Bridge of Reason

Thoughts of a Prophet – Hope for the Best Gordon B Hinckley, the Mormon prophet, passed away on 27 January 2008. I have been thinking about what to say about a man who, at 97, was able to boast so much: a massive temple building programme; the oldest serving president; the popularising of Mormonism through TV, Radio and newspaper work (famously his numerous interviews with Larry King). What did the man think about his faith? What would be the abiding message of the spiritual leader of Mormons around the world? In a press conference held to mark the occasion of his 95 th birthday he offered his thoughts on long life and eternal prospects. It was significant that the leader of the only true church on the face of the earth, a man with “sole authority” to represent Jesus Christ, had little to offer by way of eternal hope, and made no mention of the work of Christ and the assurance of Salvation. Here was a golden opportunity to declare a message of hope but all he had to offer was hope for

The following is the Introduction to the Reachout Trust Book – Always Being Ready . It is an invaluable help to get you ready to communicate with those that you meet who have a different faith. The full product can be ordered direct from the Reachout Trust website at: http://shopping.reachouttrust.org/Shopping/reachout.nsf/(ProductsByCode)/I008 Or it can be downloaded as an eBook from: http://www.powells.com/s?kw=always+being+ready Introduction When we first published this book in 1996, there was some debate over its title; in the end we settled for Open the Door because that is what we wanted people to do. However, as this Introduction shows, something needs to happen before we open the door: we need to get ready. 1 Peter 3:15 indeed shows we are always to be ready: “But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defence to every one who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.” Surely that is impossible! No,

From the earliest days of Mormonism they have made clear that their church is a restoration of the church Christ established in the first century, and that had gone into apostasy following the death of Christ and his apostles. This much has always been clear. To this extent Mormons have always regarded themselves as Christians. Traditionally, however, Mormons have had no problem in being called Mormons, indeed in calling themselves Mormons. John Taylor (d.1887) third Mormon president, once edited a Mormon newspaper in New York City entitled “The Mormon” . James E Talmage (d.1933) Mormon apostle, in commenting on a Congress of Religious Philosophy in 1915, spoke in the Salt Lake Tabernacle saying, “ The Mormon Church was the only Christian organisation there present that had a definite...philosophical basis to proclaim.” His remarks were later published in a pamphlet entitled “The Philosophical Basis of Mormonism ”. Bruce R McConkie (d.1985), Mormon apostle, famously published the book