Stand on the Rock of Revelation Part 9

Mormonism 101 click claim limit its research ministries Bill McKeever and Eric Johnson has helped many more to understand what separates Mormonism from the Christian faith.

Mormonism 101 is available at your favorite Christian bookstore online@mrm.org .1 examines the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from a biblical perspective view .1 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 welcome to this addition of viewpoint on Mormonism on your host, Bill McKeever, founder and director Mormonism research ministry and with me today is Eric Johnson my colleague MRM we continue looking at an article in the October 2020 addition of enzyme magazine stand on the rock of revelation. It's an article by Elder Lawrence E core bridge was an emeritus member of the 70 and it comes from a devotional address that Mr. Corbett gave title stand forever, and addressee delivered at Brigham Young University on January 22, 2019 that clearly Eric this is an article that is supposed to hopefully encourage those that are having doubts about their LDS faith and by the fact that he lists a number of issues here that would probably cause some doubt in the minds of Latter Day Saints. Especially when it comes to some of its church history plural marriage, people of African descent not be allowed to hold the priesthood. How the book of Mormon was translated. The lack of DNA that supports the premise in the book of Mormon regarding the book of Mormon peoples as well as the different accounts of the first vision he knows that there are issues that cause members to doubt he mentions as we talked about yesterday that he had an assignment where he was supposed to look into a lot of these subjects that tended to cause a lot of doubt in the minds of Latter Day Saints and and yesterday show. We mentioned how he brings up the what he calls the product of belief bias. In other words, when somebody says something that disagrees with what you already believe your presuppositions, you feel this dark gloom about you because it's contradicting what you already believe that's a very real thing. It's and it's very real in the lives of many Latter Day Saints and is very real in the lives of really everybody.

Everybody has some kind of belief bias we all have our presuppositions but Mr. Corbett of course thinks that his presuppositions are absolutely correct and he's a love having belief bias when it comes to the gloom. He said he felt when he was reading about all these criticisms regarding Joseph Smith and his church.

We ended yesterday show by citing Mr. Corbett, you said it is the gloom of darkness, and the stupor of thought. He said that the gloom that he experienced was not the belief bias and it is not the fear of being in error, he said, is the absence of the spirit of God. In other words, he feels what he was reading in criticism of the church must've been totally false and inaccurate, but it didn't cause him in a dark gloom because it went against what he already believed. He feels that it was because there was an absence of the spirit of God and then he cites doctrine and covenants 98 and nine.

What does D&C 989. Say Eric, but behold I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind. Then you must asked me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you.

Therefore you shall feel that it is right. Verse nine but if it be not right you shall have no such feelings but you shall have the stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong. Therefore, you cannot write that which is sacred. Save it be given you from me.

In other words, it's all subjective. You have to have a feeling whether this is true or not and how many times have we heard Latter Day Saints say that very thing to us.

I don't feel that what you're saying to me is accurate. I don't feel the spirit. When you say what you say.

Yet as I mentioned yesterday, many of the things we are saying come right from either the book of Mormon, the doctrine and covenants, the pearl of great price or citation from a Mormon leader, why, when they feel the spirit was because they probably didn't know that that was in there and it goes against the grain of what they already presuppose is true. Now Mr. Corbett feels that he's above that bill going back to D&C 98.

I just want to point out that according to God that you're supposed to study it out in your mind. Then you have to ask God if it be right, and if it is your bosom shall burn within you.

Therefore you shall feel that it is right. Can you think bill of any verse in the Bible that would correspond to D&C 98 because I can't. I can't think of any verse it's always about going back. As we said earlier this week to the word of God. I'm thinking about the case and asked where Paul is talking to and what did they do, they take out the Scriptures and check to see if what he is saying is true and what does Luke say and ask. He says they were considered more noble than those in Thessalonica because these guys were willing. The Marines were willing to take out the Scriptures and see if it is true. How do you know that you have the spirit of God. How do you know that it has been revealed to you here is based on feelings. I think that's a really problematic way of trying to figure out truth. I can give you an example of how that plays out in the minds of some Latter Day Saints. I was having a conversation with a Mormon missionary. I was talking about this first vision and that's on the list that Mr. Corbett gives and I was explaining to this Latter Day Saints that Joseph Smith explanation of the first vision could not be true because one he says it was in the spring of 1820.

There was no revival that he describes in the spring of 1820 and I started listing some of the other problematic points in that event, and yet this young man said to me while I don't care what you found. I don't care what you've researched, I still believe it happened in 1820.

You see, that's exactly what happens when you do what Mr. Corbett says listen to this little still small voice that's telling you it's true. Anyway, regardless of what the facts are saying and that becomes a wish and a prayer that becomes what fictional stories are all about.

But the Bible is not a fictional story. The Bible is based on history and unfortunately for the latter-day St. You have to depend on your feelings, even when they may contradict the facts as we said before, it's impossible to completely get rid of your belief bias is just impossible. We must try as hard as we can to be as objective as possible. But I think an honest individual would have to admit to do that 100% of the time is just not going to happen. Our presuppositions are going to guide us in some areas and we need to be careful about that. I admit he goes on in Wright's revelation from the spirit of God supersedes belief bias because it is not premised only on evidence I have spent a lifetime seeking to hear the word of the Lord, and learning to recognize and follow the spirit of God the spirit associated with the dark voices that assail the prophet Joseph Smith. The book of Mormon and the restoration is not the spirit of light intelligence.

In truth, I don't know much but I do know the voice of the Lord and his voice is not in that dark choir smack a bit of arrogance on his part, when he says I don't know much but I do know the voice of the Lord.

Now as an evangelical outside of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I hear a man say something like that.

I don't know much but I do know the voice of the Lord in the first thought that comes to my mind and yet you're still Mormon because if you really knew the voice of the Lord you wouldn't be a latter-day St. because what Latter Day Saints are being told conflicts not only with history but conflicts with the theological terms that are laid down in the New Testament. So what you're saying if it conflicts in those areas certainly cannot be from the Lord.

It's just not possible.

But when he says revelation from the spirit of God supersedes belief bias because it is not premised only on evidence I have spent a lifetime seeking to hear the word of the Lord, and learning to recognize and follow the spirit of God. I think that claim goes along with the claim later on in that paragraph, which for me as a New Testament Christian, I would say I'm sorry Mr. Corbett just sincere as you are. I would have to conclude that you have been deceived with you think so or not I'm going to suggest that he doesn't really have the spirit of God because when it comes to brass tacks. He doesn't accept the God of the Bible. He doesn't accept the Jesus of the Bible.

He does not accept how salvation is to be received. He does not accept the authority that God is given in the Bible and there are other scriptures that actually supersede the Bible because that let's be honest, the Bible is probably the least of the four standard works and so I would say again I come back to this question epistemologically. How do we know that you have the spirit of God, and it has to be in concordance with what the Bible is teaching in his God and Jesus are different and I think you raise a good point because if as most Latter Day Saints believe that the Bible is the word of God only as far as it is translated correctly and we know what that really means is that they do not believe it was transmitted correctly, so even if it was translated correctly.

It's only a correct translation of a bad transmission.

In other words, they still have severe doubts about the authority of the Bible. How many times we had Mormons tell us that we cite the Bible to them and they blow it off like it's not important at all.

Why because they are following the guidelines of the Mr. Corbett bridge hey your personal revelation needs much more than what the Bible may have to say, even if it conflicts with obviously that has to be the conclusion that Mr. Corbett is getting because of the fact that he is a faithful Latter Day Saints and yet he's believing things as you just said Eric that conflict with the very basics of the Christian faith and the very basics of what the New Testament tells us regarding the person of God the father regarding the person of Jesus, the son regarding God's plan of salvation by grace.

Justification through faith alone.

He disagrees with all those points.

I'm sure if he is faithful Latter Day Saints but yet he feels he's above this belief bias and of course for honest looking from the outside in. We would find that to be definitely a contradiction bill. Who do you think he's referring to when he talks about a dark choir because it seems like he's talking about anybody who would disagree with Mormonism, especially anybody who is trying to bring up reasons why. Perhaps Joseph Smith is not a true prophet of God. Why the book of Mormon is not true Scripture or the book of Abraham, for that matter etc. etc. so I guess you and I would also be part of the dark choir. Oh, I'm sure he'd no doubt believe that we are one of the voices from this dark choir, but as I'm trying to make my case here. It's really anything that might make him feel uncomfortable. Regarding that faith that he has, but was fascinating to me is he feels that he is a love this belief bias that he tends to criticize. He doesn't think he has it he hears the word of the Lord. How do you know it's the word of the Lord will probably going to give me an answer very similar that I've heard from many other Latter Day Saints will I just do that doesn't help doesn't really help. How do you know it's really from the Lord. Latter Day Saints don't all agree on the same issues they all have their disagreements. So who's speaking for the Lord. In those cases, Mormon prophets don't always agree on some of the big issues of Mormonism. Brigham Young certainly would not be welcome in a modern Mormon church holding to a lot of the belief that Brigham Young held in the 19th century. So who is really believing the voice of the Lord.

How do we know Brigham Young wasn't one of the voices from the dark choir.

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