Elder Mark E. Petersen on the Creator/Creation and the “Race of God”

 

by Dennis B. Horne 

[Editorial note: The information in this post is an overview of Elder Mark E. Petersen’s (and others’) teachings and experience and may not necessarily represent official Church understanding.] 

            “The Lord counsels us to learn from all the best books, as you know” Elder Mark E. Petersen stated to a gathering of church religious educators. “‘The glory of God is intelligence,’ and the glory of man is intelligence. We must learn. We must acquire more knowledge. We must apply that knowledge. We must develop wisdom with that knowledge. If we are eventually to become perfect as God is perfect, then our learning must be on and on continuously. We must have an almost insatiable desire for more knowledge and more learning. The big thing about it, though, is that we must make sure that our knowledge is good knowledge, that it is uplifting knowledge, that we get fact and not theory. We must have the facts. If we learn mistaken notions, we got off on a tangent. It is only the truth that keeps us on the track, and there we must be highly selective in the kinds of books we read and in the kinds of instructions we accept.”[1]

Elder Bruce R. McConkie’s Alternative to Evolution

by Dennis B. Horne 

One could wonder if Elder McConkie might have preferred another stronger title—“The Lord’s Revealed Alternative to the False Theory of Evolution”—for such is how he viewed it. In an Ensign article, he wrote: “The Lord expects us to believe and understand the true doctrine of the Creation—the creation of this earth, of man, and of all forms of life. Indeed, as we shall see, an understanding of the doctrine of creation is essential to salvation. Unless and until we gain a true view of the creation of all things we cannot hope to gain that fulness of eternal reward which otherwise would be ours.”[1]

As he neared the closing years of his life and ministry as an Apostle of the Lord, the three subjects he seemed to give the most attention to in his writings and talks were the creation, the fall, and the atonement of Jesus Christ—what he called “the three pillars of eternity.”

A Little-Known Slice of Church History: Marion G. Romney’s Teachings about the Origin and Mission of Adam

 

by Dennis B. Horne

 Some Introductory Life History

President Marion G. Romney (1897-1988) is little-known in the contemporary Church, so an introduction is in order, including a few special highlights. Born in Mexico, in the Colonia Juarez colony, he grew up in a tight-nit Latter-day Saint community. With the 1912 Mexican revolution his family was forced to leave, eventually ending up in Oakley, Idaho, where he attended Rick’s College for two years. He served a mission to Australia, where his testimony solidified. Two motivating experiences should be mentioned.

Interesting Items from the George F. Richards journal published by the Church Historian’s Press

 

Compiled by Dennis B. Horne

 

Note: The below are excerpts from the journal of George F. Richards, member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (and also President of that Quorum), from the time of his call to the end of what the CHP has so far posted. These are selections that I find interesting for a variety of reasons, as will become apparent to readers. I have provided links at the end of entries for those who wish to read the originals.

ScriptureCentral Goofs Up

By Dennis B. Horne

 

I have long thought of ScriptureCentral as a fine organization doing much good and I still do. But they occasionally get things wrong, with no way to straighten them out or at least have posted corrected views. The Church has a Correlation Department to help keep its doctrine pure, but ScriptureCentral does not—so you can get some bad opinion on occasion. In this case Scott Woodward and Casey Griffiths (and Paul Reeve) have stumbled with some of their interpretations and conclusions on the issue of blacks and the priesthood/temple ban.

An Apostle’s Letter to a Missionary Son:

 

Elder Spencer W. Kimball discusses being “In” and “Out of the Spirit,” Testimony,

and Constructive Gospel Study

Transcribed and Edited by Dennis B. Horne

 

Editorial Note: The Church Archives has just recently scanned and posted a letter written in 1947 by Elder Spencer W. Kimball, by then an apostle for only a few years. The letter is largely doctrinal in nature, being answers to questions posed by his missionary son Andrew. The below text constitutes about half of the letter (and a couple of bonus excerpts of another). Anyone can read all or part of the original scans on the Church Archives site. Some small portions of the explanations given are now obsolete and some policies have changed, but much of the doctrinal reasoning from the scriptures is still sound and insightful—some exceptionally so, such as the below:

Prophetic Warnings Against Teaching False Doctrine

  (McConkie, Petersen, Clark, Benson)

Compiled by Dennis B. Horne

 

Elder Bruce R. McConkie [self-explanatory letter to a private individual, 1982]:

I have just read for the first time your letter . . . in which you spend six pages presenting the general thesis that [mentions a false doctrine]. As you might surmise I am inundated with a flood of letters and manuscripts which set forth quaint and cranky and bizarre and false doctrines. . . . It is my practice to discard them because I have neither the time nor the inclination to engage in discussions or debates on doctrinal matters of the sort contained in your letter. You have indicated a sincere desire for a response and I think in your case I will make a few comments.