Perspective Part 4B - What Constitutes Church Doctrine?

What is Doctrine? Meaning what are the authoritative teachings or beliefs of the LDS Church?

Michael Ash in Shaken Faith Syndrome (pg. 31 and 45) states:

"What, then, is official doctrine and what is opinion? Official doctrine will be announced as revelation and the body of the Church will sustain it (D&C 26:2, 107:27-31)."

"I believe that very few LDS teachings qualify as true doctrines...Sometimes we conflate the implementation or presentation of a doctrine with the doctrine itself."

(D&C 26:2--"And all things shall be done by common consent in the church, by much prayer and faith, for all things you shall receive by faith. Amen.)

(D&C 107:27 & 32--"And every decision made by either of these quorums [First Presidency, Twelve Apostles, Seventy] must be by the unanimous voice of the same; that is, every member in each quorum must be agreed to its decisions, in order to make their decisions of the same power or validity one with the other…(32) And in case that any decision of these quorums is made in unrighteousness, it may be brought before a general assembly of the several quorums, which constitute the spiritual authorities of the church; otherwise there can be no appeal from their decision.")

The Givens see prophets and scripture as fallible. Scripture is the prophet's attempt to understand and express the divine.


What the LDS Church Says:

"Approaching Mormon Doctrine," LDS Newsroom (2007):

"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."

I generally agree with this statement. It warns us about the use of single statements and reading in context. However, if the single statement is stated under the influence of the Holy Ghost then it is usable for doctrine (see below)?

I would change "often" to "may" in the sentence "A single statement made by a single leader on a single occasion often may represents a personal, though well-considered, opinion, but is not meant to be officially binding for the whole Church" (bold added). Note that "leader" must refer to a past or current prophet or apostle because they are the only ones who can receive revelation for the "whole church."

Scripture:
Apostles and prophets can speak under the influence of the Holy Ghost which is scripture, just like the Bible.  Is that not "binding for the whole Church"?

"Scripture," Bible Dictionary (Bold added):

"The word scripture means 'a writing' and is used to denote a writing recognized by the Church as sacred and inspired. It is so applied to the books of the Old Testament by the writers of the New Testament (Matt. 22:29; John 5:39; 2 Tim. 3:15). For an account of the process by which the books of the Old Testament and New Testament came to be recognized as scripture, see Canon. Latter-day revelation identifies scripture as that which is spoken under the influence of the Holy Ghost (D&C 68:1–4)."

(D&C 68:1–4--"And this is the ensample unto them, that they shall speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost. (4) And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation.")

(Canon: "A word of Greek origin, originally meaning “a rod for testing straightness,” now used to denote the authoritative collection of the sacred books used by the true believers in Christ. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the canonical books are called standard works [Holy Bible, the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price].)

Likewise, we are told to follow the teaching of the prophets:

"Prophets" in True to the Faith (2004) (Bold added):

You can always trust the living prophets. Their teachings reflect the will of the Lord, who declared: “What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same” (D&C 1:38). 

Your greatest safety lies in strictly following the word of the Lord given through His prophets, particularly the current President of the Church. The Lord warns that those who ignore the words of the living prophets will fall (see D&C 1:14–16). 

“Stand Ye in Holy Places,” President Harold B. Lee (1973) (Bold added):

“If you want to know what the Lord has for this people at the present time, I would admonish you to get and read the discourses that have been delivered at this [general] conference; for what these brethren have spoken by the power of the Holy Ghost is the mind of the Lord, the will of the Lord, the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation.” 

So Let Me Get This Straight:
We are to "strictly follow" the words of the prophets BUT they are technically not doctrine (which is "binding for the whole Church") because it is not "established" by the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles and "consistently proclaimed in official Church publications" (Bold added). No wonder TBMs are confused on what is Church Doctrine.


The Journal of Discourses
The Journal of Discourses represents an issue of an LDS Apologist.  It apparently contains numerous quotes that are not consistent with current Church doctrine or teachings of recent prophets. This is why LDS Apologists like to define Church doctrine as "resid[ing] 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." Everything else is just opinions--not official teaching or doctrine.

The Church's opinion of the Journal of Discourses is

"The Journal of Discourses includes interesting and insightful teachings by early Church leaders; however, by itself it is not an authoritative source of Church doctrine."

"I’ve been reading the Journal of Discourses with a great deal of interest and pleasure, but I notice that they are not printed by the Church. Can you tell me how authoritative I should consider them to be?", Ensign, August 1878:

We also should be aware of priorities in our studies. It seems to me that we should first become very familiar with the four books of Scripture accepted as standard works. The words of our current living prophet are also most valuable for us in our time. The official statements of the First Presidency are standards for doctrine and practice in the Church. We should be familiar with the manuals and courses of study provided for us in our day. For further inspiration and instruction by the General Authorities, we can study general conference addresses, beginning with the most current and moving back in time.

The Church is obviously trying to distance themselves from the Journal of Discourses. However, if you search "Journal of Discourses" on LDS.org you will get many hits to general conference addresses, magazines articles, and manual lessons.  Apparently, use the Journal of Discourses if it agrees with you. If it does not, then say it's not authoritative.