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Date: February 04, 2022 10:37AM
Interesting book review...
https://www.mrm.org/this-is-my-doctrineIntroduction
Although it’s a book that was released back in 2011, “This is My Doctrine”: The Development of Mormon Theology is a resource that I keep coming back to in order to cite its pages. Why? This book, which was written by a faithful Latter-day Saint, offers an overall honest historical treatment of how Mormon theology came to be. It’s a resource that every serious Latter-day Saint—and Evangelical Christian who is interested in understanding Mormon doctrine, for that matter—ought to consider reading. I won’t pretend to agree with everything that Harrell writes. In fact, we probably disagree more than we agree when it comes to doctrine. Still, I think it’s worth the time and effort to read.
A little bit about Charles R. Harrell
Before he wrote this book, I had never heard of Charles R. Harrell. However, here’s what I know now:
He was a professor in the School of Technology (not the School of Religion) at Brigham Young University in Provo, UT, the flagship school for the LDS Church, until he retired in 2016. He mainly taught second-year college classes.
According to his “Rate My Professor” page, Harrell was known mostly for being “lecture heavy” and a “tough grader”–this is typical for scholars who require the best work from students, and lot’s of it! (So quit complaining and do your work, students! ;0 ) One recent student post reads, “He’s a nice guy, but his class is terrible. His lectures consist of two hours of rambling and 90% of what he says is not on the tests. Weekly reflections are pretty easy. His tests are fairly difficult though, so study the reviews like crazy. Don’t waste your time going to class, most people didn’t. I only went a few times and did just fine.” This is just one of many similar reviews on the site.
He’s a faithful Latter-day Saint–otherwise, he would not be allowed to teach at BYU.
As far as I can tell by reading his book (twice), Harrell is honest as he covers the development of Mormon theology, even if the vast majority of Latter-day Saints will undoubtedly not like what he has to say. However, he feels that there is room for disagreement when it comes to one’s take on Mormon doctrine and doesn’t want to appear dogmatic. He writes on page 502:
“Significantly, the doctrines the Church expects its members to embrace for temple worthiness are fairly basic and few in number, and the Church has been restored and continues to be guided by a living prophet. Beyond these core professions of belief, Saints presumably have some latitude in what they can believe. . . . Differing views or reluctance to go with the status quo on non-essential doctrines is no more an indication of a weak or underdeveloped testimony than indiscriminate acceptance of all popularly held LDS doctrines is a sign of a mature testimony.”
Harrell’s attitude seems to be, “Go ahead and disagree with me, that’s fine. And go ahead and believe doctrine that differs from mine. You have that freedom.” Because he has a pluralist mentality—meaning that he sees the good in other religions as long as the adherents are guided by a sincere desire for good—Harrell doesn’t seem to mind contradicting the current theological mindsets of the general authorities who guide his church. And he doesn’t think the Mormon should hold an air of “doctrinal superiority” over those who do not belong to his church. He writes on page 503:
“Since its inception, many Mormons have taken an exclusivist stance towards other belief systems, acknowledging that, while other religions have a portion of the truth (mingled with error), only Mormonism contains the full and undiluted truth. This has sometimes led to feelings, and certainly an external perception, of doctrinal superiority and elitism among Latter-day Saints. But if Mormon theology is itself still evolving and partially reflects the imperfect understanding of its expounders, the fallacy of theological exclusivity should be apparent. There is nothing wrong with proclaiming one’s church to be ‘true’ in the sense of it being sanctioned and even led by God, but it doesn’t necessarily follow that all the doctrines taught in the church are ipso facto the absolute truth. And even if Mormonism does possess more of the correct pieces of the theological puzzle than other religions, it certainly doesn’t warrant an attitude of theological exclusivity or superiority.”
The problem with his thinking is that Mormonism is founded on the idea that “all” the churches that were in existence in 1820, when the First Vision of God the Father and Jesus supposedly took place, were wrong. When Joseph Smith asked God which church was true, he was supposedly told by God in Joseph Smith—History 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 beginning of the next verse (20) states, “He again forbade me to join with any of them; and many other things did he say unto me, which I cannot write at this time.” If Mormonism is true in its teaching, then anything that the Evangelical Christian has to say should be taken with a grain of salt. After all, no doctrine held by a Bible-believing Christian could be correct if God actually did tell Smith that the Christians were wrong and that “all their creeds were an abomination in his sight.” While it may be politically correct for a Mormon to aim at ecumenism and a declaration that the doctrines espoused by Evangelical Christians are “true” too, God the Father—as reported by Joseph Smith—would disagree.