CoC president resigns...

Community of Christ (formerly Reorganized LDS Church) president/prophet W. Grant McMurray has resigned his office and been released from the priesthood (read the official church statement here, and Pres. McMurray's personal letter here)  One of the official reasons is his recent diagnosis with Parkinson's disease, but also due to what McMurray calls 'inappropriate choices' which (of course) are not elaborated on by either him or other church officials, yet will undoubtedly be a topic of vast speculation for the next weeks and months.

I have had some exposure to the Community of Christ--and Pres. McMurray in particular--over the years--perhaps mostly out of curiousity about how things were going 'over there'.  While I don't believe Pres. McMurray has any kind of real prophetic authority, I have read some of his talks and view him as a compassionate leader who genuinely cares about his faith and for the people he serves.  His sudden departure will likely be another tough trial for a church that has already had many.

The divergent history and progression of the LDS Church and the RLDS Church is a rich topic for discussion, and perhaps this event will mark a good time to focus on it for near-future blog essays.  (Not today, though...)  There have been many among LDS Church members (then and now) that openly push for 'liberalization' of Church doctrines and policies.  The story of the RLDS Church--who quite openly embraced more liberal ideas many years ago--may serve as a cautionary tale of sorts for what might happen on the LDS side should those particular Church members get their wish, and is worthy of further discussion....