Mormonism and the Family Part 1

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And now your host for today's Viewpoint on Mormonism. If you've talked with Latter-day Saints for any amount of time and you have asked the question of them, what is it that you are hoping for after you die? No doubt, if your experience is the same as what I and Eric have experienced in talking with a number of Latter-day Saints on this subject, the answer is probably, I want to be with my family.

That seems to be the answer when asking a Latter-day Saint about their hereafter. There's a reason for that, because that has been taught in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that family is of utmost importance when it comes to the salvation of mankind. In fact, the sixth president of the LDS Church, a man by the name of Joseph F. Smith, had this to say about the importance of family. This is quoting from Teachings of Presence of the Church, Joseph F. Smith, that was published in 1998, page 386. This is what Smith said, I have the glorious promise of the association of my loved ones throughout all eternity.

In obedience to this work in the gospel of Jesus Christ, I shall gather around me my family, my children, my children's children, until they become as numerous as the seed of Abraham, or as countless as the sands upon the seashore. For this is my right and privilege, and the right and privilege of every member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who holds the priesthood and will magnify it in the sight of God. There was one word that you repeated twice in that quotation, Eric, that I find very troubling, and that is when he makes the comment, for this is my right and privilege, and the right and privilege of every member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who holds the priesthood and will magnify it in the sight of God. So it sounds like, from what Joseph F. Smith is saying, is that this isn't an automatic thing, but it's something that Latter-day Saints certainly should have the hope of securing in the next life, even though Joseph F. Smith says, in obedience to this work in the gospel of Jesus Christ. And of course, that would be in the context of what Mormons would call the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, which is not the New Testament gospel, folks.

We cannot overlook that. When a Latter-day Saint refers to the gospel, it's always in the context of this restored gospel that is unique to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Bill, what do you think about that word right? Does a Christian think that he has a right to eternal life because of our belief?

To me, that just kind of sticks out like a sore thumb. And that's exactly what I meant when I made reference to that word that's used twice, the right, as well as the privilege, the right and privilege. I can't imagine any New Testament Christian, if you were to ask them about any benefits they might feel they are going to enjoy in the hereafter, and refer to it as a right or something that they should be given. This tells me that Joseph F. Smith, if he has any concept of the word mercy at all, is obviously defining it very differently than the way we would as Christians. Now, I know Ezra Taft Benson liked to talk about mercy as something that had to be earned.

I've publicly scoffed at that interpretation because it seems to undermine the whole meaning of what mercy is all about. If in fact, according to Titus 3.5, that we are saved by mercy, there is no right involved. We have no rights regarding anything that we receive of God in the next life. It is all based on something that is graciously given to the believer by an act of mercy that is obviously undeserved by the individual. This is why I cannot imagine any born-again believer in the New Testament context of being born again ever saying that they have a right to whatever it is they're hoping for in the next life.

I certainly don't believe that. I have no right to any of this. I don't deserve anything, but God's just punishment. Perhaps that is why you, Eric, and myself, and other New Testament Christians throughout the world, can more appreciate the concept of grace and mercy, because we never will use the word right when it comes to what we hope to gain in the next life.

I think about it like a gift as a birthday or a Christmas gift, and if somebody gives you that present, you don't say, this is my right, you owed it to me somehow, but it is something that's given with no obligation. And I think when I read the word right, if I'm reading Joseph F. Smith correctly, it sounds like an obligation. Bill, another citation comes from the first presidency, James E. Faust, and this is from the ensign May 1997.

It's a conference edition. He said this at General Conference in April of 1997. Page 19, the Savior's supernal gift to mankind gave us the opportunity for eternal life, but eternal life without our loved ones would be bleak. Eternal life without our loved ones would be bleak. Can you imagine, again, any New Testament Christian making such a comment? And I probably should say such a horrible comment, because this statement by James Faust, who by the way died back in 2007.

He was 87 years old when he passed away. Faust's comment sounds very similar to another comment that we have repeated a number of times on this show, and that is one by Jeffrey R. Holland, a Mormon apostle. This comment made by Holland has been shown to probably hundreds of thousands of people who have visited various Mormon temples, because this is part of the video presentation that visitors to an open house see before they enter the actual temple itself. In the video, it started probably around 2005, 2006, somewhere in there, and I went to several different temple open house events in 2019.

It's still being shown. I remember seeing it for the first time when I visited the Rexburg, Idaho temple. That was the first time I ever saw it, and I will never forget my emotion when I heard Holland say this. My mouth was probably hanging wide open, because I just could not believe what I had just heard, even though, no doubt, a number of the Latter-day Saints in the same room probably thought, oh, he loves his family.

What did Holland say? I don't know how to speak about heaven in the traditional, lovely, paradisiacal beauty that we speak of heaven. I wouldn't know how to speak of heaven without my wife, my children. It would, it would not be heaven for me. It would not be heaven for me. Now, why did I have the emotion that I had when I heard Holland say that for the first time when I was visiting the Rexburg, Idaho temple? It made me wonder, where's Jesus in this whole picture?

Now, don't get us wrong, folks. I don't think there is a Christian believer existing who does not want to see loved ones in heaven with them. I certainly do.

Eric, I know you do. Our heart's desire is to see not only our family saved and enjoying the benefits that Christ graciously gives us in his presence in the hereafter, but certainly none of us would say that if our family members were not there, that somehow heaven would not be heaven to us. That honestly, Eric, I think is a blasphemous statement because it really shows me where Jesus is in the mind of a Jeffrey Holland when it comes to the hereafter. But we have to be clear, folks. If you look at LDS eschatology, at the LDS doctrine of what takes place after the judgment, really Jesus plays no role in the hereafter of a faithful Latter-day Saint who has, in their understanding, achieved celestial exaltation.

Let me make my point. Have you ever heard a Latter-day Saint talk about the God of Heavenly Father in relationship to Heavenly Father's hereafter? We never hear them talk about that. I've never had a Latter-day Saint bring that up.

What relationship does Heavenly Father have with the God that produced him, as it would be understood in the doctrine of Mormonism? There's no mention of anything like that, and it's not something that you hear in the course of a conversation. Bill, let me give you another citation. This comes from a member of the first presidency, Dallin H. Oaks.

He said this in 2004 in the Ensign magazine, December 2004, page 51. He said, the fullness of eternal salvation is a family affair. The gospel plan originated in the counsel of an eternal family. It is implemented through our earthly families and has its destiny in our eternal families. So this is why, folks, if you were to ask a Latter-day Saint, what is it that you hope to see or hope to receive or hope to experience in the next life? Their answer is going to be something to do with being with their family.

It shouldn't surprise us, because as we've seen from just the few quotations that we have given here today, this is emphasized by the leadership. You are hoping to be with your family, and you can understand this hope of being with your family, since it is a huge desire upon the hearts of many faithful and sincere Latter-day Saints is a desire, I think, Eric, that can be easily manipulated. And I think the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does just that. They use the desire of being with family as a means of hopefully keeping the member active in the church, which of course means that they are going to be participating in the temple, but they can't even participate in the temple.

Unless they're paying a full tithe. If you're a Latter-day Saint, you and you're faithful to this church and you're faithful to your family, you don't want to be part of the broken chain. You want to be able to be with your family forever. You want your family members to be with you forever.

And so I think you're right. I think the LGS Church uses this concept, this idea of being with families forever as a reason to stay in the church, even if you might be having some doubts. There are some Latter-day Saints we've talked to who have stayed in the church because they still have this idea that even though the church might not be true, maybe there's a chance they're going to be with their family forever. It has a strong pull, and I think the church uses it for their advantage to be able to keep the members faithful and to not leave. In tomorrow's show, we're going to introduce a talk that was given by LDS President Henry B. Eyring.

He's the second counselor in the first presidency under Russell M. Nelson. You're going to see why we feel that Eyring's talk certainly connects the dots with what we have just said and how the church manipulates its members by using this concept of eternal families. Thank you for listening. If you would like more information regarding Mormonism Research Ministry, we encourage you to visit our website at www.mrm.org where you can request our free newsletter, Mormonism Researched. We hope you will join us again as we look at another viewpoint on Mormonism.