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Quote mining/Doctrines of Salvation/DoS 1:4:Analysis
Contents |
Quote mining analysis
The quote and its use by the critic(s):
| List | Actual quote | Critical use |
|---|---|---|
* |
GOSPEL AND PRIESTHOOD NEEDED TO SEE GOD. We cannot tie the hands of the Lord. The Father and the Son appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith before the Church was organized and the priesthood restored to the earth. Under those conditions the Lord could appear to one who sought for light as he did in the case of Joseph Smith.
Now that the Church is organized, and the power of the priesthood is here, no one can see the face of God, even the Father, without the blessings of the gospel and the authority of the priesthood. |
The Father and the Son appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith before the Church was organized and the priesthood restored to the earth |
Analysis
- The authors recite the two verses from the 1832 revelation, and then use Joseph Fielding Smith's quote by saying that "[n]ow, it is claimed that 'The Father and the Son appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith before the Church was organized and the priesthood restored to the earth'", implying that the story of the First Vision was fabricated later. The authors claim that Joseph Fielding Smith's statement changed what Joseph Smith stated in his 1832 revelation when he said that one had to have the priesthood to see God.
- One must also wonder why Joseph Smith would state the a man had to have the priesthood to see God in 1832, the same year he began writing his first account of the First Vision, and yet see no contradiction.
- Joseph Fielding Smith is answering this question by explaining why Joseph Smith was able to see the Father and the Son before he received the priesthood—a detail omitted by the authors when they mined the quote.