The Next Mormons — Part 13

One member is examining the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from a biblical perspective view .1 limited 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 with me today is Eric Johnson. My colleague at MRM we continue looking at what we feel is quite a fascinating book titled the next Mormons how millennial's are changing the LDS church. It was written by Jana Reese came out in the spring of 2019.

And as we've explained earlier, the reason why were taking so much time to go through this book is because the statistics I think will help us if we are serious about evangelizing our LDS friends because the age group tends to tell you where they may fall regarding certain beliefs or how much emphasis they put on certain beliefs and this helps.

If were going to have an effective conversation but I think it all goes back to this to Eric because even with these statistics, it doesn't tell you exactly how the Mormon you might be talking to thinks on that issue and this goes back to why we have always said ask questions.

Don't assume this is a good guide which he gives us here in this book. But we shouldn't assume that a certain person in a particular age group in the Mormon church is believing a certain way because they may not be so asking questions is very important. Yesterday we ended the show, talking about some of the things that Mormons thought were morally wrong and kind surprising when we're talking about issues like abortion, 65% of millennial's think that abortion is wrong.

79% of millennial's thought that having an adulterous affair were wrong and but today we want to look at other issues such as in vitro fertilization very quickly. I want to go through some of the points in this chart that she list when it comes to the silent boomers that would be the older members of the LDS church 15% felt that in vitro fertilization was wrong, rest 33% of millennial's thought that that was wrong second surprise you a little bit. Well, the millennial's seem to be more judgmental. In fact, this is what Jana Reese says Mormon millennial's proved to be the least accepting of any generation concerning in vitro fertilization and the other things were talking about. I've heard millennial's say that about millennial's, so that's probably a good call on her part, by the way, you can see the statistics and on our website MRM.org/the next Mormons with hyphens between those words. But wearing for silent boomers. 17% think it's wrong. Gen X 27%. Well double with the millennial's 45%. Almost half of millennial's think it's wrong to wear for and that's politically correct in the age that we live in you and then you have stem cell research and this is where I was a little bothered by the way she has is because she doesn't seem to really define whether this is talking about embryonic stem cell research or adults stem cell research because definitely as a Christian I am very much against embryonic stem cell research but as a Christian I'm not against adult stem cell research but she doesn't seem to qualify it but 47% of millennial said that they were against stem cell research. Yet they are moving more in a Democrat direction, and of course the Democratic Party has a very strong pro-abortion platform.

I would wonder if the do not see the inconsistency. Perhaps that is in those numbers. I don't know when it comes to getting a divorce. 43% of millennial say that that's wrong. Now you and I were discussing this and that could very well be because millennial's may have gone through a situation like that with their parents and because of feeling the pain and the suffering that they take away from that kind of an event in their lives that might be why that number is as high as it is an especially 43% compared to 12, only 26% of silent boomers who thought gay divorce was wrong and 41% of Gen X thinking is wrong, millennial's are the highest at 43% comes to the death penalty, 46% of millennial's are against the death penalty were as the boomer generation is in the silent generation is more around 27%. I'm not totally surprised by that number but now I want to get into this other area and that is the source of authority and this is where Jana Reese was surprised by the numbers that came back on the survey that she put out this is what she writes on page 193. Under the section competing sources of authority, she writes the next Mormons survey asked Mormon respondents to rank a dozen sources of authority on a scale of 1 to 5 based on which sources they consult most when making moral decisions. Given how essential the Council of LDS general authorities is considered for Mormon life. I was expecting to see church leaders at the top of the list for Mormons in general with some possible dilution of their importance in the lives of younger respondents what the survey showed instead is that this kind of prophetic counsel ranked fifth overall on the list of 12 items after respondents own conscience promptings of the spirit would be number two family advice number three Scriptures number four and then number five LDS general authorities bill that surprised me just as much as it surprises. Or, I have to admit I was shocked by that.

Seeing them put in that order. They seem to place a very strong emphasis on their ability to make right decisions. That, of course, biblically we would be cautioned against that but I I want to read something from Ezra Taft Benson.

We talked about this before it was taken from his 14 fundamentals of following the prophet, and in that he said the prophet in the presidency. The living prophet in the first presidency followed them and be blessed reject them and suffered now that speech was originally given way back in 1980 before many of these younger people were even born, but it was re-emphasized in 2010. In October Gen. conference went to 70s got up at one of them by the name of Claudio Costin and the other one Kevin Duncan. They went through the 14 fundamentals that Ezra Taft Benson taught about in 1980 and they reemphasized the importance of those 14 fundamentals in the lives of modern Latter Day Saints that you would think that if you follow the leadership in your blast but you reject them you will suffer that trusting in the LDS general authorities would've ranked higher than fifth among average members in the church. Not only that but she writes on page 194 that prophetic counsel is one of the several sources they consult when making moral decisions, but it is hardly the only one. In fact, half of the respondents didn't have LDS general authorities in the top five.

So while it did reach the fifth position. More than half of them didn't even put the general authorities in the top five. That is, putting them way below where they hope to be. They they think they stand on a pedestal, but for many Latter Day Saints that they don't even put them ahead of their own conscience promptings from the Spirit their own personal feelings take precedent over what the leaders are saying so are you implying that a lot of those speakers that get up in general conference really are legends in their own mind. Do not obviously legends among the membership that they're trying to counsel through the speeches.

Let me go on." Ezra Taft Benson. This is taken from the teachings of Ezra Taft Benson. This is page 334 and 335 in a Gen. conference of the church president and Eldon Tanner stated a man said to me you know there are people in our state who believe in following the prophet in everything they think is right, but when it is something they think isn't right and it doesn't appeal to them, then that's different. He said then they become their own profit.

They decide what the Lord wants, and what the Lord doesn't want it sounds to me like your average Latter Day Saints falls into that category that Ezra Taft Benson is recording here and that is in his book the teachings of Ezra Taft Benson. How often do we hear the leaders tout their words as what they say, a Gen. conference is something that is considered to be Scripture even listen to what Richard L. Evans, who was an apostle back in 1940 he said this at a Gen. conference October 1940, page 61 of the conference reports he said besides this, we have our living prophet, for whom I am grateful and I hope to follow after him all the days of my life. I know that when I don't follow him. I am wrong and I know that when I do I am right, even if I don't agree with him, to those who only follow him.

When they do agree with him.

He is not a prophet onto them for Richard L. Evans, the prophet is a litmus test following the leaders is how you're going to know whether or not something is moral but Latter Day Saints answering this question about how they get inspiration for to know what to do.

That's right and wrong, they're not getting it from the leaders. They're not even getting it number one from the Scriptures as number four, but they're getting it from their own conscience promptings of the spirit and catch this number three family members rate higher in understanding what they're supposed to do over the leadership in the Scriptures themselves. When you consider that it was only back in the March & 2012 there was an article by Dieter F Dorf know back then he was a member of the first presidency.

Today he serves as an apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, but there was this article in the March 2012 & on page 5. This is what Dorf said listen to general conference with an ear willing to hear the voice of God through his left