History of the Church 5:392; “Paul saw the third heavens, and I more.” — Joseph Smith
General Conference, “The Doctrine of Christ,” Apr 2012; “At the same time it should be remembered that not every statement made by a Church
leader, past or present, necessarily constitutes doctrine. It is commonly understood in the Church that a statement made by one leader on a single occasion often represents a personal, though well-considered, opinion, not meant to be official or binding for the whole Church.” — Elder D. Todd Christofferson
Mormon Newsroom, Approaching Mormon Doctrine, 4 May 2007; “A single statement made by a single leader on a single occasion often represents a personal, though well-considered, opinion, but is not meant to be officially binding for the whole Church.”
Isaiah 14:13-14; “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”
The Church likes to reiterate to everyone that a single comment by a leader doesn’t a doctrine make, but what of the comment we see here today?
If LDS members aren’t to take Smith’s comment seriously, then how do they interpret anything he said? They revere the man and it’s not so easy to toss his inspired visions out the window if you’ve bought into his theology.
Why wasn’t Smith more forthcoming with the things he saw, which supposedly, was more than what Paul saw?
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