Tag Archives: Gordon B. Hinckley

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I Know The Church Is True

Nearly every speaker in a testimony meeting says “I know the church is true.” This is a nonsensical statement, but considering the Illusory Truth Effect we can see what the church may be after. We know that repetitions don’t make statements any more true, but psychologically we do tend to believe things we’ve heard repeatedly. …

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Cherish Your Doubts

This reading for worship, from the Unitarian Universalize Association, emphasizes the value of doubt as an essential and positive element in the pursuit of truth and knowledge. It contrasts doubt with unquestioning belief, arguing that beliefs immune to questioning can lead to error and incompleteness. Doubt, in this context, is portrayed as the key to …

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King: I know that the Church is opposed to gay marriage. HINCKLEY: Yes. KING: Do you have an alternative? Do you like the idea of civil unions? HINCKLEY: Well, we're not anti-gay. We are pro-family. Let me put it that way. And we love these people and try to work with them and help them. We know they have a problem. We want to help them solve that problem. President Gordon B. Hinckley on Larry King Live in 2004 | wasmormon.org
King: I know that the Church is opposed to gay marriage.HINCKLEY: Yes.KING: Do you have an alternative? Do you like the idea of civil unions?HINCKLEY: Well, we're not anti-gay. We are pro-family. Let me put it that way.And we love these people and try to work with them and help them. We know they have a problem. We want to help them solve that problem.President Gordon B. Hinckley on Larry King Live in 2004
Larry King: You are the prophet, right? Does that mean that, according to the church canon, the Lord speaks through you? Hinckley “I think he makes his will manifest, yes.” Larry King: So if you change things, that's done by an edict given to you. How do you receive it? Hinckley: “Yes, sir. Well, various ways. It isn't necessarily a voice heard. Impressions come.” - President Gordon B. Hinckley on Larry King Live in 2004 | wasmormon.org
Larry King: You are the prophet, right? Does that mean that, according to the church canon, the Lord speaks through you? Hinckley “I think he makes his will manifest, yes.” Larry King: So if you change things, that's done by an edict given to you. How do you receive it? Hinckley: “Yes, sir. Well, various ways. It isn't necessarily a voice heard. Impressions come.” - President Gordon B. Hinckley on Larry King Live in 2004
KING: A problem they caused, or they were born with? HINCKLEY: I don't know. I'm not an expert on these things. I don't pretend to be an expert on these things. The fact is, they have a problem. KING: Do you favor some sort of state union? HINCKLEY: Well, we want to be very careful about that, because that - whatever may lead to gay marriage, we're not in favor of. President Gordon B. Hinckley on Larry King Live in 2004 | wasmormon.org
KING: A problem they caused, or they were born with?HINCKLEY: I don't know. I'm not an expert on these things. I don't pretend to be an expert on these things. The fact is, they have a problem.KING: Do you favor some sort of state union?HINCKLEY: Well, we want to be very careful about that, because that - whatever may lead to gay marriage, we're not in favor of.President Gordon B. Hinckley on Larry King Live in 2004
"KING: President Hinckley, though, couldn't He have prevented this? HINCKLEY: Oh, I suppose so. I believe he's all powerful, yes. I don't know His will. I don't know how He operates. His wisdom is greater than mine. He sees beyond what I see." - President and Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley on Larry King Live in 2001 regarding 9/11
"KING: President Hinckley, though, couldn't He have prevented this?HINCKLEY: Oh, I suppose so. I believe he's all powerful, yes. I don't know His will. I don't know how He operates. His wisdom is greater than mine. He sees beyond what I see." - President and Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley on Larry King Live in 2001 regarding 9/11
We have basic cornerstones on which this great latter- day Church has been established by the Lord and built, “fitly framed together.” They are absolutely fundamental to this work—the very foundation, anchors on which it stands... The second cornerstone is the First Vision of the Prophet Joseph Smith... Without it as a foundation stone for our faith and organization, we have nothing... It is an essential foundation stone, a cornerstone, without which the Church could not be “fitly framed together.” - Gordon B. Hinckley regarding the First Vision | wasmormon.org
We have basic cornerstones on which this great latter- day Church has been established by the Lord and built, “fitly framed together.” They are absolutely fundamental to this work—the very foundation, anchors on which it stands... The second cornerstone is the First Vision of the Prophet Joseph Smith... Without it as a foundation stone for our faith and organization, we have nothing... It is an essential foundation stone, a cornerstone, without which the Church could not be “fitly framed together.” - Gordon B. Hinckley regarding the First Vision

Major Victories for Satan

LDS Church leader, Russell Nelson, has for decades wanted to do away with the nickname of the church. It seems to have been a pet peeve of his, and he single-handedly announced a plea to use the full name of the church in 1990 when he was a junior apostle. The next conference, however, President …

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Don’t Say Mormon

Marc Oslund and John Dehlin discussed Russell M. Nelson’s “Victory for Satan” talk on Mormon Stories Episode #1424. They discuss that the blind belief in only the living prophet’s words is unsustainable and Nelson’s war on ‘Mormon‘ has been his own personal pet peeve from the beginning. The message from President Nelson that using the …

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Is this the teaching of the church today, that God the Father was once a man like we are? Hinckley: "I don’t know that we teach it. I don’t know that we emphasize it. I haven’t heard it discussed for a long time in public discourse. I don’t know. I don’t know all the circumstances under which that statement was made. I understand the philosophical background behind it. But I don’t know a lot about it and I don’t know that others know a lot about it." Gordon B Hinckley interview transcript for TIME Magazine article Kingdom Come of August 1997, in context compared to the printed article. | wasmormon.org
Is this the teaching of the church today, that God the Father was once a man like we are? Hinckley: "I don’t know that we teach it. I don’t know that we emphasize it. I haven’t heard it discussed for a long time in public discourse. I don’t know. I don’t know all the circumstances under which that statement was made. I understand the philosophical background behind it. But I don’t know a lot about it and I don’t know that others know a lot about it." Gordon B Hinckley interview transcript for TIME Magazine article Kingdom Come of August 1997, in context compared to the printed article.
"Never before has the Church had a better reputation than it has now... The media have been kind and generous to us. This past year of pioneer celebrations has resulted in very extensive, favorable press coverage. There have been a few things we wish might have been different. I personally have been much quoted, and in a few instances misquoted and misunderstood. I think that’s to be expected. None of you need worry because you read something that was incompletely reported. You need not worry that I do not understand some matters of doctrine. I think I understand them thoroughly, and it is unfortunate that the reporting may not make this clear. I hope you will never look to the public press as the authority on the doctrines of the Church." - President Gordon B. Hinckley, General Conference, October 1997, immediately following the TIME Magazine article quoting him. | wasmormon.org
"Never before has the Church had a better reputation than it has now...The media have been kind and generous to us. This past year of pioneer celebrations has resulted in very extensive, favorable press coverage. There have been a few things we wish might have been different. I personally have been much quoted, and in a few instances misquoted and misunderstood. I think that’s to be expected. None of you need worry because you read something that was incompletely reported. You need not worry that I do not understand some matters of doctrine. I think I understand them thoroughly, and it is unfortunate that the reporting may not make this clear. I hope you will never look to the public press as the authority on the doctrines of the Church." - President Gordon B. Hinckley, General Conference, October 1997, immediately following the TIME Magazine article quoting him.

As Man Now Is, God Once Was; As Now God Is, Man May Be – Lorenzo Snow

Lorenzo Snow coined a couplet that famously explains a complex doctrine of Mormon theology which is closely tied to the idea of eternal progression. It also gets Mormon theology in deep water with most other Christian denominations. It challenges (or changes) the nature of God and our relationship with him as mankind. It proclaims that …

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On whether his church still holds that God the Father was once a man, he sounded uncertain, "I don't know that we teach it. I don't know that we emphasize it... I understand the philosophical background behind it, but I don't know a lot about it, and I don't think others know a lot about it." - President Gordon B. Hinckley Interview TIME Magazine: Mormons, Inc. August 1997, Kingdom Come Article | wasmormon.org
On whether his church still holds that God the Father was once a man, he sounded uncertain, "I don't know that we teach it. I don't know that we emphasize it... I understand the philosophical background behind it, but I don't know a lot about it, and I don't think others know a lot about it." - President Gordon B. Hinckley Interview TIME Magazine: Mormons, Inc. August 1997, Kingdom Come Article
At first, Hinckley seemed to qualify the idea that men could become gods, suggesting that "it's of course an ideal. It's a hope for a wishful thing," but later affirmed that "yes, of course they can." (He added that women could too, "as companions to their husbands. They can't conceive a king without a queen.") On whether his church still holds that God the Father was once a man, he sounded uncertain, "I don't know that we teach it. I don't know that we emphasize it... I understand the philosophical background behind it, but I don't know a lot about it, and I don't think others know a lot about it." - President Gordon B. Hinckley Interview TIME Magazine: Mormons, Inc. August 1997, Kingdom Come Article | wasmormon.org
At first, Hinckley seemed to qualify the idea that men could become gods, suggesting that "it's of course an ideal. It's a hope for a wishful thing," but later affirmed that "yes, of course they can." (He added that women could too, "as companions to their husbands. They can't conceive a king without a queen.") On whether his church still holds that God the Father was once a man, he sounded uncertain, "I don't know that we teach it. I don't know that we emphasize it... I understand the philosophical background behind it, but I don't know a lot about it, and I don't think others know a lot about it." - President Gordon B. Hinckley Interview TIME Magazine: Mormons, Inc. August 1997, Kingdom Come Article

President Gordon B Hinckley Interview with San Francisco Chronicle

Gordon B Hinckley, then church president, was interviewed by Don Lattin on April 13, 1997 for SFGate, the digital home of the San Francisco Chronicle. The interview was in his room at the Santa Clara Marriott Hotel, just before he delivered an address to the World Forum of Silicon Valley. Here is the transcript of the interview as reported …

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Men Of Their Times

Church leaders assert that they directly follow God’s guidance, exempting themselves from apologies and social pressure, like for example addressing racism within church doctrine and culture. Apologists claim that church leaders are merely “men of their times” and can’t be judged by today’s standards. These two ideas don’t work together. Either the leaders are led …

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A few years back, the church excommunicated some dissidents. Is the church large enough to put up with having a loyal opposition? Hinckley: "We believe in education, in thinking, in doing things. But when somebody goes out and publicly fights the church, opposes the church, then we move in." - LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley in 1997 Interview with SFGate | wasmormon.org
A few years back, the church excommunicated some dissidents. Is the church large enough to put up with having a loyal opposition? Hinckley: "We believe in education, in thinking, in doing things. But when somebody goes out and publicly fights the church, opposes the church, then we move in." - LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley in 1997 Interview
People are curious about the Mormon Church temple rites, and why they are kept so secret. Hinckley: "Sacred." Sacred, but closed off to outsiders. I can't think of any other religion that has such secrecy about its temple rites. “When we build a temple, we invite people to come... After it's dedicated, then it becomes endowed with a particular sanctity, as we view it, and it becomes available then only to those who are qualified to enter the temple.” - LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley in 1997 Interview with SFGate | wasmormon.org
People are curious about the Mormon Church temple rites, and why they are kept so secret. Hinckley: "Sacred." Sacred, but closed off to outsiders. I can't think of any other religion that has such secrecy about its temple rites. “When we build a temple, we invite people to come... After it's dedicated, then it becomes endowed with a particular sanctity, as we view it, and it becomes available then only to those who are qualified to enter the temple.” - LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley in 1997 Interview
Mormons believe that God was once a man? Hinckley: "I wouldn't say that. There was a little couplet coined, "As man is, God once was. As God is, man may become." Now that's more of a couplet than anything else. That gets into some pretty deep theology that we don't know very much about." - LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley in 1997 Interview with SFGate | wasmormon.org
Mormons believe that God was once a man? "I wouldn't say that. There was a little couplet coined, "As man is, God once was. As God is, man may become." Now that's more of a couplet than anything else. That gets into some pretty deep theology that we don't know very much about." - LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley in 1997 Interview with SFGate
What about gay people who feel God made them that way? You're saying they must lead a celibate life? Hinckley: "Well, yes, I suppose, essentially. A lot of people live a celibate life. Lots of them. A third of the people in the United States are now single. Many of them live a celibate life." - LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley in 1997 Interview with SFGate | wasmormon.org
What about gay people who feel God made them that way? You're saying they must lead a celibate life? Hinckley: "Well, yes, I suppose, essentially. A lot of people live a celibate life. Lots of them. A third of the people in the United States are now single. Many of them live a celibate life." - LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley in 1997 Interview
How do you receive divine revelation? What does it feel like? Hinckley: "Let me say first that we have a great body of revelation, the vast majority of which came from the prophet Joseph Smith. We don't need much revelation. We need to pay more attention to the revelation we've already received." - LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley in 1997 Interview with SFGate | wasmormon.org
How do you receive divine revelation? What does it feel like? "Let me say first that we have a great body of revelation, the vast majority of which came from the prophet Joseph Smith. We don't need much revelation. We need to pay more attention to the revelation we've already received." - LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley in 1997 Interview
The church has issued a statement concerning the campaign for legal recognition of same-sex marriages in Hawaii and other states. And the church has asked its members to write to their legislatures opposing this. Hinckley: "Yes. We've been involved in some action against same-sex marriages." - LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley in 1997 Interview with SFGate | wasmormon.org
The church has issued a statement concerning the campaign for legal recognition of same-sex marriages in Hawaii and other states. And the church has asked its members to write to their legislatures opposing this. "Yes. We've been involved in some action against same-sex marriages." - LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley in 1997 Interview