Eternal Families: Pastor reacts to LDS Teaching

 

Pastor Jeff McCullough has put out his latest video about the Church, in which he discusses (and critiques) the doctrine of the eternity of the marriage covenant, and the emphasis placed on its importance, and its sacramental requirement for obtaining exaltation, or the highest degree of glory in the kingdom of God in heaven. In the theology of Latter-day Saints, marriage is intended to be eternal, and last forever. We can make it eternal by solemnizing it in our temples by a special rite of the priesthood that only we are able to perform; and we believe that that rite is a sacramental requirement for obtaining maximum happiness, and the highest level of glory in heaven. The way Pastor Jeff discusses it, tends to give it a bit of an incorrect impression. He makes it sound like we believe that everybody who goes to heaven will be eternally married, otherwise they can’t be in heaven, which of course is not correct. We believe that heaven consists of three levels or degrees of glory (previously discussed here), and in order to obtain the highest, one needs to be sacramentally sealed to his or her spouse for eternity, a rite that only we are able to perform—and nobody else does. Being married by a civil ceremony “until death do you part,” is not going to guarantee someone that higher degree of glory and exaltation in heaven. The way Pastor Jeff discusses it fails to make clear that distinction. If Pastor Jeff thinks that marriage in heaven is not necessary or important, he needn’t worry, he won’t be. If he lives righteously, he will still make it to heaven, but to one of the lesser kingdoms, and he won’t be eternally married. And he will be as happy there as he can be, in his assigned place in heaven. But to achieve the highest degree, eternal marriage is a sacramental requirement—which only Latter-day Saints are able to perform. I had previously discussed this subject in an earlier blog post which can be seen here.

There is, however, a more fundamental point that Pastor Jeff has missed. What sets apart the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from all other Christian churches and denominations is that, unlike the others, it claims to be a restoration of the original and true Church of Jesus Christ, not some kind of a “reformation”. All other churches claim to be some kind of a “reformation” of the original church. They claim that something went wrong with the original church that Jesus established, and they have figured out how to fix it. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, unlike the others, claims to be a restoration of that original church—by prophecy, by revelation, by visions, by the ministration of angels, and by priesthood and Apostolic authority etc. That is what sets apart the restored Church of Jesus Christ in the last days from all other churches.

People as a general rule don’t join this Church simply because they like its theology. Some might, but the majority don’t. They do so because they gain a divine witness of its truth; and they do that by reading the Book of Mormon. That is why it was given. That is its primary purpose, to bear witness to the restoration of the gospel in the latter days. It is God’s special instrument in gathering together his elect in the last days, before the final judgment comes—because the elect “hear his voice,” and “harden not their hearts” (Heb. 3:15; 4:7). That is why Joseph Smith called the Book of Mormon the “keystone of our religion,” because it is the rock on which the Church stands or falls. If the Book of Mormon is true, that makes Joseph Smith a true prophet, and the Church he established God’s one and only true Church on earth. If it is false, then the Church is false, and no amount of “theology” is going to make it right. That is why very few people join the restored Church simply because they like its theology—and nobody in fact should. They should only join it because they gain a divine witness of its truth; and the primary means of obtaining that is by prayerfully reading, searching, and pondering the Book of Mormon, and gaining a spiritual witness of its divine origin.

Pastor Jeff Comments on General Conference!

 

Pastor Jeff has posted his latest video about all things LDS, in which this time he comments on the Church’s last General Conference. In this video he doesn’t say too many controversial things, so I will confine my comment to a couple of highlights. At 14:25 minutes into the video he says the following:

“… but that is actually a good segue into the areas that felt unfamiliar to me: The Book of Mormon. There was actually one whole session that talked about the Book of Mormon. Clearly as a Protestant Pastor I don’t embrace the Book of Mormon, though I haven’t read it yet, but I am going to, I promise. But one of my Latter-day Saint friends while I was in Utah was actually asking me, ‘So really what is it at the end of the day that makes Protestants so adverse to Latter-day Saints?’ And a lot of it really does come down to Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, because we put such an emphasis on the authority of the Bible, that that extra Testament seems extra-biblical, and not trustworthy. In fact there was one quote of Joseph Smith in particular that was used that made me feel a little uncomfortable. It was this pressing upon me this day, is the importance of renewing our commitment to the Book of Mormon, which Joseph Smith called the most correct of any book on earth. Now as a Protestant, I very strongly believe that the Bible is sufficient for any and everything that we need to know about who God is, his character, his will; why he came, what he desires from us. And I was even this weekend talking to some Latter-day Saints who were making references about how the Bible isn’t trustworthy, and that there are a lot of mistakes in it. Now I would really like to get into details as to why Latter-day Saints say some of these things, because with someone who has not only studied it my whole life, but has a graduate’s degree in biblical studies, I know that there can be issues, when it comes to understanding various aspects, as to whether the Bible is fully harmonious with itself or not. But for the most part, I see the scripture is incredibly reliable and incredibly trustworthy, especially when we focus on how many different manuscripts exist, how much they for the most part agree with each other, and how we should be very confident about the translations that we have today. So for someone to make the claim that the Book of Mormon is the most correct book on earth, that we need to flood the earth with the Book of Mormon, and that those without the Book of Mormon do not have the full truth, is something that I adamantly don’t agree with.”

The answer to that is given in the Book of Mormon itself. The Book of Mormon anticipates prophetically such an objection to it being raised, and answers it as follows (punctuation revised):

2 Nephi 28:

26 Yea, wo be unto him that hearkeneth unto the precepts of men, and denieth the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost!

27 Yea, wo be unto him that saith, We have received, and we need no more!

28 And in fine, wo unto all those who tremble and are angry because of the truth of God! For behold, he that is built upon the rock receiveth it with gladness; and he that is built upon a sandy foundation trembleth lest he shall fall.

29 Wo be unto him that shall say, We have received the word of God, and we need no more of the word of God, for we have enough!

30 For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept; here a little, and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel; for they shall learn wisdom. For unto him that receiveth, I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.

2 Nephi 29:

1 But behold, there shall be many—at that day when I shall proceed to do a marvelous work among them, that I may remember my covenants which I have made unto the children of men; that I may set my hand again the second time to recover my people, which are of the house of Israel;

2 And also, that I may remember the promises which I have made unto thee Nephi, and also unto thy father, that I would remember your seed; and that the words of your seed should proceed forth out of my mouth unto your seed; and my words shall hiss forth unto the ends of the earth, for a standard unto my people, which are of the house of Israel;

3 And because my words shall hiss forth, many of the Gentiles shall say, A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible.

4 But thus saith the Lord God: O fools, they shall have a Bible; and it shall proceed forth from the Jews, mine ancient covenant people. And what thank they the Jews for the Bible which they receive from them? Yea, what do the Gentiles mean? Do they remember the travails, and the labors, and the pains of the Jews, and their diligence unto me, in bringing forth salvation unto the Gentiles?

5 O ye Gentiles, have ye remembered the Jews, mine ancient covenant people? Nay, but ye have cursed them, and have hated them, and have not sought to recover them. But behold, I will return all these things upon your own heads; for I the Lord have not forgotten my people.

6 Thou fool, that shall say, A Bible, we have got a Bible, and we need no more Bible. Have ye obtained a Bible, save it were by the Jews?

7 Know ye not that there are more nations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?

8 Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another; and when the two nations shall run together, the testimony of the two nations shall run together also.

9 And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and that I speak forth my words according to mine own pleasure; and because that I have spoken one word, ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another. For my work is not yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of man; neither from that time henceforth and forever.

10 Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible, ye need not suppose that it contains all my words; neither need ye suppose that I have not caused more to be written.

11 For I command all men, both in the east and in the west, and in the north and in the south, and in the islands of the sea, that they shall write the words which I speak unto them; for out of the books which shall be written I will judge the world, every man according to their works, according to that which is written.

12 For behold, I shall speak unto the Jews, and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the Nephites, and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the other tribes of the house of Israel which I have led away, and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto all nations of the earth, and they shall write it.

13 And it shall come to pass that the Jews shall have the words of the Nephites, and the Nephites shall have the words of the Jews; and the Nephites and the Jews shall have the words of the lost tribes of Israel; and the lost tribes of Israel shall have the words of the Nephites and the Jews.

14 And it shall come to pass that my people, which are of the house of Israel, shall be gathered home unto the lands of their possessions; and my word also shall be gathered in one. And I will show unto them that fight against my word and against my people, who are of the house of Israel, that I am God, and that I covenanted with Abraham that I would remember his seed forever.

And for the record, it is not the official position of the Church that the Bible is unreliable or untrustworthy. We believe that things have gone missing from it, but that does not make it unreliable or untrustworthy. Let us suppose that the Gospel of Luke had gone missing from the Bible, would that make the rest of it unreliable or untrustworthy? Of course not. But it is better to have the Gospel of Luke in it as well, and the additional insights it provides into the ministry and life of Jesus. Let us suppose that a new, genuine, authentic, verifiable fifth Gospel was discovered, written by St. Peter for example; and all the evidence indicated that it was genuine; should we reject it just because it was not already in the Bible? Of course not. We should rejoice in the additional insights that it would provide into the life and ministry of Jesus—even though without it the Bible would still contain the gospel of Jesus Christ. The same applies to the Book of Mormon. It complements the Bible, and tells us more; it doesn’t “replace” the Bible or make it obsolete. Then at 19:56 minutes into the video he continues the same theme about the Book of Mormon as follows:

“Now would I say that I felt like it was a ‘spiritual feast?’ Not necessarily; and I think that is because, as beautiful as a music was, and as sincere as everybody seemed to be around me, I can’t say that my mind was necessarily changed as to why there is this need for additional revelation, why there is this need for additional scriptures. I really, truly believe that all that was revealed through Jesus, and all that is revealed in the Bible, is fully sufficient for anything and everything that we need to know for reconciled relationship with God, and eternal life with him. If you really want to understand the foundation that I am standing on when I make statements like that, read the entire second chapter of the book of Colossians. I will just read one excerpt from it: ‘For in Christ all the fullness of Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.’ This whole idea of being brought to fullness really is the idea of the full sufficiency of what Jesus has brought to us; so again, the additional revelation, the additional scriptures, I have yet to fully be convinced that I need to embrace anything additional to what the scriptures teach about Jesus.”

The answer is the same as was given in the previous quotes from the Book of Mormon. If he really loves Jesus, he should rejoice, and be happy at the prospect of obtaining more of the words of Jesus, not the reverse. And how does the book of Colossians invalidates, discredits, or makes unnecessary any additional revelations from God? I don’t see that it does. I don’t think that Colossians was the last book of scripture that was written or added to the New Testament Canon. I am sure there were other books or epistles that came after. If his argument was valid, then every other item of scripture that was written or added to the Canon after Colossians is not genuine, and should be rejected. He is effectively saying that God having spoken once in the New Testament, he has no right to speak again! That is blasphemy. God has the right to speak whenever he wants to. Who is he to shut the mouth of God, and declare when he has the right to speak, and when he doesn’t? God decides when he wants to speak, not him or the Protestants. God doesn’t need anyone’s permission when he wants to speak. And by the way, I am becoming a little bit skeptical about his repeated claims that he has not yet read the Book of Mormon. I think that he has, but he knows that he can’t find any faults with it, so he prefers to pretend that he hasn’t read it, rather than being put on a spot, having to comment on its contents. At 16:26 minutes into the video he makes the following observation about the reverence with which Latter-day Saints regard the presiding officer of the Church, in this case President Russell M. Nelson:

“Let’s talk about something else that felt very unfamiliar to me, and I was really glad that I was able to observe this. I have come to know that the Prophet, Russell M. Nelson, is highly regarded; but I did not realize, until I was sitting in that conference center, and just before the conference sessions began, when he walked on stage, everybody stops talking, and quietly stands up while he comes in the room. That was very eye-opening to me. In fact whenever it was announced at the beginning of the session that he would be speaking, I heard an audible gasp in the room, because people were so excited that he was actually going to be speaking. It really highlighted to me how Latter-day Saints stand firmly on this foundational belief that the Prophet, who is currently leading the Church, is truly a living prophet of God. I come from a context where we believe that prophecy can take place, but it is under the authority of scripture. The fact that when he came to the podium to speak during the first session, that the room got completely quiet, it was you could hear a pin drop in the room. The only sound I could hear when he came to the podium was a woman a few rows ahead of me who was sobbing, and it just really highlighted to me that they really hold this man in high reverence. And again I am not saying there is necessarily anything wrong with that. Catholics hold the Pope and certain church leaders in high regard. But that really reinforced something that I have not been seeing up to this point, and that is, the importance of the fact that there is not only ongoing revelation, but that the person who is holding that office of the Prophet is held with such high regard and high esteem.”

We revere him because we recognize him to be a man of God, and God’s chosen mouthpiece and spokesman here on earth. In the Old Testament, the Israelites were severely chastened and punished when they treated Moses with irreverence and disrespect (Numbers 12, 16). He occupies the same position in our day, no difference (see D&C 28:2).