From: jwindley%asylum.utah.edu@cs.utah.edu (Jay Windley)
Newsgroups: talk.religion.misc
Subject: Re: Mormon FAQ (part 1 of 2)
Date: 16 Apr 92 01:12:10 GMT
Article-I.D.: hellgate.1992Apr15.191210.24051
Organization: University of Utah CS Dept

press2@cbnewsd.cb.att.com (barry.o.olson) writes:
>In article <1992Apr15.111534.4293@cbnewsc.cb.att.com>, wcsa@cbnewsc.cb.att.com (Willard C. Smith) writes:
>> 
>> This  file does  not represent  an official  position of  The Church of Jesus
>> Christ of Latter-day Saints. I accept full responsibility for its contents.
>
>So why bother? Nothing is ever an official version.

Just as Antii Silvonnen does not speak the official position of the
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (thank God), and just as Michael
Bushnell does not speak the official position of the Roman Catholic
Church, neither does Willard speak the official position of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Those of us who belong to
various churches have our own understanding of their beliefs and
practices, and we write according to what we believe.  To hold an
organization responsible for the opinion of each of its members is
silly.

So even when Neal Maxwell, an LDS apostle, writes a book, even he
doesn't speak for the Church -- one apostle doesn't speak the official
position of the Church any more than one Congressman speaks the
official position of the United States government.  Each of these
authors has his own opinion.

So what good is their opinion?  One might easily ask the same of the
apostle Paul when he expressed his opinion on the applicability of
marriage.  He said, in effect, "I haven't received any information on
this question from the Lord, but here's my opinion.  It may do you
some good because I have a better foundation in Christianity than you,
but it may be wrong."

Those Mormons who buy Mr. Maxwell's books do so assuming that he has a
better foundation in Mormonism than they do.  Yet they know he may be
wrong.  Bruce R. McConkie's _Mormon Doctrine_ is widely used in
Mormonism because it combines a lot of information from various
sources in an easily usable form, and because McConkie was considered
a well read and wise person.  But well-read and wise does not equate
to infallible.  He does not hesitate to express his opinion in the
pages of his book.  And his opinion, like Paul's, may indeed be good
advice, but it isn't necessarily God's doctrine.

Yet there are some who consider everything committed to print by any
Mormon to be the stone-etched position of the Church.  And those whose
calling in life is to point out in excrutiating detail anything
remotely inharmonious in published material on Mormonism dislike such
disclaimers because it means they can't use the differing opinions of
two LDS leaders as evidence of contradiction.

That two LDS prophets have differing opinions no more sounds a death
knell for Mormonism than quibbling apostles in Acts invalidates
Christianity.
--------------------------------+---------------------------------------
Jay Windley                     | jwindley@asylum.utah.edu
Department of Computer Science  +---------------------------------------
Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City   | "I have detailed files."  -- T2
Newsgroups: talk.religion.misc