Deseret Books: Doctrines of Salvation

[Theo1689]

Deseret Books:

"... is an American publishing company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, that also operates a chain of bookstores throughout the western United States. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation, the holding company for business firms owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)". (Wikipedia)

Deseret Books describes the book, "Doctrines of Salvation" as:

"Doctrines of Salvation, Volume I-3, is an authoritative work, written by the most outstanding scholar of the gospel in the Church containing a wealth of explanations about a vast array of gospel topics, many of which can not be found in other sources. Add an authoritative source on issues frequently discussed today: What was the nature of our life in the pre-existence and what was it’s purpose? What is the true story of creation? What is the age of the earth? Can the theory of evolution harmonize with the Gospel? Do we believe in the Adam-God theory? What is the role of Adam in the plan of salvation? How does the fall of the first man affects our salvation? What are the requirements of the Divine Law of Witnesses? Why are there always two people present when the Priesthood and it's keys were restored? Why were two martyrs slain in this dispensation? What is the difference between the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of God? How can one distinguish between true and false revelation?
Explore these fascinating topics, plus many more, from the writings of Joseph Fielding Smith compiled by Elder Bruce R. McConkie."

Is that an accurate description?
Is DoS "authoritative"?


The reason I ask is because of the following quotes from that work:

“If a man will enter into life, then he must abide in the law of the gospel, keeping all of the commandments to the end of his mortal life.” (Doctrines of Salvation 2:34)

“Now, if we want to become heirs, joint-heirs with Jesus Christ…there is only one thing required of you and me, and that is that we keep the whole law, not a part of it only.” (Doctrines of Salvation 2:37)

“Those who gain exaltation in the celestial kingdom are those who are members of the Church of the Firstborn; in other words, those who keep ALL of the commandments of the Lord.” (Doctrines of Salvation 2:41)

“In order to receive this blessing [exaltation in the celestial kingdom], one must keep the full law…” (Doctrines of Salvation 2:41)


And then my final question is, how many Mormons have "kept the FULL law", "the WHOLE law", and "ALL of the commandments of the Lord", "not a part of it only"?

 

[Bonnie]

And what ARE those laws...God's laws or Mormon laws?

 

[Theo1689]

And what ARE those laws...God's laws or Mormon laws?

Hello, Mormons?

So nobody wants to actually discuss MORMONISM?

You guys are THIS embarrassed by your own theology?

 

[organgrinder]

Deseret Books:

"... is an American publishing company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, that also operates a chain of bookstores throughout the western United States. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation, the holding company for business firms owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)". (Wikipedia)

Deseret Books describes the book, "Doctrines of Salvation" as:

"Doctrines of Salvation, Volume I-3, is an authoritative work, written by the most outstanding scholar of the gospel in the Church containing a wealth of explanations about a vast array of gospel topics, many of which can not be found in other sources. Add an authoritative source on issues frequently discussed today: What was the nature of our life in the pre-existence and what was it’s purpose? What is the true story of creation? What is the age of the earth? Can the theory of evolution harmonize with the Gospel? Do we believe in the Adam-God theory? What is the role of Adam in the plan of salvation? How does the fall of the first man affects our salvation? What are the requirements of the Divine Law of Witnesses? Why are there always two people present when the Priesthood and it's keys were restored? Why were two martyrs slain in this dispensation? What is the difference between the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of God? How can one distinguish between true and false revelation?
Explore these fascinating topics, plus many more, from the writings of Joseph Fielding Smith compiled by Elder Bruce R. McConkie."

Is that an accurate description?
Is DoS "authoritative"?


The reason I ask is because of the following quotes from that work:

“If a man will enter into life, then he must abide in the law of the gospel, keeping all of the commandments to the end of his mortal life.” (Doctrines of Salvation 2:34)

“Now, if we want to become heirs, joint-heirs with Jesus Christ…there is only one thing required of you and me, and that is that we keep the whole law, not a part of it only.” (Doctrines of Salvation 2:37)

“Those who gain exaltation in the celestial kingdom are those who are members of the Church of the Firstborn; in other words, those who keep ALL of the commandments of the Lord.” (Doctrines of Salvation 2:41)

“In order to receive this blessing [exaltation in the celestial kingdom], one must keep the full law…” (Doctrines of Salvation 2:41)


And then my final question is, how many Mormons have "kept the FULL law", "the WHOLE law", and "ALL of the commandments of the Lord", "not a part of it only"?

And there is that dastardly Bruce McConkie whom the leadership threw under the bus compiling this three volume collection. Be interesting to compare it and his work "Mormon Doctrine" that was used for 50 years give or take to teach what the church believed.

 

[Theo1689]

And there is that dastardly Bruce McConkie whom the leadership threw under the bus compiling this three volume collection. Be interesting to compare it and his work "Mormon Doctrine" that was used for 50 years give or take to teach what the church believed.

Funny you should say that...

I was actually looking for Mormon quotes about "meriting the grace" for salvation, and I came across a website about Mormon "merit", which quoted from (1) Doctrines of Salvation, and (2) McConkie's "Mormon Doctrine".

 

[The Prophet]

Doctrines of Salvation Vol 1 page 61

WHY MEN ARE BORN TO DIFFERENT RACES. We are the children of God. He is our Father and he loves us. He loves all men whether they be white or black. No matter what their color, no matter what the conditions under which they were born and reared, the Lord looks upon all his children in mercy and will do for them just the best that he can

There is a reason why one man is born black and with other disadvantages, while another is born white with great advantages. The reason is that we once had an estate before we came here, and were obedient, more or less, to the laws that were given us there. Those who were faithful in all things there received greater blessings here, and those who were not faithful received less.

"This privilege of obtaining a mortal body on this earth is seemingly so priceless that those in the spirit world, even though unfaithful or not valient, were undoubtedly permitted to take mortal bodies although under penalty of racial or physical or nationalistic limitations...." (Decisions for Successful Living pp 164-165) TLDP: 497- Harold B. Lee

“There is no truth more plainly taught in the Gospel than that our condition in the next world will depend upon the kind of lives we live here. …Is it not just as reasonable to suppose that the conditions in which we now live have been determined by the kind of lives we lived in the pre-existent world of spirits? That the apostles understood this principle is indicated by their question to the Master when the man who was blind from his birth was healed of his blindness, ‘Master, who did sin, this man or his parents that he was born blind?’ (John 9:2.) Now perhaps you will have a partial answer to some of your questions as to why, if God is a just Father, that some of his children are born of an enlightened race and in a time when the Gospel is upon the earth, while others are born of a heathen parentage in a benighted, backward country; and still others are born to parents who have the mark of a black skin with which the seed of Cain were cursed and whose descendants were to be denied the rights of the priesthood of God”

(Harold B. Lee, Decisions for Successful Living, pp. 164-165).

"Let us consider the great mercy of God for a moment. a Chinese, born in China with a dark skin, and with all the handicaps of that race seems to have little opportunity. but think of the mercy of god to Chinese people who are willing to accept the gospel. In spite of whatever they might have done in the pre-existence to justify being born over there as Chinamen, if they now, in this life, accept the gospel and live it the rest of their lives they can have the Priesthood, go to the temple and receive endowments and sealings, and that means they can have exaltation. Isn't the mercy of God marvelous?

Think of the Negro, cursed as to the priesthood... This Negro, who in the pre-existence lived the type of life which justified the Lord in sending him to the earth in the lineage of Cain with a black skin, and possibly being born in darkest Africa--if that Negro is willing when he hears the gospel to accept it, he may have many of the blessings of the gospel. In spite of all he did in the pre-existent life, the Lord is willing, if the Negro accepts the gospel with real, sincerer faith, and is really converted, to give him the blessing of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. If that Negro is faithful all his days, he can and will enter the celestial kingdom. He will go there as a servant, but he will get celestial glory. (Race Problems--As They Affect The Church, An address by Mark E. Petersen at the Convention of Teachers of Religion on the College level; Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, August 27, 1954.)



Even before the migration to Mexico had begun, Apostle Brigham Young, Jr. had warned members of the Church living in Arizona ‘that the blood of Cain was more predominant in these Mexicans than that of Israel.’ For this reason he ‘condemned the mixing’ of Mormons with ‘outsiders.’”

B. Carmon Hardy, “Cultural ‘Encystment’ as a Cause of the Exodus from Mexico in 1912,” Pacific Historical Review, v. 34, 1965, p. 447



In the LDS Church’s 2011 Aaronic Priesthood manual (Manual 3, Lesson 31, "Choosing an Eternal Companion"), interracial marriage has continued to be discouraged, via the words of Kimball:

“We recommend that people marry those who are of the same racial background generally & of somewhat the same economic & social & educational background (some of those are not an absolute necessity, but preferred), & above all, the same religious background, without question.” (Kimball, "Marriage and Divorce," BYU devotional, 1976, reprinted in "Devotional Speeches of the Year," 1977)

 

[The Prophet]

JOSEPH SMITH TEACHES OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD. In the Lectures on Faith, which appeared in the earlier editions of the Doctrine and Covenants, we find the following which was prepared by the Prophet Joseph Smith:

"There are two personages [i.e, of flesh and bones] who constitute the great, matchless, governing, and supreme, power over all things, by whom all things were created and made, that are created and made, whether visible or invisible, whether in heaven, on earth, or in the earth, under the earth, or throughout the immensity of space. They are the Father and the Son-the Father being a personage of spirit, 18 glory, and power, possessing all perfection and fulness, the Son, who was in the bosom of the Father, a personage of tabernacle, made or fashioned like unto man, or being in the form and likeness of man, or rather man was formed after his likeness and in his image; he is also the express image and likeness of the personage of the Father, possessing all the fulness of the Father, or the same fulness with the Father."

Doctrine of Salvation Vol 1 page 6

 

[The Prophet]

FALSE "REORGANITE" DOCTRINE ABOUT BIRTH OF CHRIST. "Reorganites" claim that Brigham Young went astray and apostatized because he declared that Jesus Christ was not begotten of the Holy Ghost. "Reorganites claim that he was begotten of the Holy Ghost, and they make the statement that the scriptures so teach. But they do err not understanding the scriptures. They tell us the Book of Mormon states that Jesus was begotten of the Holy Ghost. I challenge the statement. The Book of Mormon teaches no such thing! Neither does the Bible. It is true there is one passage that states so, but we must consider it in the light of other passages with which it is in conflict
Doctrine of Salvation Vol 1 page 19

 

[organgrinder]

FALSE "REORGANITE" DOCTRINE ABOUT BIRTH OF CHRIST. "Reorganites" claim that Brigham Young went astray and apostatized because he declared that Jesus Christ was not begotten of the Holy Ghost. "Reorganites claim that he was begotten of the Holy Ghost, and they make the statement that the scriptures so teach. But they do err not understanding the scriptures. They tell us the Book of Mormon states that Jesus was begotten of the Holy Ghost. I challenge the statement. The Book of Mormon teaches no such thing! Neither does the Bible. It is true there is one passage that states so, but we must consider it in the light of other passages with which it is in conflict
Doctrine of Salvation Vol 1 page 19

Yup. You can always trust the Mormons to deny what the Bible says when they don't like what it says and conflicts with their false narrative.

 

[The Prophet]

EARTH TO BE A CELESTIAL SUN. It is my opinion that the great stars that we see, including our sun, are celestial worlds; at least worlds that have passed on to their exaltation or other final resurrected status. This is in conflict, of course, with the teachings of scientific men, who declare that the sun is losing its energy and gradually cooling off and will eventually be a dead world. I do not believe the Lord has any such thing in his plan. The Lord lives in "everlasting burnings" we are informed. President Brigham Young has said that this earth when it is celestialized will shine like the sun, and why not?

"If the people could fully understand this matter," he said, "they would perceive that it is perfectly reasonable and has been the law of all worlds. And this world, so benighted at present, and so lightly esteemed by infidels, as observed by Brother Clements, when it becomes celestialized, it will be like the sun, and be prepared for the habitation of the saints, and be brought back into the presence of the Father and the Son. It will not then be an opaque body as it now is, but it will be like the stars of the firmament, full of light and glory; it will be a body of light. John compared it, in its celestialized state, to a sea of glass."

Doctrine of Salvation Vol 1 page 88-89

 

[The Prophet]

JOSEPH SMITH TEACHES OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD. In the Lectures on Faith, which appeared in the earlier editions of the Doctrine and Covenants, we find the following which was prepared by the Prophet Joseph Smith:

"There are two personages [i.e, of flesh and bones] who constitute the great, matchless, governing, and supreme, power over all things, by whom all things were created and made, that are created and made, whether visible or invisible, whether in heaven, on earth, or in the earth, under the earth, or throughout the immensity of space. They are the Father and the Son-the Father being a personage of spirit, 18 glory, and power, possessing all perfection and fulness, the Son, who was in the bosom of the Father, a personage of tabernacle, made or fashioned like unto man, or being in the form and likeness of man, or rather man was formed after his likeness and in his image; he is also the express image and likeness of the personage of the Father, possessing all the fulness of the Father, or the same fulness with the Father."

Doctrine of Salvation Vol 1 page 6

 

[The Prophet]

JOSEPH SMITH TEACHES OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD. In the Lectures on Faith, which appeared in the earlier editions of the Doctrine and Covenants, we find the following which was prepared by the Prophet Joseph Smith:

"There are two personages [i.e, of flesh and bones] who constitute the great, matchless, governing, and supreme, power over all things, by whom all things were created and made, that are created and made, whether visible or invisible, whether in heaven, on earth, or in the earth, under the earth, or throughout the immensity of space. They are the Father and the Son-the Father being a personage of spirit, 18 glory, and power, possessing all perfection and fulness, the Son, who was in the bosom of the Father, a personage of tabernacle, made or fashioned like unto man, or being in the form and likeness of man, or rather man was formed after his likeness and in his image; he is also the express image and likeness of the personage of the Father, possessing all the fulness of the Father, or the same fulness with the Father."

Doctrine of Salvation Vol 1 page 6

[i.e, of flesh and bones] notice how Joseph Fielding Smith inserted this statement as to misinform his sycophant followers