Fourteen Fundamentals In Following The Prophet! (The Eyes of Faith!™ 2025-08-02 #37)

Fourteen Fundamentals In Following The Prophet! (The Eyes of Faith!™ 2025-08-02 #37)
I woke up a few days ago, thinking about Pres. Benson's BYU speech 14 Fundamentals.
It's a landmark address, but also not without controversy.
My background.
I hadn't heard of the talk until off my mission in 1992. Enrolled in Teachings of Living Prophets 333R. ETB prophet at the time, so doubly important.
2010, bishop had people give talks in prep for conference. sister quote it. Then Oct 2010, two seventies, sat morning and Saturday afternoon quoted it.3x in one year.
Later learned some objections, even controversy, associated with speech.
Three objections
Authoritarian tone
ETB personally
Third, consolidating power for his ascension
Most vocal politics
SWK did have issues with talk
authoritarian tone
blind obedience
Don LeFevre, public communications spokesman, responding to press inquiries, agrees that “Benson’s speech accurately portrayed the church’s position that a prophet can receive revelations from God on any matter—temporal or spiritual” and that “the prophet’s word is scripture, as far as the church is concerned, and the living prophet’s words take precedence in interpreting the written scripture as it applies to the present.” However, he denies as “simply not true” a newspaper report which says the president of the church “is God’s prophet and his word is law on all issues—including politics.”
So opposing abortion, and Prop 8 okay?
ETB Personally
Most vocal on politics, and no clear distinction poltical/ Rotary Club speeches and General Conference. TETB
Due bluntness, stepped on toes.
President Thorpe Isaacson Test
If Pres. Isaacson, or someone else: Delbert Staplely, Mark E. Peterson, Quentin L. Cook, Gerrit Gong gave this talk, would there be the controversy?
Did we cut J. Golden Kimball some slack that we didn't give to Pres. Benson?
Truth is independent.
Wrong tone dull effectiveness in some people.
John 6:66, many "walked no more with him"
JS 202, “I have not the least idea, if Christ should come to the earth and preach such rough things as He preached to the Jews, but that this generation would reject Him for being so rough"
tone red herring.
Double Standard.
14 F not in ETB manual
BY and JFS have chapters on citizenship, but not ETB?
Disagreed with political positions
People see GA's political affiliation as validation of their politics. When ETB became president. legitimized conservatve-Republican politics.
D Michael Quinn Extensions of Power, Matthew Harris (Thunder from the Right, Watchman on the Tower)
Both good research. Not a fanboy of Quinn, but he was telling truth about post-Manifest polygamy, which church now acknowledges
Harris research on racial issues in the church. Appropriate.
But his research on Benson is redundant and derivative. Moving on to Hugh B. Brown, which is wonderful.
Points
Resurgence in hatred of a prophet 30 years dead is odd. People still trash talk BRM.
ETB legitimizing conservatives, and implicitly delegitimatizing liberal politics (Hugh B. Brown, James E Faust, Liberal Soul)
Tea Party/The Trump Effect, reenergizing conservatism.
Quest for Power, control coercive and capital power of Federal Government. Laws shape culture (Helaman 4:22, 5:2-3)
Discredit ETB as a wild-eyed lunatics, who was a mindless puppet to John Birch Society. And if such lunatic can become prophet, then all bets are off. Church is no different than the medieval papacy.
LGBTQ/Sex and gender issues
The 14
Use Via Negativa, or inverting, to find truth
List:
First: The prophet is the only man who speaks for the Lord in everything.
So, someone other than than the keyholder speaks for God?
Second: The living prophet is more vital to us than the standard works.
If put standard works ahead of the prophet, then protestant position authority of the word of God.
Third: The living prophet is more important to us than a dead prophet.
So, dead prophets head of living prophet?
Matthew 23: garnish sepulchers, kill the Messiah
Fourth: The prophet will never lead the Church astray.
Saying prophet will.
Issues:
BY and adobe for the SL Temple
GBH and name of church
Corrective process involved, follows PH order.
Fifth: The prophet is not required to have any particular earthly training or credentials to speak on any subject or act on any matter at any time.
HWH retroactive JD, RMN 2
Prophets need academic accreditation?
WW and Jesus's diploma -JD 18:219. Men without letters.
Sixth: The prophet does not have to say "Thus saith the Lord" to give us scripture.
Trying to find a loophole.
WW and commandment
Seventh: The prophet tells us what we need to know, not always what we want to know.
Flattering prophets. Samuel the Lamanite and Hel. 13
Eighth: The prophet is not limited by men's reasoning.
So prophet limited by men's reasoning?
Martin Luther and talked about evolution of ideas
Engle V. Vitale, school prayer
DHO said a good ruling, DOM bad
"When the Supreme Court decided the original school prayer case in 1962 … I thought the case was correctly decided. What I did not foresee, but what was sensed by people whose vision was far greater than mine, was that this decision would set in motion a chain of legal and public and educational actions that would bring us to the current circumstances in which we must reaffirm and even contend for religious liberty. https://latterdaysaintmag.com/the-folly-of-trying-to-understand-prophetic-vision-in-terms-of-worldly-wisdom/
Ninth: The prophet can receive revelation on any matter, temporal or spiritual.
D&C 29
Temporal revelations
United Firm
ZCMI
Sugar beet
BYU
Tenth: The prophet may be involved in civic matters.
ETB and politics
ERA, MX Missile, Prop 8, liquor laws, Prn?
HJG and prohibition? Okay to cross the prophet? Not agency, but accountability?
Eleventh: The two groups who have the greatest difficulty in following the prophet are the proud who are learned and the proud who are rich.
2 Nephi 9
Twelfth: The prophet will not necessarily be popular with the world or the worldly.
Ahem
Popular preachers, soft, soggy, stories
Thirteenth: The prophet and his counselors make up the First Presidency--the highest quorum in the Church.
1st Pres is a quorum D&C 124:126
What's the PH order
Fourteenth: The prophet and the presidency--the living prophet and the First Presidency--follow them and be blessed; reject them and suffer.
Disobey prophets and be blessed, follow and be cursed
We will be tried, but not cursed
Take what I said with a grain of salt. One saint's opinion. And how much was it ETB personally? because not a factual objection.