We recently bought a facsimile reprint
of the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants because this
edition of the Doctrine and Covenants was edited by Joseph Smith and accepted as
scripture by a unanimous vote. See General Assembly page 255.
In the 1835 edition, there are two
parts. Part one is the Lectures on Faith.
T
H E O L O G Y.
LECTURE FIRST
ON THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH OF THE
LATTER DAY SAINTS.
Of Faith.
LECTURE FIRST
ON THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH OF THE
LATTER DAY SAINTS.
Of Faith.
Part two is comprised of the covenants and commandments of the Lord.
PART
SECOND.
COVENANTS AND COMMANDMENTS
OF THE LORD,
to his servants of the church of the
LATTER DAY SAINTS.
COVENANTS AND COMMANDMENTS
OF THE LORD,
to his servants of the church of the
LATTER DAY SAINTS.
I am familiar with most of
the revelations in the second part because they are included in the Salt
Lake City edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, and this is the
edition I have studied.
It appears that the Lectures
on Faith is the doctrine of the church and the other revelations
are the covenants and commandments of the Lord.
So, if the Lectures on Faith
was removed, where is the doctrine
in the Salt Lake City edition of the Doctrine and Covenants?
I had a thought after I read this blog post. If a person were to read and apply those lessons in the 3rd section of the Lectures on Faith, would they have any need to listen to some sales pitch to follow me like I follow Christ, the things that some of the current apostles are saying. If we are to learn about God, his character, perfection and attributes and then learn for ourselves is our life in acceptable to the Lord, doesn't that educate the individual and allow him to be accountable unto the Lord and not need to follow like a blind sheep? I like reading the Lectures on faith.
ReplyDeleteThey were removed and the reasons given are all without merit. Surprisingly, the committee who removed them didn't even pretend to cite a revelation as motivation for their actions. They pretended to know more than Joseph who had seen into heaven, when they themselves have given no indication that they had seen as much as Joseph saw. Somehow, they thought the knew the attributes of the Godhead better than Joseph.
ReplyDeleteAs a result of removing the doctrine from our scriptures, the church fell under greater condemnation and as a result, blindness has afflicted the members. They do not understand the true nature of the Godhead and as such are unable to exercise faith unto salvation as it is described in the lectures.
Thank you! It is great to see you posting again.
P.S. If you look at D&C 130:22 closely, you'll note that it doesn't actually mention the Godhead. We assume it does because it references the Holy Ghost, but the Holy Spirit in the Godhead, is not a personage. We read into the scriptures the false traditions of our fathers and as a result are blind to what they teach us.