What is Mormon Doctrine and What is Not?

May 27

We have all seen it, the thousands of websites and blogs that declare Mormons have false doctrines, that Mormons believe in unacceptable things, that the Mormon Church preaches falsehoods. These places on the web have used quotes and writings from prophets and leaders of the Church both past and present. The intent with these Anti-Mormon postings and works are to scare people away from the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and from this, mark all Mormons as infected religious-plague victims.

It can be daunting for some members to have to face the deluge of claims and accusations. I am sure that when some members of this Church face claims made against past statements by Church leaders that they do not understand, it can be hard for the average member to deal with it. Many of the things preached, said or written by earlier Church leaders, is considered, by some, as deep doctrine that the average Church member may have difficulty comprehending, which is not surprising. I also had some difficulty with some of the things said by early Church leaders, but through time and work, things became clearer, but disaffected members and Anti-Mormons do not want anyone to spend time trying to understand, they just want you to reject and then deny. What then can any average member do when faced with these Anti-Mormon attacks based on extracted quotes from early Church leaders claiming it represents Mormon doctrine, especially when the Church today does not teach it? What does a member do under these circumstances?

The key to any defence of the faith is to understand what is truly God’s doctrine in this Church. When that is understood, the average member of the Church does not have to learn and understand everything said by past Church leaders, but will only need to discern as to what is truly official doctrine of this Church and what is not.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints makes it clear, that all doctrine that it proclaims comes from 4 main sources, these are:

The Holy Bible
The Book of Mormon
The Doctrine & Covenants
The Pearl of Great Price

Any new revelation the prophet receives and made as official doctrine, will be become part of the “Doctrine and Covenants”. Therefore, a basic rule of thumb is that unless something is declared as official doctrine or scripture, then all other statements, articles, writings or claims by Church members (leaders or otherwise) are not official. This is why many things found in past articles, books, or any past published works are not found on official Church websites.

Having said that, what of articles, statements or comments made by Church leaders who quote some of the “unofficial” works of past Church leaders and prophets? The answer is simple, it falls under “things of good report”.

Things of good report are not “official” doctrine, but are accepted as good and worthy. For example, writings by C.S. Lewis have been quoted by Church leaders as part of their talks during conferences, yet the Church does not include any works by C.S. Lewis in any of the regular doctrinal teachings in the Church and C.S. Lewis never joined the LDS Church. Things of “good report” from earlier Church leaders are used as “good works”, which is something of good value. To understand this better, consider information from any one of the sciences, where the Church uses that information as part of conference talks or published Church literature. Are those things from the sciences now doctrine of this LDS Church just because it was used and referenced by the Church? – The answer is “No”. They are merely good works referenced for the benefit of the membership. Another example is that you will not find any scriptures speak of quantum particle theories, yet if this Church uses that information as part of it’s teachings, that does not make quantum theory as Church doctrine.

It is so easy for Anti-Mormon’s to pull out anything said or used by Church leaders and proclaim it as Church doctrine, when in truth it is not. This is the twist and manipulation Anti-Mormon’s perform without any concern to their unethical behaviour. With Anti-Mormon’s there is no discernment and no distinction between what is doctrine and what is merely, “things of good report”. The average person in the world does not know there is such a distinction, let alone understand what it is.

Things of good report are just that, good things. The source of these things can be from almost anywhere and the Church supports all things of good report, in fact as part of its teachings, the Church encourages the membership to learn and study things of good report. Now, Anti-Mormons may say to this, “Ah, things of good report are therefore doctrine because the Mormon Church teaches to seek it”. This would be a false statement by them because things of good report are nothing more than just good and acceptable. To be official doctrine, means it must be scripture and given by God to his prophet to become as scripture. This distinction is important because when God gives scripture, it is for our salvation and becomes part of his gospel. Things of good report serve to sustain a good spirit, but if they were absent, salvation would not be lost. What God gives as part of his gospel is the only thing that validates any person obeying it, as saved.

It was taught by Paul the Apostle (as read in the King James Bible) that things of good report are acceptable by God. Read Titus 2:14 and Titus 3:8,14, these are Paul’s words that promote all things of good report as he called it “good works”, which are all profitable to man. Good works or things of good report are always profitable to all people. Things that promote goodness, intelligence, kindness, growth etc are all acceptable by God. Thus, when current Church leaders quote past Church leaders or reputable writers and scholars of the present or past, they are promoting good things for all who listen and this is acceptable by God. Things of good report, however they serve all goodness, are not doctrine in and of themselves.

Where does this leave the many writings and works by past Church leaders and prophets? They remain as good works, but are not counted as doctrine. What serves as good things for mankind is merely good, but how does this qualify past statements by Church leaders that clearly proclaim things they have said are of God? Joseph Smith and Brigham Young were adept at proclaiming their spiritual knowledge,

The first great principle that ought to occupy the attention of mankind, that should be understood by the child and the adult, and which is the main spring of all action, whether people understand it or not, is the principle of improvement. The principle of increase, of exaltation, of adding to that we already possess, is the grand moving principle and cause of the actions of the children of men.¹

The many talks, publications, teachings of past Church leaders falls under the category of “personal revelation”. Teachings from God to that person, for that person. Personal revelations and teachings by the Spirit to any person does not constitute official doctrine, they are to spiritually edify that person. This is where the “Adam-God” issue stands. Even though Joseph Smith received many more revelations than what was entered into the Doctrine and Covenants, those other revelations were for him and his edification, to profit him for his work as a prophet and president of the Church. If at any time that he publishes this knowledge, it is not official doctrine of the Church. They are still things of good report and any member of the Church is under no obligation to accept those unofficial publications.

What was profitable for that person’s salvation is not necessarily profitable for the general Church membership. As one thing is expedient to one person but not to another. This principle is found in the Bible (1 Corinthians. 10:23 / 1 Corinthians 12:1–4). Even though Joseph Smith and Brigham Young published many personal works, it does not profit everyone to learn them, which is exactly why, as one reason, that this Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not hold any personal works of past leaders as official doctrine. What becomes official doctrine is what profits the entire membership and this is decided by God.

Joseph Smith once said that he was a prophet only when he spoke as a prophet, which means that when he was not speaking as a prophet, he was merely a person named Joseph Smith who was tasked to lead the Lord’s Church. Simply, a Church leader may publish material that contains his spiritual understanding of things gained by personal revelation from God, but what he or she published does not become offic8ial doctrine.

There is another category I need to mention and that are things said as “good counsel”. This counsel is not revelation, but merely good advice, given to improve the lot of people, but the words of counsel also do not become official doctrine.

Past publications as “Journal of Discourses”, “The Seer”, “The Latter Day Saints Millennial Star”, and others, are writings by several past Church leaders, as Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, John Widstoe and so on. These are not doctrines of the Church, but are things of good report, counsels, personal revelations or personal viewpoints. For any person to claim that these things are “official doctrines” is a lie and grossly misrepresented.

Think about this and apply this fairly.

There are many other Christian writers of the past and present, from many other Christian denominations, who write about the Bible. Can any Christian proclaim that those writings are official “doctrine” of God, however scholarly they may be? – The answer is “No”, in all fairness, none of the other Christian writers can proclaim that what they write and teach is doctrine, especially when their writings contradict each other on points of scripture. What they have provided is merely their personal viewpoint and scholarly works does not qualify anything as God’s official doctrine, but can be counted as good works, if it is right and true. How many writings of early Christian writers are held as Christian doctrine today, where in truth, they are not doctrines of God, but merely viewpoints of one person.

So where is the line drawn?

It is drawn by the Church, not by it’s members or the general public. By Church leaders that say this is, or is not official doctrine

In summary, unless the Church acknowledges something as official doctrine, it is therefore not. They are either “good works”, things of good report, good counsel or advice, good commentary or personal revelations spoken out and shared.

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