Section 163:3b
Pursue Peace

Discernment Process

Prophetic people are called to identify where God is active in the world, and join in the divine activity. Our discernment on Doctrine and Covenants 163:3b will focus on that attempt. Use the following steps to direct your discernment process:

1. Offer a prayer of thanks for the world God has created, loved, and redeemed.

2. Take a few moments to consider how God might view your neighborhood and community. What injustices occur? List them. Consider them prayerfully, and review the list until one situation or problem takes on importance and urgency. Identify it clearly. Does it impact you personally or impact people you know? Can you put a face with the situation? Meditate on the injustice, and allow it to claim your full attention and emotion.

3. Enter into a time of silent reflection. Sit in a comfortable position, and cup your hands as if you were holding a small globe. Imagine placing into your cupped hands the in justice about which you feel most strongly. Lift it silently to God. Open your hands, asking God to transform this injustice into a situation of wholeness and equity. Return your hands to your lap, and sit quietly, in an attitude of openness and listening. What can you discern of God’s activity in the world, surrounding this issue? How can you join God in working for justice? What is God calling you to do about this situation?

4. Carefully consider the invitation you have received to act for justice. What information will you need to obtain to become more knowledgeable on the issue? What community initiatives are already in place that you might support? What legislative issues require your voice of advocacy through letter, phone call, or public meeting?

5. Identify one thing you can do to make a difference, and prayerfully seek God’s direction and guidance in following through. Remember that God is with you in all things as you uphold the worth of persons.

For Further Reflections and Discussion

1. Briefly share a story from the Gospels that demonstrates Jesus’ compassion for the poor or action against injustice. How do those stories reflect the oppression of the purity codes of the day?

2. Christian Skoorsmith is quoted as saying that Section 163 “is not only inspiring and challenging, it’s dangerous.” He identifies the poor, the hungry, and both the victims and perpetrators of violence, asking us, “What matters most?” Who else might demand this of the Community of Christ and why?

3. Briefly share a story from the Gospels that demonstrates the exclusive nationalism prevalent in Jesus’ day. How did Jesus counteract it?

4. “Jesus’ critique was not aimed at the Roman oppressors, but at the powerful elite within his own nation, who oppressed the poor.” What are some parallels in today’s world? What are the consequences of raising a voice for justice within one’s own society, rather than speaking out against oppression from without? Identify one internal injustice in your own society that should be corrected, and tell one thing that could make a difference.

5. The author writes, “Jesus did not negate the Torah, but rather reinterpreted the laws in the light of grace, generosity, the love of God for all nations, and the establishment of whole, healthy relationships.” Why is this distinction important?

6. Our society today is a modified purity system. Look around you. Who are considered the top of the heap? Who are at the bottom? Whom do you consider, as a matter of course, the most pure, the most favored, the most righteous, the most likely to enter the kingdom of God? What would happen if the current structure were completely reversed and the powerful, wealthy, and pampered found themselves at the bottom of the social hierarchy?

7. “God lives among, and sheds grace upon, the impoverished and marginalized, the outcasts and enemies, the perpetrators and terrorists.” Do you believe that? Why or why not?