Some good info on what is Doctrinie

I get irritated having to clear up for non-members false doctrines presented by other members.

This is a weakness of mine but it irritates me when people expound on “The Gospel According To Them”

Especially when they try to equate ALL the words spoken by another member – even if a Church leader as being doctrine.

Brigham Young let’s see what he had to say on the issue…

“I am more afraid that this people have so much confidence in their leaders that they will not inqure for themselves of God whether they are led by him. I am fearful they settle down in a state of blind self-security, trusting their eternal destiny in the hands of their leaders with a reckless confidence that in itself would thwart the purposes of God in their salvation, and weaken that influence they could give to their leaders, did they know for themselves, by the revelations of Jesus, that they are led in the right way. Let every man and woman know, by the whispering of the Spirit of God to themselves, whether their leaders are walking in the path the Lord dictates, or not. (Brigham Young, 9:150)”

The First Presidency have of right a great influence over this people; and if we should get out of the way and lead this people to destruction, what a pity it would be! How can you know whether we lead you correctly or not? Can you know by any other power than that of the Holy Ghost? I have uniformly exhorted the people to obtain this living witness, each for themselves; then no man on earth can lead them astray. (Brigham Young, 6:100)”

In trying all matters of doctrine, to make a decision valid, it is necessary to obtain a unanumous voice, faith and decision. In the capacity of a Quorum, the three First Presidents must be one in their voice; the Twelve Apostles must be unanimous in their voice, to obtain a righteous decision upon any matter that may come before them, as you may read in the Doctrine and Covenants. Whenever you see thse Quorums unanimous in their declaration, you may set it down as true. (Brigham Young, 9:91-92)”

And this from President Lee

“It is not to be thought that every word spoken by the General Authorities is inspired, or that they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost in everything they write. I don’t care what his position is, if he writes something or speaks something that goes beyond anything that you can find in the standard church works, unless that one be the prophet, seer, and revelator – please note that one exception – you may immediately say, “Well, that is his own idea.” And if he says something that contradicts what is found in the standard church works, you may know by that some token that it is false, regardless of the position of the man who says it. We can know or have the assurance that they are speaking under inspiration if we so live that we can have a witness that what they are speaking is the word of the Lord. There is only one safety, and that is that we shall live to have the witness to know. President Brigham Young said something to the effect that “the greatest fear I have is that the people of this Church will accept what we say as the will of the Lord without first praying about it and getting the witness within their own hearts that what we say is the word of the Lord.” (Harold B. Lee, Stand Ye In Holy Places, pp. 162-3, “The Prophet, Seer, and Revelator,” Address delivered to seminary and institute teachers, BYU, July 8, 1964)”

From the Church’s own website

“Not every statement made by a Church leader, past or present, necessarily constitutes doctrine. A single statement made by a single leader on a single occasion often represents a personal, though well-considered, opinion, but is not meant to be officially binding for the whole Church. With divine inspiration, the First Presidency (the prophet and his two counselors) and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (the second-highest governing body of the Church) counsel together to establish doctrine that is consistently proclaimed in official Church publications. This doctrine resides in the four “standard works” of scripture (the Holy Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price), official declarations and proclamations, and the Articles of Faith. Isolated statements are often taken out of context, leaving their original meaning distorted.

Some doctrines are more important than others and might be considered core doctrines. For example, the precise location of the Garden of Eden is far less important than doctrine about Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice. The mistake that public commentators often make is taking an obscure teaching that is peripheral to the Church’s purpose and placing it at the very center. This is especially common among reporters or researchers who rely on how other Christians interpret Latter-day Saint doctrine.

http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/approaching-mormon-doctrine

A few years ago I was in the Elders Quorun in my Ward and we were going to have a little cookout and play horseshoes on a Saturday afternoon. I had volunteered to cook the Brats and Beans. My recipe for Brats calls for steeping them over low heat in beer overnight (along with veggies and spices). Of course cooking them on the hot grill over coals is going to disapate what little alcohol is in the Beer too. The event was a success and everyone loved my Brats. Flash forward a few years and the Elders decide to do this again. I’m asked if I will cook again. Sure, no problem. The night before I’m planning on going to the store to get my ingredients I get a call from one of the guys in the Elders Quorum Presidency and he starts off the conversation (with what I took to be a tone of condesention) “Brother Riddle…” He said it had come to his attention that I cooked the brats in beer and wanted me to not do that. I said thats how I cook them and he was of course free to get someone else to cook. I then pointed out that the Church has no position on cooking with alcohol and asked if his wife made sugar cookies or if he ate vanilla ice cream as both contain vanilla which, by law, is +35% alcohol by volume whereas beer is often 5% or less.

I really liked some of the references and observations on this page. Yes I do see the irony pointing to someone else’s observation on the “Gospel According To Them” but then the guy that wrote that page does have a disclaimer

From the Church’s site: