Joe Spencer speculates about Chapter 45: The Millennium
Joe Spencer claimed yesterday, in a discussion titled "RS/MP Lesson 45: The Millennium (Gospel Principles Manual)," that the previous version of Gospel Principles Chapter 45 contained a lot of speculation. Joe says: "A good bit of such speculation has been purged. Much, in my opinion, remains to be purged." Joe names six "substantial elements of the previous version of this lesson" that were purged, allegedly as speculation. The millennium is a big subject. Just consider the size of Joe's post (5451 words) as compared to the 1978 edition of the chapter (1271 words), or the 2009 version of the chapter (1080 words). There is much more material available than can be covered in four pages of the Gospel Principles manual. Clearly, the focus in 1978 versus 2009 was different, resulting in a different selection of material. But let's be clear about one thing: Chapter 45 does NOT suggest that any Church published teachings of the apostles and prophets are speculative. The manual warns teachers to avoid ideas "not found in the scriptures or the teachings of latter-day prophets." And all six of the ideas Joe names are in fact found in scripture and Church published teachings of the apostles and prophets. It is utterly without merit, therefore, for Joe to suggest that ideas found in the 1978 version of Chapter 45 but not the 2009 version should therefore be seen as speculative or even "wildly speculative."
posted by R. Gary on 11/07/2011 04:38:00 AM
2 Comments:
Care, then, to speculate on why Correlation removed them if in fact they aren't speculative?
Or is something non-speculative simply by nature of being published?
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Anonymous: There is much more legitimate material than can be covered in four pages of the Gospel Principles manual. Clearly, the focus in 1978 versus 2009 was different, resulting in a different selection of available material.
Can you tell me why, after 45 chapters and two years, Joe Spencer suddenly came up with this outlandish theory as to why text was removed from the 1978 edition of Gospel Principles? Have you even read the first four paragraphs of his post?
Let's look at this another way. Two sizable quotations were removed from chapter 39 on chastity: (1) a paragraph from Spencer W. Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness, p.65; and (2) a section about abortion from the General Handbook of Instructions, 30943, pp. 11-14. Why are these two selections not also deemed speculative?
But even if chapter 45 had been the only chapter edited, Joe's speculation theory, as set forth in his post, would still be utterly without merit because there are no Church published sources to support Joe's mockery of the 1978 Correlation committee and the 1978 First Presidency and Twelve who approved their work.
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