{"id":92956,"date":"2021-10-08T11:04:22","date_gmt":"2021-10-08T17:04:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=92956"},"modified":"2021-10-08T22:10:34","modified_gmt":"2021-10-09T04:10:34","slug":"misrepresenting-an-apostle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2021\/10\/misrepresenting-an-apostle.html","title":{"rendered":"Misrepresenting an apostle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as of August 2018, from front left: President M. Russell Ballard, Jeffrey R. Holland, Dieter F. Uchtdorf, David A. Bednar, and Quentin L. Cook. From back row left: D. Todd Christofferson, Neil L. Andersen, Ronald A. Rasband, Gary R. Stevenson, Dale G. Renlund, Gerrit W. Gong, and Ulisses Soares<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

An interesting claim appeared on Wednesday, 6 October, in a post on something called BOFM Blog: Annotated Book of Mormon<\/em>. \u00a0The article is by one Rian Nelson. \u00a0I know nothing about him or his blog, except that he is an ardent and vocal advocate of the \u201cHeartland\u201d model of Book of Mormon geography and, now, that he\u2019s a COVID denier.\u00a0 Someone else called this item to my attention.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The article is titled \u201cLight of Christ \u2013 Common Sense \u2013 Personal Revelation,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0and here is the most relevant passage:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is interesting! I received it from a friend in Kansas. This is obviously not doctrine and I would pray about these words, but it does give me a sense of comfort that I am on the correct path with this fearful so-called pandemic, made up by Satan and those who would see us deceived.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Elder Rasband was speaking at a meeting in Boise last week. Someone asked about the vaccine and Elder Rasband responded that each person should understand that the church is being threatened and sued on a continual basis. The CDC has the church in their crosshairs. This request for the members to participate in the vaccine was simply to reduce liability for the church from the government. He said that members are to go to the Lord with this\u2026and do what feels right for them. This has never been, nor ever will be a commandment.<\/span><\/p>\n

The CDC\u00a0 would own the church if they could show the church was telling members to not get vaccinated. Every unvaccinated member death would result in a huge multiple million dollar lawsuit.\u00a0 We have been taught to never blindly follow church leaders, but to study it out in our minds and pray about it.\u00a0 Those who allow their free agency to be taken by men are not Celestial Kingdom material. Those whose testimonies are in the church and in men are not the Saviors followers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t believe it.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Somewhere between (a) Elder Rasband\u2019s purported comments in Boise and (b) the anonymous claimed transmitter of those comments somewhere in Kansas and (c) Rian Nelson, something has gone seriously wrong.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I have it on excellent authority, for example, that Elder Rasband hasn\u2019t been in Boise at any time in the recent past.\u00a0 (That right there is enough to scuttle this claim.\u00a0 And common sense should have warned against it in the first place:\u00a0 The Brethren are always really, really busy in Salt Lake City<\/em> during the week before General Conference.)\u00a0 Moreover \u2014 and I challenge anybody to prove me wrong on this point \u2014 Elder Rasband has never said anything of the kind.\u00a0 Period.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I think it important to contradict such things early, before they gain wide acceptance.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

\u00a0 \u00a0 *** \u00a0 An interesting claim appeared on Wednesday, 6 October, in a post on something called BOFM Blog: Annotated Book of Mormon. \u00a0The article is by one Rian Nelson. \u00a0I know nothing about him or his blog, except that he is an ardent and vocal advocate of the \u201cHeartland\u201d model of Book of […]<\/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":[25636,1821,25633,24091,56,8031,13514,9108,25639,9101,5183,21866,22147,11782,3454,6117,6783,9104,15306,25624,25630,25627,8514,14432,11714,17939],"class_list":["post-92956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-annotated-book-of-mormon","tag-apostle","tag-bofm-blog","tag-boise","tag-book-of-mormon","tag-coronavirus","tag-covid","tag-covid-19","tag-elder-rasband","tag-epidemic","tag-heartland","tag-heartlander","tag-heartlanders","tag-idaho","tag-jonathan-neville","tag-neville","tag-neville-neville-land","tag-pandemic","tag-rasband","tag-rian-nelson","tag-ronald-a-rasband","tag-ronald-rasband","tag-twelve","tag-vaccination","tag-vaccine","tag-vaccines"],"yoast_head":"\nMisrepresenting an apostle<\/title>\n<meta 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