2012 Conference - Priesthood Session

“See Others as They May Become” by Thomas S. Monson

“We must develop the capacity to see men not as they are at present

but as they may become.”

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.

The November issue of the Ensign contains all of the talks given by the leadership of the LDS Church during October’s General Conference.  This talk was given by the president of the Church, Thomas S. Monson, during the Priesthood Session.  It is found on pg. 68-71.

The Bible is based on the theme that we are all sinners, and therefore unworthy of God’s blessings because His standard is perfection – absolute and complete perfection. 

Romans 3:10 “There is none righteous, no, not one.”

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”

Even our good works and obedience is not acceptable to God because it is tainted with sin. 

Isaiah 64:6 “But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;”

This makes us unworthy of living with Him in heaven, and even unworthy of every good thing God offers.  The only thing we deserve is death – both physical and spiritual.

Romans 6:23a “For the wages of sin is death…”

God provided a solution to our problem in Jesus Christ. 

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

Jesus lived perfectly.  Then as a perfect sacrifice for sin, he atoned for all our sins. 

2 Cor. 5:21a “For He [God] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be in for us…”

If we accept Him as our Lord and Savior, then God counts all our sins as completely paid for, and grants us Christ’s righteousness instead of our own.

2 Cor. 5:21b “…that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Mr. Monson’s talk is based on a very different theme from the Bible.  He talks about how we can work hard to change ourselves into something righteous.  Since he is talking to the men, he talks about how they can make themselves worthy to hold the priesthood, and even be the incentive for other men to make themselves worthy. 

(I have bolded the words that Mr. Monson uses to keep church members in the bondage of their own works.)

“If you feel that you do not yet have the depth of testimony you would wish, I admonish you to work to achieve such a testimony.  If it is strong and deep, labor to keep it that way.”

“…there are countless individuals who have little or no testimony right now, those who could and would receive such a testimony if we would be willing to make the effort to share ours and to help them change.  In some instances we can provide the incentive for change.”

“We need to bear in mind that people can change.  They can put behind them bad habits.  They can repent from transgressions.  They can bear the priesthood worthily.  And they can serve the Lord diligently.”

“…they had turned their lives around and had fully qualified to become elders.”

(Speaking about men who are not active)  “It is our responsibility to give them opportunities to live as they should.  We can help them to overcome their shortcomings.”

“When our lives comply with God’s own standard, those within our sphere of influence will never speak the lament, ‘The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.’”

All this “worthiness” is credited to the efforts of men.  No credit is given to God. 

The Bible teaches that we cannot “qualify” by keeping God’s commandments. 

“knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ…for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.”  Galatians 2:16

(“Justified” means to be declared free of blame – in other words, God declares us righteous.)

“…for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”  Galatians 2:21

The teachings in the November 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 November 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”

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.