Should We Stop Addressing Old Teachings and Non-Official Beliefs?

By Aaron Shafovaloff

Perhaps the most honest and appropriate page on the entire lds.org domain is http://www.lds.org/official-doctrine. As of October 2, 2009, it reads, "The requested object does not exist on this server. The link you followed is either outdated, inaccurate, or the server has been instructed not to let you have it." The irony is rich.

On a personal level, I get the impression that committed Mormons oftentimes want at some level for their religion to be misunderstood, for it to remain esoteric and elusive. It is as though direct light on the shadowy religion would kill the precious shadow itself, hence it must be protected from the light of illumination. There is power seen in ambiguity, strength in ambivalence, solidarity in equivocation. The lifeline task of engaging Mormonism is tremendously frustrating. Over time, the metaphor of nailing green Jello to the wall starts to make increasing sense.

Christians who attempt to engage in meaningful dialog with their Mormon friends are often frustrated by the way teachings and beliefs can be obfuscated and downplayed. When a question is posed by a Christian they are many times told that a particular teaching “is not official.” Behind this are the assumptions that Mormonism is immune to any fatal criticism if it involves anything outside the scope of officiality, and that evangelical engagement should be limited to that which is binding upon Mormon members.

One problem with this is that the Mormon Church has no binding and official position on what constitutes a binding and official position. Mormon leaders and thinkers have proposed a variety of approaches to defining what constitutes official doctrine, not one being settled upon. Multiple things must be taken into account. First, and most important, Mormons have been taught that they enjoy a continual stream of prophetic counsel and revelation, and that their leaders will never lead them astray. They have also been taught that “The living prophet is more vital to us than the standard works.” (Ezra Taft Benson, “Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet,” 1980). A sense has been fostered that the living leadership is for members a more direct line to God than ancient scripture. But Mormonism also attempts to esteem its scriptures and ensure some stability. When leaders have gone especially awry, subsequent generations of leaders have downplayed prior teachings by appealing to the boundaries of scriptures (that the previous leaders failed to stay within). In short, Mormonism teeters between maximalism and minimalism, expansion and reduction.

In my study I have so far identified three general Mormon approaches to the standard of officiality:

sola scriptura – The Standard Works are the final and alone binding source of authority. If it is not in scripture, or if it is not inferred by scripture, it is not doctrinal and it is not binding.

prima scriptura – Scripture is the highest, most final binding source of authority, but it is not the only source of that which is binding and doctrinal. Other sources, such as current church leadership (considered lesser because they are compared with scripture and discarded if in contradiction with scripture) are also binding.

prima ecclesia – Modern church leadership is the highest, most final binding source of authority and doctrine, and may override other sources of authority and doctrine, like scripture, if there is contradiction. This is rarely done by direct repudiation and instead is done by re-interpreting, making obsolete, or questioning the preservation of a particular text. When addressing the question of whether living leaders trump scripture, or vice versa, BYU professor Robert Millet admits with refreshing honesty:

“I think most Latter-day Saints would be prone to answer this by pointing out the value and significance of living oracles, or continuing revelation, or ongoing divine direction through modern apostles and prophets, and thus to conclude that living prophets take precedence over canonized scripture” (Claiming Christ, p.31).

Rather than endorsing this mainstream approach, Millet goes on in the book to promote an approach much like prima scriptura.

There are nuances and ambiguities to the above three models, but you get the basic idea. My contention is that Mormonism oscillates between varying models to keep alive the theme of the “continuing revelation” as well as enforce some regulatory sanity.

BYU professors who promote the need for modern prophets to understand ancient prophets often violate their own stated principles in their interpretation of the watershed passage 2 Nephi 25:23 (“…for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do”). They obstinately reject the usage and interpretation from General Conference and modern church publications, preferring instead their own personal interpretations. Minimalists like Millet say that we need modern leaders to understand ancient scripture, but seem to only selectively apply the principle.

Here are some issues Christians need to take into consideration:

1. We care about what the Mormon mainstream people and individual persons actually believe. When they believe something the institution doesn't strictly, officially bless (according to some particular model of doctrine and authority), it still matters with regard to the spiritual condition of their individual heart.

2. The institution, regardless of the lack of formal approval, still ought to bear responsibility for acquiescing to unrepudiated longstanding beliefs that were initiated or at least fostered by Mormon leadership or by the implications of the traditional Mormon worldview.

3. Regardless of whether a particular Mormon individual agrees or doesn't agree with important teachings that have been recently been promoted from institutional Mormon channels of influence, that Mormon's spiritual heart condition is also related to his or her willingness to be a part of such an institution that tolerates and/or teaches such things.

4. Regardless of how old a particular Mormon teaching is, it can still have bearing on whether a person today should choose to become or remain Mormon. There are plenty of old teachings that have been abandoned by Mormonism that still call into question the reliability and integrity of the historic succession of alleged prophets and apostles. Remember, it only takes one false prophecy or one public heresy about the nature of God—especially one not repented over—to make a prophet false.

A Mormon once asked, "If there is no official position in the LDS faith [on a given matter], why do you care if LDS members believe one way or another?"

The answer is that God and individual people matter more than the LDS Church. Organizations and religions only matter because of how they relate to and impact people. And people matter because God matters.

Think about it:

Do you really think Paul wouldn't have written Galatians if the Official Church of the Judaizers didn't have an official position on whether Christians are required to get circumcised and live up to the demands of the Law? Do you really think Jesus wouldn't have rebuked the Pharisees if the Official Pharisee Association didn't have an official position on whether it was proper to heal on the Sabbath? Do you really think Jesus wouldn't have wept over Jerusalem if the Official Jerusalem City Council didn't have an formalized official position on whether its citizens should reject Jesus as the messiah?

To obscure real problems within any religion by appealing to abstract notions of what is and what is not "official" would be cruel, because it would overlook individuals affected---individuals that Jesus loves.

Notable Quotes

• "If the general authorities do not teach something today, it is not part of our doctrine today. That does not, however, mean that a particular teaching is untrue. A teaching may be true and yet not a part of what is taught and emphasized by the Church today. In fact, if the Brethren do not teach it today, if it is not taught directly in the standard works, or if it is not found in our correlated curriculum, whether it is true or not may actually be irrevelant." - Robert Millet, Getting at the Truth, p. 66
• "Evangelicals are more likely to encounter a Mormon than Mormon Doctrine™." - Tim McMahan
• “Though the prophet may step out of his official role in dealing with the daily affairs of life, he can never divest himself of the spirit and influence which belong to the sacred office which the Lord has placed on him…he lives under inspired guidance, which makes him great among men, and therefore, his unofficial expressions carry greater weight than the opinions of other men of equal or greater gifts and experience without the power of the prophetic office. It would be wisdom on all occasions and with respect to all subjects in any field of human activity, to hearken to the prophet’s voice” (John A. Widtsoe, Evidences and Reconciliations, p.237. Ellipses mine. See also Teachings of the Living Prophets, 1982, p.22).
• “Every member of the Church, and all men for that matter, would do well to give heed, and indeed should do so, to any public utterance or to the unofficial counsel of the man who has been called to the office of prophet. One cannot limit him by saying that on some subjects pertaining to human welfare he may not speak. The spiritual and the temporal have ever been blended in the Church of Christ. Obedience to the counsels of the prophet brings individual and collective power and joy. Of all men, the prophet of the Lord should, at all times, have most influence with the Latter-day Saints. No other cause can be greater than that of the Church of Christ” (John A. Widtsoe, Evidences and Reconciliations, p.238).
• “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 unto them” (Richard L. Evans, Conference Reports, October 1940, p.61).