I think it's an excellent parsing of the verse and worth the read.
Perhaps the most reviled verse among
non-Mormon Christians in the entire Mormon scriptural canon is Joseph
Smith History 1:19 – the words of Jesus to Joseph Smith at the
beginning of the First Vision regarding why he should not join any
church. This single verse encapsulates the reason why many call
Mormonism arrogant and offensive and blind – and the
misinterpretations of this verse by Mormons themselves only add fuel
to this fire. So, in this post I am breaking out my parser’s pen
and dissecting what Jesus actually said and did not say:
word-by-word, sentence-by-sentence, concept-by-concept. It was a
fascinating endeavor when I first undertook it, and it changed my
perspective on The Restoration greatly.
First, the actual question Joesph asked
(in verse 18) is:
I asked the Personages who stood above
me in the light, which of all the sects was right . . . and which I
should join.
The entire passage (in verse 19) says:
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.
Now, let’s break this down
concept-by-concept and focus on the key words in each concept,
focusing on what the words themselves actually mean AT THEIR MOST
BASIC LEVEL – rather than secondary definitions and other
interpretations that have been postulated (both within and without
the LDS Church):
“I was answered that I (Joseph) must
join none of them,”
Joseph prayed explicitly about the
Protestant sects of his area and which one HE should join. Perhaps
this appears to be a minor point, but I believe it is important to
put the prayer in context. Joseph was working from the core
assumption that he should join a Protestant sect, and, looking back,
it is clear from a faithful Mormon perspective that Joseph had a
specific mission to perform in mortality within Christianity. Other
religions weren’t a part of the equation, at all – and neither
was Catholicism, according to his own writings. I wonder what
response a Buddhist or Hindu or Muslim would get with that exact same
prayer – or if others might have specific missions to perform in
mortality and receive different answers that will help them fulfill
those missions, perhaps like Mother Teresa performing a wonderful
work among the poor of Calcutta that would have been impossible as a
Mormon. I don’t know, but parsing the text leads to interesting
questions like these.
“for they were all wrong;”
At its most basic level, “wrong”
simply means “not right” / “not correct” – or “out of
order; awry; amiss”. Also, like with school tests, it often applies
to answers that contain one or more elements that are not correct –
even when most elements are correct. Thus “wrong” can mean 100%
wrong or 1% wrong – or everything between those extremes. What
“wrong” DOES NOT mean is “bad, evil, terrible, worthy of scorn,
useless, etc.”
“and the Personage who addressed me
said that all their creeds”
A “creed” is “an authoritative,
formulated statement of the chief articles of Christian belief.”
The most common creeds referenced by those discussing this verse are
the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed,
but these creeds essentially were the Catholic Creeds of the early
centuries. The Athanasian Creed had a strong impact on much of the
Protestant theology that existed in Joseph Smith’s time, but there
were other “Protestant creeds” (like the Westminster Confession
of Faith) that rarely are considered in the context of this verse –
and those Protestant creeds are every bit as relevant as the early
Catholic Creeds. (I believe, more so) [The closest thing in Mormonism
to "creeds" are The Articles of Faith.] What “creeds”
DOES NOT mean is “general teachings, statements, beliefs, general
principles, etc.” This means that much of what actually is taught
in other sects is not addressed in this verse, only “their creeds”.
“were an abomination in his sight”
Abomination means “anything greatly
disliked, abhorred or loathed”. It is this word that is most
“abominable, abhorred or loathed” by other Christians. However,
when focused on the “creeds” [particularly in statements like the
Westminster Confession], it is much easier to understand. Just a few
examples are: hardcore Calvinist pre-destination that eliminates
agency in all practical ways, the complete elimination of the Father
as a separate being from Jesus, the incorporeal nature of God that
led to a real and harmful loathing of the body and all things
physical, the loss of all concept of eternal progression and
exaltation, etc. There are more examples of creeds that truly would
be abominable when viewed by Jesus ["in his sight"]. What
this DOES NOT say is that everything taught by the other sects was an
abomination. It leaves the door wide open for truth and beauty and
goodness to be taught.
[Just as an aside, I find it
fascinating to watch mainstream Protestantism move inexorably away
from many of these creeds that were so strongly taught in Joseph's
day toward what is taught in Mormonism - and the natural tendency of
some Mormons to want creedal certainty.]
“that THOSE professors”
“Professors” means “those who
profess” – nothing more and nothing less. “Profess” means
“claim, allege, purport, avow” – and there is a strong
association with making claims as part of a “profession” from a
position of authority. The critical distinction in this verse,
however, is that “professors” is tied directly to the “creeds”
– NOT even implicitly to other teachings that are not creedal. What
this means is that “those professors” DOES NOT mean ALL
“ministers, preachers, pastors, priests, members, believers, etc.”
Rather, it means anyone who “professes those creeds” – who
teaches the creeds from a position of authority – who teaches
things that are abominations in Jesus’ sight – who teaches them
as “creeds” [as unalterable, immutable, unquestionable]. It
places as much weight on the intractability of the profession as it
does on what is being professed – meaning it focuses on those who
are closed to continuing revelation and stuck on abominable creeds of
the past.
[In a very real way, but not exactly
analogous due to not being "creeds", it is like those who
continue to espouse views from past Mormon leaders that have been
abandoned or refuted by current leaders - like the justifications for
the Priesthood ban that were repudiated by Elder McConkie shortly
after the 1978 revelation lifting the ban or the continued practice
of polygamy in the 21st Century.]
“were all corrupt;”
At its most basic level, corrupt simply
means “tainted; not pure”. If someone professes abominable
creeds, those creeds inevitably will taint those who profess them. To
me, this is perhaps the most logical assertion of all the statements
in this verse. What this DOES NOT say is that these people are “evil,
bad, insincere, conniving, manipulative, worthy of scorn, etc.” It
actually says nothing about their motivation or desires; it only
addresses the inherent stain of abominable creeds.
“that:”
The following statements are the only
ones that are attributed as a quote directly to Jesus – rather than
Joseph’s summary in the first part of the verse.
“they draw near to me with their
lips,”
“They” refers back to the
“professors of the creeds”, who speak of Jesus. There is no other
implication and no insult, condemnation or criticism inherent in this
phrase.
“but their hearts are far from me,”
This is a painful statement for many,
but “heart” in this case does not mean the actual physical organ
– and it does not have to mean “intent or desire”. The “heart”
in this context is defined as the “vital or essential part” of
something – what lies at the very core. In other words, the
“essential part” of the “professors of the creeds” is far
from Jesus. For example, the essential parts of the creeds melds
Jesus into the Father, prays to Jesus (instead of to the Father in
the name of the Son), refuses to accept His oft-repeated request to
show their love through their acceptance of His commandments (“by
their fruits”) and rejects individual agency and will by preaching
predestination, etc. In summary, they use and preach his name but
don’t promulgate his teachings. What this DOES NOT say is that ALL
Christians fit this description. It is pointed ONLY at those who
profess the creeds, and it is pointed only at their “hearts”
[what they believe deep down as bedrock doctrine], not their lips
[much of what they say and teach].
“they teach for doctrines the
commandments of men,”
This phrase equates those who profess
the creeds with those who substitute human commands for doctrine. It
DOES NOT apply to regular members of other sects, at all – OR to
ministers, preachers, pastors or priests who teach doctrine from the
scriptures themselves and don’t preach the creeds.
“having a form of godliness,”
“Form” means “structure,
appearance, shape, etc.” Thus, those who profess the creeds teach
something that is shaped like and appears to be godly.
“but they deny the power thereof.”
This is the clinching argument against
the creeds – that they reject the power of godliness. That phrase
alone deserves its own post, but suffice it to say here that the
creed professors are not accused of denying Jesus; rather, they are
accused of denying His power – what He, through his Atonement, is
capable of doing. They are accused of claiming that He can’t do
what He has said He will do, which is the most basic abomination of
all.
In summary, JSH 1:19 is a direct attack
on the creeds of Joseph’s day (more so the newer Protestant ones
than the older Catholic ones), defining the primary reason why he was
told not to join any of them as being their profession of those
creeds. The only people who are mentioned directly in any way are
those who profess those creeds, and even these people are only
described in terms of their acceptance of those creeds by which they
are tainted. It says absolutely nothing about anyone or anything
else, and it says nothing about the salvation of even the professors
whose creeds it condemns.
At the most basic level, this verse has
one message and only one message:
“The Protestant CREEDS are an
abomination, and they taint all those who profess them.”
That certainly is harsh to those who
profess the creeds, but it also says much, much, less than too many
Mormons (and others) assume.
