Such is the message in the “Explanatory Introduction” of the 1921 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants: “Certain lessons, entitled “Lectures on Faith,” which were bound in with the Doctrine and Covenants in some of its former issues, are not included in this edition. Those lessons were prepared for use in the School of the Elders, conducted in Kirtland, Ohio, during the winter of 1834–1835; but they were never presented to nor accepted by the Church as being otherwise than theological lectures or lessons (v).”
Church leaders have acknowledged that the decision to omit the Lectures on Faith in the 1921 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants was based not only on the fact that they are not revelations, but it also had to do with some of the teachings about the Godhead in Lecture 5, as I mentioned earlier. Elders James E. Talmage, John A. Widtsoe, and Joseph Fielding Smith served as a committee to consider whether to continue to publish the Lectures on Faith with the revelations (Fitzgerald 345). Fitzgerald reports that he was told in a 22 July 1940 interview with Elder Joseph Fielding Smith:
They are not complete as to their teachings regarding the Godhead. More complete instructions on this point of doctrine are given in section 130 of . . . The Doctrine and Covenants.
It was thought by Elder James E. Talmage, chairman, and other members of the committee who were responsible for their omission that to avoid confusion and contention on this vital point of belief, it would be better not to have them bound in the same volume as the commandments or revelations which make up The Doctrine and Covenants (345). [9 Elder Smith is also reported to have said in this same interview that the Lectures are explanations of the principle of faith “but are not doctrine.” In this statement he may have been comparing certain items in the Lectures (perhaps Lecture 5) with doctrine as understood in 1940, and not making a “historically erroneous” statement as has been suggested by some.]
So as not to confuse the membership, why does the current LDS leadership not remove the damning Facsmiles and Explanations from the Book of Abraham as not themselves doctrine, but merely 'teaching aids'?
"There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." Isaac Asimov
So as not to confuse the membership, why does the current LDS leadership not remove the damning Facsmiles and Explanations from the Book of Abraham as not themselves doctrine, but merely 'teaching aids'?
I doubt the First Presidency will ever make much of a statement or provide explanation after they have removed the Facsimiles and Explanations from the Pearl of Great Price canon. They will simply exclude them from the new edition and provide a footnote something to the effect that the Facsimiles were an exploratory exercise by the brethren attempting to convey meaning from the vignettes that accompanied the Joseph Smith papyri but that those messages were only a teaching tool and were not meant to be taken literally but figuratively. Same goes for the Egyptian Alphabet and Grammar.
You can bet that the Church is getting close to pulling the Facsimiles. That is going to be a major victory for critics such as myself who have long fought to get the Church to make the necessary change. Then it's just a matter of maintaining historic record of what the early saints actually said about the Facsimiles and how today's saints are not in agreement but have backtracked out of necessity and their complete failure to defend the erroneous claims made by the early church.
Then we can focus on the text to show how it's not really historical and was produced by a 19th century mind having limited knowledge of things pertaining to the Egyptians other than what was read in the Bible and sources such as Adam Clarke. It is conceivable that the Church could pull the entire Book of Abraham and reclassify it. It's hard to say. But whatever the Church decides to do it has already been shown and proven that the early saints were lost in their own maze of deceit.
1. "they came from God. President John Smith then called the Vote of the Presidency which was carried as follows That they would receive the Book as the rule of their faith & practice"
2. "The vote of the High council was then called and carried in confirmation of the above"
3. "Counsellor Levi Jackman, then arose and said that he had examined as many of the revelations contained in the book as were printed in Zion & as firmly believes them as he does the Book of Mormon or the Bible"
4. "examined the Lectures and many of the Revelations contained in it, and was perfectly satisfied with the same, and further, that he knew that they were true by the testimony of the Holy Spirit of God"
5. "beyond a doubt, and the revelations contained in it he knew were true, for God had testified to him by his holy Spirit, for many of them were given"
Apostate Church President Heber Grant got rid of the Lectures
