...the Book of Mormon mentions that there are “save two churches only.” The CHurch of God and the church of the devil...

A pair of the BYU "Religious Education" program profs (the Religious Education" division being one of the two BYU sponsors of the Notre Dame event) include Joseph Fielding McConkie (son of Bruce McConkie) & Robert L. Millet.

Joseph Fielding McConkie died in October. Millet, as one of those Mormon leaders on the forefront of "dialogue" with some Evangelicals & others -- would seemingly be more consistent in attempting to use "diplomatic" ecumenical overtures.

But alas, Mormons on the "inside" who've read their stuff written for Mormons themselves, know otherwise.

An example is the 1987 Bookcraft book, Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon by Millet & Joseph Fielding McConkie.

When you turn to their commentary on 1 Nephi 14:10 -- the verse Ripliancum concedes above -- that there's ONLY either "the church of the devil" or what they construe as the one true (Mormon) church...it makes for interesting reading:

"With the establishment of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the restoration of priesthood and its keys, there was once again an organization on earth with the authority to preach the gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof; it is by divine testimony the 'only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth' (D&C 1:30),"

"salvation being found in NONE other."

Continuing Millet/ JF McConkie citation:
"The doctrine of one true church is as offensive to much of the Christian world today as was the testimony of Christ anciently that he was 'the way, the truth, and the life.'" (p. 109)

On p. 111, these BYU profs who've snookered individuals like Fuller Seminary prof Richard Mouw, added this comment about the "character" Nephi:
"He likewise witnessed the great and abominable church in two separate time periods: the period following the New Testament era, wherein the mother of harlots would essentially be apostate Christianity; and its rise in the last days to global status."

So here you have a supposed "diplomatic" Millet & yet another McConkie calling early Christianity "abominable" (a word meaning "putrid") & it being "the mother of harlots." [More on Mormon accusations of harlotry next post]

These profs reiterate on p. 337 that those who are "part of that great and abominable church--ALL CHURCHES save that of the Lamb (1 Nephi 14:10)..."

Mormons don't like to say to your face that you belong to an "abominable church"...but they readily read that in their "diet" of Mormon-leader commentaries!

...the Book of Mormon mentions that there are “save two churches only.” The CHurch of God and the church of the devil...

ALL: What is Ripliancum citing from here within the Book of Mormon?

”And he said unto me: Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth. And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore of all the earth, and she sat upon many waters; and she had dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people.” (1 Nephi 14:10-11)

And verse 12 reads: ”...their dominions upon the face of the earth were small because of the wickedness of the great whore whom I saw.” (1 Nephi 14:12)

So there you have it: If you "belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God" (the Mormon church),
THEN you apparently "belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth."

Why Mormon leaders & grassroots Lds might as well come right out & say what their Joseph Smith-in-a-hat recitations came up with -- that we belong to (or descended from) Mother of Abominations Catholic Church, or Whore of All the Earth Catholic Church!

Smith laced 1 & 2 Nephi with such derogatory accusations:
* "abominable church...whore of all the earth" (2 Nephi 28:18);
* "whore of all the earth" (2 Nephi 10:16)
* “And it came to pass that I beheld that the great mother of abominations did gather together multitudes upon the face of all the earth, among all the nations of the Gentiles, to fight against the Lamb of God.” (1 Nephi 14:13)
* ”And it came to pass that I beheld that the wrath of God was poured out upon that great and abominable church, insomuch that there were wars and rumors of wars among all the nations and kindreds of the earth. And as there began to be wars and rumors of wars among all the nations which belonged to the mother of abominations, the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold, the wrath of God is upon the mother of harlots; and behold, thou seest all these things.” (1 Nephi 14:15-16)
* ”And when the day cometh that the wrath of God is poured out upon the mother of harlots, which is the great and abominable church of all the earth, whose founder is the devil, then, at that day, the work of the Father shall commence, in preparing the way for the fulfilling of his covenants, which he hath made to his people who are of the house of Israel.” (1 Nephi 14:17)
* “And the blood of that great and abominable church, which is the whore of all the earth, shall turn upon their own heads; for they shall war among themselves, and the sword of their own hands shall fall upon their own heads, and they shall be drunken with their own blood.” (1 Nephi 22:13)
* ”And every nation which shall war against thee, O house of Israel, shall be turned one against another, and they shall fall into the pit which they digged to ensnare the people of the Lord. And all that fight against Zion shall be destroyed, and that great whore, who hath perverted the right ways of the Lord, yea, that great and abominable church, shall tumble to the dust and great shall be the fall of it.” (1 Nephi 22:14)

'Abomination' & 'Abominable' becomes fave Jos. Smith word

We see 1 Nephi 13, 1 Nephi 14, and 1 Nephi 22 popping up the term “abomination” or “abominable” at least eight times! As previously shown, 1 Nephi 14:9-10 says there are only two churches: The church of the Lamb & the Church of the Devil. In the opinion of Mormon leaders, the church of the devil ("abominable church...whose foundation is the devil"-- 1 Nephi 14:9) – is the great non-Mormon church that branched out into Protestantism.

The King James-era word "abomination" is used repetitively to describe this non-Mormon church.
--1 Nephi 13:6 & 2 Nephi 6:12 both call it a "great & abominable church."
--D&C 29:21 references it as an "abominable church" &
--D&C 88:94 calls it a "great church, the mother of abominations"
[Also, see references above to "whore...of all the earth."]
--1 Nephi 13:32 accuses this church of censorship: "parts of the gospel kept back by that abominable church” (1 Nephi 13:32).

No wonder then that 19th century Lds leaders derived such slash-and-burn understandings of both the Catholic & Protestant churches!

The 3rd Lds "prophet" -- John Taylor -- described it this way:

"'The present Christian world exists and continues by division. The MYSTERY of Babylon the great, is mother of harlots and abominations of the earth, and it needs no prophetic vision, to unravel such mysteries. The old church is the mother, and the protestants are the lewd daughters. Alas! alas! what doctrine, what principle, or what scheme, in all, what prayers, what devotion, or what faith, `since the fathers have fallen asleep,' has opened the heavens; has brought men into the presence of God; and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to an innumerable company of angels? The answer is, not any: "There is none in all christendom that doeth good; no, not one."'

Source: Lds “Apostle” John Taylor, Times and Seasons, Vol.6, No.1, p.811, Feb. 15, 1845...Taylor would later emerge as an Lds “prophet” in the late 1870s upon the death of Brigham Young...he did “jail time” with Joseph Smith over the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor newspaper Lds "apostle" Parley P. Pratt, admired by dialogue kick-off speaker Terryl Givens, claimed:

"Both Catholics and Protestants are nothing less than the 'whore of Babylon' whom the Lord denounces by the mouth of John the Revelator as having corrupted all the earth by their fornications and wickedness. Any person who shall be so corrupt as to receive a holy ordinance of the Gospel from the ministers of any of these apostate churches will be sent down to hell with them, unless they repent"

Source: The Seer, p. 255.

And: "We have already proved in the previous numbers of this series that immediately after the first century the whole earth became corrupted by the great "Mother of Harlots," that apostasy and wickedness succeeded Christianity, that for the want of new revelation, all legal succession to the apostleship was discontinued that the gifts and powers of the Holy Spirit ceased and that the Church was no longer to be found on the earth: this being the case, all nations must have been destitute of the everlasting gospel for many generations - not destitute of its history as it was once preached and enjoyed but destitute of its blessings, of its powers, of its gifts, of its priesthood, of its ordinances administered by legal authority" (Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon, No.6 (1851), pg.82).

No wonder McConkie wrote what he did in the 1958 version of Mormon Doctrine...he was simply regurgitating Joseph Smith's BoM claims!

THANK you for raising such a fine young man!

“When our leaders speak, the thinking has been done.”

Do not forget Rule #4, found in the Missionary Handbook.

You haven't been keeping up on all the Mormon "ecumenical" overtures toward Muslims, eh Tery?
.
.
.
The convergence goes on & on...including how Smith told his people that he would be "a Muhammad" to them!

“I Will Be a Second Mohammed”

In the heat of the Missouri “Mormon War” of 1838, Joseph Smith made the following claim, “I will be to this generation a second Mohammed, whose motto in treating for peace was ‘the Alcoran [Koran] or the Sword.’ So shall it eventually be with us—‘Joseph Smith or the Sword!’ ”[1]

It is most interesting that a self-proclaimed Christian prophet would liken himself to Mohammed, the founder of Islam. His own comparison invites us to take a closer look as well. And when we do, we find some striking—and troubling—parallels. Consider the following.

Mohammed and Joseph Smith both had humble beginnings. Neither had formal religious connections or upbringing, and both were relatively uneducated. Both founded new religions by creating their own scriptures. In fact, followers of both prophets claim these scriptures are miracles since their authors were the most simple and uneducated of men.[2]
Both prophets claim of having angel visitations, and of receiving divine revelation to restore pure religion to the earth again. Mohammed was told that both Jews and Christians had long since corrupted their scriptures and religion. In like manner, Joseph Smith was told that all of Christianity had become corrupt, and that consequently the Bible itself was no longer reliable. In both cases, this corruption required a complete restoration of both scripture and religion. Nothing which preceded either prophet could be relied upon any longer. Both prophets claim they were used of God to restore eternal truths which once existed on earth, but had been lost due to human corruption.
Both prophets created new scripture which borrowed heavily from the Bible, but with a substantially new “spin.” In his Koran, Mohammed appropriates a number of Biblical themes and characters—but he changes the complete sense of many passages, claiming to “correct” the Bible. In so doing he changes many doctrines, introducing his own in their place. In like manner, Joseph Smith created the Book of Mormon, much of which is plagiarized directly from the King James Bible. Interestingly, the Book of Mormon claims that this same Bible has been substantially corrupted and is therefore unreliable. In addition, Joseph Smith went so far as to actually create his own version of the Bible itself, the “Inspired Version,” in which he both adds and deletes significant portions of text, claiming he is “correcting” it. In so doing he also changes many doctrines, introducing his own in their place.
As a part of their new scriptural “spin,” both prophets saw themselves as prophesied in scripture, and both saw themselves as a continuation of a long line of Biblical prophets. Mohammed saw himself as a continuation of the ministry of Moses and Jesus. Joseph Smith saw himself as a successor to Enoch, Melchizedek, Joseph and Moses. Joseph Smith actually wrote himself into his own version of the Bible—by name.
Both prophets held up their own scripture as superior to the Bible. Mohammed claimed that the Koran was a perfect copy of the original which was in heaven. The Koran is therefore held to be absolutely perfect, far superior to the Bible and superceding it. In like manner, Joseph Smith also made the following claim. “I told the Brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding its precepts, than by any other book.”[3]
Despite their claim that the Bible was corrupt, both prophets admonished their followers to adhere to its teachings. An obvious contradiction, this led to selective acceptance of some portions and wholesale rejection of others. As a result, the Bible is accepted by both groups of followers only to the extent that it agrees with their prophet’s own superior revelation.
Both Mohammed and Joseph Smith taught that true salvation was to be found only in their respective religions. Those who would not accept their message were considered “infidels,” pagans or Gentiles. In so doing, both prophets became the enemy of genuine Christianity, and have led many people away from the Christ of the Bible.
Both prophets encountered fierce opposition to their new religions and had to flee from town to town because of threats on their lives. Both retaliated to this opposition by forming their own militias. Both ultimately set up their own towns as model societies.
Both Mohammed and Joseph Smith left unclear instructions about their successors. The majority of Mohammed’s followers, Sunni Muslims, believe they were to elect their new leader, whereas the minority, Shiite Muslims, look to Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, whom they consider Divinely appointed, as the rightful successor to Muhammad, and the first imam. (Ali was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad). Similarly, the majority of Joseph Smith's followers, Mormons, believed their next prophet should have been the existing leader of their quorum of twelve apostles, whereas the minority, RLDS, believed Joseph Smith's own son should have been their next prophet. Differences on this issue, and many others, have created substantial tension between these rival groups of each prophet.
Mohammed taught that Jesus was just another of a long line of human prophets, of which he was the last. He taught that he was superior to Christ and superceded Him. In comparison, Joseph Smith also made the following claim.

“I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him, but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet.”[4] In light of these parallels, perhaps Joseph Smith's claim to be a second Mohammed unwittingly became his most genuine prophecy of all.

[1] Joseph Smith made this statement at the conclusion of a speech in the public square at Far West, Missouri on October 14, 1838. This particular quote is documented in Fawn M. Brodie, No Man Knows My History, second edition, (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1971), p. 230–231. Fawn Brodie’s footnote regarding this speech contains valuable information, and follows. “Except where noted, all the details of this chapter [16] are taken from the History of the [Mormon] Church. This speech, however, was not recorded there, and the report given here is based upon the accounts of seven men. See the affidavits of T.B. Marsh, Orson Hyde, George M. Hinkle, John Corrill, W.W. Phelps, Samson Avard, and Reed Peck in Correspondence, Orders, etc., pp. 57–9, 97–129. The Marsh and Hyde account, which was made on October 24, is particularly important. Part of it was reproduced in History of the [Mormon] Church, Vol. III, p. 167. See also the Peck manuscript, p. 80. Joseph himself barely mentioned the speech in his history; see Vol. III, p. 162.”

[2] John Ankerberg & John Weldon, The Facts on Islam, (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1998), pp.8–9. Eric Johnson, Joseph Smith & Muhammed, (El Cajon, CA: Mormonism Research Ministry, 1998), pp. 6–7.

[3] Documentary History of the [Mormon] Church, vol.4, pp.461.

[4] Documentary History of the [Mormon] Church, vol.6, pp.408–409.

...and we have Mormon tithers (are you one of them, Rip?) paying for this fantastical fantasy slanderous nonsense.

The MATH says probably not; for only about 15% or so of ALL Mormons have a TR; which REQUIRES a 'full' tithe.

GOODBYE, Forever Family®!

For example, that one Spanish document alone cites McConkie 39 times!!!!

Hasn't his Famous Book been BANNED from being printed anymore?

...all while casting Brigham Young, or Mitt Romney's GG Grandfathers, Orson and Parley Pratt (Lds "apostles"); or Lds "apostle" Bruce McConkie, under the bus.

Heck; I'd want him there TOO; considering that he DAMNED them SLC Mormons!!!

(Reply #49)

1 Nephi 13:5
And the angel said unto me: Behold the formation of a church which is most abominable above all other churches, which slayeth the saints of God, yea, and tortureth them and bindeth them down, and yoketh them with a yoke of iron, and bringeth them down into captivity.

1 Nephi 13:6
6 And it came to pass that I beheld this great and abominable church; and I saw the devil that he was the founder of it.

1 Nephi 13:8
And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the gold, and the silver, and the silks, and the scarlets, and the fine-twined linen, and the precious clothing, and the harlots, are the desires of this great and abominable church.

1 Nephi 13:28
Wherefore, thou seest that after the book hath gone forth through the hands of the great and abominable church, that there are many plain and precious things taken away from the book, which is the book of the Lamb of God.

1 Nephi 13:32
Neither will the Lord God suffer that the Gentiles shall forever remain in that awful state of blindness, which thou beholdest they are in, because of the plain and most precious parts of the gospel of the Lamb which have been kept back by that abominable church, whose formation thou hast seen.

1 Nephi 13:34
And it came to pass that the angel of the Lord spake unto me, saying: Behold, saith the Lamb of God, after I have visited the remnant of the house of Israel—and this remnant of whom I speak is the seed of thy father—wherefore, after I have visited them in judgment, and smitten them by the hand of the Gentiles, and after the Gentiles do stumble exceedingly, because of the most plain and precious parts of the gospel of the Lamb which have been kept back by that abominable church, which is the mother of harlots, saith the Lamb—I will be merciful unto the Gentiles in that day, insomuch that I will bring forth unto them, in mine own power, much of my gospel, which shall be plain and precious, saith the Lamb.

1 Nephi 14:9
And it came to pass that he said unto me: Look, and behold that great and abominable church, which is the mother of abominations, whose founder is the devil.

1 Nephi 14:15
15 And it came to pass that I beheld that the wrath of God was poured out upon that great and abominable church, insomuch that there were wars and rumors of wars among all the nations and kindreds of the earth.

1 Nephi 14:17
And when the day cometh that the wrath of God is poured out upon the mother of harlots, which is the great and abominable church of all the earth, whose founder is the devil, then, at that day, the work of the Father shall commence, in preparing the way for the fulfilling of his covenants, which he hath made to his people who are of the house of Israel.

1 Nephi 22:13
And the blood of that great and abominable church, which is the whore of all the earth, shall turn upon their own heads;
for they shall war among themselves, and the sword of their own hands shall fall upon their own heads, and they shall be drunken with their own blood.

2 Nephi 6:12
And blessed are the Gentiles, they of whom the prophet has written; for behold, if it so be that they shall repent and fight not against Zion, and do not unite themselves to that great and abominable church, they shall be saved; for the Lord God will fulfil his covenants which he has made unto his children; and for this cause the prophet has written these things.

2 Nephi 28:18

But behold, that great and abominable church, the whore of all the earth, must tumble to the earth, and great must be the fall thereof.

Doctrine and Covenants 29:21
And the great and abominable church, which is the whore of all the earth, shall be cast down by devouring fire, according as it is spoken by the mouth of Ezekiel the prophet, who spoke of these things, which have not come to pass but surely must, as I live, for abominations shall not reign.

MormonISM has been into RECYCLING for a LONG time!!!

In conclusion let us summarize this grand key, these “Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet”, for our salvation depends on them.

1. The prophet is the only man who speaks for the Lord in everything.
2. The living prophet is more vital to us than the standard works.
3. The living prophet is more important to us than a dead prophet.
4. The prophet will never lead the church astray.
5. The prophet is not required to have any particular earthly training or credentials to speak on any subject or act on any matter at any time.
6. The prophet does not have to say “Thus Saith the Lord,” to give us scripture.
7. The prophet tells us what we need to know, not always what we want to know.
8. The prophet is not limited by men’s reasoning.
9. The prophet can receive revelation on any matter, temporal or spiritual.
10. The prophet may advise on civic matters.
11. The two groups who have the greatest difficulty in following the prophet are the proud who are learned and the proud who are rich.
12. The prophet will not necessarily be popular with the world or the worldly.
13. The prophet and his counselors make up the First Presidency—the highest quorum in the Church.
14. The prophet and the presidency—the living prophet and the First Presidency—follow them and be blessed—reject them and suffer.

I testify that these fourteen fundamentals in following the living prophet are true. If we want to know how well we stand with the Lord then let us ask ourselves how well we stand with His mortal captain—how close do our lives harmonize with the Lord’s anointed—the living Prophet—President of the Church, and with the Quorum of the First Presidency.

Ezra Taft Benson

(Address given Tuesday, February 26, 1980 at Brigham Young University) http://www.lds.org/liahona/1981/06/fourteen-fundamentals-in-following-the-prophet?lang=eng

Ask yourself: When a Protestant Christian commentator writes something, does he speak for/officially represent the entire Protestant church body?

Staaaaawmaaaan! Hellllloooo!

Notice the word commentator instead of "preacher" or "pastor" which would infer authority. Because the protestants are made up of many different denominations and a single person can't possibly speak for them all. So it's impossible logic.

"But when a Mormon "prophet" or "apostle" speaks...does he officially represent Mormondom?

Answer: Ya better believe it!!!!"

Wrong. Wrong. And way wrong.

Apostles speculate and speak privately with out speaking officially or for the Lord. They do it all the time.

Bruce R. McConkie is an Apostle and I've read his book "Mormon Doctrine" from cover to cover. It's his opinion, it's not scripture. If it were scripture we'd be handing it out as such.

Even James E. Talmage's "Jesus The Christ" which was written in the Temple, isn't considered scripture. All though it's an amazing piece of literature and many truths can learned in it, it's not official.

So, please correct your understanding of how things work in my Church.

Apostles speculate and speak privately with out speaking officially or for the Lord. They do it all the time.

Except I don't quote their PRIVATE speculations, do I?

(Can you say you've intro'd a "straw man" consideration? I can!!!!)

And when I cite these Mormon leaders, Mormons like yourself don't claim MOST of those comments to be "private" -- now do they? (Especially considering that they usually were either public pronouncements made @ official Lds events...like General Conferences...OR, they were written PUBLICLY -- often @ church expense...curricula...or a Deseret book...or an Ensign article, etc.)

Bruce R. McConkie is an Apostle and I've read his book "Mormon Doctrine" from cover to cover. It's his opinion, it's not scripture.

#1...Mormon Doctrine isn't the only controversial book McConkie wrote. The book I cited in this thread wasn't even that one!

#2...McKay rejected portions of that book; but because of that, Harold B. Lee -- when he became the "prophet" -- had the next "prophet" (one of his counselors, Spencer W. Kimball), go over MD with a fine tooth comb to make some edits. They did that and it was thereby revised/republished in 1966.

Therefore, Lee & Kimball, two Mormon "prophets" gave their stamp of approval in the '66/ensuing versions. Just not every 1958 statement. What? You don't Lee & Kimball had discernment enough to lead the church beyond administrative tasks? Or that Lds "apostles" don't?

#3...

The MD book wasn't originally published by Deseret Books. But then Deseret Books bought the rights to it -- and cont'd re-publishing it thru the 1978 version.

Deseret Books is owned by the Mormon church. It's not just some fly-by-night Lds publisher.

ALL: Do you see how Mormon apologists work?

They try to reduce the comprehensive PUBLIC fine-tooth combed edited (from the very top) books -- published by the Mormon church -- into "Oh, this was just their private interpretation."

They either didn't want to those these facts I just relayed ... OR, IF they did know them -- or some of them -- that's called public deception.

ALL: Scan those SIX links I provided in post #58 to see where the LDS Church STILL sanctions Lds "apostle" Bruce R. McConkie's Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, Vol. 3.

When you turn to another page of this book -- p. 238 -- you find this quote about the Mormon jesus:

(He) "Needs salvation...Came to earth to work out His own salvation”

Do you now see why the Mormons worship a different jesus?

The Jesus of the Bible -- Jesus of Nazareth -- didn't need salvation!

The Jesus of the Bible didn't sin, & therefore 'twas nothing to be "saved" from.

He was the Savior...the ONE and ONLY one! (see 1 John 4:14 & John 4:42 where it references "THE" Savior -- singular!)

Brigham Young claimed multiple words were populated & each needed its own savior. Joseph Smith & every ensuing Mormon "prophet" has propped up the idea that the dead need "co-saviors" who research & then proxy-baptize them. And yes, they repeatedly use the plural "saviors" in referencing Mormon temple-ites.

Bruce R. McConkie is an Apostle and I've read his book "Mormon Doctrine" from cover to cover. It's his opinion, it's not scripture. If it were scripture we'd be handing it out as such.

Here's what I wrote May 9, 2008 on FR AFTER reading McConkie's son's account:

Any critical assessments or putdowns of republished books of "Mormon Doctrine" since then is an outright slam against the entire First Presidency & General Authorities & the editors & publishers of the book. Many authors make as you reference it mistakes--but when a book is republished, those are fixed. I know many such "mistakes" in McConkie's '58 version were "fixed." But if mistakes continue in the 1966 & 1978 revisions--and you imply that you acknowledge that's the case--then it's not just a one-man doctrinal show.

According to Deseret Book Publishing, owned by the LDS Church, (see The Bruce R. McConkie Story: Reflections of a Son, a biography written by his son, Joseph Fielding McConkie (Deseret, 2003):

On July 5, 1966, President McKay invited Elder McConkie into his office and gave approval for the book to be reprinted if appropriate changes were made and approved. Elder [Spencer W.] Kimball [of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles] was assigned to be Elder McConkie’s mentor in making those changes....My father told me that President McKay had so directed him. In addition to that, I am in possession of handwritten papers by my father affirming that direction.

There ya have it. McConkie acted on his own with no review committee in the late 1950s. Marion Romney, a member of the First Presidency, reviewed the initial work and reported on “errors” in the book. McConkie wanted to fix his 1958 errors and re-publish the book in the early 1960s. Members of The First Presidency told him “no.”

A future LDS “prophet” Spencer Kimball, was assigned as McConkie’s “mentor” leading up to the ’66 revision. McKay and the First Presidency changed their mind…otherwise, McConkie would have been told in the mid-1960s what he was told in the early 1960s, “No, you can’t republish."

******************************

So I said Harold B. Lee in a previous post, but 'twas actually McKay.

So you actually had 3 of the top Lds hierarchists (McKay, Kimball, Romney) overseeing the revision -- along with the "apostle"-author himself -- revising it.

And you, a grassroots Mormon, label it all as just mere man-made "opinion?" Hmmm...Isn't that the accusation Joseph Smith gave in his first vision about all the OTHER sects? That they taught man-made opinions in place of God's commandments?

So what? YOU have some authority to "trump" two Lds "prophets," a first counselor President, & an "apostle" to declare what he PUBLICLY disseminated with official church branding (Deseret Book) as mere "opinion?" (Mormon Doctrine was republished by Deseret)...

And the above citation of this process was published by Deseret.

Finally, why is it then when I read THOUSANDS of Lds curricula pages -- some hard copy, some online -- I find McConkie quoted/references HUNDREDS of times?

That was true for stuff published in the 1970s...the 1980s...the 1990s...well into 2000.

McConkie shows up cited in numerous -- perhaps even almost every -- priesthood manual for several decades!

And he shows up in D&C study manuals & other curricula.

Certainly, they don't quote the most controversial comments. But they DO cite Mormon Doctrine -- and his Millennial Messiah -- and his New Testament Doctrinal Commentary...and a few other of his most controversial works.

The church officially sanctions the document when they reference it for purposes of teaching curricula!

You done good!!!!

AWESOME!!! CONGRATULATIONS!

”And he said unto me: Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth. And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore of all the earth, and she sat upon many waters; and she had dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people.” (1 Nephi 14:10-11)

Thank you for quoting this and all the other Prophets and Apostles on the subject. It's important that people see the truth. They might not accept it. Most won't. But that's ok. It's important that they be given the opportunity to accept or deny. That's all the Lord asks us to do.

In the past the message needed to be tough to combat the zealous nature of the established churches. But today, apathy is the biggest problem to over come. So, the modern prophets switch their message to be more of why we need to do good, versus right and wrong doctrine.

The Lord's proclamation of how He views these other Churches has not changed nor will it ever.

"Deseret Book Publishing"

Logical fallacy of cause and effect. Just because Deseret Book published "Mormon Doctrine" doesn't there's any thing "official" about it.

"And you, a grassroots Mormon, label it all as just mere man-made "opinion?"

It is Bruce R. McConkie's opinion. That doesn't mean it's not true. There's a lot of good reference material in there. We also quote the personal books of other Apostles too. But, the Lord does not hold us accountable for knowing what's in someone's personal writings, only what's contained in the scriptures.

The personal books by Apostles are good for personal edification and teach a lot of good principles. They are irrelevant to anyone's salvation. Therefore, they contain no "official" weight in the Church.

"Hmmm...Isn't that the accusation Joseph Smith gave in his first vision about all the OTHER sects? That they taught man-made opinions in place of God's commandments?"

No. This is the Lord's accusation.
Matt 15:
9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Which the Lord repeated when He spoke to Joseph Smith.

History of the Church 1:
19 I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: “they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.”

"The church officially sanctions the document when they reference it for purposes of teaching curricula!"

Study material is just that, study material. It is not required reading. However, the book "Mormon Doctrine" is good study material and I'd recommend it. The Church didn't assign Bruce R. McConkie to create it, it was his own work.

Even though what's in it may be doctrinally correct, it's still not an official publication of the Church.

For example, that one Spanish document alone cites McConkie 39 times!!!!
Hasn’t his Famous Book been BANNED from being printed anymore?
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Shades of salamanders !!!!

Which the lord repeated when he spoke to Joseph Smith.
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Source ???