Seminary Doctrine and Covenants Teaching Manual ““Apostles Talk about Reasons for Lifting Ban”, Daily Herald, Provo, Utah (5 June 1988) “If you read the scriptures with this question in mind, ‘Why did the Lord command this or why did he command that,’ you find that in less than one in a hundred commands was any reason given. It’s not the pattern of the Lord to give reasons. We can put reasons to commandments. When we do, we’re on our own. Some people put reasons to [the ban] and they turned out to be spectacularly wrong. There is a lesson in that… The lesson I’ve drawn from that, I decided a long time ago that I had faith in the command and I had no faith in the reasons that had been suggested for it. […] I’m referring to reasons given by general authorities and reasons elaborated upon [those reasons] by others.
The whole set of reasons seemed to me to be unnecessary risk taking. […] Let’s [not] make the mistake that’s been made in the past, here and in other areas, trying to put reasons to revelation. The reasons turn out to be man-made to a great extent. The revelations are what we sustain as the will of the Lord and that’s where safety lies.”” — Dallin H. Oaks
Acts 17:11 “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”
1 John 4:1 “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”
The comments Mr. Oaks made should shock everyone, especially Mormons. The reason why is because of his track record.
If you’re unaware, Mr. Oaks has a very illustrious auditing career. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in accounting before he went on to earn his law degree. He was a professor at the University of Chicago Law School, served as BYU President for nine years, was considered twice for the US Supreme Court, and he also served as a Utah Supreme Court Justice. For more info, see Wikipedia.
For someone who made his money investigating, and collecting facts to make sound judgments his comment is the epitome of hypocrisy.
With salvation being the most important thing in a person’s life, you’d would think someone like Mr. Oaks would heartily encourage investigation, and study. Be sure to study and beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing! Matthew 7:15, 2 Timothy 2:15.
Be sure to share biblical truth with te Mormon you know, and ask them what they think of Oaks’ directives.
With Love in Christ;
Michelle
Don’t ask questions because they can’t handle the truth!
🙂
“For I am the Lord, I change not.” (Malachi 3:6). Any time one of these so-called Prophets of God ( General Authorities) has a revelation, announcing a change to something that had “God had previously ordained as being His will”, they are being dishonest and misleading. God doesn’t say one thing in 1830 and then change his mind in 1860 and then again in 2018. Members allow themselves to be mislead by these “So called” “Men of God” (General Authorities), because they don’t know any better, They don’t read the Bible as much as they do articles written by the General Authorities. Every word spoken or written by a GA is considered scripture. Reading the Ensign magazine on General Conference talks is considered more relevant to a Mormon than reading the Bible