Christmas Book Citations Gospel Standards Part 3

.1 examines the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from a biblical perspective 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. So glad you could join us for this edition of viewpoint on Mormonism on your host, Bill McKeever, founder and director Mormonism research ministry with me today is Eric Johnson.

My colleague at MRM we continue looking at books that were given away as Christmas gifts by the first presidency between the years 1981 and 2017 yesterday we were looking at the book gospel standards, which was a compile relation of statements made by the seventh president of the church. Heber J. Grant, put together by G Homer durum who was the historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints before we jump into this book. We have a special going on for the series. If you'd like to help out our radio ministry. We have a special offer. You might like to consider for a generous gift of any size. We will send you an electronic copy of Bill McKeever's in their own words a compile relation of LDS leader citations that is close to 400 pages in length, and we been using many of those quotations in this series. What you need to do is go to MRM.org go to the donate button on the right side of the top main page and then put in your amount in the added note section put the letters PDF and then provide your radio station call letters or if you listen to podcast. Mention the state where you live. That will help us out immensely and will send you an electronic copy of bills compiled quotes in their own words and 100% of the gifts will go to our radio ministry.

But let's look at gospel standards statements by the seventh president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Heber J grants. He died in 1945. Today were going to dedicate this show to the subject of the word of wisdom, which is of course the Mormon health code.

Many of the things in the word of wisdom are not all that spectacular.

Some of them are kind of strange and one of them has to do with the drinking of tea and/or coffee. The first quotation that were going to look at is found on page 42 and this is what I would call as the classic slippery slope logical fallacy after Eric reads this you'll see exactly what I mean by that and is titled the road to apostasy. He writes I have seen men in high places start in by drinking tea and coffee saying doesn't amount to anything.

Then next using liquor. Then next finding fault with the authorities of the church and the first thing I knew they left the church, but I have never known a person, man or woman who attended his meetings and partook of the spirit and inspirations that are present in the meetings of true faithful Latter Day Saints who has ever apostasy side. Do you think is really true. Let's think about what he senior I've never known a person, man or woman who attended his meetings partook of the spirit and inspiration that are present in the meetings of true faithful Latter Day Saints who has ever apostatized what I don't know if it has anything to do with imbibing tea or coffee, but it seems like the people he's describing in the latter part of that paragraph would be what you would call your typical TBM. A true believing Mormon.

Of course they believe it there to stick around.

They're not going to leave but can we really assume that just because an individual in the church might start drinking tea and/or coffee that that is going to necessarily lead to them using liquor. I mean really is. Is that a scientific study that's been done here, or is he just making this up as he goes. I guess we could call it the gateway drink the gateway to shrink. That's a good way of putting it. Another quote that on the word of wisdom. Page 51. He writes many a professed Latter Day Saints in hard times, has lost the home that sheltered his wife and his children. Hello if he had observed the word of wisdom would have been able to save it. The violation of the word of wisdom has meant the difference between failure and success by observing the word of wisdom sufficient money to pay the interest on the mortgage would have been forthcoming with additional help to take care of his family and farm. This almost sounds like the prosperity teaching of Mormonism.

If you just follow the word of wisdom, you'll have enough money to pay your mortgage doesn't sound almost like a pragmatic theme though. The reason why we want to follow this word of wisdom is more out of pragmatism well obviously if you're not drinking alcohol. Alcohol can be kind of expensive. So I guess you could save some money there and coffee. How expensive could coffee of been back then.

RT is this again really a truism.

Are you telling me that people who follow the word of wisdom never lost their house. I mean we look at it from that angle. I don't know if this is really the scientific study that's been done. It sounds more as a threat by Heber J.

Grant than anything else. I think is very close to what you would set on that first quote a slippery slope if you don't follow the word of wisdom then failure in financial ways and taking care of your families going to follow.

I don't think those go hand-in-hand. It all, pages 54 and 55 of gospel standards.

This is what Grant says under liquor in virtue, let me say to you Latter Day Saints that any man or woman professing to be a latter-day St. who keeps liquor in his or her home is not living the gospel of Jesus Christ. We know that there are girls good find true virtuous girls who have lost their virtue because of liquor in the homes of Latter Day Saints. They lose their senses become drunk, stupid, and then they lose their virtue, and I know what I am talking about Nephi.

It said that in the 21st century probably be labeled a sexist it first when he says let me save you Latter Day Saints any man or woman professing to be a latter-day St. who keeps liquor in his or her home is not living the gospel of Jesus Christ will appears from the context is not just by keeping liquor in your home. It's using the liquor that's in your home is not just because the bottle happens to be parked there that that makes it a sin.

It's actually the use of it when you talk about being a sexist. Why does he talk about the girls who have lost their virtue because of liquor. I mean, many men probably have as well and I don't know why he singles out the females but he did and I find that to be a very interesting quote about this on page 249. He says I believe is firmly as I believe that I am standing here before you today that on three separate and distinct occasions in my life I would have lost my life had I not been an observer of the word of wisdom, but on account of the pureblood I had in my veins and the promise of God and the keeping of the commandments of God. My life has been spared. Bill let me ask you in almost sounds to me like this is some kind of a good luck charm would you think that maybe he's saying that by keeping the word of wisdom is gonna bring you good fortune. Well, I guess even a professing Christian could fall into that trap by thinking. If I don't do certain things and God owes it to me that I will be protected somehow. Perhaps that is the way he's looking at when I read that quotation I became very intrigued by it. So you and I both looked up the conference report that this comes from and that was a conference message that he gave in October 1937 had he not observed the word of wisdom. There were three occasions we would've lost his life.

I was kind of interested what were those three occasions when you go back and you read this conference message he most certainly does talk about the virtues of following the word of wisdom, but he doesn't tell you what those three instances are. It's almost like Paul the apostle Paul who said that he prayed three times to get the form from his flesh taken care of and God said no, my grace is sufficient for you, we've always like to speculate what was that, and we don't know. And here we did read through pretty much that whole conference message and not one hint as to what he's talking about on three separate and distinct occasions where he would've lost his life but he did mention how he had attended the funeral of two of his former friends who had lost it seemed like everything of value to them because of alcohol. Is that what he was referring to will. If so, it's kind of vague. You almost have to force yourself to draw that kind of a conclusion when he tells that story about visiting the funeral, but you would mention how in that quotation that we cited earlier about young virtuous girls becoming drunk, stupid, and then losing their virtue in that story of the funeral. He kind of alludes that his friends got drunk and stupid. So I guess he was being fair, not just picking on the ladies. He's also picking on the guys as well.

There was one more quote that I wanted to look at its Heber J grants not wanting to be linked with anything that he would consider to be unrighteous when he's talking about announcements and maybe I should just let you read it Eric it would explain itself better than I can. Yeah, I think this is referring to the appearance of evil and not to have anything to do with it. He says aunties I want to announce that I shall be glad if we will quit giving notices to the papers in his talk about newspapers of what is termed tees that are being held in our homes I read of a team being given in the Houma president Heber J. Grant and of the tea table being decorated. There is no tea table in the Houma president Heber J. Grant, I would like us to change that name in our newspapers, at least so far as Latter Day Saints are concerned and have it a quote on quote social gathering or a lunch or anything. You have a mind to call it and quit calling it a quote on quote tea when every Latter Day Saints is asked by the Lord to leave tea, coffee and tobacco alone.

I can almost sympathize with them, and that when you think about it because here you are being the leader of this organization in your harping on the fact that members should not be in by being in coffee, tea, or even using tobacco. But yet you announce a gathering as a team now for most of us, that would not be a problem at all. We don't see the prohibition of tea. Certainly like the Mormons do, quite honestly, I don't really even understand why today in the 21st century that tea or coffee is even an issue with Latter Day Saints because of so many things that have been discovered since the 1800s when this became a word of wisdom and I'm using those words purposely because it was not a commandment when this came out in the 1830s. It was a suggestion that says very specifically in section 89 that it's not a commandment but it became a commandment in the 20th century, even though Brigham Young said that they were supposed to be partaking of certain things, although you were excommunicated.

You were prohibited from going to the temple at that time Joseph Smith did make it a requirement to follow the word of wisdom. If you were to be an officer in the church, which of course he was an officer in the church but yet there are historical events recorded that shows that even Joseph Smith. Not often follow the same dictates that are found in section 89 that word of wisdom is a health code, and yet we have found that tea, coffee, hot drinks, there's nothing that is detrimental to a person who imbibed and that you see the day Bill where the church might allow Latter Day Saints to imbibed in tea and coffee will don't know why they wouldn't certainly not from a scientific aspect, but I think that one of the reasons why it's going to probably be there for a while, is because it certainly does tend to show who is loyal to the system as opposed to who is not, and I really think that Joseph Smith instituted the word of wisdom as a means of showing what authority he had and how he could push his authority on the membership for something that is in my opinion, such silly thing as drinking coffee or tea thank you for listening. If you would like more information regarding his research ministry.

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