This is written to explain my understanding of Truth and Revelation to a non-LDS audience, somewhat as an introduction to some questions I’ve been asked to answer.
Introduction
LDS (Mormon) theology, doctrine and folk practice/culture take very different, well, divergent, approaches to the concept of truth and knowledge. It is a reason for the old joke that Catholics teach papal infallibility but do not believe in it while Mormons teach that their prophets make mistakes, but don’t believe that.
The two founding leaders (Joseph Smith and Brigham Young) preached a large number of sermons on how what God could communicate to us was limited by our language. They used “language” in the broad, Sapir-Worf sense that includes context, history and milieu – that what you can understand is limited by what you know – you are constrained by the words, concepts and experiences you have had.
As a result both taught that members of the Church needed to seek out knowledge from outside the church and from outside their own culture and bring that knowledge back.
What about revelation and logic?
Both also saw revelation and knowledge as something that is refined on reflection – much as the LDS classic core revelation of the iron rod/tree of life expands as it is experienced by Nephi after reflecting on what Lehi had revealed to him.
In addition, they both thought and preached that God should not have to tell us everything – we should make real efforts to figure things out on our own. From an internal perspective, often the things they figured out were wrong.
For example, the Mormon trademark Word of Wisdom (abstaining from alcohol, tea, coffee and tobacco) was at the end chain that started with Joseph Smith preaching against the temperance movement and ended when he was asked to pray about it and obtain spiritual confirmation to give his sermons more authority (which is the larger story against the folk tale involving his wife’s complaints about people who failed to use spittoons).
A better example would have to be one of Brigham Young’s more outrageous conclusions where someone asked him if had had a vision or something to support those conclusions. He stated that of course he had not, it was a product of pure reason.
Just how much revelation is involved in revelation?
In the context of “figure it out for yourself” and most revelation being seen as confirmation that you have it right, at least to the extent your understanding allows, there is the general approach that prophets (and others in the hierarchy) are only giving you the will of God when that is clearly expressed, otherwise you are getting their inspired or high quality opinion.
The social and religious issue that comes up in that context is “just how much” do you ignore the hierarchy, given the general belief that they have been called of God to function as a party of a hierarchy. In practice that works out as treating everything as the absolute truth, unless it is inconvenient.
It also leads to a social approach that the other persons “inconvenient” is merely low grade apostasy. After all, everyone knows that God exists to be convenient for us.
Why not just rely on the hierarchy?
One of the more striking sermons I listened to in first person was Spencer W. Kimball (who was the president of the LDS Church for a considerable time) preaching from Brigham Young on how blind belief would lead you straight to hell. Kimball was not quite that direct given his aversion to strong language, but when I started reading Brigham Young on the subject, Young was.
Combined with reading about thirty sermons or sermon excerpts by Joseph Smith on the subject of his own weaknesses, and how he was as fallible as the rest of the Church, it had a striking effect on me.
I started reading the core LDS Scriptures with a different perspective, and was surprised at how often Joseph Smith claimed to receive revelations, the gravamen being (among other things) that he needed to repent along with others. When I hear someone compare themselves to Joseph Smith, how often he stated that God had called him to repent comes to mind.
Other considerations?
There are three other considerations that have shaped my approach.
First, you can not have an organized group, with hierarchy, if no one follows. The issue is empowered supportive following, rather than blind, lemming like following.
Second, reality, spiritual reality, may very well be a quantum state sort of thing. Rather than there being a complete and higher truth (e.g. the blind men and the elephant – vs. the real elephant) reality may be polyvalued (imagine if you had blindfolded people and an elephant, but when you took off the blind fold, you didn’t see the “elephant” but instead the various parts, depending on what angle you used to look).
Third, direction given to an organization is probably like sailing a ship or a flotilla of ships. It is rare for a ship to sail straight at its destination. Instead you adjust for the angle of the wind, the drift of the tides, the curve of the earth and other factors. With a flotilla, you also have to adjust for not where the center of mass goes, but for what effect the direction of the center has on the edges.
Conclusions
The nineth article of faith is:
We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
The thirteenth article of faith is:
We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul-We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.
Taken together that is a far distance from “we believe that God has already revealed all we need to know and we do not need to seek after any more knowledge.”
After all, if God could move the faith from the law of Moses to the law of the gospel as set forth in Acts (where they debated just how much of the Leviticus Cafeteria to retain — and where they pretty much tossed out almost all of it), I see no reason God will not reveal things as dramatically different to our way of thinking. But that will not happen if we are blind, rather than empowered, at least with us as a part of what happens.
Wheat & Tares 
Fantastic posting. I couldn’t agree more.
Excellent post!
We know there is more meat coming. How do you account for the miscellaneous minutiae and a bit more that is revealed today compared to Moses, Christ and Joseph’s paradigm shattering additions to the gospel?
Question for discussion: Does Mormon policy / culture encourage that blindness?
It just struck me that sometimes we’re like the other religions who get so uptight about the Book of Mormon and cite scriptures to back themselves up (about not adding to the word). I like your point because it gives me hope that more will be revealed regarding homosexuality……or exaltation…..perhaps God isn’t into exclusion as much as we like to think He is.
I have a lot of respect for the Catholic faith having been raised Catholic and having 12 years of Catholic schooling. I’m now LDS. Stephen, I like how well you have expressed the importance of seeking personal revelation. There are so many decisions in our personal lives of an important nature that we are counseled to seek our own revelation. I do think it is important to sustain leaders in the Church and also to pray to follow their inspired counsel that God confirms for you is true. It is interesting how you express the limits of revelation based on our limits. I guess that is why the scriptures sometimes speak of “truths to great to write down.” I had a friend once who did not like going to basic scripture courses because he said God had revealed so much to him. My revelations have come more in the peace or really appreciating scripture. Yet, I will often hear a talk that I have wrapped my mind around and feel God may have been preparing me with the Holy Spirit. I also received a witness about the truth of the restored Church. When I was deciding to go on a mission, I felt the Holy Spirit more strongly than I ever have in my life so I continued on that path and served a mission.
Tayrn “Does Mormon policy / culture encourage that blindness?” — I think that human culture creates that sort of blindness.
You have twin forces — one is to have a unity and leadership that is followed. The other is to just disregard everything.
Getting empowered followers requires more work from them — and everyone has too much work just about everywhere.
As a result, people attack the Church or follow what they think is the word they have from the Church, generally without the level of recognition and empowerment that they really need to have to have a fuller life experience.
Barb and Annegb — thank you for your thoughts and perspectives.
Howard — there are always seasons of shattering and seasons of binding together. I think we are in one of binding together now.
Joshua, thank you for your comment.
Stephen,
Great Prophets seem to be called and trained by God Himself. How do you envision moving into a shattering season given the seniority system of ordaining and sustaining binding prophets?
Jerimiah and Elias are the two models to look at first, then Samuel.
I’ve been thinking a good deal on reflexive truth as well. I need to work out my thoughts on that.
Jeremiah was called from outside the power structure, Elias was the culmination or high point of the “school of the prophets approach.”
Samuel was called from within, but was outside (as he was not the son, and thus not the successor).
Terrific post! Very well put. This is clearly a strong distinction between the LDS and evangelicals / other Biblical inerrantists, but one we sometimes forget in the dialogue that exists between the two.
Thanks Stephen. The seniority system produces caretaker prophets and a steady course. While steady sounds desirable it approaches stationary when it comes to enlightenment, it creates celebrity and enshrines an institution that seems unlikely to embrace the next shattering season. Will the future divine enlightenment of humankind bypass the LDS church or will they find themselves coming from behind as they did with civil rights and the priesthood ban? The parable of the ten virgins comes to mind I hope I’m wrong but so did rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic!