Roger Keller - Approaching the Apostasy

Introduction by Jack

• Introduces Roger Keller:
  • Professor of Church History and Doctrine at BYU.
  • Past Richard L. Evans Professor of Religious Understanding.
  • Teaches world religions from a Latter-day Saint perspective.
  • Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary.
  • PhD in Biblical Studies and 20th-century Christian Theology from Duke University.
  • Ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1971.
  • Served on the regional board of the National Council of Christians and Jews.
  • Participated in condemning anti-Mormon materials.
  • Three books available:
    • Reformed Christians and Mormon Christians, Let's Talk ($$7.95).
    • Religions of the World, A Latter-day Saint View.
    • Book of Mormon Authors, Their Words and Messages.
• Jack's perspective:
  • Evangelical Christian attending Rock Canyon Assembly of God.
  • Impressed by Roger Keller's attitude towards other religions.

Roger Keller's Address: Approaching the Apostasy

• Importance of how Latter-day Saints approach the topic of the Apostasy.

Experience in Israel

• Encounter with students who felt "lied to" because they were taught that only Latter-day Saints were spiritual.
• Realization that profoundly spiritual people exist in various religions.

Zone Conferences in Mississippi

• Missionaries recognizing that non-Latter-day Saints know Jesus Christ and have the Holy Ghost.
• The challenge of what to teach those who already know the Savior.
• Personal experience of feeling that some Latter-day Saints implied that he needed to abandon his previous beliefs to learn the truth.

Addressing the Apostasy

• The Apostasy should not be viewed as a complete extinguishing of spiritual light until 1820.
• Discussion includes the relationship of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to other religious traditions.
• Belief that God provides spiritual guidance to all his children, regardless of their religious tradition (Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, etc.).

World Parliament of Religions in Barcelona

• Attended the World Parliament of Religions in Barcelona, Spain.
• Surrounded by people of diverse spiritual traditions with a love for their neighbor.
• Felt the Spirit strongly during interactions with faithful Muslims and Sikhs.
• Sikhs serving food (langar) to all participants, demonstrating service regardless of faith.

The speaker's perspective on God.

• The speaker's God, worshiped through Jesus Christ, is also the God of all people, drawing them all to him.

Meridian of Time and Restoration

• The speaker asks us to Visualize two time periods:
  • The Meridian of Time (time of Jesus Christ).
  • The Restoration.
  • The time in between is the apostasy.

Purpose of Jesus Christ's Coming

• To perform the Atonement.
• To organize the Church.
• Jesus knew the church would fall into apostasy, but wanted to create a template.

Template of the Church's Structure

• Apostles, Quorum of the Twelve, and the Seventy.
• Authority resides in the Quorum of the Twelve.
• The authority to administer saving ordinances vanishes when this group vanishes.
• Knowledge did not vanish, but the authority did.

The "Dark Ages" and Preservation of the Gospel

• The term "Dark Ages" is inaccurate; the light of Christ was preserved in monastic orders.
• Eastern Orthodox Church grew, sending missionaries to Russia.

Personal Testimony of Divine Calling

• God called him to be a Presbyterian minister and gave him the authority to preach.
• Authority to bring people to Christ through preaching and sacraments.
• Joining the Church meant adding to his knowledge, not abandoning it.

Catholic View of Ordinances

• Ordinances are channels of grace into the Atonement, not saving in themselves.
• Faith, repentance, baptism, Holy Ghost, endowment, and sealing ordinances are all channels to the Atonement.
• Participation in sacrament meeting and temple ordinances is essential.

Carrying the Gospel After the Apostasy

• The Bible carried the gospel through the Old and New Testaments.
• The Bible contains the fullness of the gospel.
• Latter-day Saints read the Bible with "trifocals," seeing it through the lens of the Restoration.
• Joseph Smith quoted the Bible frequently.
• The speaker turns to the bible as the first place to go for spiritual inspiration.

Respect for Other Faiths

• Inviting others to build on their experiences with the Lord, not deny them.
• The speaker emphasizes that the apostasy refers to the loss of priesthood authority, not the absence of the gospel.

Role of Catholics and Protestants

• Catholics and Protestants carried the gospel for two millennia and prepared the way for the Restoration.
• Missionary work by other denominations prepares individuals to receive the fullness of the gospel.
• The speaker quotes George Albert Smith, stating that Latter-day Saints offer more to deepen understanding, not to diminish existing truth.

Preparing the Way for the Restoration

• The Restoration required a special place and pluralistic environment.
• Europe was dominated by state churches, leading to persecution of dissenting groups.
• The United States provided religious freedom with the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
• Pluralism enabled the Restoration to occur.

Doctrine and Covenants 10

• D&C 10:52: God does not bring the gospel to destroy what people have received, but to build it up.
• In 1828, the church is not speaking of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but the church of Christ that has been preparing the way.

Restoration of Priesthood Authority

• In 1829, before the Book of Mormon was finished:
  • The Three Witnesses are called to find the Twelve.
  • Restoration of Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthood authority.
• Official Quorums of the Twelve and Seventy were formed in 1835.
• Without the Quorum of the Twelve, there is no authority on Earth.
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints fully reproduced the template of twelve and seventy in 1835.

The Modern Church

• Modern transportation and communication enable guidance from the prophet across the Earth, impossible in earlier times.
• The Quorum of the Twelve can be quickly reconstituted.
• The Church is promised never to vanish from the Earth until the Lord's return.

Definition of Apostasy (Reiterated)

• The speaker emphasizes that the apostasy is primarily the loss of authority.
  • Certain sacred practices, like temple ceremonies, were also lost.
  • The gospel was preserved for restoration in the chosen land.

God's Universal Plan and Truth in Other Traditions

• Brigham Young's quote: The plan of salvation incorporates every system of true doctrine, whether ecclesiastical, moral, philosophical, or civil. Wherever truth is found, it is part of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
• Elder Orson F. Whitney's quote: God uses covenant people and other peoples to accomplish a stupendous work. Great men not bearing the priesthood have been sent to give portions of truth.
• Examples: Mohammed, Buddha, Confucius, Lao Tzu, Baha'u'llah.

Line Upon Line

• Doctrine and Covenants passages about line upon line, precept upon precept.
• God speaks to all nations, and they write it (Vedas, Bhagavad Gita, Tripitaka, Analects, Koran).
• Judgment is based on what individuals have been given.
• Individuals work on different aspects of spirituality and ethics in preparation.

President Howard W. Hunter Quote

• We come not to take away from you the truth and virtue you possess…keep all the good that you have and let us bring to you more good.
• The speaker bears his testimony that the more of Mormonism is the priesthood authority of God.

Question and Answers

• Nephi's Vision of the Great and Abominable Church
  • Distinguishes between Nephi Chapters 13 and 14.
  • Chapter 13 focuses on the earthly manifestations of the great and abominable church: materialism, sensuality, persecution.
  • Chapter 14 speaks of a cosmic level:
    • The war between the church of God and the church of Satan.
  • Every organization has marks of both the church of God and the church of Satan.
  • There are other churches, not just one.
• Responding to Harsh Statements by 19th-Century Leaders
  • Just because someone said it, including a church leader, doesn't make it doctrine (Bob Millett).
  • God leads us along as we are prepared.
  • Follow the living prophet.
  • Past leaders were products and parts of their historical settings.
• Holy Ghost vs. Manifestation of the Spirit
  • No difference in the experiences of the Holy Ghost, only difference in authority.
    • The Holy Ghost is the Holy Ghost.
  • The speaker's experience is deeper because of participation in the priesthood.
  • The gift of the Holy Ghost responds to a priesthood ordinance and command.
  • The ordinance is baptism, and the command is to receive the Holy Ghost.
• Reformation vs. Restoration
  • The more of Mormonism is the issue of priesthood authority.
  • Bearing testimony of the necessity of priesthood.
• Spiritual Gifts in Different Denominations
  • Spiritual gifts are found where people expect them and look for them.
• Prayers of Faith
  • God never says no to the prayer of faith (Elder Bangeter).
• Teaching the Necessity of Restored Authority
  • The loss of authority and the need for a worldwide single voice that binds the church together.
• Fullness of the Gospel in the Bible
  • Found in the introduction to the Book of Mormon.
• Spirit-Filled Christians
  • The spirit tells them they need more as they're ready.
  • Most are not active members but are seeking.
• Why Three Volumes of Scripture
  • Restore authority and knowledge.
  • Lights were dimmed considerably.
• Authority of the Seventy
  • As a collective, they hold the same authority as the twelve.
• D&C 85:7
  • One mighty and strong, I don't know what that is, and I'd have to look it up.
• Viewpoint of the speaker on apostasy.
  • I just think that we have been through a time where, because of our historical setting, we have seen ourselves in conflict with others rather than seeing ourselves as co participants in God's eternal plan.
• Reconciling Total Apostasy with 1 Timothy 4:1-2
  • The great and abominable church is the same as the whore of Babylon.
  • The world is moving towards materialism and sensuality.
• Gates of Hell Argument
  • Jesus said, upon this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. If you look at it in the long term, it hasn't and won't.
• Smith's Grand Fundamental Principle
  • Of Mormonism to receive truth, let it come from whence it may. I think, Brigham Young wrapped that up beautifully, in that quote I read.
• Miracles Among Other Faiths
  • God never says no to the prayer of faith (Elder Bangeter).
  • God is not limited to working only through the priesthood.
• Satan and Good Deeds
  • I don't think Satan has ever done anything good.
• Allah and the Mormon God
  • I believe that Allah is Jesus Christ.
• The Koran and Violence
  • There is no coercion in religion as it states in the Koran.