Is the content of ‘Mormon Doctrine’ by Bruce McConkie actually considered official Mormon doctrine? I asked questions to the Mormon missionaries about this quote: “Faith is a gift of God bestowed as a reward for personal righteousness. It is always given when righteousness is present, and the greater the measure of obedience to God’s laws, the greater will be the endowment of faith.” and they kind of backed away from it as “one man’s opinion”.
Do we need to be good first in order to earn faith? Or is faith given to us because we believe, even though we have no righteousness of our own.
2 Responses to “Is the content of ‘Mormon Doctrine’ by Bruce McConkie…”
Fernando Ramos
2016-06-19 23:45:24
Hi Hannah. I'm happy you posted your question. It's easy to understand your confusion! You'd think a book called "Mormon Doctrine" would describe official church doctrine, but the missionaries are right in this case. While there are a lot of true things taught in "Mormon Doctrine," it's not an official church book, and some of the leaders of the church were quite upset with some of the opinions mentioned in the book.
I'd say that doing good things can strengthen a person's faith. That may be the best way to develop faith. But certainly God can and does touch the hearts of many different kinds of people. Often times he awakens faith in people precisely so they will change and become true converts.
I hope this helps! It's excellent that you're visiting with the missionaries. Please don't hesitate to post any additional questions you might have. I'm happy to help!
Kouao Kouadio Franck
2016-06-22 14:38:20
Many confusion can be time to time in the Church of Christ and that was since the beginning. That can happen because we are human. But the only thing that we know with any doubt is that the church is true.
I'd say that doing good things can strengthen a person's faith. That may be the best way to develop faith. But certainly God can and does touch the hearts of many different kinds of people. Often times he awakens faith in people precisely so they will change and become true converts.
I hope this helps! It's excellent that you're visiting with the missionaries. Please don't hesitate to post any additional questions you might have. I'm happy to help!