The Church: Its Organization, Order and Discipline

Danger of Independence

The danger of indulging a spirit of individual independence is seen in the following quotation: “Independence is a poor thing when it leads you to have too much confidence in yourself, and to trust to your own judgment rather than to respect the counsel and highly estimate the judgment of your brethren, especially of those in the offices which God has appointed for the saving of his people. God has invested his church with special authority and power, which no one can be justified in disregarding and despising; for in so doing he despises the voice of God.”-Testimonies of the Church 3:417. COOD 49.3

“Christ gives power to the voice of the church. ‘Verily I say unto you, whatsoever Ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.’ No such thing is countenanced as one man’s starting out on his own individual responsibility, and advocating what views he chooses, irrespective of the judgment of the church. God has bestowed the highest power under heaven upon his church. It is the voice of God in his united people in church capacity which is to be respected.”-Ibid., 450, 451. COOD 50.1