01 - Reading Response - 9-2-2026

The readings are an interesting exploration of the place of prophetic revelation and fallibility in the Church. Some hold a simplistic view of prophetic communication with deity, that a that a prophet can always talk directly to God/Jesus Christ like we might talk to someone on a telephone. Perhaps because of this presumption, many church members elevate the expectations of prophets to deity-like levels and want direct god-given answers about every minute "wind of Doctrine". D&C 91 offers a different point of view on these smaller details: unlike most of protestant America, the prophet Joseph Smith does not outright reject the Apocrypha, leaving it up to inspired personal interpretation to determine what is true and what is from man. "I don't have a testimony of the history of the church" posits that our faith is in God, not church history. We acknowledge that our history is messy, like human existence. Because God choose to work through prophets and ALL of us, imperfect beings, sometimes the Church gets things wrong (I liked the quote from Brigham Young regarding the fruit of Joseph's labor ie. the Standard Works and the church organization rather than focusing on just his personal life and mistakes). Bitton encourages us to reexamine our expectations regarding Church history; that we should view prophets as imperfect vessels chosen to share God's word. Elder Uchtdorf's devotional suggests a similar idea; he says that "no decision of significance affecting this Church or its members is ever made without earnestly seeking", suggesting that there is significant effort in discerning the voice of God among the prophets. He admits flatly that "there have been times when members or leaders in the Church have simply made mistakes." Yet he encourages us to remain faithful and "doubt" or reexamine "our doubts" instead of giving up on our faith entirely.