Christmas Book Citations Doctrines of Salvation Part 3

.1 Mormonism examines the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints viewpoint when Mormonism is sponsored by Mormonism research ministry since 1979 Mormonism research ministry has been dedicated to equipping the body of Christ with answers regarding the Christian faith in a manner that expresses gentleness and respect. And now, your host for today's viewpoint on Mormonism have LDS leaders kept many plain and precious parts away from its members. Welcome to this additional viewpoint on Mormonism. I'm your host, Bill McKeever, founder and director Mormonism research ministry in with me today is Eric Johnson. My colleague at MRM we continue looking at books that were given away as Christmas gifts. Between 1981 and 2017 this week were looking at a book titled selections from doctrines of salvation. Doctrines of salvation was a three volume set that contained the writings of 10th Pres. Joseph Fielding Smith. It was compiled by Bruce R. McConkie, who was the son-in-law of Joseph Fielding Smith.

But today were looking at the topic of Revelation because there's an interesting statement made by Joseph Fielding Smith in this book found on page 316 it says Revelation since day of Joseph Smith. The presidents of the church from the prophet Joseph Smith until now have received revelations from the Lord for the guidance of his people. While all these revelations have not been placed in the doctrine and covenants, they are nonetheless true. Not all the revelations given to Joseph. The seer were placed in the doctrine and covenants in this day we have added many of his revelations to that volume since his death and there are others that have not been placed in it.

Some of them were for the church and not for the world and therefore are given only to the saints that many revelations have been given to the church since the death of Joseph Smith.

Some of these have been published. Some have not. It has been my privilege to read and handle a number of them that are still in the manuscript and have not as yet been given to the world for a wise purpose in the Lord, but they are on file and will be preserved so that's why I asked the question at the beginning of this show. The Mormon church makes a big issue out of the fact that some entity or entities were responsible for removing from our Bible plain and precious parts.

This is been blamed on either the Catholic Church or it's been blamed on political structures are things like this, but it seems that if what Joseph Fielding Smith is telling us is true. There must be some things that Joseph Fielding Smith himself believes is true but not given to the membership hit away.

Perhaps in the presidential vault. He doesn't say we can only surmise based on the information that he gives us here, but if it is in fact true. Why does the church not allow the people to see this now. I guess some might argue. Or maybe that's why we have the Joseph Smith papers Project going on because they are publishing some of the writings of Joseph Smith that have not been in their history books or are not a part of the doctrine and covenants, as Joseph Fielding Smith says here but it makes you wonder, how much does the church have that it does not want the membership to see how would they know we only get a glimpse that there may be things like this being hidden from the membership. We have the doctrine and covenants one of the four standard works of the church and the last time anything was added into the doctrine and covenants with section 138, which was a vision given to Pres. Joseph F.

Smith in Salt Lake City on October 3, 1918. So for more than a century. The church has not added anything into the doctrine and covenants and you would think that if there are things that we ought to know about. They shouldn't be hiding these things, they should be explaining these things because otherwise, why do we need prophets and apostles and they're just teaching us the same old things. When these people have apparently in manuscript form information that they are keeping from the world and I was mentioning earlier about these entities that were allegedly responsible for expunging these so-called plain and precious parts.

I mention the Roman Catholic Church will that's because Bruce McConkie the very man who put together all the citations in the three volumes of the doctrines of salvation. He most certainly taught that although when is 1958 edition of his book Mormon doctrine was published. He was very specific to name the Catholic Church as being the church of the devil. In fact, if you looked up the word Catholicism in the 1958 edition it says see church of the devil and on page 129 of the 1958 edition which I'm holding in my hand.

It defines the church of the devil as one all churches or organizations of whatever name or nature, whether political, philosophical, educational, economic, social, fraternal, civic or religious, which are designed to take men on a course that leads away from God and his laws and thus from salvation and the kingdom of God. The reason I would have a problem with that definition is. It doesn't seem like those type of entities, except maybe perhaps religious would fit the title church in church of the devil. So I'm wondering why he is expanding it to such a broad spectrum here but then definition number two. The Roman Catholic Church specifically singled out, set apart, described and designated as being most abominable above all other churches. Now of course, even though he has the references first Nephi 13 five.

Those above Bruce McConkie at this time didn't like the way he was so blunt and naming the Roman Catholic Church as being the church of the devil.

So that is not found in the 1966 edition that was the second edition of this particular book, so they have toned it down. You could say they were getting politically correct, even way back in the 1960s, but that's what McConkie taught, and from what I understand that's why a lot of Latter Day Saints pointed to the Catholic Church as being responsible for taking these plain and precious things out of the Bible. As you've heard me say on this show.

If you listen for any amount of time to think that anyone entity or even a number of entities could succeed and expunging the texts from all those unique teachings belonging to the Mormon church today is just a ridiculous idea and it's really it's a conspiracy theory beyond imagination. This just no way that could ever happen in the fact that we have so many manuscripts in existence today and that we can know by comparing these manuscripts even though there may be variants ever so slight we still get a good idea of what the authors meant for us in the text so this whole idea of playing in precious parts being missing certainly is not something that's worth being believed but unfortunately many Latter Day Saints because they've not studied how our Bibles came down to us today.

Naturally believe people like Bruce McConkie or Joseph Fielding Smith when it comes to this concept. I know I got off course a little bit there but it just struck me that it seems like according to this statement by Joseph Fielding Smith in this book that there must be some plain and precious parts that the membership are not aware of another citation. This is found on page 150 of selections from doctors of salvation prophets chosen in pre-mortal existence in the far distant past before the foundations of this earth were laid a grand Council was held in heaven at that Council plans were perfected in an organization formed for the government of this earth during its mortal probation, our eternal father knowing the end from the beginning.

Shows are among the spirits of those to be his rulers and prophets to assist in caring through his eternal purposes on this earth in relation to the final destiny of men and he gives three references one and Abraham chapter 3, Jeremiah chapter 1 verse five and Titus 11 through two. Do you feel that those verses really support what he say there though I don't.

I think that they are taken all three of them actually taken out of context to support the idea that the prophets were chosen in the pre-mortal existence and we would look at Jeremiah 15 is merely speaking to God's foreknowledge. He knows all things will even says here that our eternal father Joseph Fielding Smith admits knowing the end from the beginning. Now that would fit perfectly with how we understand Jeremiah 15 that God knows this, that he had chosen Jeremiah to be a prophet even before Jeremiah ever existed. Whether you call it a preexistence or not. But here's what's interesting he admits that he that the eternal father knows the end from the beginning but yet we hear of some Mormons, some Mormon philosophers. In particular, it seemed to go towards that idea of open theism that maybe God does not know all the particulars in the details in the future will it sounds like according to what I'm reading here that heavenly father knows the end from the beginning and as a result of that he chose from among the spirits of those to be his rulers and prophets to assist in carrying through his eternal purposes on this earth in relation to the final destiny of man, though I don't think this is speaking to a type of Mormon Calvinism.

What I do think it's speaking to is the fact that what an individual did in the preexistence has some bearing as to his status during this mortal probation because are born. According to merit how well you did in the pre-existing exactly. And we know that Mormon leaders very strongly taught this idea that the reason why certain people were born with white skin in the United States, perhaps in a Mormon home living in Salt Lake City showed that they were probably far more superior in their efforts in their progress in the spirit world. Then let's say another individual who was born with black skin in a poor part of Africa. Perhaps without any knowledge of Mormonism whatsoever. Mormon leaders have taught these kind of concepts. This could be what Joseph Fielding Smith might be referring to one more quote. Bill this comes from page 48. Lord has created many's the Lord never created anything for nothing, nor out of nothing. Everything has a place and was created for a purpose man was not created to be destroyed. This work has been going on forever. There never was a time when there was not an earth.

Never a time when there were not people on it for that is the work of the Lord and the heavens are innumerable, and so are the errors that have passed away to their exultation and glory as they pass away. Others take their places. This is not the only world the only one that taught the concept like this. Mormon apostle Neal Maxwell taught something that sounds very similar to what Joseph Fielding Smith is espousing here is on page 48 of selections from doctrines of salvation and he wrote this in a wonderful flood of light.

Page 25.

We do not know how many inhabited worlds there are or where they are, but certainly we are not alone. This is a universe of spiritual order in which coal is set nigh unto the throne of God to govern all those planets which belong to the same order as that upon which thou stand just bill would you say that this is a lot of speculation that's going on absolutely and when Joseph Fielding Smith himself said there never was a time when there was not an earth who created that earth or in the context of Mormonism who took the already existing matter and formed it into an earth. Was this the one they call heavenly father because he wasn't always God. According to Joseph Smith. Remember Joseph Smith thought we've imagine. And suppose that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea and take away the veil so that you may see but yet here. Joseph Fielding Smith says there never was a time when there was not an earth. Never a time when there were not people on it. That sounds like this exists before heavenly father became a God himself. So that would have to be from another God prior to the God of Mormonism. Thank you for listening you would like more information regarding his research ministry. We encourage you to visit our website www.mrm.org you can request a free newsletter Mormonism research.

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