Utah Lighthouse Ministry

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Gospel Principles 2009 as a Significant Perpetuation of Traditional Mormon Theology

By Aaron Shafovaloff

Book cover: Gospel Principles

Cover of the 2009 Gospel Principles

Because we have been married in God’s ordained way, we are entitled to an outpouring of the Spirit on our marriage as we remain worthy.1

Gospel Principles is a doctrinal manual published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the institution of mainstream Mormonism.2 It was first published in 1978 and has been republished nine times, most recently in 2009.3 The manual has been standard curriculum for the Gospel Essentials Sunday school class (for investigators and new converts), but for 2010 and 2011 it serves also as the curriculum for the Melchizedek Priesthood and Relief Society classes twice a month.4

Outsiders learning Mormon theology afresh are better suited starting with Gospel Principles [GP] than with Mormon scriptures (KJV Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price) or literature authored by BYU religion professors. It functions not only as a concise guide to Mormon theology but also as an example of how Mormonism approaches its own canon. The existence and perpetuation of the book in Mormon culture is a corrective to suggestions that the religion is unconcerned with a holistic, coherent theological worldview.

It begins with the nature of God and our pre-mortal existence (chapters 1 and 2) and then ends with final judgment and exaltation (chapters 46 and 47). It explains practical living in the context of a roughly systematic Mormon theology, and gives Mormons a sweeping worldview meta-narrative to understand ultimate reality and their grand purpose in life. In addition to priesthood authority, the main benefits of the “Restoration of the Church” are described as doctrinal truths.5 Questions provided for readers and teachers encourage theological reflection and practical application.6

Changes found in the 2009 edition reflect attention to detail. The manual has likely undergone a process of approval by the LDS Church’s top leadership.7 While the book continues much of the theological tradition of [LDS apologist] Bruce McConkie, notably removed are all references to his book, Mormon Doctrine.8 Instead of directly referencing older extra-canonical works, the 2009 edition often indirectly references them through recent institutional manuals. According to LDS Church spokeswoman Kim Farah, “Quotes were updated to reference materials that are more accessible to members of the LDS Church worldwide. For example, the series, Teachings of Presidents of the Church, is referenced because it is available in 28 languages, while Mormon Doctrine is only available in a few.”9 This partly gives a sense of just how widely Gospel Principles will be distributed among Mormons worldwide. Its established use as an introductory manual warrants an inspection not only of its content but also of the various changes that have been made to it.10

Scripture

At one level the manual assumes a high view of scripture, frequently referencing and quoting verses to substantiate its claims and even providing a list of scriptures at the end of each chapter that imply a basic coherence and general unity of the four books they consider canon. Approximately eighty-nine percent of all references in the main body (excluding the lists at the end of chapters) are canonical.11 Moses is attributed as the author of the first five books of the Old Testament.12 Joseph Smith is quoted assuring, “ye need not suppose that one jot or tittle of the prophecies of all the holy prophets shall fail.”13 The Book of Abraham, part of the Pearl of Great Price, is straightforwardly portrayed as “translated by the Prophet Joseph Smith from a papyrus scroll taken from the Egyptian catacombs,”14 leaving no natural impression that the papyri, as some Mormons argue, only served as a catalyst for the revelation of the English text.15

The Bible is used to support distinctive Mormon teachings,16 yet the manual still provides members with a basic undergirding for rejecting the Bible when needed. The eighth article of faith is quoted, which functions in Mormon culture to cast doubt on the reliability of the Bible’s manuscript transmission history, as well as on the reliability of modern translations.17 It is implied that we could know more about priesthood organization and government of the Church from the Bible if it had been better preserved.18 Whereas Louis Zucker, Professor Emeritus of English and Lecturer in Hebrew at the University of Utah, argues that Joseph Smith approached Hebrew in the Joseph Smith Translation like an innovating artist,19 the manual instead promotes the traditional position that God inspired Smith to restore original meaning.20 In contrast with the Bible, the Book of Mormon is described as “the most correct of any book on earth” translated “into English through the gift and power of God.” Some sections of the Doctrine and Covenants restore “truths that were lost to the world for hundreds of years;” others “shed light on teachings in the Bible.”21

The concept of scripture is not limited to the LDS canon. Readers are told that the “the inspired words of our living prophets become scripture to us. Their words come to us through conferences, the Liahona or Ensign magazine, and instructions to local priesthood leaders.”22 The 2009 edition replaces the phrase “church manuals” to specify the main Church magazines. While for some Mormons “inspired words” constitute the small subset of prophetic teachings which are filtered and vetted against the canon, for mainstream Mormonism this teaching in Gospel Principles has the effect of generalizing General Conference talks and Church magazines as extensions to scripture. This would seem to indirectly help perpetuate the belief among Mormons that living prophets trump the canon, despite statements by leaders to the contrary.23 That Mormonism goes beyond the canon to support its teachings is reflected by the way the manual supports its own claims. While the manual usually substantiates content with LDS canon, it otherwise misuses its own canon,24 appeals to extra-canonical statements by leaders as though they carry sufficient weight,25 or even resorts to making naked, unsubstantiated assertions.26

[Italics added to quotes for emphasis.]

Adam and Eve

Both Adam and Eve are described as “valiant spirits” in pre-mortality, “among our Father’s noblest children” and chosen to “bring mortality into the world.”27 Their condition in the garden is a divinely ordained predicament: God commanded them to have children and not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, yet if they stayed in their pre-fallen state “they would have had no children” (2 Nephi 2:23).28 Eve “yielded to the temptation [of Satan] and ate the fruit,” then Adam chose to partake also.29 Even though the “transgression” brought “spiritual death,” the decision to eat the forbidden fruit was not a “serious sin.” Nor was the Fall a curse. It is instead a

necessary step in the plan of life and a great blessing to all of us. Because of the Fall, we are blessed with physical bodies, the right to choose between good and evil, and the opportunity to gain eternal life. None of these privileges would have been ours had Adam and Eve remained in the garden.30

Readers are asked to ponder the question, “How does the Fall provide opportunities for us to become like our Heavenly Father?”31

False Christianity

The Great Apostasy is described not only as a loss of “apostolic authority and priesthood keys”32 but also as a corruption of doctrine.33 With an implicit reference to the First Council at Nicaea, those who taught that God is immaterial spirit are described as those “called Christians” in “false Christianity” with predominantly “pagan beliefs.”34 They “lost the understanding of God’s love for us” and “did not understand the purpose of life.”35 Criticism of historic apostate Christendom remains strong, being only slightly toned down in the newest edition of the book.36

Imperfect Continuity?

Some superlative language used to describe the LDS Church is removed. While the 1997 edition depicts the LDS Church as a “perfect organization”37 compared to a “perfectly formed building,”38 the 2009 edition no longer does so. The 1997 edition taught that after the LDS Church’s original framework was set up, the “organization was completed during the next several years.” The 2009 edition replaces this claim with, “The organization would develop as the Church continued to grow.”39 The 1997 edition assured, “All of the offices and functions of the Church in the days of Jesus are present in the Church today.”40 This sentence is also removed, but continuity between original offices and modern offices is affirmed:

The Church was organized with the same offices as were in the ancient Church. That organization included apostles, prophets, seventies, evangelists (patriarchs), pastors (presiding officers), high priests, elders, bishops, priests, teachers, and deacons. These same offices are in His Church today (see Articles of Faith 1:6).41

Exclusive Benefits

Important spiritual benefits are exclusive to those who fulfill Mormonism’s distinctive requirements. If we “desire the destroying angel to pass us by, as he did in the days of the children of Israel, we must obey the Word of Wisdom [i.e. Mormon dietary laws]; then God is bound, and the blessing shall come to us.”42 Obeying the Word of Wisdom is also described as necessary to enter the temple and retain the Lord’s Spirit.43 Proper ordinances are necessary as well. While a person may be “temporarily guided by the Holy Ghost without receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost . . . this guidance will not be continuous unless the person is baptized [into the LDS Church] and receives the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.”44 The gift is only given by authorized, worthy elders of the LDS Church.45 Once given the gift of the Holy Ghost, members of the LDS Church can then be blessed with the gifts of the Spirit, such as the gift of tongues, the gift of prophecy, and the gift of working miracles.46 Couples married in a Mormon temple are also exclusive beneficiaries of certain blessings. “Because we have been married in God’s ordained way, we are entitled to an outpouring of the Spirit on our marriage as we remain worthy.”47

Worthiness and Repentance

In 1992 some rhetoric of perfectionism and earning our final destination was removed. “We would then be assigned to the place we had earned for our eternal home” was updated to, “the place for which we had prepared.”48 “If we prove faithful and obedient to all the commandments of the Lord” was updated to, “If we prove faithful to the Lord.”49 Instead of telling readers to list “some of the blessings that will be given to those who earn exaltation,” they are now to list “some of the blessings that will be given to those who are exalted.”50

But in the 2009 edition the theme of the need to prove ourselves worthy is still persistent and clear. Our very purpose in coming to earth is to “prove whether we would obey our Father’s commandments even though we were no longer in His presence.”51 We needed free agency “in order to prove ourselves worthy of exaltation . . . It is now up to each of us to do our part and become worthy of exaltation.”52 “Our choices there made us worthy to come to earth.”53 Readers are told, “we should make ourselves worthy to receive this special messenger and witness of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.”54

To be worthy to have the help of the Holy Ghost, we must seek earnestly to obey the commandments of God. We must keep our thoughts and actions pure.55

Only through sacrifice can we become worthy to live in the presence of God. We may not be asked to sacrifice all things. But like Abraham, we should be willing to sacrifice everything to become worthy to live in the presence of the Lord.56

We must obey the Word of Wisdom to be worthy to enter the temple. If we do not obey the Word of Wisdom, the Lord’s Spirit withdraws from us.57

All these things [learning self-control and using our talents to serve others] are necessary if we are going to be worthy to live with our Heavenly Father again.58

Before we can go to the temple, we must be active, worthy members of the Church for at least one year . . . We must be interviewed by the branch president or bishop. If he finds us worthy, he will give us a temple recommend. If we are not worthy, he will counsel with us and help us set goals to become worthy to go to the temple.59

We can live worthy to have the Holy Ghost guide us.60

Here on earth we are often judged as to our worthiness to receive opportunities within the kingdom of God. When we are baptized we are judged worthy to receive this ordinance. When we are called to serve in the Church or interviewed for a priesthood advancement or a temple recommend, we are judged.61

The weight of all this is compounded in the 2009 edition with newly added perfectionistic rhetoric:

Complete honesty is necessary for our salvation. President Brigham Young said, “If we accept salvation on the terms it is offered to us, we have got to be honest in every thought, in our reflections, in our meditations, in our private circles, in our deals, in our declarations, and in every act of our lives” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young [1997], 293).

All this is seen in the wider context of bilateral covenants predicated upon our obedience. “The kingdom of heaven is governed by law, and when we receive any blessing, it is by obedience to the law upon which that blessing is based (see D&C 130:20–21; 132:5).”62

Mormonism’s ambivalence over the repentance that brings forgiveness is reflected; credence is given to Spencer W. Kimball’s teaching that forgiveness is only guaranteed upon permanent completion of a series of prerequisite repentance-steps, including restitution, successful abandonment of sin, and keeping the commandments.63 His book on forgiveness is quoted before and after the principles of repentance are listed, and then quoted twice again later in the chapter on chastity.64 That successful abandonment of a sinful habit is required to secure complete forgiveness is made clear:

“Even though forgiveness is so abundantly promised there is no promise nor indication of forgiveness to any soul who does not totally repent. . . . We can hardly be too forceful in reminding people that they cannot sin and be forgiven and then sin again and again and expect repeated forgiveness” (The Miracle of Forgiveness, 353, 360). Those who receive forgiveness and then repeat the sin are held accountable for their former sins (see D&C 82:7; Ether 2:15).65

But as Mormon culture does not exclusively operate on Kimball’s harsh teachings concerning forgiveness, neither does the manual. The Nephite prophet Enos from the Book of Mormon is celebrated as one liberated unto a self-forgetful love for others by having received forgiveness from God—forgiveness that seems to have simply come after a prayer of broken-hearted desperation:

“My soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens. And there came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed” (Enos 1:4–5). The Lord explained to Enos that because of his faith in Christ his sins had been forgiven. When Enos heard these words he no longer was concerned about himself. He knew the Lord loved him and would bless him.66

Atonement

Gospel Principles does nothing to correct the tendency of Mormons to divide the atonement into two parts, one in Gethsemane, the other at the cross.67 While Jesus is said to have suffered “painful death by one of the most cruel methods known to man” at the cross, it is in Gethsemane where “the weight of our sins caused Him to feel such agony that He bled from every pore.”68 He had power over death because he was the “Only Begotten Son of God,” which is explained as inheritance of both divine power and mortal limitations.69

The atonement secures immortality for all, but salvation from spiritual death is only given to those who through faith repent of their sins, are baptized by one holding the LDS priesthood, receive the Holy Ghost, and obey His commandments.70 Given the descriptions of true repentance elsewhere in the book, one is left with the impression that spiritual death is only truly avoided by those who are someday exalted.71

The manual continues to use Boyd K. Packer’s parable of the debtor and creditor, which shows “how Christ’s Atonement makes it possible to be saved from sin if we do our part.”72 A man incurred a great debt and was unable to repay it by the due date. Out of love, and to satisfy both mercy and justice, a friend of the debtor offers to pays the debt to the creditor. Instead of freely cancelling the debt, the friend offers to essentially refinance it: “If I pay your debt, will you accept me as your creditor?” The debtor agrees, and is told, “you will pay the debt to me and I will set the terms. It will not be easy, but it will be possible.”73

Heavenly Mother

Many of the references to “heavenly parents” were taken out in the 2009 edition,74 but the teaching remains. We are still described as “literally the sons and daughters of God” and as “begotten and born of heavenly parents.”75 We are “sons and daughters of heavenly parents—males and females.”76 We lived “as spirit children with our heavenly parents.”77 Adam and Eve “were formed and given bodies that resembled those of our heavenly parents.”78 Not only that, but in the Grand Council we learned “that if we followed His plan . . . we would become heavenly parents and have spirit children just as He does (see D&C 132:19–20).”79 Given the eternal importance ascribed to gender and heterosexual family units in Mormonism,80 this clearly implies not only a Heavenly Mother of our own, but also the potential of females to become heavenly mothers who beget spirit children.

Jesus Christ

The 2009 edition replaces a description of Jesus as “our God and Savior and Lord of the universe” with “the Creator of the earth and our Savior.”81 The 2009 edition also removes the sentence, “We each need to have a personal relationship with him.”82 This is an odd choice. Even though Bruce McConkie counseled that members should “not strive for a special and personal relationship with Christ,”83 the language of having a “personal relationship with Jesus Christ” has gained some acceptance in Mormonism.84 Even if there is going to be a personal relationship with the Savior, prayer to Jesus is essentially prohibited. “Prayer is a sincere, heartfelt talk with our Heavenly Father. We should pray to God and to no one else. We do not pray to any other being . . .”85

The 1997 edition’s descriptions of Jesus as “first spirit born to our heavenly parents” and “literally our elder brother” are removed,86 yet Jesus and Lucifer are described as “both sons” of Heavenly Father.87 Since we are all described as spirit children of God and spirit siblings to other spirit children of God,88 the fact that we share a pre-mortal familial relationship with Jesus and Lucifer (and them with each other) is still implied.

Our Future and God’s Past

Language related to exaltation is only slightly changed, and the changes are mostly inconsequential. The phrase “become gods” has been replaced with the euphemism “become like our Heavenly Father,”89 but in other places it remains.90 In the list of special blessings for those exalted, it is still explicit: “They will become gods.”91 No longer is it stated that God “is not jealous of his wisdom and perfection”, yet it is still taught, “He glories in the fact that it is possible for His children to become like Him.”92 The specific promise that spirit children of future exalted gods “will have the same relationship to them as we do to our Heavenly Father” is replaced with the euphemism, “eternal increase.”93

What is meant by extant exaltation language is still outlined by the manual, and dovetails with two other issues: whether God the Father was once a mere mortal who had to progress unto godhood, and whether he was once a sinner like us. That the most relevant content on these issues is in the last chapter of the manual, and especially in the last few paragraphs of the manual, makes for a dramatic ending.

The most important removal in the 2009 edition of Gospel Principles is the line, “This is the way our Heavenly Father became God.”94 Yet the substance is retained. Earlier in the manual we are told of the purpose of leaving our pre-mortal home and experiencing mortality: “If we passed our tests, we would receive the fulness of joy that our Heavenly Father has received.”95 In the last chapter Joseph Smith’s King Follett Discourse is still cited as teaching, “He [God] was once a man like us.” Afterward we are encouraged:

Our Heavenly Father knows our trials, our weaknesses, and our sins. He has compassion and mercy on us. He wants us to succeed even as He did.96

This strongly implies that our Heavenly Father passed the same tests, fulfilled the same conditions, and achieved the same blessings that we can. The chapter describes what some of these conditions are: baptism, confirmation, priesthood callings, temple endowment, eternal marriage, love for God and neighbors, keeping the commandments, repentance, baptism for the dead, church attendance, daily prayers, teaching of the gospel to others, study of the scriptures, and obedience to inspired words of prophets.97 The blessings are also described: achievement of eternal life, exaltation in the highest sublevel of the celestial kingdom,98 godhood, living the kind of life God lives, achieving the capacity and role of creator, power, great glory, dominion, knowledge, eternal increase (which includes endless procreation of spirit children), parenthood over spirit children,99 and unity with righteous family members.100

The manual’s citation from Joseph Smith’s King Follett Discourse still includes, “God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did.” [see photo below] From this and John 5:19 101 some Mormons have argued that Jesus was modeling his redemptive ministry after the Father’s past redemptive ministry—that God the Father was once a sinless savior for another world.102 Which view a Mormon takes can be expressed in terms of how they resolve the tension between the phrases “He was once a man like us” and “God . . . dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did.” In other words, it is a question of which parallel is stronger: the parallel between Heavenly Father’s mortal experience and ours, or the parallel between Christ’s mortal experience and Heavenly Father’s.103 Whichever view a Mormon takes (if any), the Gospel Principles manual is clear: sinful men can repent and succeed at becoming Creators, Gods, and Heavenly Fathers over their own spirit children, with all power, glory, dominion, and knowledge.

Gospel Principles, 2009, Chapter 47, p. 279.

Footnotes:

  1. Gospel Principles, 221. ↩︎
  2. I use the term “doctrinal” loosely here to refer to authoritative religious teaching. Mormons sometimes use the term in a strict sense to refer to canonical teaching that is binding upon all members. ↩︎
  3. The book was published in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1992, 1995, 1997, and 2009. [The online version of Gospel Principles is presumably the same as the church’s most current printed version.] ↩︎
  4. “Revised Gospel Principles Is Curriculum for 2010,” Ensign [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints], Dec. 2009, 79. ↩︎
  5. The LDS Church maintains that the church established by Christ was taken from the earth shortly after the death of His apostles. “The Savior promised to restore His Church in the latter days. . . . On April 6, 1830, the Savior again directed the organizing of His Church on the earth (see D&C 20:1). His Church is called The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (see D&C 115:4). . . . The Lord has said that it is ‘the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth . . .’ ” Gospel Principles [2009], 96-99. Hereafter GP. ↩︎
  6. “Why is it important for us to understand the nature of God?” (GP, 6) “How have these truths influenced you and others?” (GP, 99). ↩︎
  7. “Explain that Church publications, such as lesson manuals and Church magazines, are produced to help members learn and live the gospel of Jesus Christ. The correlation process helps ensure that these materials are scripture-based, doctrinally accurate, and appropriate for the intended audience. All Church publications are planned, prepared, reviewed, and implemented under the direction of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve” (“Lesson 42: Continuing Revelation to Latter-day Prophets,” Doctrine and Covenants and Church History Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1999, 243 [245 in later editions]). ↩︎
  8. Contrast GP [1997], 32 with GP [2009], 28, 139 with 122, 266 with 253, and 291 with 243. The manual still quotes Joseph Fielding Smith (GP, 33, 109, 127, 248, 265, 277-278, 279) and Boyd K. Packer (GP, 63-65) as valued theological representatives of Mormonism. ↩︎
  9. Peggy Fletcher Stack, “A new—or is it old?—manual for Mormons,” The Salt Lake Tribune, December 31, 2009. ↩︎
  10. A working list of 1997-to-2009 changes is available from Mormonism Research Ministry at: mrm.org/gospel-principles, and an evangelical chapter-by-chapter guide is available from the Institute for Religious Research at: https://mit.irr.org/category/gospel-principles-and-bible ↩︎
  11. In the main body I counted approximately 796 canonical references, drawn from all four of their books of scripture, and 96 extra-canonical references. ↩︎
  12. “Moses . . . wrote the first five books of the Old Testament . . . ” (GP, 41). ↩︎
  13. GP, 253, which is quoting Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 252. ↩︎
  14. GP, 48. The introduction to the Book of Abraham clearly identifies Abraham as the author of the text: “The writings of Abraham while he was in Egypt, called the Book of Abraham, written by his own hand, upon papyrus.” ↩︎
  15. The wiki of the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (Mormon apologetics group) describes the “revealed text” theory as follows:

    “This theory assumes that the Book of Abraham was not on the papyri; he received the text by revelation, with the papyri acting as a catalyst. This is a possibility because Joseph used the word “translation” to mean several things, including the process of receiving pure revelation. (Joseph Smith’s revelations call his revision of the Bible a “translation” (D&C 73:4; 76:15; 90:13; 94:10; 124:89), even though he didn’t use any Hebrew or Greek manuscripts. Also, D&C 7 is a revealed translation of a lost record written by the Apostle John.)”
    http://en.fairmormon.org/Book_of_Abraham/Joseph_Smith_Papyri,
    accessed March 3, 2010. ↩︎
  16. For example: “When the plan for our salvation was presented to us in the pre-mortal spirit world, we were so happy that we shouted for joy (see Job 38:7).” (GP, 13) “Adam and Eve were among our Father’s noblest children. In the spirit world Adam was called Michael the archangel (see D&C 27:11; Jude 1:9). He was chosen by our Heavenly Father to lead the righteous in the battle against Satan (see Revelation 12:7–9).” (GP, 27) “Paul named two of the kingdoms in heaven: the celestial and the terrestrial (see 1 Corinthians 15:40–42).” (GP, 275) ↩︎
  17. “We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly” (Articles of Faith 1:8). ↩︎
  18. “The Bible does not tell us everything about the priesthood or the organization and government of the Church. However, enough of the Bible has been preserved to show the beauty and perfection of the Church organization” (GP, 16). ↩︎
  19. “[Joseph Smith] used the Hebrew as he chose, as an artist, inside his frame of reference, in accordance with his taste, according to the effect he wanted to produce, as a fountain for theological innovations.” (Louis Zucker, “Joseph Smith As A Student Of Hebrew,” Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought (Summer 1968): p. 53). Mormon apologist Kevin Barney appeals to this imagery in http://bycommonconsent.com/2010/01/01/js-on-hebrew-gen-11/, accessed March 3, 2010. ↩︎
  20. “The Lord inspired the prophet Joseph Smith to restore truths to the Bible text that had been lost or changed since the original words were written” (GP, 46). ↩︎
  21. GP, 47. ↩︎
  22. GP, 48. ↩︎
  23. Then-apostle Joseph Fielding Smith wrote:

    “It makes no difference what is written or what anyone has said, if what has been said is in conflict with what the Lord has revealed, we can set it aside. My words, and the teachings of any other member of the Church, high or low, if they do not square with the revelations, we need not accept them. Let us have this matter clear. We have accepted the four standard works as the measuring yardsticks, or balances, by which we measure every man’s doctrine.” (Doctrines of Salvation, compiled by Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols., (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1954–56), 3:203)

    Robert Millet observes that this is not the dominant view of Mormons:

    “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.” (Robert L. Millet and Gerald R. McDermott, Claiming Christ: a Mormon-Evangelical Debate, Grand Rapids, Mich.: Brazos, 2007, 31) ↩︎
  24. GP, 115 reads, “When we place our faith in Jesus Christ, repent, and are baptized, our sins are forgiven through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.” Shortly after, it quotes D&C 20:37 using an ellipsis that hides a teaching which would probably surprise most Mormons readers: the remission of sins is a prerequisite to baptism. ↩︎
  25. See for example the substantial citation in GP, 63-65 of Packer’s atonement parable or the appeal in 279 to the controversial King Follett Discourse. ↩︎
  26. See for example GP, 92 where the Great Apostasy narrative is supported with an appeal to the corruption of the Emperor Constantine, a connection nowhere made in the LDS canon. ↩︎
  27. GP, 27. ↩︎
  28. GP, 28. ↩︎
  29. Ibid. ↩︎
  30. GP, 29. ↩︎
  31. This question is especially notable when considered alongside the LDS temple endowment drama. In it, Lucifer persuades Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit, explaining, “I want you to eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, that your eyes may be opened, for that is the way Father gained his knowledge.” Told there is no other way to comprehend the knowledge of good and evil, Eve then partakes. Lucifer’s explanation goes uncorrected. For the text of the temple endowment drama see Evolution of the Mormon Temple Ceremony, 1842-1990, Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Utah Lighthouse Ministry, 2005, p. 116, or: http://www.irr.org/mit/endowment-ceremony.html ↩︎
  32. GP, 92. ↩︎
  33. “More and more error crept into Church doctrine, and soon the dissolution of the Church was complete.” (Ibid.) ↩︎
  34. “Soon pagan beliefs dominated the thinking of those called Christians. The Roman emperor adopted this false Christianity as the state religion. This church was very different from the church Jesus organized. It taught that God was a being without form or substance” (GP, 92). ↩︎
  35. GP, 92. ↩︎
  36. For example, the following was removed: “Church officers were given honor and wealth. Bishops and archbishops fought among themselves to gain more power” (GP [1997], 106; cf. GP [2009], 92). ↩︎
  37. Contrast GP [1997], 105 with GP [2009], 92. ↩︎
  38. Contrast GP [1997], 102 with GP [2009], 89. ↩︎
  39. Contrast GP [1997], 111 with GP [2009], 97. ↩︎
  40. Contrast GP [1997], 101 with GP [2009], 87. ↩︎
  41. GP, 97. ↩︎
  42. Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant [2002], 192, as quoted in GP, 171. ↩︎
  43. “We must obey the Word of Wisdom to be worthy to enter the temple. If we do not obey the Word of Wisdom, the Lord’s Spirit withdraws from us” (GP, 167). ↩︎
  44. GP, 122. ↩︎
  45. Ibid. ↩︎
  46. GP, 125. ↩︎
  47. GP, 221. ↩︎
  48. Contrast GP [1988], 289 and GP [1992], 301. ↩︎
  49. Contrast GP [1988], 290 and GP [1992], 302. ↩︎
  50. Contrast GP [1988], 291 and GP [1992], 303. ↩︎
  51. GP, 275 ↩︎
  52. GP, 16. ↩︎
  53. GP, 19. ↩︎
  54. GP, 33 ↩︎
  55. GP, 123 ↩︎
  56. GP, 153. ↩︎
  57. GP, 167. ↩︎
  58. GP, 199. ↩︎
  59. GP, 222. ↩︎
  60. GP, 261. ↩︎
  61. GP, 269. ↩︎
  62. GP, 204. See also GP, 81: “Within the gospel, a covenant means a sacred agreement or mutual promise between God and a person or a group of people. In making a covenant, God promises a blessing for obedience to particular commandments. He sets the terms of His covenants, and He reveals these terms to His prophets. If we choose to obey the terms of the covenant, we receive promised blessings.” ↩︎
  63. Cf. Spencer W. Kimball’s The Miracle of Forgiveness (Bookcraft [acquired by Deseret Book], 1969), 208, and Faith Precedes the Miracle (Deseret Book, 1972), 180-181. ↩︎
  64. As of March 2010 The Miracle of Forgiveness continues to be sold in official LDS Distribution Centers, even though the book is published by Deseret Book and not the LDS Church. ↩︎
  65. GP, 231. Cf. Miracle of Forgiveness, 354: “[Alma 13:11-12] indicates an attitude which is basic to the sanctification we should all be seeking, and thus to the repentance which merits forgiveness. It is that the former transgressor must have reached a ‘point of no return’ to sin where there is not merely a renunciation but also a deep abhorrence of the sin—where the sin becomes most distasteful to him and where the desire or urge to sin is cleared out of his life.”The implication of Kimball’s harsh standard of repentance is often expressed in contradictory but complementary ways: A sin is never really truly forgiven until a “point of no return” is reached, but if the sin is repeated, prior forgiveness is considered nullified. ↩︎
  66. GP, 178. ↩︎
  67. While all parts of the atonement are viewed as integral to accomplishing the fullness of salvation, payment for sins and vicarious experience of cumulative human suffering is generally placed by Mormons in the garden, while the securing of resurrection for all is seen as accomplished by Christ’s death and resurrection. Neither early Mormonism nor the Mormon canon shares this approach to dividing the atonement. ↩︎
  68. GP, 61. ↩︎
  69. “Jesus is the only person on earth to be born of a mortal mother and an immortal Father. That is why He is called the Only Begotten Son. He inherited divine powers from His Father. From His mother He inherited mortality and was subject to hunger, thirst, fatigue, pain, and death” (GP, 53). ↩︎
  70. GP, 67 ↩︎
  71. The hellish state of many in heaven (especially those in the telestial and terrestrial kingdoms) seems lost on many Mormons, but some leaders have recognized it: “Eternal damnation is the opposite of eternal life, and all those who do not gain eternal life, or exaltation in the highest heaven within the celestial kingdom, are partakers of eternal damnation. Their eternal condemnation is to have limitations imposed upon them so that they cannot progress to the state of godhood and gain a fullness of all things” (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 1966, 234). ↩︎
  72. GP, 63. Emphasis in the original. ↩︎
  73. GP, 65. ↩︎
  74. Compare GP [1997], 11 with GP [2009], 9, and 13-15 with 10-11, 17 with 13, 19 with 16, 231 with 207. ↩︎
  75. GP, 9. ↩︎
  76. GP, 10. ↩︎
  77. GP, 23. ↩︎
  78. GP, 24. ↩︎
  79. GP, 11. ↩︎
  80. “Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual pre-mortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose” (“The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Ensign [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints], Nov. 1995, 102). ↩︎
  81. Compare GP [1997], 191 with GP [2009], 166. ↩︎
  82. GP, 61. ↩︎
  83. Bruce McConkie, “Our Relationship with the Lord.” BYU devotional address given at Brigham Young University on 2 March 1982. ↩︎
  84. “Building a testimony on the foundation of a sincere, personal relationship with our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, and on our faith in them, should be our highest priority” (Joseph B. Wirthlin, “Spiritual Bonfires of Testimony,” Ensign [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints], Nov. 1992, 34). “The most important thing we can do—young or old—is develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ” (W. Don Ladd, “ ‘Make Thee an Ark,’ ” Ensign [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints], Nov. 1994, 28). ↩︎
  85. GP, 35. ↩︎
  86. Contrast GP [1997], 11 with GP [2009], 9. ↩︎
  87. “After hearing both sons speak, Heavenly Father said, ‘I will send the first’ (Abraham 3:27 [Pearl of Great Price])” (GP, 15). ↩︎
  88. “Every person who was ever born on earth is our spirit brother or sister. Because we are the spirit children of God, we have inherited the potential to develop His divine qualities” (GP, 9). ↩︎
  89. Contrast GP [1997], 245 with GP [2009], 223. ↩︎
  90. “Those who inherit the highest degree of the celestial kingdom, who become gods, must also have been married for eternity in the temple (see D&C 131:1–4)” (GP, 272). ↩︎
  91. GP, 277. ↩︎
  92. Ibid. ↩︎
  93. Contrast GP [1997], 302 with GP [2009], 277. ↩︎
  94. Contrast GP [1997], 305 with GP [2009], 279. ↩︎
  95. GP, 11. ↩︎
  96. GP, 279. ↩︎
  97. GP, 278. ↩︎
  98. GP, 275 references D&C 131:1 to support the notion of three sublevels in the celestial kingdom. Mormon apologist Kevin Barney contests this traditional interpretation by explaining that “celestial glory” in the passage probably generically refers to heaven and not specifically to the celestial kingdom. See “Is the Celestial Kingdom Divided into Three Subdegrees?” http://bycommonconsent.com/2006/03/18/is-the-celestial-kingdom-divided-into-three-subdegrees/, March 18, 2006, accessed March 6, 2010. ↩︎
  99. GP, 275. See also GP, 11: “We would be resurrected; we would have all power in heaven and on earth; we would become heavenly parents and have spirit children just as He does (see D&C 132:19–20).” ↩︎
  100. GP, 277. ↩︎
  101. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.” (KJV) ↩︎
  102. In my experience about two-thirds of Mormon laymen affirm God the Father was perhaps once a sinner. About one-third of Mormon laymen deny it, the dominant explanation being the sinless-savior theory. This diversity is reflected in my video interview project, http://www.GodNeverSinned.com. ↩︎
  103. BYU professor Rodney Turner writes:

    “[O]pinion is divided as to how closely the Son’s career paralleled that of his Father . . . These and the Prophet’s earlier remarks are believed by some to infer that our God and his father once sacrificed their lives in a manner similar to the atonement of Jesus Christ. It is argued that the Prophet’s words suggest that these gods did not simply live and die as all men do, they ‘laid down’ and ‘took up’ their lives in the context of sacrifice . . . This extrapolated doctrine rests upon a somewhat inadequate, if not shaky, foundation. Indeed, it is highly doubtful. The basic process of laying down and taking up one’s life is similar for all even though it is not identical for all” (“The Doctrine of the Firstborn and Only Begotten,” in The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations from God [Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1989], 91-117).

    Also see Joseph Fielding McConkie, and Craig J. Ostler, Revelations of the Restoration (Deseret Book, 2000), KFD 5:1.

    Italics added to quotes for emphasis. ↩︎

Originally appeared in:

Aaron Shafovaloff, “Gospel Principles 2009 as a Significant Perpetuation of Traditional Mormon Theology,” Salt Lake City Messenger, no. 115, October 2010, 11-18.

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