Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Chapter 17

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Contents

Response to claims made in "Chapter 17: Is Mormonism Christian"


Claims made in "Chapter 16: Mormon Racism: Black Is Not Beautiful"
A FAIR Analysis of:
One Nation Under Gods
A work by author: Richard Abanes
 Claims made in "Chapter 18: Cover-Ups, Conspiracies, and Controversies"

375 epigraph (PB) - Gordon B. Hinckley is listed as "President, Mormon Church"

The author(s) of One Nation Under Gods make(s) the following claim:

Gordon B. Hinckley is listed as "President, Mormon Church"

FAIR's Response

  • There is no church called the "Mormon Church."
  • Perhaps in this epigraph to a chapter entitled "Is Mormonism Christian?", the author wished to avoid stating the true name of the Church: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?

375, n3 (PB) - The author presents his second significant reason that people join the Church as "the long-held Mormon notion that Latter-day Saints are innately better than non-Mormons"

The author(s) of One Nation Under Gods make(s) the following claim:

The author presents his second significant reason that people join the Church as "the long-held Mormon notion that Latter-day Saints are innately better than non-Mormons."

Author's sources: Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 1, 236.

FAIR's Response

  •  The author's claim is false
  • This claim actually originated with the Tanners. The author also quotes the Tanner's primary source. See: Jerald and Sandra Tanner, The Changing World of Mormonism (Moody Press, 1979), 27.( Index of claims ).
  • Unsurprisingly, there is no mention of gaining a testimony of the Book of Mormon mentioned among the many reasons the author presents for joining the Church—the reason most Latter-day Saints themselves would give.

Question: Are Latter-day Saints ("Mormons") taught to look down upon or reject those who are not of their faith?

Mormons have always been taught that a dismissive attitude toward the beliefs or faith of others is sinful

The attitude that one ought to look down upon or reject those who are not of their faith is an abhorrent one. Members of the Church, of course, do not always live up to these high standards. But, there can be no doubt as to what the standards are:

What does the Lord expect of us as Latter-day Saints? What does He expect of me as a member of this Church...There is no room in the heart of a Latter-day Saint for bitterness, for unkindness, for animosity to any other of the sons and daughters of God. They may not be of our faith, but we owe them an obligation to treat them as sons and daughters of our Father in Heaven. [1]

Mormons have always been taught that a dismissive attitude toward the beliefs or faith of others is sinful. (Indeed, the Book of Mormon condemns in the strongest terms those who adopt such an attitude: Alma 31:16-19, Alma 31:27-35).

Joseph Smith: "We should gather all the good and true principles in the world and treasure them up, or we shall not come out true 'Mormons'"

Said Joseph Smith:

Have the Presbyterians any truth? Yes. Have the Baptists, Methodists, etc., any truth? Yes. They all have a little truth mixed with error. We should gather all the good and true principles in the world and treasure them up, or we shall not come out true "Mormons." [2]

Gordon B. Hinckley: "There is no room for arrogance in our lives. There is no room for conceit in our lives. There is no room for egotism in our lives"

Warned President Gordon B. Hinckley:

There is no room for arrogance in our lives. There is no room for conceit in our lives. There is no room for egotism in our lives. We must be humble before the Lord. He has so declared, and if we will do it, He will hear our prayers and answer them with a blessing upon our heads. [3]

Of the specific conceit which some claim they are taught, President Hinckley said:

Be respectful of the opinions and feelings of other people. Recognize their virtues; don't look for their faults. Look for their strengths and their virtues, and you will find strength and virtues that will be helpful in your own life. [4]

It's hard to see how looking for "strengths and...virtues" in non-members to help an LDS member's own life constitutes ignoring or deprecating all non-believers.

President Hinckley further said:

There is no need in any land for conflict between diverse groups of any kind. Let there be taught in the homes of people that we are all children of God, our Eternal Father, and that as surely as there is fatherhood, there can and must be brotherhood. [5]

He denounced bad feelings and behavior toward non-Mormons:

Why do any of us have to be so mean and unkind to others? Why can't all of us reach out in friendship to everyone about us? Why is there so much bitterness and animosity? It is not a part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We all stumble occasionally. We all make mistakes. I paraphrase the words of Jesus in the Lord's Prayer: "And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us."

∗       ∗       ∗

There is no end to the good we can do, to the influence we can have with others. Let us not dwell on the critical or the negative. Let us pray for strength; let us pray for capacity and desire to assist others. Let us radiate the light of the gospel at all times and all places, that the Spirit of the Redeemer may radiate from us. [6]

Members and non-members have the same status before God. This does not support the idea that members are to "hold themselves aloof."

Ezra Taft Benson: "God, the Father of us all uses the men of the earth, especially good men, to accomplish his purposes"

God, the Father of us all uses the men of the earth, especially good men, to accomplish his purposes. It has been true in the past, it is true today, it will be true in the future. [7]

President Benson then quoted Elder Orson F. Whitney from 1928:

Perhaps the Lord needs such men on the outside of His Church to help it along. They are among its auxiliaries, and can do more good for the cause where the Lord has placed them, than anywhere else…God is using more than one people for the accomplishment of His great and marvelous work. The Latter-day Saints cannot do it all. It is too vast, too arduous for any one people…They [other churches] are our partners in a certain sense. [8]

Joseph Fielding Smith: "the Lord would pour out his blessings and his Spirit upon all people and use them to accomplish his purposes"

Joseph Fielding Smith discussed the prophecy in Joel that God would pour out his spirit "upon all flesh":

Now, my brethren and sisters, I am not going to confine this prophecy [Joel 2:28-29] to the members of the Church. The Lord said he would pour out his Spirit upon all flesh. That does not mean that upon all flesh the Holy Ghost should be sent, and that they should be participants in the blessings which those are privileged to receive who have been baptized and endowed and become members of the Church; but the Lord would pour out his blessings and his Spirit upon all people and use them to accomplish his purposes....

There has never been a step taken..., in discovery or invention, where the Spirit of the Lord (that is, the Spirit of which Joel spoke, the Light of Christ, not the Holy Ghost!) was not the prevailing force, resting upon the individual, which caused him to make the discovery or the invention. The world does not understand that, but it is perfectly clear to me; nor did the Lord always use those who have faith, nor does he always do so today. He uses such minds as are pliable and can be turned in certain directions to accomplish his work, whether they believe in him or not. [9]

M. Russell Ballard: "I encourage you to build personal, meaningful relationships with your nonmember friends and acquaintances"

I encourage you to build personal, meaningful relationships with your nonmember friends and acquaintances...If they are not interested in the gospel, we should show unconditional love through acts of service and kindness, and never imply that we see an acquaintance only as a potential convert...We must not reserve our kindness and affection only for our fellow members. We must be sensitive and not oblivious to the feelings of those whose views may differ from ours. Considering the early history of the Church in these latter days, unkindness or indifference toward others should be abhorrent to members of the Church. I bear my testimony that "God is no respecter of persons"; we should follow his example in all of our associations with our fellowmen. [10]

David B. Haight: "we are commanded to do what to many is a more difficult commandment—to love all, even enemies, and to go beyond the barriers of race or class or family relationships"

Besides loving God, we are commanded to do what to many is a more difficult commandment—to love all, even enemies, and to go beyond the barriers of race or class or family relationships. It is easier, of course, to be kind to those who are kind to us— the usual standard of friendly reciprocity.

Then are we not commanded to cultivate genuine fellowship and even a kinship with every human being on earth? Whom would you bar from your circle? We might deny ourselves a nearness to our Savior because of our prejudices of neighborhood or possessions or race—attitudes that Christ would surely condemn. Love has no boundary, no limitation of good will. [11]

Jeffrey R. Holland: "I testify that no one of us is less treasured or cherished of God than another"

Brothers and sisters, I testify that no one of us is less treasured or cherished of God than another. I testify that He loves each of us—insecurities, anxieties, self-image, and all. He doesn't measure our talents or our looks; He doesn't measure our professions or our possessions. He cheers on every runner, calling out that the race is against sin, not against each other. I know that if we will be faithful, there is a perfectly tailored robe of righteousness ready and waiting for everyone... [12]

Neal A. Maxwell: "Love is the only answer"

Love is the only answer, as Thomas Merton points out, to the searching question asked by Gandhi when he said: "How can he who thinks he possesses absolute truth be fraternal?" [13]

Russell M. Nelson: "Learn to listen, and listen to learn from neighbors"

Learn to listen, and listen to learn from neighbors. Repeatedly the Lord has said, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour." (Lev. 19:18; Matt. 19:19.) Opportunities to listen to those of diverse religious or political persuasion can promote tolerance and learning. And a good listener will listen to a person's sentiments as well...The wise listen to learn from neighbours. [14]

Brigham H. Roberts: "God raises up wise men and prophets here and there among all the children of men"

While the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is established for the instruction of men; and it is one of God's instrumentalities for making known the truth yet he is not limited to that institution for such purposes, neither in time nor place. God raises up wise men and prophets here and there among all the children of men, of their own tongue and nationality, speaking to them through means that they can comprehend. ... All the great teachers are servants of God; among all nations and in all ages. They are inspired men, appointed to instruct God's children according to the conditions in the midst of which he finds them. [15]


376 (PB) - Did early LDS leaders take a "staunchly anti-Christian stance"?

The author(s) of One Nation Under Gods make(s) the following claim:

Did early LDS leaders take a "staunchly anti-Christian stance"?

Author's sources: No source provided.

FAIR's Response

The attitude of early Mormon leaders toward Christianity


Jump to details:


377, n8(PB)

Claim
  • Did Joseph actually say that all the churches of Christendom "were all wrong" and that Christian ministers "were all corrupt?"

Author's source(s)
  • Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith History 1:19
Response

377 (PB) - Did Joseph claim that all other churches were founded by Satan and part of the "satanic world system"?

The author(s) of One Nation Under Gods make(s) the following claim:

Did Joseph claim that all other churches were founded by Satan and part of the "satanic world system"?

Author's sources: 1 Nephi 13꞉6

FAIR's Response

Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Chapter 17


377, 600n11-14 (PB) - Did LDS leaders spend 150 years calling Christians "derogatory names" and insulting them?

The author(s) of One Nation Under Gods make(s) the following claim:

Did LDS leaders spend 150 years calling Christians "derogatory names" and insulting them?

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

The attitude of early Mormon leaders toward Christianity


Jump to details:


378, 601n18-21 (PB) - The book presents a table contrasting "Mormon Beliefs About Jesus" with "Christian Beliefs About Jesus"

The author(s) of One Nation Under Gods make(s) the following claim:

The book presents a table contrasting "Mormon Beliefs About Jesus" with "Christian Beliefs About Jesus."

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

The "Mormon" and the "Christian" Jesus


Jump to Subtopic:


379 601n22(PB) - Did President Hinckley actually "confess" that Latter-day Saint do not believe in the same 'Jesus' in which non-LDS Christians believe?

The author(s) of One Nation Under Gods make(s) the following claim:

Did President Hinckley actually "confess" that Latter-day Saint do not believe in the same 'Jesus' in which non-LDS Christians believe?

Author's sources: Gordon B. Hinckley. Quoted in "Crown of Gospel is Upon Our Heads," LDS Church News, June 20, 1998, 7.

FAIR's Response

This was no "confession"—President Hinckley was bearing testimony of Christ.

Question: Did Gordon B. Hinckley say that Latter-day Saints do not worship the biblical Jesus?

It is clear that Latter-day Saints believe in the biblical Christ—the Christ that is described in the New Testament

President Gordon B. Hinckley, responding to a question regarding whether Latter-day Saints believe in the “traditional Christ,” stated:

No I don't. The traditional Christ of whom they speak is not the Christ of whom I speak. For the Christ of whom I speak has been revealed in this the dispensation of the fullness of times. [16]

President Hinckley is referring to the concept of Christ that has developed in the centuries since the Nicene Creed was formed

President Hinckley is referring to the concept of Christ that has developed in the centuries since the Nicene Creed was formed—He is saying that we do not believe in non-Biblical creeds. This statement is quite correct: Latter-day Saints do not have some of the same beliefs about Christ that other Christian churches do. He is not saying that we do not believe in the Biblical Christ. In fact, the reason that Latter-day Saints do not accept these creeds is because they are non-Biblical. President Hinckley continued (with words usually omitted by critics):

Am I Christian? Of course I am. I believe in Christ. I talk of Christ. I pray through Christ. I'm trying to follow Him and live His gospel in my life.

Hinckley: "Believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the greatest figure of time and eternity"

Consider the following words by President Hinckley:

Believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the greatest figure of time and eternity. Believe that His matchless life reached back before the world was formed. Believe that He was the Creator of the earth on which we live. Believe that He was Jehovah of the Old Testament, that He was the Messiah of the New Testament, that He died and was resurrected, that He visited the western continents and taught the people here, that He ushered in this final gospel dispensation, and that He lives, the living Son of the living God, our Savior and our Redeemer. [17]

In the statement above, there is no question that President Hinckley is professing belief in the Jesus Christ of the New Testament. Critics, however, ignore clear statements such as these, and instead look to justify their claims that Latter-day Saints are not Christian by mining the quotes of church leaders for phrases which seem to support their position.

In order to strengthen their claim, critics of the Church sometimes even modify these quotes

Consider the use of President Hinckley’s quote in the critical Search for the Truth DVD. The critics have actually added a phrase to the quote:

No I don't believe in the traditional Christ. The traditional Christ of whom they speak is not the Christ of whom I speak. For the Christ of whom I speak has been revealed in this the dispensation of the Fullness of Times. [18]

President Hinckley understood how the critics would attempt to portray Latter-day Saints with regard to their belief in Christ:

As a Church we have critics, many of them. They say we do not believe in the traditional Christ of Christianity. There is some substance to what they say. Our faith, our knowledge is not based on ancient tradition, the creeds which came of a finite understanding and out of the almost infinite discussions of men trying to arrive at a definition of the risen Christ. Our faith, our knowledge comes of the witness of a prophet in this dispensation who saw before him the great God of the universe and His Beloved Son, the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ. They spoke to him. He spoke with Them. He testified openly, unequivocally, and unabashedly of that great vision. It was a vision of the Almighty and of the Redeemer of the world, glorious beyond our understanding but certain and unequivocating in the knowledge which it brought. It is out of that knowledge, rooted deep in the soil of modern revelation, that we, in the words of Nephi, “talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that [we and] our children may know to what source [we] may look for a remission of [our] sins” (2 Nephi 25꞉26). [19]

President Hinckley was quite clear in his position regarding Christ:

Are we Christians? Of course we are Christians. We believe in Christ. We worship Christ. We take upon ourselves in solemn covenant His holy name. The Church to which we belong carries His name. He is our Lord, our Savior, our Redeemer through whom came the great Atonement with salvation and eternal life. [20]


379-380 603n23 (HB) 601n23 (PB)

Claim
  • Did Bruce R. McConkie discourage people from attempting to form a "personal relationship" with Christ?
  • McConkie said:

"[Y]ou have never heard one of the First Presidency or the Twelve...advocate this excessive zeal that calls for gaining a so-called special and personal relationship with Christ..."

Author's source(s)

Response


380 - Is the "LDS teaching" that there exists more than one god refuted by the Bible?

The author(s) of One Nation Under Gods make(s) the following claim:

Is the "LDS teaching" that there exists more than one god refuted by the Bible?

Author's sources:

FAIR's Response

Isaiah 43-46 have been misinterpreted by the author in this context.

Mormons, polytheism and the Nicene Creed

Summary: Some non-LDS Christian claim that Latter-day Saints are polytheists because we don't believe the Nicene Creed. Others say Mormons are polytheists because they believe humans can become gods. Is this an accurate characterization of LDS belief?


Jump to details:


380

Claim
  • If the Bible says that "God will share His glory with no one," then how could one hope to become like Him?

Author's source(s)
Response
  • These verses say God will not give his glory to another. That is, God will not cease to be God or decline in glory. But, the scriptures are clear that God will share his glory with others: "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne" (Revelation 3:21).
  • Nature of God/Deification of man

380, 603n25 (HB) 601n25 (PB)

Claim
  • Paul said in the Bible that "the natural (or physical) comes first, then comes the spiritual." Why then, did Brigham Young say that people are "made first spiritual, and afterwards temporal?"

Author's source(s)
Response

381, 603n26 (HB) 601n26 (PB)

Claim
  • The author states: "The Christian gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (1 Cor. 15:1-4)."
  • The Latter-day Saint gospel, by contrast is represented by a statement by George Q. Cannon, who said to have claimed that LDS believe that "evolution of man until he shall become a god" is "the Gospel of Jesus Christ, believed in by the Latter-day Saints."

Author's source(s)
  • George Q. Cannon, Gospel Truth, vol. 1, 9.
Response

383, 601n29

Claim
  • Do LDS dismiss the Bible's teachings "whenever they contradict official LDS beliefs?"

Author's source(s)
  • Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 764.
Response
  •  Misrepresentation of source: Elder McConkie wrote simply that "The Church uses the King James Version of the Bible, but acceptance of the Bible is coupled with a reservation that it is true only insofar as translated correctly." Thus, the Bible is scripture, but if the translation or transmission of the text has been corrupted, why ought one to accept it?
  • Latter-day Saints may have a different interpretation of the Bible than the author, or his brand of Christianity. What makes his interpretation valid and another invalid? No two Christian denominations believe in all the same biblical readings.
  • Mormonism and the Bible/Inerrancy
  • Mormonism and the Bible/Textual criticism
  • Bible complete and sufficient?/Sola scriptura

383-4, 601n31

Claim
  • Did LDS leaders repeatedly condemn the Bible?

Author's source(s)
  • Orson Pratt, "The Bible and Tradition, without Further Revelation, an Insufficient Guide," Divine Authenticity fo the Book of Mormon—No. 3," December 1, 1850, 47. Reprinted in Orson Pratt, Orson Pratt's Works, vol. 2.
Response

385

Claim
  • Did the Church present itself as a "Christian organization" only by restricing accurate information about LDS beliefs?

Author's source(s)
  • Author's opinion
Response

385, 601n37-38

Claim
  • Was a "faithful Mormon" excommunicated for "accurately" explaining "Mormon doctrines and history?"
  • Did the Church respond that such information had to be suppressed so that the Church could become more "mainstream" Christian?

Author's source(s)
  • T. LaMar Sleight, letter to Michael Barrett. Quoted in Bill McKeever, "Excommunicated for Publicly Discussing Mormon Doctrine?", Mormonism Researched (Summer 1994), 3.
Response

388

Claim
  • Did Gordon B. Hinckely answer questions about LDS doctrine evasively?

Author's source(s)
  • No source provided.
Response

389, 603n45 (HB)

Claim
  • Gordon B. Hinckley said: "None of you need worry because you read something that was incompletely reported. You need not worry that I do not understand some matters of doctrine. I think I understand them thoroughly."

Author's source(s)
  • Gordon B. Hinckley, October 1997 General Conference Address.
Response

389

Claim
  •  Author's quote: "The masking of Mormonism has continued unabated...Mormonism's smoke-screen of words has served to greatly confuse observers..."

Response

391, n53

Claim
  • Have Latter-day Saints attempted to "infiltrate" Christian churches in order to convert entire congregations?

Author's source(s)
  • Rick Branch, "Mormon Church Infiltrates Christianity," Watchman Expositor, vol. 9, no. 3, 7.
Response

393-400 - Is the LDS Church really a "cult"?

The author(s) of One Nation Under Gods make(s) the following claim:

Is the LDS Church really a "cult"?

Author's sources: Various

FAIR's Response

Question: Is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a "cult"?

Modern Definitions

An anti-Mormon protester at Temple Square during the April 2003 LDS General Conference.

Dictionary.com defines cult as:

- a particular system of religious worship, especially with reference to its rites and ceremonies.

- an instance of great veneration of a person, ideal, or thing, especially as manifested by a body of admirers: the object of such devotion.

- a group or sect bound together by veneration of the same thing, person, ideal, etc. [21]

By modern definitions, the term cult encompasses a group of people sharing the same belief, as well as that of worship; or forms of ceremony. In the past, the word cult held a derogatory connotation by common language speakers. Thus, because the Jews revere Moses, Lutherans revere Martin Luther, Seventh-day Adventists are devoted to the teachings of Ellen G. White, and Christians revere Jesus Christ, all these groups could be considered "cults" by this definition. However, it would seem that even historical usage of the word may have been incorrect.

Historical Usage

An anti-Mormon protester at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The word “cult” as some speakers have used the term with reference to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (aka “Mormons”) may be understood as more of an opinionated label implying a dislike, misunderstanding, or disagreement with particular religious practices or ideas.

For example, when early Christians were unpopular, uncommon, and powerless they too were labeled as a cult. However, when they later came into common practice and acceptance, they in turn began applying the same label in return to religions with whom they disagreed.

The advantage of common speakers or those opposed to a particular religious sect or idea using the term "cult", is that it tends to have a negative connotation. When the general public hears the term "cult," they do not simply think, "religious group devoted to some person or ideal." Nor, usually, do they think, "religion that has deviated from the beliefs of a parent religion." To many, a "cult" implies a fanatical, probably dangerous, religious group—and it is this image which critics seek to exploit. This is primarily because The term cult as it is sometimes used, often suggests extreme beliefs and bizarre behavior.

Conclusion

By definition, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a “cult” because it is a specific system of religious worship, especially with reference to its rites and concepts deity and because it is a sect of Christianity devoted to such a system. The same conclusion can be drawn to any other Christian faith as well as many non-Christian ones. Is the Church a “cult” with regards to extreme beliefs and bizarre behavior? As an organizational whole, no. But extremism tends to exist within many facets of belief.

This new Jewish-Christian party in the eyes of the religious leaders of the time was, at the worst, simply regarded as guilty of minuth (cultism), namely, a variety of Jewish heresy, or rather, Jewish sectarianism...early passages in the Talmud still contain hostile references to the minim (cults), among whom were numbered the Jewish Christians... [22]

Pliny, an early Roman leader also said that Christians were a “superstition, a foreign cult,” and this characterization was re-iterated by two more Roman writers, Tacitus, and Suetonius. Tacitus explained the attacks on Christians as being due to their 'cult' status, and also because “of their hatred toward mankind”. Tacitus also said that they were “an enemy to mankind”, and a “deadly superstition”. Suetonius called the Christians a “mischievous superstition” or, in other words, a cult. [23]

Families sometimes worry when a family member shows an interest in the Church. This worry can stem from fear of indoctrination which could lead to extremism. They can be reassured that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints puts a high value on maintaining and strengthening family relationships. The Church will not baptize children or youth under the age of eighteen without their parents' permission.


400 - The author states that LDS leaders will have to "completely sever its ties with Christianity" in order not to be called a "cult" and gain "legitimacy"

The author(s) of One Nation Under Gods make(s) the following claim:

The author states that LDS leaders will have to "completely sever its ties with Christianity" in order not to be called a "cult" and gain "legitimacy."

Author's sources: *Author's opinion.

FAIR's Response

  • The idea that Latter-day Saints will ever disassociate themselves from Christ is an extremely absurd claim.
  • Absurd claims


Notes

  1. ↑ Gordon B. Hinckley, Meeting, Jakarta, Indonesia, 28 January 2000; cited in Liahona (February 2001): 28.
  2. ↑ History of the Church, 5:517. Volume 5 link
  3. ↑ Gordon B. Hinckley, at a meeting in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, 4 August 1998, cited in Liahona (Aug. 1999): 14.
  4. ↑ Gordon B. Hinckley, cited in Sheri L. Dew, Go Forward with Faith: The Biography of Gordon B. Hinckley (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1996), 536, 576.
  5. ↑ Gordon B. Hinckley, "Four Simple Things to Help Our Families and Our Nations," Liahona (June 1996): 3. off-site
  6. ↑ Gordon B. Hinckley, "The Need for Greater Kindness," General Conference address, 1 April 2006. off-site
  7. ↑ Ezra Taft Benson, Conference Report (April 1972), 49.
  8. ↑ Orson F. Whitney, Conference Report (Aprili 1928), 59.
  9. ↑ Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols., (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1954–56), 176–178. (italics in original)
  10. ↑ M. Russell Ballard, "The Hand of Fellowship," Ensign (November 1988): 28. (emphasis added) off-site
  11. ↑ David B. Haight, "Love All," Ensign (November 1982): 10.off-site
  12. ↑ Jeffrey R. Holland, "The Other Prodigal," Ensign (May 2002): 62.off-site
  13. ↑ Neal A Maxwell, A More Excellent Way: Essays on Leadership for Latter-day Saints, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1967), 31.
  14. ↑ Russell M. Nelson, "Listen to Learn," Ensign (May 1991): 22.off-site
  15. ↑ Brigham H. Roberts, Defense of the Faith and the Saints, 2 vols. (1907), 1:512–513. Vol 1 GL direct link Vol 2 GL direct link
  16. ↑ Gordon B. Hinckley, cited in "Crown of Gospel is Upon Our Heads," LDS Church News, (Saturday, 20 June 1998): 7.
  17. ↑ Gordon B. Hinckley, "Be Not Faithless," Ensign (Apr. 1989): 2.;See also “Words of the Prophet: My Testimony of Christ”, New Era, Apr. 2001. (emphasis added)
  18. ↑ This version of the statement is attributed to President Hinckley in the “Search for the Truth” DVD. A screenshot may be viewed here. (emphasis added)
  19. ↑ Gordon B. Hinckley, "We Look to Christ," Ensign (May 2002): 90.off-site
  20. ↑ Gordon B. Hinckley, "What Are People Asking about Us?," Ensign (Nov. 1998): 70. off-site
  21. ↑ https://www.dictionary.com/browse/cult?s=t
  22. ↑ Herbert Danbys, "The Jew and Christianity," p. 8.
  23. ↑ Robert Louis Wilken, The Christians as the Romans Saw Them (Yale University Press; 2nd edition, 2003), 22, 49–50, 66. ISBN 0300098391.
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