Keys of Salvation
Mosiah 3: 18; “For behold he judgeth, and his judgment is just; and the infant perisheth not that dieth in his infancy; but men drink damnation to their own souls except they humble themselves and become as little children, and believe that salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.”
Journal of Discourses 7:289; “…no man or woman in this dispensation will ever enter into the celestial kingdom of God without the consent of Joseph Smith. From the day that the Priesthood was taken from the earth to the winding-up scene of all things, every man and woman must have the certificate of Joseph Smith, junior, as a passport to their entrance into the mansion where God and Christ are—I with you and you with me. I cannot go there without his consent.” – Brigham Young, Salt Lake City, October 9, 1859.
D&C 78:16; “Who hath appointed Michael your prince, and established his feet, and set him upon high, and given unto him the keys of salvation under the counsel and direction of the Holy One, who is without beginning of days or end of life.”
D&C 132:7; “…by revelation and commandment through the medium of mine anointed, whom I have appointed on the earth to hold this power (and I have appointed unto my servant Joseph to hold this power in the last days, and there is never but one on the earth at a time on whom this power and the keys of this priesthood are conferred)…”
Acts 4:12; “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
Let’s review…
Mosiah says the keys of salvation are held through the atoning blood of Christ so that kind of sounds biblical.
Then Joseph Smith added it’s through Adam who is really Michael the archangel, who holds the keys of salvation and he’s under the direction of the Holy One who I guess is Jesus. But Jesus had a beginning of days because he was created by God…hmmm…
Next we have through a revelation that the living prophet holds the keys to salvation and there’s only one on earth at a time that can hold these keys.
So this means when we die and we’re waiting in line to get into heaven we first go through the living prophet. Then we go through Adam, then Joseph Smith and onto the Mormon Jesus.
Compare all that to Acts 4:12.
Are the Journal of Discourses considered “doctrine” by the Mormans today? — I mean, now that the absurd has been pointed out to them…
Plant Electrician – Herein lies how the LDS Church can “shrug things off” or claim that a certain position is not the “official” Church position… which is ludicrous if you think about it.
The quote from J of D is from Brigham Young in 1859, at which time he was the “Prophet, Seer, and Revelator” of the LDS Church. He (according to Mormonism) was a Prophet of God. When he spoke, people listened. Listened enough and believed enough to write it down and compile it into a series of “discourses”. That book was then published enmass and distributed to the members of the LDS Church, found in the church libraries, and readily available to any member should they ask for a copy. The book has never been “denounced” by any Prophet or General Authority… They will claim that it is not “scripture” or recognized as the “standard works”. (Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, and the Bible… as far as it is translated correctly).
They also run into the same problem with a large book by Bruce R. McConkie titled, “Mormon Doctrine”. That book has been around since the middle of the 20th Century and outlines… well, “Mormon Doctrine”. It has never been renounced by the Church, disapproved by any Prophets or General Authorities, and remains in the libraries and on the internet to this day. However, there are many positions and theology within that book that the “Public Relations Department” of the Church wishes were never published. There was a major revision to the book in 1978 once Spencer Kimball changed the stance on the “negro” and holding the priesthood.
I was born and raised in the LDS church and when I first started investigating what my religion really and truly believed, I used the 1966 version of “Mormon Doctrine” and read straight through it. It made my stomach turn to read how the church regarded and looked at the Blacks… Many of the quotes used by McConkie to support the positions in the book are taken from Journal of Discourses, History of the Church, and the Standard Works.
The LDS church will always go to great lengths to distance themselves from things that are not mainstream or jive with Biblical Christianity… even to the point of renouncing writings that are clearly accepted by the church as “Mormon Doctrine”.
The other thing to keep in mind with the Journal of Discourses is how at one time the people saw them as scripture – right from the mouth of God.
Today the replacement for the Journal of Discourses is known as the monthly edition of the Ensign. Members revere their Ensign to see what special teachings or revelations the prophet may have imparted to them.
They’re instructed to place their Ensign on their night table and read them nightly. They’re to keep it there until they receive their new edition.
You can access and read them for yourself on their website @ http://www.lds.org Go to menu, then magazines and click on your choice of magazine. This will give you the latest thoughts on what the church believes and what members are being taught from month to month from their “inspired” leaders.
Michelle
Thank you! I’ve learned a lot from you both. It seems very confusing for Mormon’s to know all those books, etc. and all the changes. The contradictions of one to another are worse. It appears that the leaders of LDS spend a great deal of time and money trying to prove their books and doctrine are true; they try to cover all angles to keep people coming.
Am I correct?