{"id":44080,"date":"2017-08-29T10:34:13","date_gmt":"2017-08-29T16:34:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=44080"},"modified":"2017-08-29T10:34:13","modified_gmt":"2017-08-29T16:34:13","slug":"alleged-indeterminacy-mormon-doctrine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2017\/08\/alleged-indeterminacy-mormon-doctrine.html","title":{"rendered":"On the alleged indeterminacy of Mormon doctrine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple was dedicated in September 2016. \u00a0 \u00a0(LDS Media Library)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Not infrequently, I encounter the claim \u2014 often very derisively expressed \u2014 that Mormon doctrine<\/a> is impossible to pin down. \u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s like trying to nail jello to a wall!\u201d declare\u00a0some critics, not very originally.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s unquestionably\u00a0true that Mormonism is, on the whole, creed-less. \u00a0Our leaders aren\u2019t theologians. \u00a0We don\u2019t have a whole host of academically-trained doctrinal experts, and we\u2019ve certainly never had an authoritative, official council in which such theologians have met to hammer out precise, binding formulae regarding the interrelationships of the persons within the Trinity, the interface between divinity and humanity in Jesus of Nazareth, and other such issues.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

But does that mean that Mormonism lacks any and all doctrinal clarity? \u00a0In my view, not even remotely<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Late last night, just before turning off the lights, having encountered the claim of Mormon doctrinal confusion yet again, I doodled for a few minutes and came up with a list of fifty questions on which I think Latter-day Saint answers are pretty unambiguous:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Does God exist?<\/li>\n
  2. Is God pure spirit, or is God corporeal?<\/li>\n
  3. Is God our Father?<\/li>\n
  4. Does God have a Son?<\/li>\n
  5. Is Jesus God\u2019s Son?<\/li>\n
  6. Is Jesus divine?<\/li>\n
  7. Did Jesus atone for our sins?<\/li>\n
  8. Is there an alternate path to heaven other than through Jesus?<\/li>\n
  9. Did Jesus rise from the dead?<\/li>\n
  10. Will Jesus return at the end of the world?<\/li>\n
  11. Will Jesus judge the world?<\/li>\n
  12. Does the Bible contain the word of God?<\/li>\n
  13. Does the Book of Mormon contain the word of God?<\/li>\n
  14. Is the Book of Mormon ancient?<\/li>\n
  15. Was the Book of Mormon translated by the power of God?<\/li>\n
  16. Did Jesus visit the Americas after his resurrection?<\/li>\n
  17. Did Jesus ascend into heaven?<\/li>\n
  18. Did Jesus organize a church?<\/li>\n
  19. Did the church that Jesus organized apostasize?<\/li>\n
  20. Has the Church of Jesus Christ been restored?<\/li>\n
  21. Did the Father and the Son appear to Joseph Smith?<\/li>\n
  22. Was the priesthood conferred upon Joseph Smith and certain others?<\/li>\n
  23. Does the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a> hold unique divine authority?<\/li>\n
  24. Is baptism required for salvation?<\/li>\n
  25. Is vicarious work for the dead efficacious and divinely ordained?<\/li>\n
  26. Must such work be performed in temples, by proxy?<\/li>\n
  27. Are those damned who perish in infancy?<\/li>\n
  28. Are those damned who fail to accept Jesus in mortality?<\/li>\n
  29. Will we be physically resurrected from the dead?<\/li>\n
  30. Pending resurrection, will our spirits sleep in unconsciousness?<\/li>\n
  31. Did Jesus visit the world of spirits between his death and resurrection?<\/li>\n
  32. Are we predestined to salvation or damnation?<\/li>\n
  33. Can we become like God?<\/li>\n
  34. Does the Doctrine and Covenants contain the word of God?<\/li>\n
  35. Was Brigham Young the legitimate successor to Joseph Smith?<\/li>\n
  36. Is there apostolic authority in the Church today?<\/li>\n
  37. Did Jesus really exist?<\/li>\n
  38. Are the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit one God in three persons as the classical creeds teach?<\/li>\n
  39. Are we saved by grace alone, without regard for works?<\/li>\n
  40. Is the Bible inerrant?<\/li>\n
  41. Is the Book of Mormon inerrant?<\/li>\n
  42. Has revelation come to an end?<\/li>\n
  43. Do we have free will?<\/li>\n
  44. Did we exist before we were born?<\/li>\n
  45. Is celibacy preferable to marriage?<\/li>\n
  46. Is a professional clergy necessary?<\/li>\n
  47. Was Jesus the son of Joseph?<\/li>\n
  48. Did life on Earth originate by chance, or by divine intention?<\/li>\n
  49. Is participation in a church community important?<\/li>\n
  50. Is partaking of \u201ccommunion\u201d important?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n

    I could easily have gone on. \u00a0And on. \u00a0I compiled\u00a0the list above as fast as I could type.\u00a0 But I drew the line at fifty because the hour\u00a0was late and I wanted to go to sleep.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n

    You may disagree with the Church\u2019s answers to these questions. \u00a0You may not like them. \u00a0You may think, correctly, that there\u2019s much more to be discussed with regard to each of them. \u00a0But there\u2019s no contesting the fact\u00a0that official Church teachings answer every\u00a0one. \u00a0Unmistakably.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n

    My point is that few if any communicant Latter-day Saints would be unsure as to how the Church would answer any of those fifty theologically-significant questions. \u00a0(Not to mention many more.)<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n

    Our scriptures were given to us mostly in the form of stories. \u00a0God didn\u2019t give us a systematic theological treatise or a manual of doctrinal terms. \u00a0He revealed neither a Summa Theologica<\/em> nor a canonized Mormon Doctrine<\/em>. \u00a0Presumably he could have done so, but he chose not to do it.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n

    Latter-day Saint teaching doesn\u2019t aspire to be like a system of geometry, with propositions, theorems, and deductive proofs.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n

    But that doesn\u2019t mean that Mormonism is a doctrinal free-for-all, a total chaos in which all is confusion.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n

    In some important and relevant ways, I think, Mormon doctrine is comparable not to the geometry of Euclid\u2019s Elements<\/em>\u00a0but to the \u201csystem\u201d of the common law, built up out of cases (stories, essentially) and thousands upon thousands of decisions and judicial opinions. \u00a0Perhaps even better (though I or somebody else would need to think this carefully through), it might be compared to the \u201cunwritten constitution\u201d of Great Britain.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n

    Neither British nor American law is a total chaos, a bewildering free-for-all where anything goes.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n

    Our doctrine is learned by living and working in the Mormon community<\/a>, which is partly constituted by classes but, even more, by stories \u2014 in the scriptures and elsewhere. \u00a0It grows\u00a0not merely out of theoria<\/em> but also out of praxis<\/em>.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n

    (I keep vaguely thinking that the work of Michael Oakeshott, which I haven\u2019t read in many years, might be relevant here.)<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    \u00a0 \u00a0 Not infrequently, I encounter the claim \u2014 often very derisively expressed \u2014 that Mormon doctrine is impossible to pin down. \u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s like trying to nail jello to a wall!\u201d declare\u00a0some critics, not very originally. \u00a0 And it\u2019s unquestionably\u00a0true that Mormonism is, on the whole, creed-less. \u00a0Our leaders aren\u2019t theologians. \u00a0We don\u2019t have a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nOn the alleged indeterminacy of Mormon doctrine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    Not infrequently, I encounter the claim -- often very derisively expressed -- that Mormon doctrine is impossible to pin down. \u00a0"It's like\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2017\/08\/alleged-indeterminacy-mormon-doctrine.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"On the alleged indeterminacy of Mormon doctrine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"    Not infrequently, I encounter the claim -- often very derisively expressed -- that Mormon doctrine is impossible to pin down. \u00a0"It's like\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2017\/08\/alleged-indeterminacy-mormon-doctrine.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sic et Non\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-08-29T16:34:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/files\/2017\/04\/philadelphia-pennsylvania-temple-exterior-1775822-gallery.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2017\/08\/alleged-indeterminacy-mormon-doctrine.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2017\/08\/alleged-indeterminacy-mormon-doctrine.html\",\"name\":\"On the alleged indeterminacy of Mormon doctrine\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-08-29T16:34:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-08-29T16:34:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\"},\"description\":\"    Not infrequently, I encounter the claim -- often very derisively expressed -- that Mormon doctrine is impossible to pin down. \u00a0\\\"It's like\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2017\/08\/alleged-indeterminacy-mormon-doctrine.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2017\/08\/alleged-indeterminacy-mormon-doctrine.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2017\/08\/alleged-indeterminacy-mormon-doctrine.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"On the alleged indeterminacy of Mormon doctrine\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/\",\"name\":\"Sic et Non\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\",\"name\":\"Dan Peterson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dan Peterson\"},\"description\":\"\\\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\\\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"On the alleged indeterminacy of Mormon doctrine","description":"    Not infrequently, I encounter the claim -- often very derisively expressed -- that Mormon doctrine is impossible to pin down. \u00a0\"It's like","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2017\/08\/alleged-indeterminacy-mormon-doctrine.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"On the alleged indeterminacy of Mormon doctrine","og_description":"    Not infrequently, I encounter the claim -- often very derisively expressed -- that Mormon doctrine is impossible to pin down. \u00a0\"It's like","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2017\/08\/alleged-indeterminacy-mormon-doctrine.html","og_site_name":"Sic et Non","article_published_time":"2017-08-29T16:34:13+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/files\/2017\/04\/philadelphia-pennsylvania-temple-exterior-1775822-gallery.jpg"}],"author":"Dan Peterson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dan Peterson","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2017\/08\/alleged-indeterminacy-mormon-doctrine.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2017\/08\/alleged-indeterminacy-mormon-doctrine.html","name":"On the alleged indeterminacy of Mormon doctrine","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-08-29T16:34:13+00:00","dateModified":"2017-08-29T16:34:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045"},"description":"    Not infrequently, I encounter the claim -- often very derisively expressed -- that Mormon doctrine is impossible to pin down. \u00a0\"It's like","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2017\/08\/alleged-indeterminacy-mormon-doctrine.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2017\/08\/alleged-indeterminacy-mormon-doctrine.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2017\/08\/alleged-indeterminacy-mormon-doctrine.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"On the alleged indeterminacy of Mormon doctrine"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/","name":"Sic et Non","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045","name":"Dan Peterson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dan Peterson"},"description":"\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1019"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44080\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}