2 Responses to “An anti-Mormon showed be a quote from an early Mormon leader…”
Lucas Cruz
2007-11-04 00:04:43
The Mormon revelatory process has two steps. According to Doctrine and Covenants 9:8, if one wants to get a message from God, she needs to first study the question out in her mind, and second ask got if her tentative decision or conclusion is right. This revelatory process is the same for any member of the Church, from a Sunday-school teacher to a prophet.
In the early years of the Church, when its theological foundations were still being laid, much speculative doctrine was being "studied out" in Mormon circles. Subsequent revelation from God has shown that some of that early speculation was not theologically correct.
A similar process took place in the early post-apostolic Christian church. In the centuries following the death of the apostles, there was much theological debate regarding the nature of God and what constituted Christian doctrine. Ultimately, groups of men came together and established "creeds" to resolve these conflicting doctrinal questions. The path of Mormon Christianity has been somewhat different; doctrinal speculations were confirmed true or false via revelation from God, not by groups of mortal theologians.
Anti-Mormons are quick to data-mine historical texts to find any scrap of a quote that makes Mormons look bad; they ignore the many quotes that sound "reasonable" and instead seek the rare, speculative, "questionable" quotes. This same technique can be used to slander any organization, religious or otherwise, regardless of its actual truth value.
Anonymous
2008-02-03 07:01:44
Whenever I hear or read something that doesn't seem right I remember the many spiritual experiences I've had. My testimony, received by personal revelation, reminds me of the truths of the gospel I've felt are good and true.
In the early years of the Church, when its theological foundations were still being laid, much speculative doctrine was being "studied out" in Mormon circles. Subsequent revelation from God has shown that some of that early speculation was not theologically correct.
A similar process took place in the early post-apostolic Christian church. In the centuries following the death of the apostles, there was much theological debate regarding the nature of God and what constituted Christian doctrine. Ultimately, groups of men came together and established "creeds" to resolve these conflicting doctrinal questions. The path of Mormon Christianity has been somewhat different; doctrinal speculations were confirmed true or false via revelation from God, not by groups of mortal theologians.
Anti-Mormons are quick to data-mine historical texts to find any scrap of a quote that makes Mormons look bad; they ignore the many quotes that sound "reasonable" and instead seek the rare, speculative, "questionable" quotes. This same technique can be used to slander any organization, religious or otherwise, regardless of its actual truth value.