Alma 6:3

Everything written in the books we call scriptures is not a doctrinal truth.  Often the statements are more a reflection of the people and times they lived in.  We are reading "their stories".  But if looked at, examined, and discussed all of these stories can help us on our journeys to understand who God is and His great and constant love for us.

Verse 3 in Alma chapter 6 reads, "and it also came to pass that whosoever did belong to the church that did not repent of their wickedness and humble themselves before God - I mean those who were lifted up in the pride of their hearts - the same were rejected, and their names were blotted out, that their names were not numbered among those of the righteous."

I personally seen no reasoning in this philosophy. If the members of the church here are calling themselves "the righteous" and you don't belong to us if you aren't also "righteous" then aren't they just like the Zoramites in chapter 31 who said "... and thou hast elected us that we shall be saved, whilst all around us are elected to be cast by the wrath down to hell..."?

Let's look in Matthew 9:9-13 and read the Savior's words in this story of his encounter with Matthew. 

"And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.

And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.

And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, why eateth your master with publicans and sinners?

But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.

But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

This is an ideal I can aspire to.  I liken it to King Benjamin's words, "Are we not all beggars?"

Elder Jeffrey R Holland in the October 2017 conference gave a talk entitled "Be Ye Therefore Perfect - Eventually".  He shares a story by Leo Tolstoy.

"In that regard, Leo Tolstoy wrote once of a priest who was criticized by one of his congregants for not living as resolutely as he should, the critic concluding that the principles the erring preacher taught must therefore also be erroneous.

In response to that criticism, the priest says: “Look at my life now and compare it to my former life. You will see that I am trying to live out the truth I proclaim.” Unable to live up to the high ideals he taught, the priest admits he has failed. But he cries:

“Attack me, [if you wish,] I do this myself, but [don’t] attack … the path I follow. … If I know the way home [but] am walking along it drunkenly, is it any less the right way simply because I am staggering from side to side?

“… Do not gleefully shout, ‘Look at him! … There he is crawling into a bog!’ No, do not gloat, but give … your help [to anyone trying to walk the road back to God.]”"  (The New Way,” Leo Tolstoy: Spiritual Writings, sel. Charles E. Moore (2006), 81–82.)

He concludes by testifying of the Savior's love: "I testify that in this and every hour He is, with nail-scarred hands, extending to us that same grace, holding on to us and encouraging us, refusing to let us go until we are safely home in the embrace of Heavenly Parents."  That is the love that we must all hang on to and the same love that will allow us to welcome all into our lives and into our meetings.

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Another great reference is Elder Dale G. Renlund talk in conference in April of 2015. (Latter-day Saints Keep on Trying)  The first paragraph tells a story about Nelson Mandela.

My dear brothers and sisters, in December 2013 the world mourned the death of Nelson Mandela. After 27 years of imprisonment for his role in the anti apartheid struggle, Mandela was the first democratically elected president of South Africa. His forgiveness of those who had imprisoned him was remarkable. He received widespread acclaim and praise.  Mandela frequently deflected accolades by saying, “I’m no saint—that is, unless you think a saint is a sinner who keeps on trying.”

He also says:  "We must not only be tolerant while others work on their individual illnesses; we must also be kind, patient, supportive, and understanding. As God encourages us to keep on trying, He expects us to also allow others the space to do the same, at their own pace. The Atonement will come into our lives in even greater measure. We will then recognize that regardless of perceived differences, all of us are in need of the same infinite Atonement."

And lastly, "My invitation to all of us is to evaluate our lives, repent, and keep on trying. If we don’t try, we’re just latter-day sinners; if we don’t persevere, we’re latter-day quitters; and if we don’t allow others to try, we’re just latter-day hypocrites.  As we try, persevere, and help others to do the same, we are true Latter-day Saints."

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Another equally thoughtful reference I would give you is from LDS Living Magazine, November 12th 2018. The article is, "Church is for Sinners", written by Jason F. Wright who you might know from his book, Christmas Jars.

"Our responsibility is to love each person who summons up the courage to walk through the church doors. If we find this challenging, or if we wonder why we’re surrounded by so many sinners, we might recall that no matter how well we think we’re doing, every morning when we look in the mirror, we find an imperfect person there, too.

So, are you a sinner?

Awesome! So are we! Come join us on Sunday. We’ll save you a seat."

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I'll just end by saying that yes, we LDS people call ourselves saints, not sinners. And yet we find great joy and comfort in singing the hymn, "I Stand All Amazed". This hymn reminds us that Jesus offers His love and redemptive power to each of us, "that for me a sinner, he suffered and bled and died."  

Times change and we in the church today are hopefully are more accepting of all our brothers and sisters no matter what and would never tell another person they didn't belong.  And if we did find such a congregation that felt they were so righteous that they were excluding others, it would mean that that congregation really needs to read these words from verse 3, "I mean those who were lifted up in the pride of their hearts"!