Apostles and Doubt

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(by Dennis B. Horne)

 

Brothers and sisters, let me give you a caution:

you won’t be of much help to others

if your own faith is not securely in place.

(Elder Neil L. Andersen[1])

  

            Regarding this subject, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland taught: “Now, the Doubter. I don’t want this to immediately have to get theological, but who do you suppose is the father of doubt? If you had to have an antonym to doubt, wouldn’t it be perilously close to faith? . . . This is a battle for the souls eternally of men and women. This is part of the plan of eternity. And it was not meant for us to come here and to be doubtful, or discouraged, or depressed, or blunted, or muted. We are here to grow and blossom and develop eternally. So, while there are some practical things we can talk about, keep the doctrine in mind and remember who you are.”[2] A strong and beautiful statement of truth.

Apostles are the Voice of Warning to All

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(by Dennis B. Horne)

 

Set watchmen round about them, and build a tower,

that one may overlook the land round about,

to be a watchman upon the tower,

that mine olive trees [Church] may not be broken down

when the enemy shall come. . . .

(D&C 101:45)

  

            An uncompromising duty of those ordained to the Apostleship—of a special witness—is to warn and guard the Church and its members against the devices of the enemy, the Adversary. President Ezra Taft Benson explained:

 

The Apostolic Ministry

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(by Dennis B. Horne)

 

This is the work of the Lord. This is His church on the earth.

He has entrusted His church to the care of humble men,

who have extraordinary responsibilities.

(President Ezra Taft Benson[1])

  

            “The great responsibility of an apostle is to be a special witness of Jesus Christ. I want you to know that the Savior lives. I want you to know that he is divine. I want you to know that he did atone for our sins. . . . I want you to know that the Savior guides the Church today. I’m so grateful for the blessings I have had in my life, of both feeling the Holy Ghost, and also knowing the voice of the Savior.”[2] So declared Elder Quinten L. Cook as part of his ministry as a special witness of Jesus the Christ. And so also do they all declare.

            Only those who actually serve as apostles and special witnesses can fully understand what it means to be one. However, on occasion they share slivers of information that give us a glimpse into their burdens and blessings. Some of those glimmers are found throughout the chapters in this book (and the first volume); others are found below. Elder Melvin J. Ballard (who has a chapter in the first volume) was one of the greatest apostles of our dispensation. He declared: “I know, as I know that I live. that this is the work of our Father. I know that Jesus Christ lives, that he is the Redeemer and Savior of the world. I know it as well as I know that I look upon your faces today. When the day shall come that, like Thomas of old, I may thrust my hand into his side or feel the prints of the nails in his hands and feet; or like Mary, I may bathe his feet with my tears, I shall not know it any better than I know it today; for I know that he lives, that he is the redeemer of the world and that he did speak to the Prophet Joseph Smith. I know that this is the Lord's work: that he is in it, and it will rise triumphant and go forward.”[3] Of his feelings at the time of his call to the Twelve, he reminisced:

 

The Sorry and Sad Decline of BYU Studies

By Dennis B. Horne

            Since Jack Welch left his post as editor and Steven Harper took over, we have seen a steady decline in the quality and soundness and strength of BYU Studies Quarterly. BYU Studies has long had a deserved reputation for strong academic rigor beautifully blended with belief and faith and loyalty. While there were occasional exceptions, this has long been mostly true. I think Jack Welch is largely creditable for that former success. Sure he made some mistakes and poor decisions at times, but by and large he did a great job for three decades plus selecting strong pieces for publication therein.

            Then Welch retired and someone made the decision to replace him with an unorthodox liberal, Steven Harper. (I wonder if it was the same person who made the decision to destroy NAMI by hiring a liberal unorthodox director for that formerly fine organization.) Since then, clue after hint after shout have now arisen that BYU Studies has gone into a sharp decline in quality and doctrinal soundness. This has been a result of BYU’s highly public troubles with their poor administration hiring liberal activist (even some dissident) faculty and staff.

            Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has twice gone to BYU in the last five years to rebuke and correct erring administration, faculty, and staff. They seem deaf to his message and continue pouring out publications that do not reflect the teachings of their sponsoring institution well, sometimes outright contradicting gospel truths and foundational events.

            But in this case we are specifically looking at BYU Studies, that Steven Harper is subtly sabotaging with unorthodox liberal paper selections and publishing (and guest editor selection—unorthodox liberals like Terryl Givens and Ben Spackman).

            So what are the hints and shouts found in recent issues that unmistakably portray this decline?

Elder Mark E. Petersen’s Special Witness of Jesus Christ

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(by Dennis B. Horne)

I know that God lives.

I know that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God.

I know it as well as if I had seen him.

             “It was President Grant who gave to me my first real introduction to the Book of Mormon” remembered Elder Mark E. Petersen. “When I was about ten years of age, he came to the ward in which I lived and spoke in one of our Sacrament meetings. As he has done on other occasions, that day he told of his own first reading of the Book of Mormon and of the great impression made upon him by the life of Nephi. In his address he made Nephi such a reality to me that I had a desire to read about him for myself.

            “I took my father's Book of Mormon, and I read the story of Nephi, having in mind what President Grant had said. As I read, not only did I learn to appreciate that great prophet of old, but I had come into my soul also a deep love for the Book of Mormon, even as a boy.”

 

President Hugh B. Brown’s Special Witness of Jesus Christ

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(by Dennis B. Horne)  

I bear my testimony to you, . . .

that from the center of my heart to the ends of my fingers and toes

I know that Jesus is the Christ. 

            “I humbly bear my testimony to you that I do know that God is my Father, that Jesus of Nazareth is my Redeemer and my friend. I thank him for the blessed privilege of engaging in the ministry, and I praise his holy name that through his servants he has shown his willingness to use the weakest of us to do some little good in that ministry.”[1] So stated Elder Hugh B. Brown to the assembled members at general conference.

 

President Henry D. Moyle’s Special Witness of Jesus Christ

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(by Dennis B. Horne)

  

I know that as this call came to me,

 there came a witness of the Holy Ghost that I had never possessed before,

a change that sometimes I feel was physical as well as spiritual.

 

 

James H. Moyle’s Testimony

            Henry D. Moyle loved his father, an energetic man of great strength of mind, character, influence, and spirituality. While standing before religious educators at BYU, Brother Moyle spoke of his father’s valiant service as a missionary and of his becoming one of the first and most prominent lawyers in Utah: