What is "Official" Mormon Doctrine?

Written by John Divito

What do Mormons believe? Many individuals (both within and outside the LDS church) have attempted to answer this question. Nevertheless, given the nature of continuing revelation in Mormonism as well as the relative authority of various LDS materials, one must begin by grappling with the issue of "official" beliefs. What does the LDS church officially believe and teach?

The Problem

Mormonism Unmasked

Robert Millet is a professor at Brigham Young University who has recently written a book to share with evangelicals and others what Latter-day Saints believe about Jesus Christ. Yet even in this work, A Different Jesus? The Christ of the Latter-day Saints, Millet states,

While I owe a deep debt of gratitude to faculty colleagues, ministers and theologians of other faiths, and students who have challenged me to clarify my thinking, I alone am responsible for the conclusions drawn from the evidence cited. This book is a private endeavor and is this without imprimatur or authorization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or Brigham Young University (xii-xiii).

So, Millet admits that the LDS church neither authorizes this book nor does it necessarily summarize official Mormon doctrine.

With this in mind, where can we turn to understand LDS beliefs? Many have found Bruce R. McConkie's Mormon Doctrine helpful. However, one Mormon scholar points out the potential limitations of this work as well:

For two generations, many Latter-day Saints have relied for matters of doctrinal clarification upon an encyclopedic tome called Mormon Doctrine (first printing 1958) as the definitive statement on the subject, because of its authoritative title, tone, and authorship by a prominent apostle, Bruce R. McConkie. But it never received official sanction, and it expresses what an increasing number of Mormons see as an overly rigid fundamentalism (Terryl L. Givens, The Latter-day Saint Experience in America, 94).

Again, we ask to the question: where can we turn? Where can we look to find the teachings of Mormonism? And how can we seek to correctly understand Mormon doctrine so that we can accurately and effectively respond to the claims of Latter-day Saints? Simply put, we need a way to measure the authoritativeness of LDS sources. Since different LDS material has various levels of authority, we need to keep these distinctions in mind while studying Mormonism.

Let's take this "hierarchy of authority" from the top down. In Mormon doctrine, the first level is the most authoritative whereas the bottom level is the least authoritative.

The First Level: Written Scriptures

Mormonism was summarized by Joseph Smith in the Articles of Faith. The eighth Article of Faith states, "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God." Therefore, we see that the Bible is Scripture as well as the Book of Mormon. The LDS church also includes the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price as written Scripture. Here is a little more about them:

The Bible: Most of us should already be familiar with the Bible. Mormons believe that the King James Version of the Old and New Testaments is Scripture (though they believe it to be corrupted and incomplete-note the clause in the 8th article: "as far as it is translated [or transmitted] correctly").
The Book of Mormon: "The Book of Mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible. It is a record of God's dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains, as does the Bible, the fulness of the everlasting gospel" (Introduction to the Book of Mormon).
The Doctrine and Covenants: "The Doctrine and Covenants is a collection of divine revelations and inspired declarations given for the establishment and regulation of the kingdom of God on the earth in the last days. Although most of the sections are directed to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the messages, warnings, and exhortations are for the benefit of all mankind, and contain an invitation to all people everywhere to hear the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ, speaking to them for their temporal well-being and their everlasting salvation" (Explanatory Introduction to the Doctrine and Covenants).
The Pearl of Great Price: "The Pearl of Great Price is a selection of choice materials touching many significant aspects of the faith and doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These items were produced by the Prophet Joseph Smith and were published in the Church periodicals of his day" (Introductory Note to the Pearl of Great Price).

Together, these combine together as the official written Scripture for the LDS church. As such, they are the top level of Latter-day Saint authority. They are foundational to Mormon doctrine, so an individual seeking to understand Mormonism should begin here (at the same time, remember that most distinctive Mormon teaching comes from the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price).

When seeking to understand Mormon doctrine, knowing the written Scriptures of the LDS church is not enough. Mormons have no concept of a closed canon (in fact, they tend to ridicule such an idea). There are other ways in which Latter-day Saint teachings are established.

The Second Level: Official Statements from Presidency

The ninth Article of Faith states, "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." For Mormons, God continues to reveal himself and his ways to them. Fundamentally, this revelation comes through the living prophet and president of the church. Thus, official statements by LDS prophets as well as official statements by the First Presidency are authoritative for Mormons. They should also be consulted when examining Mormon beliefs.

The Third Level: Material from the Presidency and General Conference Statements

Materials that are produced by the First Presidency of the LDS church itself with the intent of teaching church members what they believe should also be considered as accurate and helpful sources of church doctrine. One very important book in this regard is Gospel Principles.

Additionally, statements by general authorities during the church's general conferences carry a lot of weight. Since all church members are supposed to watch these general conferences, and since these conferences provide a platform for LDS church leaders to address members, what these authorities say is often important in the beliefs of Latter-day Saints.

The Fourth Level: Other Statements from General Authorities

Once we get down to the fourth level, the authoritativeness can be relatively low. Nevertheless, the general authorities tend to be highly regarded by church members. With this in mind, what they say and write outside of general conferences can also be influential.

The Fifth Level: Other Writings

Some models do not include a fifth level. Nevertheless, I believe that such a level exists in the lives of many Mormons. While these writings may have no "official" authority within the church, some Mormons may see them as authoritative in some sense. As an example, we have already seen that many Latter-day Saints have looked to McConkie's Mormon Doctrine for a summary of their beliefs. Others draw heavily from contemporary Mormon scholars and apologists. We cannot assume that all Mormons believe what is written at this level, but we can recognize that Mormons often will turn to others in having their beliefs explained and defended.

The Solution

This "hierarchy of authority" provides a strategy for understanding, examining, and critiquing Mormon doctrine. It also allows us to keep various LDS material in perspective. With these levels in mind, I hope that we can accurately discuss, debate, and refute the claims of the LDS church while pointing Mormons to the true Jesus Christ.

(I have based my hierarchy on James R. White, Is the Mormon My Brother? Discerning the Differences Between Mormonism and Christianity, 23-42. To see this kind of model implemented, see Cky Carrigan's PhD dissertation, "An Assessment and Critique of the Distinctive Christology of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons).")

John Divito is a former Mormon who is currently a graduate student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He also volunteers with Mormonism Research Ministry and has been accepted to serve as a missionary with the Centers for Apologetics Research.

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