In 2004, Davis Bitton (former Assistant Church Historian, former president of the Mormon History Association, former University of Utah history professor) gave a presentation at the FairMormon Conference called “I Don’t Have a Testimony of the History of the Church.” It is a good talk with some excellent points – it is from the apologist perspective but it’s well worth reading.
From this talk:
“A number of years ago, I was asked
to speak to a combined priesthood group in the Federal Heights Ward. At the
conclusion of my remarks, someone asked the following question: ‘What effect
has your extensive study of Church history had on your testimony?’ I wasn’t
really prepared for the question. The first words out of my mouth were: ‘I
never had a testimony of Church history. My testimony is in the gospel of Jesus
Christ.’”
I feel the same way as Professor Bitton although I’d say it this
way: I have a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That testimony is not just based upon study
but upon spiritual and temporal experiences that have changed me fundamentally –
I am no longer the man I was. I have
entered a path, through the birth of the Spirit which is the gate, that leads
to knowing Christ with a surety in this life.
I am seeking to navigate that path – to come unto Christ, who waits at
the end of this road (incidentally, I suspect He also walks the path in disguise
to help us along the way). However, I
don’t have a testimony of the history of the Church. Don’t get me wrong – I believe strongly that
Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. The Book
of Mormon which he translated, and many of the revelations he received have been
the key catalysts in my experiencing the birth of the Spirit. The “fruit” I’ve received from Joseph Smith
has been sweet.
Lectures on Faith 2:56 says:
“We have now
clearly set forth how it is, and how it was, that God became an object of faith
for rational beings; and also, upon what foundation the testimony was based,
which excited the enquiry and diligent search of the ancient saints, to seek
after and obtain a knowledge of the glory of God: and we have seen that it was
human testimony, and human testimony only, that excited this enquiry, in the
first instance in their minds—it was the credence they gave to the testimony of
their fathers—this testimony having aroused their minds to enquire after the
knowledge of God, the enquiry frequently terminated, indeed, always terminated,
when rightly pursued, in the most glorious discoveries, and eternal certainty.”
In addition to
the testimonies I have received from the “ancient saints” in the Bible, I have
the “human testimonies” contained in the Book of Mormon plus the testimony of Joseph
Smith which has excited my desire to inquire into, seek after and obtain a
knowledge of the glory of God for myself.
The doctrines taught in the Book of Mormon and by Joseph Smith are
proven true if they terminate in the most glorious discoveries and
eternal certainty, if I rightly pursue them.
So far, they have proven true in my life – I have followed the doctrine
taught and experienced a mighty change of heart – I have been born again. And if laying my whole soul on the Lord’s Altar
resulted in entering the Gate, I have anecdotal proof that the Book of Mormon
is true, as these doctrines are taught in plainness there. And if the Gate which leads to the path is
true – and it is, then that gives me hope that if I endure to the end of the
path, I will come unto Christ in this
life and know Him with a surety and be redeemed, as taught in 3 Nephi 11, 2 Nephi
32 and Ether 3. There is no more
glorious a discovery than the person of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself and no
promise of eternal life more certain than one that comes from His lips to
you.
This is where I
spend my time and focus in this life – on seeking the Lord Jesus Christ. In the past I have studied quite a bit of
Church history. At first, I found it
faith promoting (and pride inducing…), but at a certain point it became faith
destroying. I had to really learn to
sift the wheat from the tares, because previously it had been hard to tell the
difference and I’d assumed that if it came from what I thought was one plant,
it should all be wheat. The realization
that someone had sown tares among the wheat was a shock and made me bitter for
quite a while – I felt betrayed by the Church whose history was not as I’d been
led to believe by them. However, because
I’d already experienced the birth of the Spirit – IT DID NOT SHAKE MY TESTIMONY
IN THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST or in the human testimonies of those that had guided
me to that experience, including the Prophet Joseph Smith. I KNOW that the Lord lives and has the power
to fundamentally change hearts, because He’s changed mine – and that was after
years of trying and failing to change my own.
There are
issues with the history of the Church.
For some aspects, I don’t know what to believe. There is a lack of access to primary,
contemporary sources without which you can’t be sure of the truth, some may no
longer exist or perhaps never did – and there are ulterior motives which seem
to justify “lying for the Lord” among even the most senior Church leaders over
the course of the whole history of the Church.
This has created some small stir and division amongst the people, some apologists
crying “Lo, here!” and other apostates, “Lo, there!” What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are
they all wrong together? How shall we
know it?
I am not
advocating for ignoring Church history – I think it’s vitally important to
understand that there are tares among the wheat so that you can identify the
difference and only keep the wheat. But
there are others who know much more about these things than I do and I would
commend you to them – as well as to primary sources like the Joseph Smith
Papers. Sadly, some of these people have
been excommunicated now from the Church for pointing out the issues – but that
doesn’t make the issues any more real. For
me, these actions by leadership are another proof point along the road the Lord
prophesied about in 3 Nephi 16, 20-21 – that the Gentile Church WILL reject the
Fullness of the Gospel of Christ, if it hasn’t already.
So, how shall
we know the truth? We must go to the
source – go to God in mighty prayer. We
must truly study the scriptures and revelations we’ve been given so that we can
connect with God in this life. We must
enter the Gate via the baptism of fire and navigate the Lord’s wilderness until
He manifests Himself to us in the flesh – and then we must push on, valiant in
the Testimony of Jesus, doing the things which He shall say unto us that we should
do. Among these will likely be to
proclaim the truth of what we’ve experienced to others, so that they can have a
“human testimony” to arouse their minds to enquire after the knowledge of God
for themselves.
With that in
mind, rather than following the Church's Church History/D&C lesson plan for Come Follow Me, I will focus the Gramarye blog in 2021 on the doctrine of Christ
contained in the revelations and teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. I have identified 24 sections of the Doctrine
and Covenants which I will combine into 14 posts. Following those, I will publish 6 posts on
the Lectures on Faith (which was canonized as scripture in the D&C during the entire life of Joseph Smith) and 4 posts from various chapters in the book Teachings of the Prophet
Joseph Smith. Altogether, that adds up
to only 24 posts for the year, so I’ve decided to publish each “Questions” post
and leave it up for a week before publishing thoughts on the answers. My hope is that the Questions will promote more
of a conversation with God than a debate with me – and a discussion with Him about saving doctrines is the only conversation that is really
important anyway.
