When to Follow a Fallible Prophet

Q1: If prophets are fallible (as I believe they are, same as every other imperfect mortal in this world) then how can people trust in their EVERY word as if from God?

A1:

This very question is why it is so important to learn how to gain a confirming witness of the truth via the personal witness of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost will bear witness of truth, especially the truth of prophetic counsel. However, sometimes that witness doesn't come until after the trial of your faith. Following the prophet is not blind obedience. It's acting in faith, as informed by the spirit.

“We listen to the Lord’s prophet with the faith that his words are “from [the Lord’s] own mouth.” Is this blind faith? No, it is not. We each have a spiritual witness of the truthfulness of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. By our own will and choice, we raised our hand this morning, declaring our desire to sustain the Lord’s prophet with our “confidence, faith, and prayer[s]” and to follow his counsel. We have the privilege as Latter-day Saints to receive a personal witness that President Nelson’s call is from God” (Neil L. Andersen, The Prophet of God,” Ensign, May 2018, 25).

“We can tell when the speakers are ‘moved upon by the Holy Ghost’ only when we, ourselves, are ‘moved upon by the Holy Ghost.’ In a way, this completely shifts the responsibility from them to us to determine when they so speak.” (J. Reuben Clark, When Are the Writings or Sermons of Church Leaders Entitled to the Claim of Scripture? [address delivered to seminary and institute of religion personnel, 7 July 1954], p. 7).

It is true that not every word a prophet speaks comes directly from God, but their counsel and opinions often have great value. A Prophet's human failings do not mean that they do not have authority and keys that make them worth listening to and heeding. God will always use imperfect servants, because we are all He has to work with. A Prophet's fallibility does not negate the importance or the truth of his teachings.

Q2: But what a prophet teaches isn't always true...In that case, is it still wise to heed their words?

A2: Be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Just because there have been instances in which prophets have made mistakes, that doesn't automatically make it unwise "to heed their words." Fallibility does not equal or imply deception, intent to deceive, or even simple unreliability.

5 Christian Classics Every Latter-day Saint Should Read

I have personally amassed an extensive library which consists of books on many subjects.  In particular, I have collected many books on religion, both by LDS authors, and also by non-LDS authors.  I am not a millionaire, and thus I can’t afford to buy every book I come across (as my wife occasionally has to remind me).  I therefore do my best to buy only those books which I consider to be classics on their subject.  However, even among my (admittedly) large collection of excellent books, there are certain books that stand out above the rest. Many of the best books in my library are written by LDS authors, but some of them are not. 

I have noticed in the past that some members of the LDS church tend to view books on religion written by non-Mormon authors as being somewhat suspect, or of being of less value than a book written by an LDS author. However, it is worth noting that many of my most beloved books by non-LDS authors are widely recognized as classics by people of all faiths.  In fact, you may recognize some of the authors mentioned on this list, as their writings are often quoted over the pulpit at General Conference.

It is true that books which come from outside our tradition may contain ideas that do not wholly jibe with our particular teachings, but that doesn’t mean that there is no benefit to be derived from reading such books.

In scripture, we are instructed by the Lord to “seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith” (see D&C 88:118).  In one of the articles of our faith we hold that “If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things” (see A of F 1:13).

Here is a list of some of those “best books,” which I can personally attest are filled with things that are “virtuous, lovely, or of good report [and] praiseworthy.”  This list does not constitute a blanket endorsement of all of the doctrines or ideas contained within them (especially over and above the doctrines and teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).  However, there is much that is good and true in these books, which can be used to help us to better understand our own faith, and which can uplift and instruct us, as we read them under the guidance of the Holy Ghost. 

Why the Church has the Right to Speak Out on Political Issues

Q:  Is it typical for the church to [speak out] for or against voting for something [specifically in letters regarding impending state votes on the questions of doctor-assisted suicide and the legalization of recreational marijuana]? Does the church feel like the congregations can't make informed decisions on their own without out an official statement? Do they believe that…we have to be spoon fed our opinions?

                                       

A:  The church does not endorse any particular candidate or political party, however:

“The Church does… Reserve the right as an institution to address, in a nonpartisan way, issues that it believes have significant community or moral consequences or that directly affect the interests of the Church” (Official Statement on Political Neutrality, http://www.mormonnewsroom.org).

This has been the case throughout the church’s history.  For instance, the church expressed support for the so-called (and much praised) “Utah compromise” (Utah senate bill 296) which contained language designed to protect LGBT individuals from discrimination, while also protecting and preserving religious freedoms.  In the case of California Proposition 8, the church sent a letter to congregations in California encouraging members to get involved in efforts to pass the proposition, but the church was not directly involved, nor did it donate any money to those efforts.  Less recently, church leaders encouraged members to speak out against ratifying the proposed Equal Rights Amendment in the United States.  There are many other examples of the church urging members to speak up on one issue or another on “issues that it believes have significant community or moral consequences or that directly affect the interests of the Church.”

Note the careful wording in the passage quoted at the top of this article.  The church reserves the right to “address” issues.  In the recent letter about marijuana, the strongest language used by the first presidency is that they “urge” the members to speak up in opposition to the legalization of marijuana.  (Note that nowhere in the letter is anyone specifically told to vote one way or another). That’s because such letters constitute counsel rather than commandment.  As such, they do not represent any kind of direct mandate to the members to vote one way or another.  That means that you are left to reason for yourself as to what the right course of action should be.  Even if they could force the members to vote a certain way, the brethren would not do it.

“Some may believe that reason is not free when religious leaders have spoken, but I doubt that any religious leader in twentieth-century America has such a grip on followers that they cannot make a reasoned choice in the privacy of the voting booth. In fact, I have a hard time believing that the teachings of religions or churches deprive their adherents of any more autonomy in exerting the rights of citizenship than the teachings and practices of labor unions, civil rights groups, environmental organizations, political parties, or any other membership group in our society.” (Dallin H. Oaks, “Religious Values and Public Policy,” address given 29 February 1992, Brigham Young University Management Society, lds.org).

God's Truth Is The Truth, Even If You Disagree With It

I have noticed lately that there are many in and around the church who expect that everything that comes from God should be something with which they agree, and if they do not already agree with a teaching or doctrine of the church, then they assume that it must not come from God.  There are those who reject Christianity and/or a belief in God, because they cannot reconcile their own beliefs with those which are taught in the scriptures or by church leaders.  There are members that persist in disobedience to prophetic counsel because they cannot bring themselves to listen to counsel with which they do not agree.  Many insist that they would obey a given commandment if only they understood it, or they claim that they will live it just as soon as they gain a testimony confirming that such a commandment is true.

The Truth About Faith

Ask any young person in the church to explain the principle of faith and odds are they will recite Alma 32:21 to you and leave it at that.

“And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.”

This is a wonderful scripture, and it is a good one to have memorized, but I feel that if you depend on this verse alone for your understanding of the principle of faith you will find that your ability to understand and apply it in your life will be somewhat lacking.

I find that the apostle Paul provides another description of faith which at first sounds similar to the one which Alma gave, but upon closer examination you will see that Paul is teaching us much more deeply about the nature and uses of faith.

Hebrews 11:1  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

When all you have is Alma’s definition of faith as rendered in Alma 32:21, you might think that faith is a rather passive principle in which one holds a vague hope in unseen forces which seem largely beyond your control.  Faith in this scenario seems to be an ill-defined hope, based on vague and even insubstantial evidence, in something that happens to be true.

If this is how you understand faith as a principle, it is no wonder that enemies of religion accuse Christians of blind faith, and enemies of the LDS church accuse its members of blindly following the prophet and their leaders.

Paul’s description of faith which he gave to the Hebrews shows us that faith does not need to be, nor should it be, blind or passive.  His teachings help us to understand that faith, rather than being a vague hope in an unseen truth, is in itself the concrete evidence and the substance upon which we can rely for the foundation of our belief in said truth.  With the assurance provided by such reliable evidence we can make decisions with confidence and take concrete action.

The Living Christ: The Scriptural Basis for Latter-day Saint Beliefs About Christ

On January 1, 2000 the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a document which contained their special witness of the reality and divinity of the life, ministry, and atonement of Jesus Christ entitled The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles. (Read it in its entirety HERE).

 

When this remarkable declaration was issued to the world, the First Presidency (President Gordon B. Hinckley and his two counselors, James E. Faust and Thomas S. Monson) sent a letter of introduction to church leaders around the world which stated:

“The Prophet Joseph Smith declared: ‘The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.’ In that spirit, we add our witness to that of our predecessors...We encourage you to use this written testimony in helping to build the faith of our Heavenly Father’s children” (First Presidency letter, Dec. 10, 1999).

The mere existence of this document is powerful evidence that we do indeed have a living prophet and living apostles once more in our day.  Much like the apostles and prophets of old, these modern day apostles have been called to be special witnesses that Jesus is the Christ and that He died for our sins and was resurrected on the third day.

Acts 10:39-43  And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly; Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.  And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.  To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.

If you are willing to study the remarkable claims and statements of belief made in The Living Christ, it will become clear to you that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has an understanding of Jesus Christ, His nature, His mission, and His atonement that is unique in the history of this world for its clarity and simplicity. Moreover, there are aspects of Christ's nature that ONLY the Latter-day Saints fully grasp and teach. Not only that, but The Living Christ helps to establish that Latter-day Saints truly do believe in the Christ of the Bible, and not "another Jesus." It also helps to show that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints truly is Christ's Church in the latter days, and that it is led by a living and active Savior who directs the work for the good of the whole world.

If The Living Christ proves anything, it is that the Latter-day Saint case for Christ is stronger than even most Latter-Day Saints understand. All of the scriptures testify of the truths taught in it, and it bears the testimony of prophets and apostles of God. The Living Christ is special (in part) because it is NOT another creed or formulation which tries to parse dry semantics or technical distinctions concerning Christ and his nature. It is powerful truth, derived from continuing revelation given to living prophets directly by God.

If we truly grasped the unique power and clarity of what we Latter-day Saints believe and teach and know about Jesus Christ we would realize that what we have is truly a "pearl of great price." To those many skeptics in this modern world, we know and can testify that Jesus did indeed live, and die, and then rise again, and we can explain why that matters. Our knowledge that He lives and that He is active in the world today has the power to change the world. The world needs to know that Christ's mission and ministry wasn't limited to a few years in Judea two thousand years ago. Instead, we know that His power (and His work) extends for all eternity; past, present, and future. On a more personal level, we know that each one of us can develop our own real, meaningful, and personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He is interested in our individual welfare and happiness, and He involves Himself in the lives of all those who will let Him in. Christ is not an incomprehensible mystery, or a remote and formless spirit. He lives, and He loves us, and we can know him for ourselves in a very real, and deeply profound way.

The Living Christ is a remarkable document for many reasons, and not least because the doctrines set forth within it do not depend, wholly or even substantially, on the so-called restoration scriptures (such as the Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants, or The Pearl of Great Price).  In fact, as I studied “The Living Christ,” I was pleased to find that the major doctrinal points in it can be amply supported by scripture contained in the Bible.  The Living Christ goes a long way towards demonstrating that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe in and teach of the genuine Christ of the Bible. What I mean by this is that Latter-day Saint beliefs and teachings concerning Christ can be supported wholly and directly from the Bible, with the added caveat that Latter-day Saints reject the innovations made in the creeds and councils that took place in the centuries since the death of the last of the Apostles. 

Due to our rejection of the creeds, Latter-day Saints are often accused of “preaching a different Jesus” (see 2 Cor. 11:4) than the rest of Christianity.  Further, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are often informed that their beliefs are not biblical because they depart from the standards established by the creeds (rather than the Bible alone). That is why this document is so valuable--even though we can rely on the "more sure word of prophecy" as the source for our claims about the Living Christ--it demonstrates that we can also confidently point to the Bible to lend additional strength to those claims, and that while we may choose to reject the creeds, this does not make our beliefs any less “biblical” (in fact I would argue that our rejection of the creeds makes our beliefs more biblical in nature, also See 2 Peter 1:19).

It is true that we have (or rather God has) added several books to the scriptural canon that most Christians do not accept, and so those who accuse us of not being Christian might well suspect that any declaration that we may make concerning Jesus Christ must depend largely upon our own scriptures for substantiation, because surely we cannot support our beliefs biblically.  On occasion I have noted that some Latter-day Saints also tend to assume that we rely on the Book of Mormon (or other scriptures unique to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) in order to establish our version of things, and that the Bible is only a secondary source for those beliefs.  In this regard The Living Christ is important because it demonstrates these various assumptions to be entirely false, while simultaneously illustrating the central role that the Bible plays in establishing our most basic doctrines and beliefs.

The Living Christ has great value as a missionary tool, and the truths contained within it have the power to change hearts and minds throughout the world, and to bring many to a personal knowledge of (and relationship with) their Savior. However, The Living Christ has equal value as a teaching tool for each member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to use to learn exactly what it is that we believe and teach concerning Jesus Christ. It is not enough that we know that we know these things. We need to be able to explain our doctrine to the rest of the world in a way that is meaningful, and which they can understand. That is why a deeper study of The Living Christ is important and necessary.

To the end of fostering a deeper study of this landmark document, as well as demonstrating the centrality of Jesus Christ and His atonement in Latter-day Saint beliefs, and demonstrating the importance of the Bible in establishing those beliefs, I have included my own breakdown of The Living Christ which highlights some of the more important statements contained in the document and presents a number of scriptures that can be used to support each assertion.  Most of these scriptures, as you will see, come from the Bible but I have included scriptures from the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants in order to further establish the truth of the statements made in The Living Christ as well as to show how well these scriptures harmonize with what is taught in the Bible.

The rest of this article focuses mainly on tying scripture references to the principles taught by the Prophet and the Apostles in The Living Christ. However, I have written extensively (and in great detail) elsewhere about practically every aspect of Jesus Christ, His nature, and His atonement. If you are interested in learning more about what Latter-day Saints believe and teach about the Savior and His atonement, I invite you to check out the following series of articles:

Why Only Jesus Could Be The Christ

Why Did Jesus Have to Die on the Cross?

Why Gethsemane is as Important as Calvary

Are You A Christian If You Don't Believe In The Trinity?

Is the Atonement of Jesus Christ Enough for All of Us?

Christ and the Healing Power of the Atonement

He is Risen! The Case For the Resurrection of Christ

The Atonement Defined I: Justification

The Atonement Defined II: Sanctification

You Are Never Beyond The Reach of God's Love

The Living Christ

1    1)      “He was the Great Jehovah of the Old Testament, the Messiah of the New.”

Isaiah 43:1, 3, 10-12  But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.  For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.  Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.  I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.  I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.

Daniel 3:25  He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

1 Corinthians 10:1-4 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

John 8:56-59  Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.  Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?  Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.  Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

I included the last verse about the people’s attempt to stone Christ after His declaration that “Before Abraham was, I am” because it shows that the people understood exactly what He was telling them; namely that He was the God of the Old Testament, which statement they considered to be blasphemy and a thus a stoning offense.

D&C 110:2-4  We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit, before us; and under his feet was a paved work of pure gold, in color like amber.  His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying: am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father.

First Presidency introduces BibleVideos.lds.org at Christmas Devotional

"The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) urged Church members to focus on Jesus Christ this holiday season, and also announced the launch of a new “Life of Jesus Christ” Bible video website at the annual First Presidency Christmas devotional."

Click HERE for full article.

Click HERE to "Learn about Jesus Christ through free videos based on the King James Version of the Bible. Watch online or download mobile app."

The Priesthood and Women: Are men and women equal in the church? What role does the priesthood play in a strong marriage?

Q: "Does it say in 1 Timothy that women should not be pastors?"

A friend of mine sent me this question some time ago in the wake of some controversy among a group of conservative churches concerning the role of women in the ministry. At the time she was interested in hearing what the Bible had to say on the question of whether or not women can hold the priesthood, and she was interested to see if my interpretation of certain passages coincided with that of certain factions within the debate. Recently I revisted my answer and expanded it to address an issue which more directly relates to women as they approach the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (both from within and from without). Namely the relationship between women and the priesthood (both in the time of Christ and His apostles as well as in this day and age), and the question of whether or not the seeming "exclusivity" of the priesthood constitutes sexism or gender discrimination. This is an issue that this particular friend had before she joined the church, and I know that she is certainly not alone in these misgivings. As I sought to address this question, I found that gaining an understanding of the role and function of the priesthood in an eternal marriage is crucial to finding the answer to these questions.