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Quote:
“The saints believe in divine revelation today. At the head of this church stands a man who is a prophet, seer and revelator, sustained in that position by the vote of the whole body of its members. When the lord wishes to speak to his church as a body, he does so through that individual, his servant. President Wilford Woodruff is a man of wisdom and experience, and we respect and venerate him, but we do not believe his personal views or utterances are revelations from god, and when “thus saith the lord comes” from him, the saints investigate it. They do not shut their eyes and take it down like a pill. When he brings forth light, they want to comprehend it. Light, truth, intelligence, wisdom progress, growth all the time — that is “Mormonism” — to grow in grace and the knowledge of the truth.”
-Elder Charles W. Penrose, Millenial Star (Vol 54), March 21st, 1852
Brian, that quote is epic. I want to tattoo that on my chest, backwards, Memento-style, and read it every morning in the mirror when I wake up (except that GBH said I shouldn’t get a tattoo … oh, well).
My only question … in 1852, Wilford Woodruff wasn’t the president of the Church. Is that attribution correct?
Kumahito wrote:My only question … in 1852, Wilford Woodruff wasn’t the president of the Church. Is that attribution correct?
Good catch! Thanks. I typed it wrong. The correct date is
1892, not 1852. I went back and edited my post. Here is a link to the scanned copy of the newspaper at the BYU Library, Digital Collections site. The talk was called “The Doctrine of Revelation”:
http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/MStar/id/31906/rec/18 I keep printed copies of some gems like this in my church bag … in case of emergency.
In addition to the above, the following quote from Brigham Young indicates that the light we do receive depends on our willingness to receive that light as a people. IMHO this speaks volumes about a number of changes we’ve seen over the years (blacks holding priesthood in our day, but also the general acceptance of slavery in the new and old testament etc) and perhaps to changes we can expect to see in the future regarding homosexuality. God seems to be patient when working with us: Quote:When God speaks to the people, he does it in a manner to suit their circumstances and capacities. He spoke to the children of Jacob through Moses, as a blind, stiff-necked people, and when Jesus and his Apostles came they talked with the Jews as a benighted, wicked, selfish people. They would not receive the Gospel, though presented to them by the Son of God in all its righteousness, beauty and glory. Should the Lord Almighty send an angel to re-write the Bible, it would in many places be very different from what it now is. And I will even venture to say that if the Book of Mormon were now to be re-written, in many instances it would materially differ from the present translation. According as people are willing to receive the things of God, so the heavens send forth their blessings. If the people are stiff-necked, the Lord can tell them but little.
JD 9:311 Brigham Young, July 13, 1862
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