Bridge of Reason

  “My dear friends, I made a serious mistake last night, and I am truly sorry,” Brother Wilcox wrote. “The illustration I attempted to use about the timing of the revelation on the priesthood for Black members was wrong. I’ve reviewed what I said and I recognize that what I hoped to express about trusting God’s timing did NOT come through as I intended. To those I offended, especially my dear Black friends, I offer my sincere apologies, and ask for your forgiveness. I am committed to do better.” [1] What was it that Brad Wilcox said that meant he was forced to apologise not once, but twice?  After accusing the non-LDS churches of playing at church because they don’t have the priesthood, Brad decides to have a swipe at those within Mormonism who also struggle with the idea of priesthood. What Brad said Now, sadly, you live in a time where a lot of people get uptight about priesthood issues. It’s one of the most glorious things we have in the church, and yet people want ...

Brad Wilcox could easily have said P is for playing, for as he continues to teach the Mormon youth, he tells them that all, except Mormons, are playing at church. Here he again speaks of what the Mormon church truly believes. According to Mormon doctrine, all other churches have no authority to administer any sacraments (sacred ordinances), neither can they aid you as you seek to return to Heavenly Father. They are not churches approved of by God – no they are just playing church. Authority and Priesthood Brad continues his denigration of mainstream Christianity by saying: ‘ They’re sincere, they want it to count, but they don’t have the authority. They don’t have God’s permission. So that the things they do really count on Earth and in eternity. Man, I want what I’m doing to count. And to be able to have that, we have to have the priesthood. We have to have that.’ What does he mean by authority and priesthood? From its beginnings the Mormon church has taught it is the rest...

The Mormon missionary manual, Preach my Gospel, teaches: "The Church of Jesus Christ is built on the foundation of apostles and prophets (see Ephesians 2:19–20; 4:11–14). These leaders have divine priesthood authority. Through revelation they direct the affairs of the Church. They maintain doctrinal purity, authorize the administration of ordinances, and call and confer the priesthood authority upon others" This is about the classic Mormon argument that, either there is a continuity of authority from the days of the apostles, in which case the Catholic Church has prior claim to supreme authority, or there has been a break in continuity from those days, an apostasy, therefore the Mormon claim to be a restoration stands true. When a Mormon male is ordained an elder in the church he is given a document known as a 'line of authority,' showing an unbroken line of ordinations, from the one who laid hands on him back to Joseph Smith, and then to Peter, James, and John who, ...