Spiritual Loyalty - To the Church or to God?

SPIRITUAL LOYALTY - This was a great challenge to me when I was deciding whether to leave the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In the Mormon Priesthood, the principles of honesty, devotion and fidelity are drilled deep into a man's character and temperament. The fundamental problem which cannot be discovered while under the influence of the Priesthood is that these loyalty traits are primarily directed toward the Church and the Family and not toward Jesus Christ.

In the Mormon thought process, there are very distinct and unique relationships between the Church and the Family. To the Latter-day Saint, the family unit is neither complete or entirely independent from the organization of the Church.  To them, the Power and Authority of the Priesthood is what unites the family to each other for eternity, thus this "authority" is seen as without limits, both in this world and in the world to come. Therefore, this "authority" answers to a much higher source than the leaders of the Mormon Church itself. Yet, Mormon Scripture declares:

Doctrine and Covenants 121:37: " That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man."

IF THIS IS TRUE, WHAT MORMONS HAVE DONE IN THE PAST NEGATES THE POWER OF THEIR PRIESTHOOD.