This week: Lesson 28, “O God, Where Art Thou?” (D&C 121:1–33; 122).
Subjects covered: The Mormon War in Missouri, Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail.
Potential issues:
- Danites
- Plurality of gods / “No God beside me” (D&C 121:32)
If you can think of any other issues from this week’s lesson, please comment below so we can add more links.
PLEASE NOTE: This information is a preparatory resource for gospel doctrine teachers to help them formulate answers to questions that might arise during their class. It is not in any way a substitution for the Gospel Doctrine manual, nor should instructors make these topics the focus of class instruction. This information is provided with the understanding that it is an additional resource only.
On a personal note, here are lesson notes and a PowerPoint I prepared for a stake adult education class on D&C 121–123:
Feel free to use them as you see fit.
Another potential topic (if only for background of how things got to Liberty Jail) is the Kirtland Safety Society:
http://en.fairlatterdaysaints.org/Kirtland_Safety_Society
I believe LDS are Henotheists and originally Jews were too.
The problem with using “henotheistic” to describe Mormon belief is that it requires acceptance of multiple gods, each of whom are seen as equally “true” and powerful, even though the henotheist worships only one of them.
Monolatry might be a better definition for LDS worship. Monolatry is the worship of one God who alone is worthy of worship, though other gods are believed to exist.
Ok, that sounds right. I thought Monolatry was supposed to be the same.
Another option I like is Roger Cook’s idea of monarchism. In monarchism, there are many divine beings, all of who are subordinate to God the Father, who is the supreme monarch of the universe, and the being who is the ultimate object of our worship.
That one fits well with what I just wrote in “Deacons then and now”.