Christmas Book Citations Gospel Kingdom

Mormonism 101 is research ministries Bill McKeever and Eric Johnson has helped many to understand what separates Mormonism from the Christian faith.

Mormonism 101 is at your favorite Christian bookstore online. MRM.org .1 examines the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from a 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. So glad you could join us for this additional viewpoint on Mormonism on your host, Bill McKeever, founder and director Mormonism research ministry with me today is Eric Johnson my colleague MRM we continue looking at books that were given away as Christmas gifts by the first presidency between 1981 in 2017.

Today we want to look at a book titled the gospel kingdom writings and discourses of John Taylor. We have mentioned this book in the past broadcast but we want to delve into it a little bit deeper because of the subject would love to cover.

But before we do that Eric. How can someone find these quotes that were going to be referencing Stacy to go to MRM.org and in the search engine type in Christmas book and the first article to come up contains links to all of the books in the Christmas series from 1981 in 2017 along with the compiled quotes that we have used in this series so if you like to get those just go to MRM.org, John Taylor became president in 1877 following the death of Brigham Young. Brigham Young held the position of profits here in Revelation, or of the Mormon church longer than any other leader they've ever had this book was compiled by a 70 by the name of G Homer Derman.

It was first published in 1943 the book was given away by the first presidency as a Christmas gift during the Christmas season of 1996. There's a section that he has in here Eric that I wrote I think is important because what's unusual about John Taylor. In talking about this is he's not appearing to give such a subjective way of believing I don't mean to sound confusing but you know that most Latter Day Saints. They believe what they believe because they prayed about it doesn't sound to me like John Taylor is sticking to that kind of a formula at the bottom of page 75 under the heading Christianity will bear honest investigation in mind you, that subtitle is not John Taylor's.

That is G Homer Durham's subtitle, but what does he say at the bottom of page 75. We call ourselves Christians, that is, we, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterians, Congregationalist Episcopalians and Mormons. We all call ourselves Christians stop you there.

Did you notice what he called himself he called himself a Mormon and there's no quotation marks around that.

Folks, he calls himself a Mormon. This is the president of the church calling himself a Mormon go on and he also calls himself a Christian by identifying with all the other denominations and he says well. Perhaps we are and then perhaps we are not is a matter that would bear investigation, I think, and then I think we should be honest with ourselves about all things, and especially in religion in the service and worship of God well but my father was a Methodist and I am one or my father was a Presbyterian and I am on my father was a jumper and I am one. My father was a Mohammed and and I am one. My father was a worshiper of Buddha, and I am one. Let us examine these things for a little while, or at least try to go to the foundation believing in the Bible, we will not go at once into these outside systems that examine our own for a little while and see how it stands and how we stand in relation to it now.

I might mention PC. He says my father was a jumper and that had both Eric and myself wondering what in the world is he talking about the little research on that. He could've been referring either to the Welsh Methodist revival which took place in the 19th century. They were nicknamed jumpers or there's another group 1st Armenian Pentecostal church. It started in 1970, and it could be referring to them and that would fit the time period in which John Taylor lift, and he also use the word Mohammed and and that obviously is a reference to a Muslim effect. If you call a Muslim a Mohammed and they would be very offended because they don't want to be a follower of Mohammed. He's just the profit rather they want to be a follower of Allah. What struck me by this paragraph on page 75 is he is stressing investigation into what you personally believe and why did I find that to be a little bit odd because that's not usually what we find many Latter Day Saints saying they will use the word investigation, but usually if you start prying into things like, well, the book of Mormon. For instance, were the origins of the book of Mormon does a talk about real places, real people, real events. I had Mormon missionaries get a little bit nervous with me when I start saying I wanted to look into those areas.

They were always trying to steer me away from that and tell me to just pray about it.

That's all I needed to do. In fact, I got the impression from more than one missionary during my lifetime, at least, that going beyond praying is almost like not trusting God to give you the answer. But if you look at page 74. He also talks about what he says is the absurdity of some religious notions.

Now what can God think of a people placed here on the earth the most intelligent of his creations possessive reasoning faculties who, in many instances have investigated understand the laws of nature.

I say what Kenny think of man who set up every form notion, in theory, every species of absurdity that can be imagined, and call it the worship of God.

Suppose we were to put ourselves in his place for a little while. We should think there was something a little strange in relation to these matters. He might reasonably say these men exhibit wisdom and intelligence in many respects, so far as discovering the operations of nature and examining and testing the laws thereof. They all agree, but in religious matters. They exhibit imbecility and weakness and that there is no union. That's an interesting way of describing what John Taylor with think would be the silliness of many religions, but I couldn't help but be struck by the fact that I have had people come up to me when I'm trying to educate them on the basics of Mormonism. They asked that very question. How is it that a latter-day St. can be so smart in so many areas of life. But when it comes to their religion to them as evangelicals looking from the outside in C Mormonism in this kind of a light. Now notice John Taylor. He turns it around. Obviously he thinks that what he believes is certainly something that should be believed in.

Isn't a part of imbecility or weakness but it still strikes me that he is talking about examining or looking carefully at what you believe and again that's not something I usually hear coming from Latter Day Saints, but it doesn't mean that John Taylor didn't think there was superiority in his Mormonism because certainly in this book he talks about that as well and on page 6 he writes this in the gospel kingdom about the strength of the Mormon doctrine is. I have traveled to preach these doctrines and most of the United States and in the Canada's. I have preached them in England and Scotland and Wales in the Isle of Man and the jerseys in France, Germany, in the principal cities of America and Europe into many prominent men in the world and I have not yet found a man that could controvert one principle of Mormonism upon scriptural grounds and he says that in September 1857. Now I'm sure there's a lot of modern Latter Day Saints, especially among their apologists would probably say the same thing. They feel that they have responded to a lot of the biblical criticisms of their faith and John Taylor I think is taking of obviously that same kind of an approach but it doesn't mean that there are not scriptural grounds to show that Mormonism needs to be challenged and even abandon.

It's just that John Taylor didn't want to view those verses is having really any kind of importance compared to what he believed to be truth when he uses the word scriptural, we always have to ask the question what is meant by the person using that word because in Mormonism Scripture has a different meaning than what evangelical Christians would say we certainly hold to the Bible as evangelical Christians but Mormonism holds to three other scriptures. I think he's referring here bill to the Bible upon scriptural grounds and yet isn't that what we try to do on a regular basis here on the show we try to take what Mormonism teaches through its leaders through the manuals and other things that the leaders of said and try to say what does that say in comparison to what the Bible says and when he says he can't find anybody who has ever been able to contradict what Mormonism teaches based on scriptural grounds. I think we have a lot of reasons. For instance, the idea of God being one, we certainly go to Deuteronomy 64 Mark 1229 and many other passages that seem to show that God is one in Mormonism God was once a man who became got, I think we use Scripture to support ourselves and so he apparently has all the travel that he did never ran into somebody who is able to do that.

Now let's look at page 50 because again he refers to himself in a way that I think 17th president Russell M.

Nelson would probably disagree. He writes now I come to us Mormons.

We are the only true church.

So we say we have the only true faith.

So we say and believe. I believe we have many great and true principles revealed from the heavens. I will tell you how I feel about it and what I have said many times when I have been abroad among the priests people and philosophers if any man under the heavens can show me one principle of air that I have entertained. I will lay it aside forth with and be thankful for the information to you like that attitude though it sounds really good. It sounds very open but I heard other Latter Day Saints use that same kind of language but yet they haven't come to a point in their life or their ready to reject their Mormonism because they subjectively feel it is a doctor from God, though, when I was bringing out before you read that Eric is the first line. Now I come to us Mormons. Here again, John Taylor, the third president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints refers to himself as a Mormon, no quotation marks around that word I should mention.

He obviously didn't have a problem with that which would make you wonder was he not offending Jesus by using that title was he not eating the devils because when he uses the term like that you can see that there is a disconnect between what Russell M. Nelson was advocating in 2018 when he brought this whole subject up, as opposed to what John Taylor believed as the Latter Day Saints Pres. during the late 19th century, we have latter-day St. listeners. We know that because people have told us that they have listen to our show is Latter Day Saints. I don't agree with a lot of what we may say, but they still want to hear what we say and I hope that every latter-day St., listening to us right now would agree in principle, whether he meant it the way he said it or not I don't know but when he says if someone read it again. If any man under the heavens can show me one principle of air that I have entertained. I will lay it aside forth with and be thankful for the information. I mean that's how I want to accept what a latter-day St. may tell me I want to hear what he says if I'm wrong I need to be able to find out where I'm wrong and maybe correct my ways. I would hope they would do their best to try to show me in a reasonable manner from the Bible how Mormonism is true, but I would hope that for our listeners as well. The things that were talking about.

I don't want to be considered anti-Mormon rhetoric. I wanted to be considered words that we consider to be very important in words have meaning and doctrines that are different than what the Bible teaches are damnable and we don't want anybody to be headed to hell when the information that we have has the ability to bring life to those who are currently in their thank you for listening. If you would like more information regarding this research ministry. We encourage you to visit our website www.mrm.org you can request a free newsletter Mormonism research. We hope you join us again as we look at another viewpoint is