The Honor and Order of the Priesthood

“The Honor and Order of the Priesthood”

by President Boyd K. Packer (President of the Twelve Apostles)

“The authority and power of the priesthood form the foundation of all that we do in the Church.”

Compared to the Bible by Connie Raddon

  

Color Key:

Quotes from the LDS Ensign in blue.

Quotes from the Bible in red.

All my own words are black.

This article is found on pg. 21-25 of the June 2012 issue of the Ensign.

The entire basis of the LDS Church is that it is a “restored” gospel.  They believe Mormonism is the religion that Christ established and was quickly lost from the earth after He died; until it was restored through Joseph Smith.  The priesthood is also believed to have been restored from the time of Jesus.  The problem is this:  The Mormon priesthood has absolutely no resemblance to the Biblical priesthood, and therefore, is NOT a restoration, but an invention.

The first words in this article are “The authority and power of the priesthood form the foundation of all that we do in the Church.”

In the Bible, the purpose of the priesthood was for a high priest to represent the people to God and make sacrifices to atone for their sin.  The high priest was the only one authorized to make sacrifices to God on behalf of the people.  Exodus 28-29 explains that only men in the tribe of Levi can be priests. Priests serve in the temple – setting things up, cleaning, etc.  Only men in the Levi/Kohath/Amram/Aaron line could be high priests.  High priests were the ones who performed the sacrifices.  Those were the only “offices” of the priesthood.

The LDS Church has created more “offices” – such as “deacon”, “teacher”, and “elder”.  These were not a part of the Biblical priesthood.  Also, every worthy male member over the age of 12 can hold the LDS priesthood, regardless of whether or not they are a descendent of Levi. 

Once Christ completed the FINAL sacrifice for sin, there was no more need for a priesthood.  Hebrews 10:12 (referring to Jesus) “But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God;”

Jesus is our High Priest – and he is the only High Priest. 

An Invitation to Prospective Elders

Mr. Packer speaks to “prospective elders” (those men who are over 18, who for whatever reason have not been given the Melchizidek priesthood yet).  “The office of an elder is a calling of dignity and honor, spiritual authority and of power.”  Remember, there is no such office in the Biblical priesthood.  Everything about the Biblical priesthood pointed to Christ – it held no dignity, honor, authority, or power for the individual who held the priesthood – all the glory was to God - for His mercy and forgiveness.

Packer encourages young men who may have left the church to return so they can hold the priesthood.  “If you will return to the environment where spiritual truths are spoken, there will flood back into your minds the things that you thought were lost…If you make your pilgrimage back among the Saints, soon you will be understanding once again the language of inspiration…Soon you will feel complete and adequate in His church and in His kingdom.  Then you will know how much you are needed here and how powerful your voice of experience can be in redeeming others.”

First of all, Packer claims that returning to an “environment” with “the Saints” is what will help someone understand spiritual truths.  That is just not true.  The only “environment” where one can learn truth is in the pages of the Bible.  God wants us to fellowship with other believers so we can love, serve and encourage one another – not for understanding truth. 

Second, if anyone can feel complete and adequate in God’s kingdom, I don’t believe that they have any idea just how holy God is and how worthless, INcomplete, and INadequate they are without being in Christ.  Think of how Isaiah felt when he had a vision of the Lord.  The first words he said were “Woe is me, for I am undone!  Because I am a man of unclean lips…” 

Third, Packer says that the prospective elder’s voice of experience can be powerful in redeeming others.  Only Christ can redeem.  If He uses our voice to preach the gospel to someone, all the glory is His.  I think that Packer’s words only serve to puff up the pride of those who take him seriously.

Callings in the Priesthood

The Bible explains that we are given spiritual gifts, and then led directly by the Holy Spirit.

1 Cor 12:4-11  “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit…For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues and to another the interpretation of tongues.”

The Holy Spirit can inspire each one of us to use our particular gift the way God wants us to.  There is no need for a man, a “priesthood leader” to stand between us and the Holy Spirit. 

However, Packer explains how callings (assignments) come through priesthood leaders – not directly from the Holy Spirit.

“A call is more than an invitation or a request.  It is a call from the Lord through His chosen servant…We do not call ourselves to offices in the Church.  Rather we respond to the call of those who preside over us.”

 The Importance of Ordination

Mr. Packer explains how the LDS priesthood is passed on.  “The priesthood is conferred through ordination, not simply through making a covenant or receiving a blessing.  It has been so since the beginning.”

The priesthood was NEVER conferred through ordination.  Remember, the priesthood was received by being born in the tribe of Levi.  There was no laying on of hands, or giving a blessing, or making a covenant. 

The Power of the Priesthood

The “power” of the priesthood was God’s power to forgive sins.  There is no reference in the Bible to the “power of the priesthood”.  Yet Mr. Packer places a burden on LDS men by telling them that they are responsible to be righteous in order for the power of the priesthood to be used. 

“…power in the priesthood comes through faithful and obedient living in honoring covenants.  It is increased by exercising and using the priesthood in righteousness.”

This is what keeps the LDS people under the control of the Church leadership –they must obey their leaders in order to have this power.  This can fill a person with pride in their self-righteousness, or fill them with shame and guilt because of their unworthiness…  let me explain.

Let’s say an LDS Priesthood holder gives a blessing to someone who is sick, and through his priesthood power promises them that they will be healed.  If instead of getting better, they die – whose fault is it?  The priesthood holder – because either he was unworthy, so his priesthood power had no effect, or he was unworthy to be in tune with the Spirit, and promised something he shouldn’t have.  On the other hand, let’s say the sick person got better.  This would be external proof that the priesthood holder was indeed worthy and righteous.  Who gets the glory then?  He does.  Of course God gets credit, too, but not completely because it’s shared with the “worthy” man. 

“The power you receive will depend on what you do with this sacred, unseen gift.  Your authority comes through your ordination; your power comes through obedience and worthiness…

Power in the priesthood comes from doing your duty in ordinary things:  attending meetings, accepting assignments, reading the scriptures, keeping the Word of Wisdom”

True Servants of the Lord

“We do not hear of the priesthood keys being exercised in other Christian churches.  It seems odd that we are described by some as being non-Christian when we are the only ones who have the authority and the organization that He established.”

I don’t know how to make this any more clear.  Mr. Packer, you are described as being non-Christian because your religion has not only created an entirely different “priesthood” than the one God established in the Bible, but it has also denied the finality of Christ’s atonement.

Hebrews 7:27  “Christ does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.”

Christians understand that the priesthood was inherited by birth as a Levite, and was done away with once Christ came.  They also understand that there is only one high priest alive at a time, and that since Christ is the final High Priest, no one else can be a High Priest (unless they don’t believe Christ is risen from the dead.)  So you either deny that Christ’s atonement was complete, final, and sufficient to justify those who believe, OR you deny that Christ is raised from the dead because you allow others to hold the office of a high priest – (or maybe both?).  Either way, those beliefs are NOT Christian.

The teachings in the June 2012 issue of the Ensign

are NOT Biblical, and therefore,

NOT consistent with Christian beliefs.

Brigham Young issued a challenge on May 18, 1873 (as recorded in the Journal of Discourses, Vol. 16 p. 46):  “Take up the Bible, compare the religion of the Latter Day Saints with it, and see if it will stand the test.”

I have accepted that challenge from Brigham Young.

In the June 2012 issue of the Ensign, the LDS religion FAILS this test.

Resources used for this article:

The Word of God (The Bible)

The LDS magazine, “The Ensign”

“Where Mormonism Meets Biblical Christianity Face to Face” by Shawn McCraney

Color Key:

Quotes from the Ensign in blue.

Quotes from the Bible in red.

All my own words are black.

Work First, Atonement Second?

By Connie Raddon

One of the monthly sections of the Ensign is “We Talk of Christ”.  In the December issue, this article is written by Michael D. Woodbury. 

Woodbury states, “Because of the Atonement, I will be resurrected and any physical pain will be wiped away.  My wife, children, and I are sealed together as an eternal family.  The Atonement made that possible too.”

This goes against what the Bible teaches.  The Sadducees were questioning Jesus. They posed a hypothetical situation about a woman who married each of seven brothers after the previous one died.  They asked who she would be married to after she was resurrected.  “Jesus said to them, "Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not understand the Scriptures or the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.” Mark 12:24-25

Woodbury goes on to say, “IF we move forward with FAITH in our Savior as we pass through the TRIALS of life and ENDURE to the end, the Atonement will provide the path we need to follow, with the glorious promise of eternal life waiting at the end.”

Notice how all these things are based on what WE do.

WE have faith… WE pass through trials…WE endure to the end…

The “glorious promise of eternal life” that Woodbury refers to depends on…

1.      Moving forward with FAITH in our Savior. 

2.      Passing through the TRIALS of life.

3.      ENDURING to the end.

When the LDS leadership talk about “passing through trials” and “enduring to the end”, it’s not very clear what they mean.  When I was a Mormon, I understood that “enduring to the end” meant overcoming all the trials in life by remaining obedient to all the laws and ordinances of the Mormon Church.

The following paragraphs will explain what the Bible says about FAITH, passing through TRIALS, and ENDURING to the end.

FAITH: The Bible teaches that faith is something that we can’t get for ourselves.  It is a gift from God.  1 John 5:4  “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world.  And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith.”  Our faith is born of God.  We can’t even take credit for our faith because IT is a gift from God.

TRIALS: The article says that we must overcome our trials.  The Bible also teaches that we will have trials.  The difference is the LDS teach that you must overcome your trials in order to prove yourself worthy of the benefits of the atonement, and eternal life. The Bible, on the other hand, teaches that once you are born again, the Holy Spirit is with you always – renewing you and strengthening you.  All the glory and all the credit goes to God when you overcome a trial.  If you believe you overcome it on your own strength, all the glory and credit goes to YOU. 

Jesus is speaking to his disciples in John Chapter 15 about how we must rely on Christ.  John 15:5  “I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in Me, and I in him bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”  Trials are overcome with the power of God.  The glory is His.  We don’t deserve the credit, God does.

ENDURE:  Like I said before, most Mormons understand this to mean overcoming your trials on a continual basis by obeying all the laws and ordinances of Mormonism.  In the Bible, Paul speaks to the Philippians about how he has learned to be content no matter what happens.  Christ will give him whatever he needs.  Phil 4:13 “I can do all things through Chirst who strengthens me.”  We endure because God gives us every single thing that provides endurance.  To take any credit is to rob God of His glory.

So, this article explains that you must have faith, overcome your trials, and endure to the end FIRST.  THEN you will have earned, or been “worthy” to receive the benefits of the atonement.  And according to Woodbury, the atonement will provide the path.  This means your work is not finished.  The atonement only provides “the path we need to follow.” In Mormonism, following that path means to obey all the laws and ordinances of Mormonism, like going to the temple, paying a full tithing, obeying the Word of Wisdom (dietary laws), just to name a few. 

So let me point out that if the promise of eternal life comes to us after we have done all these things to earn it, then the credit and glory for this accomplishment would be ours.

The Bible says something very different:

Ephesians 2:8-9  “For by grace we are saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, so that no one can boast.”  In the Bible, “saved” means the same thing as “eternal life”, or “exaltation” in Mormonism.  Paul is trying to teach the believers in Ephesis that they do not need to earn eternal life through obedience to laws.  He says that eternal life can’t come from works, because then people would be able to boast and take credit for it.

So once again, let’s review what Woodbury said.   “If we move forward with faith in our Savior as we pass through the trials of life and endure to the end, the Atonement will provide the path we need to follow, with the glorious promise of eternal life waiting at the end.”

He says the promise of eternal life comes after our trials, endurance, and obedience.  But the Bible says we can be saved right now… immediately… currently… in the present. 

John 5:24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.”

This means that once you believe, or have faith, you have eternal life immediately.  You just happen to be spending the first few years of your eternal life here on earth. 

Notice how Jesus does not say that he who believes WILL HAVE everlasting life.  He says instead, he who believes HAS everlasting life, and HAS PASSED from death to life. 

The teachings in this article are NOT Biblical, and therefore,

NOT consistent with Christian beliefs.

On May 18, 1873 (as recorded in the Journal of Discourses, Vol. 16 p. 46), Brigham Young issued a challenge:  “Take up the Bible, compare the religion of the Latter Day Saints with it, and see if it will stand the test.”

I have accepted that challenge from Brigham Young.

In the December 2011 issue of the Ensign, the LDS religion FAILS this test.

The Purifying Power of Gethsemane by Bruce R. McConkie

Color Key:

Quotes from the Ensign article will be in blue.

Quotes from the Bible will be in red.

All my own words are black.

“The Purifying Power of... Gethsemane”

The article chosen from the April 2011 Ensign is from the sectioned titled, “Gospel Classics”.  The title of the article is “The Purifying Power of Gethsemane”.  It is a talk given by Bruce R. McConkie in General Conference on April 6, 1985.  McConkie passed away on April 19, 1985.

The article begins, “I feel, and the Spirit seems to accord, that the most important doctrine I can declare, and the most powerful testimony I can bear, is of the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

This one sentence says a LOT.  I need to break it down.

“I feel…”  As a Mormon, I was taught to trust my feelings.  I was taught that the Holy Ghost witnessed truth to me through a burning in my bosom, or a “feeling”. 

The Bible says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?”  (Jer. 17:9) and “He who follows his heart is a fool.  But he who walks in wisdom is kept safe.” (Proverbs 28:26).

The “heart” described in the Bible is referring to our feelings and emotions.  It says we are fools if we follow our hearts/ feelings.  They can deceive us. 

I was a senior in high school when McConkie gave this talk.  I was making life altering decisions at that time – college, dating, getting married, etc.  I followed my feelings and believed they were inspirations from the Holy Ghost.  When I was 18, in love, and presented with a diamond ring, my “feelings” were not at all objective, reliable, sane, or rational.  But I followed them without questioning.  I never turned to the Bible for answers.  I never thought I had to – I had already been given a “feeling”, therefore, I believed I had my answers.  (My first two marriages resulted in heartache, frustration, and divorce.) 

McConkie goes on, “I feel, and the Spirit seems to accord…”

The “feelings” come first, and it “seems” like the Holy Spirit is going along with his feelings.  This is a “man-centered” view being backed up because it seems like God is in agreement.  No matter what the topic is, this is NOT the way God works.  God has given us His Word in the Bible.  Our feelings about it don’t matter.

McConkie “declares” and “bears testimony” of the atonement.  This is a common Mormon practice – using one’s own testimony to validate the truthfulness of something.  Our feelings about something are not only irrelevant, but can be deceitful.  They cannot be trusted.

“[The atonement] is the supreme act of goodness and grace that only a god could perform.”

“A” god suggests that Jesus was one of many gods.  It also suggests that Jesus is a separate god from God, The Father, and lesser than The Father.  The Bible does not teach that Jesus was “a” god, but that Jesus was THE God. 

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… and the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory…”  (John 1:1, 14)

If the “Word” became flesh, it means the “Word” was Jesus.  If the “Word” was God, it means that Jesus IS God. 

“I am the Lord, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another…”  (Isaiah 42:8)

God will not give His glory to anyone else.

“Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”  (John 17:5)

In both John 1:14, and John 17:5, Jesus is glorified – even with the Father.  If no one else can share in God’s glory other than God, this means that Jesus is God.

The article refers to the Garden of Gethsemane as “this holy ground where the sinless Son of the Everlasting Father took upon Himself the sins of all men on condition of repentance”.

The word, “Garden of Gethsemane” is only used in the Bible twice.  Each of these times, it is just mentioned as the place where Jesus prayed.  On the other hand, the word “cross” is used and referred to all through the Bible in many ways:

The message of the cross:  “For Christ did not send me [Paul] to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.”  (1 Cor. 1:17)

The power of the cross:  “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to use who are being saved it is the power of God.”  (1 Cor. 1:18)

The reconciliation of the cross:  “and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.”  (Eph 2:16)

Disciples are commanded to carry their own cross:  “If anyone should come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”  (Luke 9:23)

There are no references like these to the Garden of Gethsemane.  ‘The garden’ is not made void; ‘the garden’ is not the power of God; we are not reconciled to God through ‘the garden’; and we are not commanded to deny ourselves, take up our ‘garden’ and follow Christ.  If God points out over and over again throughout the Bible that the cross is important and significant, then it must be!  If the Garden were the sacred place where Jesus took upon the sins of the world, the GARDEN would be referenced either instead of, or at least in addition to the cross – but it’s not.

As a Mormon, I understood that Jesus overcame sin in the Garden of Gethsemane, and overcame death when he rose from the dead.  The cross, as I was taught, was merely the method of torture and death.  So to acknowledge the cross was disrespectful.  To wear that symbol on a necklace, or have it in your home was to ignorantly honor the cruelty and gruesomeness of Christ’s death.  When I saw someone with a cross for a necklace, I would feel a little sorry for them, because they didn’t understand what I believed about the truthfulness of Christ’s atonement (how it really happened in the Garden), and their beliefs were misguided. 

I tried to avoid people with crosses.  The cross made me uncomfortable.

McConkie says, “We know He sweat great gouts of blood from every pore…”

Many claim that Jesus actually sweat blood.  But reading the entire verse puts the analogy in context:  “And being in agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”  (Luke 22:44)

His sweat was LIKE drops of blood.  It wasn’t actually drops of blood.  The words "as it were" is a word picture explaining that he was under a great strain and sweating so much that the amount of sweat was seemingly equal to the amount of blood he would have lost had he been bleeding profusely.

Regarding the resurrection, McConkie states, “… and arose in that glorious immortality which made Him like His resurrected Father.  He then received all power in heaven and on earth, obtained eternal exaltation, …”

As I pointed out earlier, the Bible teaches that Jesus IS God.  God the Father is NOT a resurrected man.  So this idea that Jesus is now like His resurrected Father is not Biblical in any way. 

According to the Bible, Jesus never had to “obtain eternal exaltation”…

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”  (Heb 13:8)

On May 18, 1873 (as recorded in the Journal of Discourses, Vol. 16 p. 46), Brigham Young issued a challenge:  “Take up the Bible, compare the religion of the Latter Day Saints with it, and see if it will stand the test.”

I have accepted that challenge from Brigham Young.

In the March 2011 issue of the Ensign, the LDS religion fails this test.

I’d like to acknowledge and thank my research partner, Art Haglund.

The Atonement Makes Repentance POSSIBLE

“The Atonement Makes Repentance Possible”
by Connie Raddon

Each month the “Ensign” has a section called “What We Believe”.  In the February 2011 issue, the article in this section is called “The Atonement Makes Repentance Possible”.  (There is no specific author for this section – it is put together by the leadership of the church.  They cite “Gospel Principles 2009” and “True to the Faith” as references.)

The article begins, “We come to earth for the purpose of growing and progressing.”

The Bible teaches that our purpose is to glorify and worship God.  In the Garden of Eden, humans were able to be in His presence.  With our agency, we chose to let sin into the world, and could no longer be in God’s presence.  So He provided a Savior to redeem us so that once again we will be able to glorify and worship Him in His presence.

The article continues, “Every commandment from God blesses us if we obey it (see D&C 130:20-21).  However, if we disobey it, there is a punishment attached (see Alma 42:22).  This meting out of blessings or punishments is called justice.”

If our purpose on this earth is for growing and progressing, this is the way the LDS church claims that God “trains” us.  Following this logic, however, we are merely Pavlov’s dogs getting treats for good behavior, and unpleasant consequences for bad behavior.  It also places God under obligation to us – if we have obeyed a certain commandment, then God must bless us.

This idea is NOT found in the Bible. 

The only commandment with a promise was to honor your mother and father ‘that your days may be prolonged in the land’.  

The LDS teach this idea and never give any clues about what the blessings or punishments are, or what commandments they are linked to. 

This is how that idea impacted my life.  I was a single parent for a time in my life.  I was a very active Mormon.  I paid a full tithing.  I paid a fast offering.  I held a calling in the Relief Society Presidency.  I believed I was keeping all the commandments to the fullest.  It was very frustrating to me that I could barely afford food.  I couldn’t afford babysitters.  I was going to school and drove a car that continually broke down.  Where were these blessings for keeping the commandments?  Eventually things got better.  Once I got more established in my business, I had nicer things and more money.  I wasn’t as active in the church anymore.  I didn’t pay tithing, or hold a calling, but still attended.  I knew I wasn’t keeping all the commandments.  But I was being blessed.  It made me very arrogant – thinking that I had to be doing something right for the Lord to bless me.  I gained a sense of entitlement. 

The article goes on to say that because Heavenly Father loves us, he made it possible for us to repent.  He sent His Only Begotten Son to pay the penalty required by the law of justice for our breaking God’s commandments.  “Because the Savior suffered for our sins, we will not have to suffer the full punishment for them if we repent.”

This seems to be saying that if we repent, we will only suffer partial punishment… not the full punishment.  It doesn’t explain how much we will suffer, or for which sins, or for how long, or even how we will be punished.  (I think I’m going to call this a “Dangling Doctrine”:  very vague, but scary enough to keep people in obedience.)

“Repentance is God’s gift to us.”

Bible: “…but the free GIFT of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 6:23

“For by grace we are saved, through faith; and that not of ourselves.  It is the GIFT of God;” Ephesians 2:8

The Mormon Church teaches that Repentance is a series of steps that we must accomplish to be forgiven.

The Bible teaches that through faith, we are given the gift of grace, the righteousness of Christ, and eternal life.  No process required.  No forms to fill out or lines to stand in. 

“Through REPENTANCE we become clean again, making it possible for us to return to our Heavenly Father (see Moses 6:57).

The Bible teaches that it is only through Jesus Christ that we become clean.  And the term “clean again” implies that we were once clean to begin with.  In my arrogance as a Mormon, I believed that I was sinless at many times in my life, and once in a while I would make a mistake – then repentance would erase everything and I’d be perfect once again.  Studying the Word of God, the Bible, has taught me that I am evil in my heart, in my thoughts, and through and through.  I only deserve God’s wrath.  If I deny myself, and accept Christ’s righteousness in place of mine, I am given eternal life. 

“The repentance process includes the following:

1.      Have faith in our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. (see Alma 34:17)

2.      Recognize our sins and feel sorrow (see Luke 16:15; Alma 42:29-30)

3.      Confess our sins to Heavenly Father and, if needed, to our bishop or branch president (see D&C 61:2)

4.      Abandon our sins (see D&C 58:43)

5.      Make restitution when possible (see Ezekiel 33:15-16)

6.      Forgive others who have sinned against us (see D&C 64:9; 3 Nephi 13:14-15)

7.      Live righteously (see D&C 1:32)

I am really troubled with number 3.  It seems we must confess our sins to God – but only the small ones because the more serious ones require the bishop to step in and assist God in forgiving us.  The God I believe in (the God of the Bible) has complete power and authority to forgive all by Himself.  I find great confidence in worshipping an all-powerful God – not a “bishop-assisted” one.

I have also learned of the impossibility of numbers 4 and 7 – to “abandon sin” and “live righteously”.  If I could do that, why would I need repentance in the first place?

On May 18, 1873 (as recorded in the Journal of Discourses, Vol. 16 p. 46), Brigham Young issued a challenge:  “Take up the Bible, compare the religion of the Latter Day Saints with it, and see if it will stand the test.”

I have accepted that challenge from Brigham Young.

In the February 2011 issue of the Ensign, the LDS religion fails this test.