What Sets Us Apart

ARE LATTER-DAY SAINTS CHRISTIAN?

BYU Professor Todd Parker has said, first by reading 3^rd Nephi 29:4-6:

4. And when ye shall see these sayings coming forth among you, then ye need not any longer spurn at the doings of the Lord, for the sword of his justice is in his right hand; and behold, at that day, if ye shall spurn at his doings he will cause that it shall soon overtake you.

5. Wo unto him that spurneth at the doings of the Lord; yea, wo unto him that shall deny the Christ and his works!

6. Yea, wo unto him that shall deny the revelations of the Lord, and that shall say the Lord no longer worketh by revelation, or by prophecy, or by gifts, or by tongues, or by healings, or by the power of the Holy Ghost!

“’When ye shall see these sayings come forth among you,’ he’s talking, that is, Mormon’s talking, (see 3^rd Nephi 28:24) about the Book of Mormon coming forth among you, he’s talking about our day.  There are some critics of the Church who will label us non-Christian because we don’t believe in traditional definitions or traditional ways of doing things.  When they ask why we don’t, we answer because it’s been revealed.

What sets us apart from the world is revelation and that’s where they are critical.  That used to bother me until it dawned on me one day that Jesus had the same problem in His day.  Jesus would say, ‘the Law of Moses says this, but I say…  They would answer back, ‘But you can’t because the Law of Moses says this.’  So we will say ‘the Bible says this but latter-day revelation says’…and they say, ‘you can’t do that.’  So I think we are in a pretty good camp, we are right with the Savior. 

What do they say to us? ‘You are not Christian.’  What were they saying to Him?  ‘You are not the Son of God.’  But He was the Son of God and we are Christian and this is His Church and I think that is exactly what Mormon was talking about (in the above verses).