Transcription
Hello and welcome to Teacher and Zion podcast. Um, quick update. I'll be appearing as a guest on a live broadcast of Saturday Night Sunday school on the Disciple of Christ channel on YouTube.
If you go to YouTube and type at Disciple of Christrist Jacob, all one word, you'll find his channel. It'll begin at 8:00 p.m. Central time or 700 p.m. in Utah. And that is this Saturday night, which is January 10th, 2026. And as I understand it, we'll be doing a study in Genesis uh chapters 1-5. So join us if you can.
Today I decided to do a quick video that will likely offend a few people, but I believe it's a truth worth speaking. Uh had a great conversation the other day uh with my friend and pastor. Some of what I will share was inspired by that conversation. As always, I ask you to study out anything that you hear and take it to the Lord. I want to keep this brief and high level. So, this may feel like a driveby of to some of you, but I hope to give you just enough that if you're interested, uh, it will spark further contemplation and perhaps conversation in the comments.
One of the biggest repeated sins of Israel was the sin of idolatry. Satan hasn't really changed his tactics. I believe that we have the same problem with idolatry as Israel did. Only the idols have changed. And this is not going to be an all-inclusive list by any means. Instead, I will hit on three examples of idols that came to me. And the third one, I believe, may be a surprise to some of you.
A few days ago, I saw a statue of Moroni, which was a replacement for the one in Salt Lake City that had been taken down after incurring damage due to an earthquake. It was put back on the temple steeple in 2024, almost 4 years after it was removed. A member of the LDS church had animated the image of the new statue being placed on top of the temple to make the statue's robes appear to flow in the wind as a way of I think glorifying what they saw as putting things right. And looking at the image, I realized something for the very first time that for some reason I had previously failed to recognize that this is literally a golden idol. You know, the ten commandments that God gave to Israel forbid them from making any carving or image of anything that is in the heavens. And here it is. If this is an angel, then it is an image of something in the heavens. Not only that, but happens to be golden, which is just a little too on the nose for me. It's almost like Satan's not even trying anymore. He can just do things so blatantly we never suspect it. But what makes this all the more horrifying in my mind is that Moroni is an actual individual, a person who was a servant of God, who most certainly must abhore the fact that the LDS church has used him as a symbol of the supposed restoration of the church's many corrupt doctrines, some of which are truly demonic. an image of him sits at top their temples as if he has anything at all to do with their church institution. Moroni did not visit Joseph Smith and give him a record to translate in order to start a new religion. He never told Joseph that God wanted him to start a new denomination. His only purpose was to give a mighty gift from God to humanity. one which heralds that God would begin the process of gathering scattered Israel and restore the whole house of Israel.
A second idol I want to highlight is the church by which I mean the earthly institution or the denomination that we were taught to idolize as the one true church to the exclusion of all others. Mainly we were baptized into this one true church instead of unto Christ for the remission of sins. Many of us were confirmed with the laying on of hands in order to receive membership in this church instead of receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. Because Mormonism has strayed so far from God and his ways, the church is for anyone who chooses to even look at it is utterly devoid of the gifts of the spirit or the signs that are supposed to follow the believers. So how diluted did that make us to imagine that we were somehow superior to other Christians? The reality is that when we worked for the church, we worked to convert people to the church rather than unto Christ. And that is idolatry. And what we believed about the church is a lie. You know, the Book of Mormon states that there are only two churches. One is Satan's church and the other is the church of the lamb of God. And Christ in both the Book of Mormon and in an 1828 revelation to Joseph Smith states that all those who repent and come unto Christ, being baptized and entering in that covenant with him are his church. And if anyone adds anything more to those requirements, they come from the devil and hell awaits them. Which means Mormonism has quite literally gone to the devil. Since the scriptures tell us that we, the believers in Christ, the disciples of Jesus Christ are the church, then making the church our focus is a form of self-centerness. And to glory in the church is a form of self glory which again is idolatry.
Finally, and this one may be a surprise to some of you, but I believe the scriptures have in many cases become an idol. Christianity has made an idol out of the Bible in many cases. And many Mormons have made idols out of the Book of Mormon or the Doctrine and Covenants or other books of scripture that they hold to be true. A well-known Christian minister once wrote that it was less important to know the book of the Lord, referring to the Bible, that it was to know the Lord of the book. The scriptures are a priceless gift, but they are not the very foundation that we are told to stand upon. I know what you're thinking. Doug has lost his marbles. But let me explain. The foundation that we are told to stand upon is Christ. And Christ, as the Bible tells us, is the word of God. But mind you this, the word of God can be different from the scriptures. This is a distinction that countless millions fail to understand which has led to the idolatry of books. So let me explain. When it comes down to it, scriptures are ideas that are written down which purport to be the word of God. They are written in the weakness of our language often being translated from other languages and then being interpreted by the reader which does allow for the possibility of error and misunderstanding. This is why Paul says that the letter without the spirit is the administration of death. When something that has been written down has enough of a consensus that it is believed to accurately reflect the word of God, we then accept it as scripture. And don't get me wrong, those who foolishly dismiss scripture out of ignorance or because it doesn't coincide with their own philosophies do so at their own detriment. We will be held responsible for the truths that are written in the scriptures. But it is not any book that we are told to follow, but Jesus Christ alone. It is he that we are to follow. Christ even said to his disciples, "Follow me." He didn't tell them to follow a book. And Jesus must abide in us if we're to be his disciples. And that comes by way of his spirit dwelling in us. And in order to truly heed the word of God, we must then heed the voice of the spirit. The Holy Spirit will then teach us from the scriptures and from outside of the scriptures. The word of God is not simply words written on a page of a certain book, but it is quite literally every word spoken by the Lord himself. The scriptures in many cases may accurately reflect the word of God, sometimes a little less so. But it is also possible that the scriptures may contain some things that are not from God. I know that's enough to be called an apostate by some people, but in every case, the words we have that are found in our scriptures have been filtered through imperfect men. And anytime men are involved, there is always the possibility of error. But that is not to say the scriptures are unreliable. They remain quite reliable if we handle them properly according to God's instructions and with the help of the Holy Spirit. It is my belief that the Bible and the Book of Mormon are the two primary witnesses that God has given us in terms of scripture. And regardless of any imperfections, God saw to it that they would tell us everything we need to know in order to establish a covenant relationship with God. That's the primary and I think exclusive goal of the scriptures. Once we have a genuine covenant relationship with God, receive his spirit, and are born again, we become an agent of the creator of heaven and earth, allowing him to work through us to affect change in this world. And this is everything. And it's what so many religious people are missing today. A person can memorize and profess to believe the scriptures and still be bound for hell if they do not know the Lord and do not have a personal relationship with him. Remember the scene that Jesus illustrates for his disciples about those who stand at the last day before him and say, "Lord, we did all these things in your name." These are people who supposedly believed in him and were doing things for him. And yet he did not know them and they didn't really know him. They didn't have a relationship. He is the way, the truth, and the life, not any book. those who do not have the spirit and do not have the love of God residing in their hearts for their fellow man, but instead stand in judgment of people and condemn them using scriptures do not truly know God. And the scriptures really avail them nothing. You could say they know their scriptures, but they don't actually know the word of God.
Earlier I mentioned how the scriptures are reliable. if we handle them properly according to God's instruction. So to conclude this video, I wish to mention two quick suggestions taken directly from the Lord on how we can do this. And I also believe that following these suggestions would also go a long way in doing away with unnecessary contention and division in the body of Christ and also restore greater unity. The first one is repeatedly through the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and even in the revelations to Joseph Smith, God tells us that he will establish his every word in the mouth of several witnesses or more. That means that if there is only one witness to something written, that it has not been established by God as his word. Putting this into practice, then if Joseph Smith says that God told him something, even if he states the same thing in several different revelations, it is still only one witness and has therefore not been established. So, while some may personally consider it scripture, it is not binding or yet proven out as the word of God. And I believe this fixes all kinds of issues. For example, should we believe something that is published in the Doctrine and Covenants? Whatever it may be, maybe something controversial, maybe something not controversial. But rather than argue, let us ask the basic question. Are there other reliable witnesses found like in the Bible or the Book of Mormon? If not, then it should probably be set aside. As individuals, we can certainly look at it, study it out, pray about it, and have an opinion about it, but it should not be binding on the body of Christ. And it should not be treated as if it were vital or foundational. Another example is that, and this is kind of a recent example of something I've been dealing with, is that some people think that Paul was a false apostle and that he preached another gospel different than what Christ taught. I completely disagree and I believe that his writings have been pulled out of context and misinterpreted. But the bottom line is I am never going to make the argument that Paul or anyone else for that matter was infallible. Rather than making a harsh judgment against Paul, which could potentially bring an equally harsh judgment against ourselves from the Lord, why not simply ask the question, is this thing that Paul wrote or possibly my interpretation of what he wrote supported by other reliable witnesses? If it doesn't seem to mesh with the teachings of Christ and it is not borne witness to by other writers in the Bible or in the Book of Mormon, then there's no need to crucify Paul or wage a campaign against him. Simply state that it hasn't yet been established in the mouth of multiple witnesses and therefore it can be set aside and it should not be binding on the body of Christ.
The second suggestion I have uh is that Jesus spent three years teaching his gospel and his doctrine which is recorded in the Bible. And after his resurrection, he visited the Nephites and he gave them his gospel and his doctrine which is recorded in the Book of Mormon. He also told Joseph Smith what his doctrine is, which is recorded in Doctrine Covenants section 10 for the LDS and section 3 for the RLDS. All three of these witnesses agree. But more than that, Jesus gave both the Nephites and Joseph Smith a stern warning to go along with it. He told them that if anyone adds anything to his doctrine as stated in these written accounts, then those persons are coming from the devil and hell awaits them. This should wake some people up. But sadly, that became the very character of Mormonism itself. But the other takeaway from this wisdom that even if something is scripture, if it's not actually the gospel and the doctrine of Christ as found in the Bible, in the Book of Mormon, then it is secondary, which is to say, it is not a matter of salvation and should not be binding on the body of Christ. And what I mean by that is that no one should be dividing over secondary matters or breaking fellowship with someone or dysfellowship someone put them out of the church because of these secondary matters. That I believe is a grievous mistake and a sin. So, let us smash these idols and any other that we know of and rally around the gospel and the doctrine of Christ. See where that takes us. Amen.
Well, I have a few more things uh that I want to share about the Book of Mormon that for me are very exciting. Um and then we'll probably conclude the Book of Mormon series. I might be able to do that in one video and we might come back to it later. also let me know in the comments below. But I did want to share that I received uh further light and understanding about the ministry of women. I've been contemplating and praying about what to share about that and when to share that. If that's something you're interested in having a conversation about, um, if that's something that you yourself have received information about, feel free to comment on that. Let me know. And until next time, God bless. Heat. Heat.