/CofC D&C scriptures and how we can do wild things like remove scripture via common consent. Or if you are interested in an issue that affects/affected Black Saints in Community of Christ. Esp in the United States church w/ Black american Saints.

TL;DR at the bottom

I wrote an article on Doctrine and Covenants section 116 and published it on medium. I also sent some copies out to church friends in historical societies. This was winter/spring 2023. (i later found out it made it's way to the First Presidency bc the Counselor to the President reached out about it. ) D&C 116, in part, pertains to the ordination of men of color, with a heavy focus on Black men. The revelation the Prophet Joseph Smith III received from God is that it is God's will that men of all races be ordained. It was adopted into the Doctrine and Covenants in 1865. It also has less savory parts that were used to justify segregation. When I asked those who wanted it out felt that it could lead people away/astray. They focus in on their, not unbased, conclusion that the revelation stated segregation is God's will, and therefore is false. All of the person's who spoke against it in my life were white reorganized saints. I decided to ask my Black brothers and sisters in Community of Christ. Many who experienced the church during the era of segregation. And, as I had a suspicion, none of them/us wanted it removed and were against the measure. Some felt it wasn't appropiate to weigh in due to position. Some didn't like it but didn't want to lead a charge on it. Some were quite vocal and gave presentations to the unofficial latter day saint groups. Some heard of my work (a newbie convert. pre-baptism for part of it. that's while I'm still shocked), and tracked me down, to talk about the matter. Generations of Black reorganized saints who all, for different yet overlapping reasons, wanted it to remain. Many let me listen to them and publish quotes. In the united states, Community of Christ is majority white. I think this is the case for most Latter Day Saint churches. It is quite possible that the stake/mission center that presented this resolution to the Conference didn't have Black members involved. I hazard that this is the case. Coming mostly from a good place but also unintentionally condescending or harmful. So I had to do something about it. obviously.

I went to an Apostle's presentation on Prophet-President JSIII and D&C 116 and was like "can I help you with more work on this topic?" and he was like "no, but i can help you?" he gave me his short powerpoint presentation, recommended me a few books, and I got to work. https://medium.com/@wednesdayrjones/doctrine-and-covenants-116-is-significant-scripture-and-scripture-is-what-it-should-remain-11bbcee561c3 My personal experience with the section when I first read it was evidence of the prophetic nature of the church. I was happy to see D&C 116 because it was a step in the right direction. A big one. Similar verbiage can be found in the revelation on Women in the Priesthood. God tells us, and we acknowledge in the Doctrine and and Covenants, that the misuse of scripture too often harms marginalized people and the Church is called to repent of such practices. that's continuing revelation, sis/bro/sib

The 1st Prophet of the Reorganization, Joseph Smith III, earned my respect in part by engaging with him through this text. And those early Black saints, whose' testimonies' i read and hold dearly, certainly have my respect and my adoration. i hope to embody the hope for Zion and activeness in bringing God's kingdom forth that they had.

we (me and other Black saints involved and our allies) were successful btw. the resolution went up to the first presidency for them to decide, as it wasn't decided on at the World Conference by common consent due to time restraints (I did have a few delegates promise to read parts of my article during their time in the discussion period). The First Presidency made no moves to remove it and i am glad to have had a part in that.

TL;DR here is an article i wrote about Doctrine and Covenants 116 - Race in the Priesthood in Community of Chirst/RLDS. It was up for removal and now it's not. Much due to the work of Black saints, including myself, those I interviewed, and others I was blessed to interact with. let me know what you think or if you have any questions about it or Prophet-President Joseph Smith III or his politics on race and abolition as well has his father's (from his presidential platform. Prophet-President Joseph Smith Jr. The 1st prophet of the Restoration.), or books recommendations or my beliefs surrounding this scripture, the Doctrine and Covenants as a whole, modern day prophets and prophecy and Continuing revelation etc. Or for my fellow saints, this sounds similar or bizzare? and do you have any questions about things like World Conference or how common consent is used within CofC? Any comments regarding OD2 and similarities / differences? I love to talk about history, esp where it ties with my faith. and it brings to mind, what does it mean for scripture to be Inspired.

or let me know if this inspires you to take on a sort of project, church or otherwise. Learning the D&C in depth requires knowledge of the the state of the church and historical context in which the prophet is seeking answers for is so fascinating.

[aqueeraphale]

All right Ghost and Pals fans I've got a Honey I'm Home theory:

The moth represents Norman's mother, and the song as a whole is a metaphor for being abused by religion.

Let me explain:

[This post contains discussion of religion/cults, abuse, insects, and human torture/experimentation]

Ghost said straight up that there's five new OCs in Honey I'm Home right? Exactly five. It's emphasized a lot.

[Image ID: a screenshot from the description of Ghost's upload of Honey I'm Home that reads: "y'all get FIVE - not one, not two, not three, not four, not six, not forty-seven, but FIVE new ocs of mine so there's that". End ID]

That's *incredibly* specific, but it checks out. Mostly. Visually, there's five characters: Norman, their father the mantis, the moth, weird Redead god, Charon the spider, and the angel(s) we see a flash of in the outro instrumental. There's a sixth character mentioned in passing, though: Norman's mother. "The abandonment of scenery in the mind of mother," yeah? But that's such a minor reference, you're probably thinking. It's symbolic parallelism to the mentions of father in the first verse.

That's entirely possible, but with how deep Ghost's songs run I think it's more than that.

We can obviously say that Norman's mother isn't Norman, Norman's father, God, or Charon (seeing as Ghost confirms in the description that it's meant to be pronounced like the guy on the River Styx). Originally, I assumed that the disturbed angel we see in the end of the video was Mother, because of the parallel between the two "abandonment of scenery" lines (conflating Mother with the rearview mirror, ie the past). It would make sense, given the implied abusive situation Norman was in with his father, that his mother had passed, leaving him with no recourse or protection. The fact that the parallel to the rearview mirror is the **mind** of mother, though, is what throws a wrench in that.

On my first dozen or so watches I thought the moth was a corrupted symbol of Lucifer (the lightbringer as a creature that chases light regardless of consequence), like I read Charon as a corrupted symbol of Judas (instead of subtle and regretful betrayal with a kiss on the cheek, direct and presumably unrepentant sabotage with a kiss on the mouth). It makes sense with how a lot of interpretations of sympathetic Lucifer read: saying the exact same things as God, but demanding that right to be equal instead of paternalistic. Then I took a closer look at the visual symbolism:

[Image ID: a screenshot of Honey I'm Home's pv: a moth entrapped in a spider's web. It's quoted as saying "So, come to me, we can change night into day." End ID]

Lo and behold, spiderwebs. I actually can't believe I missed that on my first few watches--from the moment we meet the moth, it's entangled in webs, as if it's trapped in the influence of Charon, our dear God-allied spider. Its exact words are echoed by God in the next verse, where he has the moth trapped. With how we see Charon and God allied, this paints the moth in a new light--it doesn't have agency, or at least not total agency. It is, at least in part, parroting what God has taught it.

The thing is, a spider doesn't force webs on you. You walk into them and get tangled. Moths chase lights, like God's solar-eclipse halo. In just the same way, people chase security and safety as a survival method, and scores of people turn to religion when they need spiritual security.

This is where Norman and his family come in. Picture this: you're stuck in a tense, harmful relationship, with someone who has the audacity to tell your child that the world "isn't for them," who feels the need to cut off your rapport to them (the umbilical cord is a link between child and mother, after all). When you look for help, there the church is, and you inch a little closer to the light, and a little closer--

And then you're ensnared, so much so the horrors of your memories are little more than scenery in your rearview mirror. It's wonderful enough you repeat your doctrine to everyone who listens, even if you don't fully analyze what it all means. It helped you after all, so why can't it help others?

There's even visual confirmation that the moth is an intrinsic part of Norman:

[Image IDs: three seperate screenshots of Honey I'm Home's PV. One shows Norman normally, one shows Norman with his chest sliced open for vivisection, and one shows Norman in a different outfit with scars from where he was cut open. All three images feature prominent patterns of concentric circles of moth wings. End ID]

We see Norman prominently surrounded by moth wings, even after he's been vivisected and transformed. Nearly everything what visually significant about Norman changes: he's gained a halo, lost his bandages and any scars that were underneath, is showing way more skin, and has black scleras and no glasses. His posture is even inverted--in each shot he's lifting a different hand, and the early Norman is confident or vindictive while the second is meek or remorseful. And yet, the moth wings remain. They're in *identical* places in the two shots that have Norman at the center of the frame. The moth is a part of Norman, even after God's scooped him out.

Also worth noting is that Norman's transformation makes him more visually similar not to the angels, but to God himself.

[Image ID: God as he appears in the Honey I'm Home pv. He is a gaunt figure with an eerie grin and dark circles instead of eyes. Black lines run down his cheeks like tears, and he wears loose, flowing robes that expose one shoulder. End ID]

[Image ID: the angel from the Honey I'm Home pv. They have the same dark eyes and tear lines as God and Norman post-transformation, but they instead wear a tight turtleneck. End ID]

Everyone allied with God, and Norman after his transformation--they all have the same eyes, with black scleras. Everyone except Charon has tear tracks. But Norman dresses like God more than anyone else-- his outfit appears to be made of the same material, and also exposes skin.

One last note before I tie this all together: vivisection is an INCREDIBLY loaded word. Scientifically, it's the act of making a v-shaped cut through a living organism's torso to view its innards--think a dissection on something living or a highly invasive biopsy. But just Google the word, and the connotation becomes immediately apparent: vivisection, as a term, is chiefly used in biomedical trials on animals...or to refer to illegal organ harvesting and medical torture in humans. The word is specifically used when referring to several different kinds of unethical human experimentation, which I'm not going to go into because I would rather not be triggered this late at night. Needless to say, Norman is straight up not having a good time with whatever's been done to him, even if you ignore the shot of post-vivisection Norman looking something awful.

So what does this all mean? Literally, we see the tale of a boy running from an abusive home life into the arms of a God and a spider who transform him for their own purposes against his will. Metaphorically, it's how many religious organizations and cults treat the disenfranchised. They lure victims in with promises of safety and light that are impossible or too good to be true. But if a person is desperate enough for help, they can be made to believe anything--that your abusive father can be knocked aside with enough prayer, that your God can turn night into day. A normal church gives you shelter and lets you out at your leisure. An abusive church or a cult blackmails you into staying, by threatening your eternal soul, or your possessions, or by giving you the kiss of death from a poisonous spider named after the man who ferries you to Hades. So, if you're trapped, you stay, and cave to more and more demands, until you're hollowed out and made into the image of what they want you to be. And many people extracting themselves from this kind of abuse report gaslighting--that they were convinced by their spiritual leader that the world was against them, and that the only place it's safe to be is in the fold, away from the world and from retaliation by the people who say they love you. It's just that much easier to be drawn in if you're following in your family's footsteps.

I can't wait for the next song in this series, solely because of the angel we see at the end. They're clearly aware enough to be disturbed by what they're seeing--there's a good chance we'll see the other side of the coin, of how terrifying God and Charon can be.

But when it comes down to it, everything Norman does makes perfect sense. He looks for sanctuary, and he finds it. From his point of view, it probably didn't seem like that big of a sacrifice just to have somewhere he could call home. A twisted home it may be, but it's a home.