Search for Christ’s Doctrine
Dear Elder Peterson,
In the previous letter I emphasized that as missionaries, your calling is simply to teach people to hear the Lord’s voice. I showed that the difference between the wicked and the righteous is that the righteous hearken to the voice of the Lord, while the wicked do not. Those who hear the voice of the Lord and come to his voice are his sheep, and are invited into the church while those who do not are not.
I talked about the importance of understanding terms and catch phases. Misusing terms and catch phrases will prevent you from understanding the scriptures and cause you to unintentionally lead people astray from God.
One of the terms that I did not understand until long after my mission is “the doctrine of Christ”. The term “the doctrine of Christ” is very specific and does not include all the doctrines of the church; rather, it only includes a few doctrines that are accepted by God the Father, His son Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost as “the only and true doctrine.”
The word doctrine means: “a set of ideas or beliefs that are taught or believed to be true”
When this definition is applied to the term “doctrine of Christ” it means: “a set of ideas or beliefs that are taught or believed by Christ to be true”
As a missionary or gospel doctrine teacher of any type, understanding the doctrine of Christ is essential. So much so that Jesus pointed out that teaching his doctrine incorrectly by adding to or taking away from the short list that makes up his doctrine “cometh of evil” and “the gates of hell stand open to receive such“. (Full quote provided later)
The doctrine of Christ is discussed all over in the scriptures, but there are three very important chapters in the Book of Mormon where all the doctrines of Christ are taught in a single chapter and the Lord tells us specifically that what was taught are considered the complete list of principles and ordinances that make up his doctrine. These chapters are so important because after teaching the doctrines of Christ, we are told that these are the “ONLY and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” and that there are no other doctrines that are considered the doctrine of Christ.
Rather than tell you what this short list of doctrines is, I’m going to teach you how to find it for yourself. I will provide you with two of the three chapters that list all of his doctrines and let you read and compare them to create the list of all the points that are part of his doctrine.
The first chapter to look at is 3 Nephi 11. The Lord starts his own discourse by saying,
“28 And according as I have commanded you thus shall ye baptize. And there shall be no disputations among you, as there have hitherto been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the points of my doctrine, as there have hitherto been.
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31 Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, I will declare unto you my doctrine.
32 And this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given unto me…” – 3 Nephi 11:28-32
He then teaches his doctrine and ends by giving this promise and warning,
“39 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them.
40 And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock; but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand open to receive such when the floods come and the winds beat upon them.” – 3 Nephi 11:39-40
You’ll easily find the doctrine of Christ between those sets of verses. However, there may be a little confusion as you attempt to dig it out of the story since it isn’t provided in clear dot points. For this reason, you’ll want to compare your findings with 2 Nephi 31: which supports 3 Nephi 11. Nephi begins and ends his lecture on the doctrines of Christ by saying,
“2 Wherefore, the things which I have written sufficeth me, save it be a few words which I must speak concerning the doctrine of Christ; wherefore, I shall speak unto you plainly, according to the plainness of my prophesying.
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21 And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the ONLY and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen.” – 2 Nephi 31:2,21
By cross referencing these two chapters, you can discover all the points that make up the entire doctrine of Christ. There is one other chapter that tells us the full doctrine of Christ and concludes by telling us that there will be no more doctrine given until Christ shows himself to you in the flesh, but let’s not get too far ahead of our selves. 😉
When you discover the points that make up the doctrine of Christ, you will see that they are entirely focused on learning to hear the voice of the Lord. Once a person can hear the voice of the Lord, the Lord can teach and guide them, himself. The question that I am asking you to find an answer to is, “What do people need to do to begin to hear the voice of the Lord?” When you learn what they need to do, then you will know what to teach to help them progress to true conversion.
May God grant you His Spirit to teach and guide you daily. This I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
With love and faith,
Uncle Philip