Chapter 5: Doctrine
Truth is one: Error is multiple.
“Truth is one: Error is multiple” - Frédéric Bastiat
Before I go into the study topics, I must first make an aside concerning doctrine. I get rather tired of common excuses people give when I point out issues with the Church. One of the most common excuses goes something like, “Oh you’re just getting caught up on policy and missing the doctrine.” Simply put, I don’t care about the endless debate of policy vs doctrine. Let me explain why.
What is doctrine and why is it important? Can doctrine change? What does it mean if doctrine changes? How can we know what is doctrine and what isn’t? It is easy to get confused when trying to define “doctrine” in the context of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. If asked, most members of the church would be quick to define “doctrine” and could even give several examples. However, the confusion arises when one person’s definition is different from another’s. More confusion arises when what is considered doctrine today contradicts what was doctrine yesterday. This chapter is an attempt to define what doctrine meant to the church originally and how it has changed today. More importantly, I will try to make the case that the definition of “doctrine” is somewhat irrelevant and what most people mean when they say “doctrine” is really “truth”.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints claims to be God’s one true Church. The entire point of the LDS church is that it was restored by a prophet of God after that prophet went searching for the truth. The church had to be restored because all other churches had fallen into error after Christ established the church originally during his ministry. That prophet was Joseph Smith and in his own words this is how he describes the impetus behind the creation of the church in his history.1
“so great were the confusion and strife among the different denominations, that it was impossible for a person young as I was, and so unacquainted with men and things, to come to any certain conclusion who was right and who was wrong. My mind at times was greatly excited, the cry and tumult were so great and incessant. The Presbyterians were most decided against the Baptists and Methodists, and used all the powers of both reason and sophistry to prove their errors, or, at least, to make the people think they were in error. On the other hand, the Baptists and Methodists in their turn were equally zealous in endeavoring to establish their own tenets and disprove all others. In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often said to myself: What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?”
After reading the bible, Joseph decides that the best way to find the truth is to ask God directly. He does this in a prayer and is visited by God and Jesus who directly answer his question of “which of all the sects was right“ and which he should join. Joseph says that Jesus gave him the direct answer “that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: ‘they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.’“
This supposedly is the beginning of Joseph receiving truth from God, Christ, angels, and ancient scriptures with the express purpose of bringing truth again to the earth. From this short recount of Joseph’s history, it is easy to see that his primary concern was to know the truth. He is told by Jesus that the churches in existence at the time did not have the truth. (Note that Joseph uses the word “sect” where I am using the word “church”. In both cases, we are talking about a religious organization that can be distinguished against other religious organizations.) In the excerpts I’ve quoted here, Joseph describes the teachings of the other sects as “tenets”, “opinions”, and “creeds”. Christ himself, as quoted by Joseph, then sum’s up the situation by saying the sects “teach for doctrines the commandments of men“. Here Christ himself is quoted as making a distinction between teachings and doctrine. It should also be noticed that Christ uses the phrase “commandments of men” as a synonym to “tenets”, “opinions”, and “creeds”. By putting the word “for” in front of “doctrines”, Christ appears to be making a distinction between “doctrine” and these other words. Doctrine is more than just “tenets”, “opinions”, or “creeds”.
Taking the Joseph Smith history as it is, we have no option but to assume Joseph meant what he said. And when he quotes Christ as saying something, we must take him at his word that it is in fact a quote. We can also assume that if Christ is talking to Joseph, then he would use language that Joseph is familiar with and can understand. Christ would have used the word “doctrine” as Joseph would have understood it. The Joseph Smith History was written in 1838 and describes events that happened around 1819 when Joseph was 14 years old. The first edition of Webster’s dictionary was published in 1828 in New England very close to where Joseph was growing up. So Webster’s dictionary is a great resource for understanding the language Joseph would be familiar with.
Webster defines doctrine as2:
“DOCTRINE, noun [Latin , to teach.]
1. In a general sense, whatever is taught. Hence, a principle or position in any science; whatever is laid down as true by an instructor or master. The doctrines of the gospel are the principles or truths taught by Christ and his apostles. The doctrines of Plato are the principles which he taught. Hence a doctrine may be true or false; it may be a mere tenet or opinion.
2. The act of teaching.
He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in his doctrine Mark 4:2.
3. Learning; knowledge.
Whom shall he make to understand doctrine? Isaiah 28:9.
4. The truths of the gospel in general.
That they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. Titus 2:1.
5. Instruction and confirmation in the truths of the gospel. 2 Timothy 3:10.”
There are several items of note in this definition. Doctrine is generally defined as anything that is taught. A doctrine can be either false or true. The words “tenet” and “opinion” are used as synonyms to false doctrine just like in the Joseph Smith History. But more specifically, and in the context of religion, doctrine is defined as the “principles or truths taught by Christ and his apostles” and “the truths of the gospel in general” and finally “instruction and confirmation in the truths of the gospel”. The phrase from this definition that I think sums it up and does the best job of defining doctrine is “whatever is laid down as true by an instructor or master”. The key word throughout this definition is “true”. Doctrine is truth in the context of religion. False religious doctrine is better referred to as “tenets”, “opinions”, or “creeds”.
To summarize, I think Joseph uses the word “doctrine” as a synonym for “truth”. With this understanding, Christ’s quote could be rewritten to say “they teach for [truth] the commandments of men”. Or paraphrased in my own words, “they teach mere opinions of men as if they were truth”.
Why does it matter? Because if doctrine = truth, then understanding what doctrine is allows us to know the truth. It is the same problem Joseph was experiencing all the way back in 1819. Apparently, knowing the truth is so important that God and Jesus are willing to visit 14 year old boys to help them differentiate what is false from what is true. It was just as easy then for churches, religions, and sects to get the doctrine wrong as it is for us today to misunderstand the “principles or truths taught by Christ”.
The LDS church is no exception. It isn’t any easier to determine truth in the LDS church than any other church. Back in 2007, the LDS church attempted to clear up the confusion by issuing a news brief3. The brief states, “Much misunderstanding about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints revolves around its doctrine.” Yes, from both those in and outside of the church.
Well, if the doctrine of the Church is so confusing, how about we stop nit-picking over what is doctrine and what isn’t and instead just focus on what is true and what is false. As I perform my studies of the Church, I’m not concerned with doctrine as much as I am with truth. I don’t read a book, or conference talk, or statement by a prophet to learn the doctrine. Rather I study these things to learn the truth. Going back to Plato’s analogy of the Cave, it doesn’t matter what the shadows on the wall represent. It doesn’t even matter what the puppets are, what the puppeteers are trying to communicate, or how the firelight and puppets work together to cast the shadows. The only thing that matters is the truth that exists outside the cave and the cave’s artificial reality. If the shadows and puppets help one understand the truth outside of the cave, then that is great, but never confuse the shadow and puppets for the real thing.
1 https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/js-h/1?lang=eng
2 https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/doctrine
3 http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/approaching-mormon-doctrine