Words of Plainness is a space where seekers and saints find common ground. That means people arrive here from very different places: different faith traditions, different levels of conviction, different wounds, different questions. Some are lifelong disciples. Some are skeptics trying to be honest with themselves. Most are somewhere in between.
What makes this community work is not agreement. It is the commitment to treat every person with the dignity that is theirs as a child of God, regardless of where they are in their journey.
Words of Plainness is a ministry of fellowship for disciples of Jesus Christ of every tradition, and for all who are still searching for Him. By participating in the Words of Plainness community, we agree to abide by the following expectations for a safe common ground in which to learn, to bear witness of God, to socialize, and to understand the faith of others. The boundaries we agree to uphold make honest interfaith conversation possible.
This agreement applies to every gathering this ministry hosts: in-person gatherings, live VR chat sessions, this website, our Discord community, and any other venues or platforms we choose. It is not an aspirational suggestion. It is the terms of participation.
“Where Seekers and Saints Find Common Ground”: that is our tagline and our commitment. Common ground requires that everyone be safe on it.
The Theological Foundation of This Community
This community exists because Christ’s reach is boundless. The writer of Hebrews declared that He is “able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him” (Hebrews 7:25), which leaves no room for the assumption that any honest seeker is beyond His grace or outside the scope of this ministry. Paul confirmed the same truth in language that crossed every boundary of his world: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). And God said it plainly to Peter: “God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him” (Acts 10:34-35).
These are not aspirational statements. They are the doctrinal ground on which every decision in this community is made, including the decision to remove someone from it.
The corollary is equally plain. If Christ receives all who come to Him, then any person who appoints themselves a guardian of His grace, who excludes, condemns, or intimidates another seeker, has set themselves against the very purpose of this ministry. The Spirit of Christ does not coexist with the spirit of contention: “He that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention” (3 Nephi 11:29). “The servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient” (2 Timothy 2:24).
When someone persists in divisive behavior after clear correction, scripture is equally direct: “A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject; knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself” (Titus 3:10-11). The word Paul uses for “heretick” describes a factious or divisive person, not someone who simply believes differently.
This is not a punitive policy. It is a pastoral one. The community cannot be a safe place for the seeker if it is also a platform for those determined to drive seekers away. The agreement below is the practical expression of these convictions. It is enforced with that foundation in view, not to protect the institution, but to protect the people inside it.
Our Agreement
What we ask of one another
- Honor one another’s devotion. Christians in our gatherings hold irreconcilable convictions about baptism, priesthood authority, sacraments, revelation, and ecclesiastical authority. We ask each participant to honor the sincere devotion to Jesus Christ of those who differ from them.
- Disagree with respect. You may disagree with an idea. You may not hold a person in contempt for holding it. Critique arguments. Ask hard questions. Challenge assumptions. Do not mock, demean, or dismiss the person making them. This applies equally to theological disagreement, personal testimony, doubt, and questions that are still being worked out. Honesty and respect are not opposites; they are what good conversation requires of both.
- Bring your honest questions. Doubt is not disqualifying. Seeking is not a sign of weakness. If you are not sure what you believe, you are in the right place. Ask your real questions. You do not need to perform certainty you do not have. At the same time, honesty runs in both directions. If you are here to argue in bad faith, to score points rather than to understand, this is not the space for that.
- Never make doctrine a weapon. No doctrine or teaching may be used as a weapon against a brother or sister who names His name. We do not return insult for insult, exclusion for exclusion, or suspicion for suspicion.
- Protect every person’s dignity and privacy. We protect the dignity of every participant. Do not share another person’s private information without their explicit consent. This includes contact details, personal disclosures shared in confidence, or identifying information about someone who has not chosen to identify themselves. If someone shares something vulnerable in this community, treat it with the care it deserves. It was offered in trust.
What crosses the line
No one is required to surrender their convictions to enter this fellowship. Everyone is required to govern their conduct while taking part in it. Strong disagreement does not cross the line. These do:
- Harming persons or their dignity. No mocking, ridicule, or abusive words toward anyone. (Ephesians 4:31)
- Corrupting the search for truth. No deliberate falsehood or misrepresentation of another person or their tradition, and no repeating a misrepresentation once it has been corrected. (Ephesians 4:25)
- Cultivating contention. No baiting, provoking, or pursuing a quarrel for the sake of winning. (3 Nephi 11:29)
- Exercising dominion. No using position, credentials, pressure, or intimidation to force agreement or silence anyone. (Matthew 20:25-26)
- Depriving others of a voice. No persistent interrupting, monopolizing, or drowning out others. (D&C 88:122)
- Trespassing on conscience. No attempt to compel another’s worship, confession, or conversion, and no pronouncing on another participant’s standing before God. (Articles of Faith 1:11)
- Shutting the door on another disciple. No one may tell someone who seeks to follow Jesus that they are not a Christian, that they worship a false God or a different Jesus, or that their faith does not count because their understanding of God or scripture differs. Disagreement about teachings is permitted; denying another’s discipleship is not. This applies to every tradition alike. (See “woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees” in Matthew 23:13)
Absolute lines
Some conduct is never permitted in any gathering. It is stopped at once: the content comes down, and the person may be removed from that gathering. What follows depends on its severity, as set out under “When the agreement is broken.”
- Harassment, threats, or personal attacks, toward any person, for any reason: targeted harassment of individuals in any channel, thread or room; threats of any kind, explicit or implied; coordinated pressure campaigns against a member; content designed to humiliate rather than engage.
- Harmful content: sexual content of any kind; hate speech targeting any group on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or national origin; content that exploits, demeans, or endangers vulnerable people, including any content involving minors in an inappropriate context; graphic violence or content intended to disturb or frighten; spam, scams, or unsolicited promotion.
When the agreement is broken
Hospitality does not require us to permit hostility. Those who persist in harassment, condemnation, or contempt toward others may lose the privilege of participating in our gatherings. Such boundaries are established not to punish belief, but to preserve the peace and charitable purpose of our fellowship.
Violations are handled with proportionality and clarity, following the scriptural pattern of a first and second admonition (Titus 3:10):
- First offense: Direct correction from Brother Aaron, with a plain explanation of the violation.
- Second offense: Final admonition. The person is told that a further violation results in removal.
- Persistent violation, or a severe breach of an absolute line: Removal from all community spaces. Re-entry is not automatic. Reinstatement requires a direct appeal to Brother Aaron demonstrating a genuine shift in posture and a commitment to the standard of conduct this community upholds.
Whether a breach of an absolute line counts as a first offense or brings removal at once is Brother Aaron’s judgment, weighed by its severity.
Content that endangers a minor, and credible threats of harm, bring immediate removal from all community spaces and are reported to the proper authorities.
In a live session, the host may mute or remove a participant at once to protect the gathering.
Decisions on removal are made by Brother Aaron, and only he can lift them. The way back is the appeal described above.
How Moderation Works
All community content—witness submissions on the website, shared reflections, and Discord messages—is subject to review. Here is how that works, plainly:
What Gets Reviewed
Content submitted for public display on the website (such as community witness entries) passes through a moderation review before becoming visible. It is evaluated for content safety, theological alignment with the ministry's commitments, and pastoral sensitivity. Content that does not meet those criteria is declined; the author is notified using plain, respectful language. This applies only to what the ministry publishes as its own on this website. It never governs who may take part in our gatherings, or what anyone may say there.
What Happens When You Report Something
When a concern is reported—whether on the website or in Discord—the following happens:
- The reported content is immediately hidden from public view pending review.
- Your report is reviewed by Brother Aaron personally. Serious concerns are treated as urgent and addressed without delay.
- Your identity as a reporter is never disclosed to the person you reported. This is a hard policy with no exceptions.
- You receive an acknowledgment of your report. For urgent matters, that acknowledgment comes quickly.
Crisis Situations
If a report involves immediate danger—to the person reporting, to a third party, or to anyone mentioned in the content—it is treated as a critical-priority matter and escalated immediately. If you are in crisis right now, please reach out to appropriate emergency or crisis resources. This community cares about you, but it is not a substitute for professional crisis support.
How to Report a Concern
If you encounter something in any of our gatherings—on the website, in our Discord server, in a live VR session, or in person—that breaks this agreement, or if you are concerned about someone’s safety, please report it. You are never bothering anyone by reporting. This is exactly what the reporting system is for.
On the Website
Every piece of community content on the website includes a Report a Concern link. You can also use the Safety & Support page at any time.
Go to Safety & Support →In Discord
Use the #report-a-concern channel in the Discord server, or send a direct message to Brother Aaron. You can also use the website's Safety & Support page to report Discord-related concerns.
Go to Discord →You may also contact Brother Aaron directly for any concern you would prefer to raise privately.
In a live VR session or an in-person gathering: tell Brother Aaron privately, during or after the gathering. Your identity will never be disclosed to the person you report.
Who Keeps This Agreement
Brother Aaron Powner, an ordained Elder in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serves as the Ministering Elder of Words of Plainness. He teaches these expectations, moderates our gatherings, and keeps this agreement. His role here rests on the agreement each participant makes by taking part. It claims no authority over any person’s faith or church. Words of Plainness is an independent ministry and does not speak for any church. He is bound by this agreement like everyone else, and seeks to keep it “by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned” (D&C 121:41).
In Our Discord Server
Each chapter of Words of Plainness has its own dedicated discussion channel. Keep conversation in those channels focused on the chapter: the ideas, the scriptures, the questions it raises. General conversation belongs in #general. Questions for Brother Aaron belong in #ask-brother-aaron.
A Word from Brother Aaron
I am a shepherd, not a gatekeeper. My goal is not to police this community but to protect it—so that the people who most need a safe space to ask their honest questions can find one here.
These guidelines exist because I take seriously the responsibility of opening this door. Everyone who walks through it deserves to be treated with dignity. That includes the lifelong saint, the recent convert, the skeptic, the wounded, the questioning, and the person who is not sure why they came but felt something pull them here. The theological foundation of this community is not decoration. It is the reason these rules exist and the authority by which they are enforced.
If you ever have a question about these guidelines, or want to raise something you are not sure how to categorize, my contact form is always open.
“If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” (Romans 12:18)
Community Safety & Moderation Protocol v2.0, incorporating the Fellowship Agreement. Aaron Powner Publishing, October 2026. These guidelines are reviewed quarterly and updated as the community grows.
