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Show I might oome to know and undel'8tond tha tea.bings Reorganized LattaI' Da1 Saint. Church. snd doctrine. o the The next and last point whioh yo. bl'ought out 111 yOUI' lettel', and again I quote, "Don't oreate doctrines tor UI again.t our will." Thi. 1. a vary 1noonBiatent-objiOtion in the 11ght o the history oonoern1ag th1. dootrine,tor it .s. oreated by Joseph Smith and praotioed 111 the ohuroh beol'e hi. death--the ohuroh o whioh yO\1 .ey you are the tNe I will admit lt 1. a oreated and talae dootrine, but I .uooe.sor.. It waa oreated lor you---y;y meaders ot the oDurob. did not oreate ll. W5Ion-pr you. We til1d President Joseph Smith .peaking 011 thl. .ubjeot to· the CoD1'erence ot 1841 (Ti ... and 8e8..OI18, .01W118 2, pege 388). In the Church History, volume 2, page 552, we find that on lIOT.mber 21 ot that .sme year the tirat baptisms tor the dead in the In the 11ght ot the facta presented w. ha.e font wera administered. onl7 to admit that baptis. tor the dead i. a fal •• re.elation. Thi. and 1. the ignt way ot getting rid ot it. orot tell. "', "POI' atter this ot 11te, whioh The 18 given U8 to prepare or etern1ty71iello!d,' rrwe---ao not-riiiProv. OUI' ti .. while in thi8 11te, then oometh the night ot darkness, wherein there oan be no laltor ye 0 anDot 8 q thi.; tor that w'EIotra:O'tn posseas your bodies the .!:!!!!. Z! .&2 .m!! aeae have will or-[. powerto poues8 yOUl" Do ., that 8SlWil Iii tIii'E 'itiinaI""'iOrI(t';T( age 31s 230 " 2). Abo on page 448a 44-48, Wi ••e that all our-ipirlta return to God at death and are ••• igned or oast out into outer darmesa. and THUS THEY RlUIAIJ to juS! perTo'riieT.:'":"':':'1tii"; dRiU) pElr1l paradis. uatil the re.urrection. Fage 85 te1l8 U8 they are to repent WRILE III TO FLESH. ._, God help U. to oast ott oar shaokles and fal.. doctrines whioh have ett.red u. tro. being tree in Christ. 1s pr8Jer. Sinoer·D THE REORGANIZED CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI THE FIRST PRESIDENCY 14, 1955 Maroh Mrs. Pauline Hanoook, 500 North Union Street Independenoe, Missouri Dear Madam: it I do not believe is neoessary for me to deal with all the oiroumstanoes letter, in order to make plain my interpretation of the situation I will ohuroh (our ohuroh) with regard to Seotions 109 and 110. prefaoe my oomments by stating that the law of the ohuroh from its very inoeption was that all things be done by oommon oonsent, and the pattern was set for us and firmly fixed by the prooedure whiohwas followed by the ohuroh in August, 1835, when the presidenoy, aoting as a committee, presented to the Saored or Solemn Assem bly, as had been asked for, lithe revelations oontaining dootrine.'1 This Solemn Assembly, organized by the various quorums, oonsidered the report of the oommittee, and adopted seotion by seotion the revelations presented by the oommittee, and then all of the seotions were unanimously adopted by that Assembly. set out in your oonfronting the The revelations thus aooepted and approved made up the Dootrine and Covenants in 1835. published In your quotation from Churoh History, volume 4, page 239, referenoe is Hwhioh have been or may be hereafter aooepted by the ohuroh.1I speoifioally made: The whole question hinges on that statement, 'Whioh have been or may be hereafter the ohur oh ," Now, there is no evidenoe"that seotions 109 and 110 aooepted by " w;;r;e:ver "aocep+ed or approved by the ohuroh , I have the his oonsistently or mere fiat. did oreate lative taken the position that Joseph Smith never at any time had the power to fasten on the ohuroh any dootrine of whatsoever kind by That is where the Mormons have erred: insisting that he oould and right dootrine or tenet without the approval of the ohuroh through its legis body. Seotions 109 and 110 were nothing but letters written by Joseph Smith in 1842 published in the and. That we oan not and do not deny, but I ohallenge you to oite any reoord whioh indioates that the ohuroh ever took any speoifio aotion with respeot to them. There is no reoord that they were ever pre A few weeks after the death of Joseph. sented or ever read to the general oonferenoe. Smith, John Taylor got out an edition of the Dootrine and Covenants, and withoat the slightest wrrant published these two letters. That was an unlawful thing to do, After that, when the Reorganization got under way, the under the o1roumstanoes. question not apparently being raised, they were oontinued in editions gotten out by and our ohuroh. |
