In today’s teaching (11.09.08), I recommended that you end your conversation with those who adhere to the teachings of Mormonism with a “Gospel ultimatum.” The “ultimatum” is simply this: “Please realize that one of us is wrong.” I have found that this helps treat the overall discussion as something that is critical and weighty. When the truth of the Gospel is on the line, we must remember that the the souls of those individuals engaged in the conversation are on the line. Could there be a bigger deal?
It is here that the LDS (Latter-Day Saints) help us out by clearly indicating that they believe we are wrong and that they are the only true Church on the face of the earth. In a day and age of wishy-washy, “be careful not to offend anyone” spirituality; I find these statements almost refreshing.
LDS President and Prophet Spencer W. Kimball said:
This is the only true church.… This is not a church. This is the Church of Jesus Christ. There are churches of men all over the land and they have great cathedrals, synagogues, and other houses of worship.… (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, [President] Spencer W. Kimball, 1982, p. 421)
LDS President and Prophet Ezra Taft Benson said:
This is not just another Church. This is not just one of a family of Christian churches. This is the Church and kingdom of God, the only true Church upon the face of the earth, according to the Lord’s own words (see Doctrine and Covenants 1:30). His Church—it bears His name and it is directed under the authority of His priesthood … is a message that will save and exalt the souls of the children of men. There is no other way, because this is the only true message and the only true church upon the face of the whole earth. Those are not my words; they are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ as found in the revelations. (D&C 1) This gospel in its purity, now restored to the earth.… (Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, 1988, pp. 164–65, 177)
God allegedly told, Founder and Prophet, Joseph Smith in 1820 that no other churches were right.
My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right (for at this time it had never entered into my heart that all were wrong)—and which I should join. I was answered 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.” … I then said to my mother, “I have learned for myself that Presbyterianism is not true.”
(Joseph Smith—History 1:18–20, in Pearl of Great Price).
God allegedly said that Mormonism is the only true and living church on the face of the earth.
And also those [Joseph Smith and others] to whom these commandments were given, might have power to lay the foundation of this church, and to bring it forth out of obscurity and out of darkness, the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which I, the Lord, am well pleased …
(1831 [date of the alleged revelation], Doctrine and Covenants 1:30).
“Please realize that one of us is wrong.”
Wow. This really stopped me in my tracks. Quite a bomb shell to drop in any conversation. Much more comfortable and politically correct to express that at least we’re both earnest. Or that we at least serve the same God in the end. Or that we are all sincere in our beliefs, and that maybe we shouldn’t be quite so polarizing and confrontational. I still prefer to be viewed as kind and tolerant rather than polarizing and confrontational. Yet Jesus was not exactly tolerant or politically correct.
If I dig deeper, it boils down to one thing for me: a love for the Truth. An unwillingness to remain in any comfort zone that conflicts with Truth. A belief that Truth is absolute, despite my limited comprehension. A relentless pursuit of Truth.
And that makes me wonder how much “openness” I retain (despite confessing that I always keep an open mind). Why do I feel so certain that I can see the truth, and that a person with a different belief system cannot (and I must confess, I do)? One of us is indeed wrong. But if we both firmly hold the secret conviction that it is the other one who is wrong, what does that mean for our conversation, or for that matter, the pursuit of Truth?
I’d recommend modifying the ultimatum to read, “Either you’re right and I’m wrong, or I’m right and you’re wrong, or maybe we’re both wrong… but there’s no way we can both be right.”
At the core of it is the idea that the world really is a certain way. We are either in alignment with reality or not: as you say, Sandra (with apologies to Bill S.), “the truth’s the thing.”
Sandra, to your question about what all this means for our polarized conversations, the trick is to maneuver the discussion to a question of truth (and that’s what the ultimatum does). Like Dan said, you can always toss out an olive branch like “I have no interest in being wrong…”
I’ve used that line to great effect in the past; usually it goes something like, “Whaddya think, I just made these ideas up? I think this way because I believe it’s true and because I have good reasons for thinking that. Now — if I’m wrong, well, shoot, I have no interest in being wrong, so let’s find and fix the flaws…”
(Check out Paul’s version of this tactic in 1 Corinthians 15; he did a better job than I.)
I agree, Hugh. I’m more comfortable with the statement, “we can’t both be right”.