A Response to a Comment by a Reader (Unknown)

Note: I welcome any comments on this blog and I will try my best to respond accordingly. This comment was recently submitted and my response follows it (below).  I am posting my reply here as a blog post since it exceeds the number of characters allowed in the Reply box.
And by the way, anyone can write and submit a comment. It doesn't matter who and what your name is, whether it's "Unknown" or "Well-known"; "Anonymous" or "Synonymous" - or as Trump would say "Anomynous" 😂😂

Re: this post

Unknown:
Im a memeber [sic] myself.. E manaia feololo lou finagalo pau lona ole Auala oloo e faaaogaina atonu e le talafeagai ona oloo sa'ausi le maimoaga male faafofoaga ale Lalolagi A'o e faasoa i mataupu e fai si maaleale ona o Epikopo o tatou faifeau o ao fo'i latou o faalupega.. Ole upu ua masani ai le Atunuu"A le malu i fale e le malu fo'i i fafo" Aua le faatasinaina Suafa ole Ekalesia i luga ole Upega fesoota'i ale lalolagi.. E le aoa'ia ele matapia le manaia ae ua na o sina tuualalo ma lo'u agaga faaaloalo lava.. Faamanuia and God Bless..

Unknown
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Tali (Response)

Fa'afetai Unknown e tusa ma se manatu.   E "manaia feololo [fo'i] lou finagalo, pau o lona":

Muamua:
Oute manatu o lo'o talafeagai lava le ‘auala o lo'o o'u fa'aaogaina (pei e fa'aataata a lafoga).  Auā o le folasaga e pei ona tā'ua i le sitenasa (stanza) muamua, a ofi le se'evae, ia se'e pe fa'aaogā le fautuaga.  Ia ulufale gae'e fo'i, pe ia saunia e talia se faitioga.  O lona uiga e le o epikopo uma e a'afia ae tau o i latou - ma e to'atele fo'i i latou ia - ua lavea i le fa'ama'i e pei ona folasia.

Lua:
Oute le o fa'atāsinaina se suafa o le Ekalesia.  O le fa'ama'i ma le fa'afitauli e pei na fa'aalia, e patino i le tagata ae le o le ofisa (it's the "man" but not the office, hence not the Church) ma ua lē na o le Ekalesia a Iesu Keriso e lavea ai, e faapea i isi fo'i ekalesia ma fatafaitaulaga.  O lona uiga la, afai o sa'ausi le maimoaga ma le fa'afofoga'aga a le lalolagi, ia e le o se mata'upu e tau natia pe tau omiomi fa'aniu aleale, ia pe fa'a faiva o Fiti fo'i ia lililo, 'auā ua laugatasia uma ekalesia i lea gasegase/faafitauli.  Ae ui lava i lea uiga lautele ua aofia ai nisi ekalesia ma 'aulotu, ae sa faapito ‘augafa i epikopo lē fa'amaoni la'u matā'upu.  O i latou nei, ua fa'atatau iai le ‘autū o le matou lesona i le A'oga Sā i le Aso Sā na se'i mavae atu nei: "O Leoleo Mamoe o Isara'elu".  Ma o i latou nei na vavalo ma lapata'i mai ai le perofeta o Esekielu:

Le atali'i e, o le tagata, ia e vavalo atu i leoleo mamoe o Isaraelu, inā vavalo atu ia, ma e fai atu ia te i latou lava, o leoleo mamoe lava, ua faapea ona fetalai mai le Alii le Atua, oi talofa i leoleo mamoe o Isaraelu o ē fafaga ia te i latou lava!  E le tatau ea i leoleo mamoe ona fagaina le lafu?
Ua outou a'ai i le ga'o, ma o'ofu i le fulufulu, ua outou fasia e ua pepeti, a ua outou lē fafaga i le lafu.... a'o leoleo mamoe ua fafaga i latou iā te i latou lava. (Esekielu 34:2-3;8 - fa'amamāfaga faaopoopo (emphasis added))

E pei ona ou fai atu, e lē o se mata'upu o toe tau faaufiufia faa-manugase.  Ua silafia uma e le tele o tagata Samoa ma le lalolagi ona o lo'o valo'ia i le Tusi Pa'ia.  Afai fo'i e le o silafia mai i le Tusi Pa'ia, ia e mafai fo'i ona maua mai iā Felise Mikaele 🤣 i lana pese ma lana viteo (video) e uiga i leoleo mamoe faapenei. O le leo la o le lapata'iga e lē tatau ona toe faamatāseleina pe faagutuina (The voice of warning should neither be noosed nor bridled).  Ae maise lava fo'i iā i tatou o tagata o le Ekalesia (like you and I) o lo'o matuā manino mai iai le faatonuga i le Matāupu Faavae ma Feagaiga (MFF) 88:81 e fa'apea:

Faauta, na ‘ou auina atu outou e molimau ma lapata'i atu i tagata, ma ua tatau i tagata ta'ito'atasi o e ua uma ona lapata'ia ona lapata'i atu i lē la te tua'oi.
(Behold I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor. (D&C 88:81- emphasis added)

O le tasi la lea ‘autū o la'u solo, o se leo o le lapata'iga, e le o se fa'atāsina.  Afai fo'i o ē mauaina le tele o a'u tusitusiga i'inei poo nusipepa ma isi nofoaga i luga o upega tafa'ilagi atoa ma le Samoa Observer, ona e silafiaina lea, oute lē fa'atāsinaina le Ekalesia, ae oute lagolagoina ma faamāonia (support and validate) matā'upu faavae ma a'oa'oga moni a le Ekalesia.  I'm quite likely the last person to fa'atasina le suafa o le Ekalesia 🤣

Tolu:
"A [lē] malu i fale e [lē] malu fo'i i fafo."
O se alagā'upu masani ma le sa'o. Pau o lona, e sa'o ae lē sa'olele (not absolute).  O lona uiga e fa'atatau le fa'aaogāina ma le sa'o i lona fa'atatāuga (context).  E foliga mai la o le uiga o lau fa'aaogaina o le alagaupu lea ia ‘aua ne'i o tatou fa'ailoa pe fa'alauiloa atu ni sesē ma ni uiga lē talafeagai o faia e nisi o epikopo, ne'i te'i ua ta'uvalea ma lē malu i fafo le tagata lea, ia poo le Ekalesia fo'i, ae ia tatou taumafai pea fa'aufiufi ma nātia.  O lona uiga, ia ufiufi pea le tama'i moa i lalo o le tānoa, tusa lava pe la e ‘io'io mai si mea. O le lapata'iga ma le leaga o le ufiufi o agasala o se fautuaga fo'i o lo'o i totonu o le Mataupu Faavae ma Feagaiga, vaega 121:37. (Faitau iai).

Ae toe fa'aafetai atu ia te ‘oe le uso/tuafafine mo le tu'ualalo - ma lou fa'aaloalo.  Ia e lelei le soālaupule ma le faafaletui o manatu e aogā tatou te a'oa'o uma ai lava.

Ma le fa'aaloalo tele,
LV