Mormon Dilemma 96
Don’t Pray to Jesus
1982 BYU Speech by Bruce McConkie; “I shall express the view of the Brethren, of the prophets and apostles of old, and of all those who understand the scriptures and are in tune with the Holy Spirit…We do not worship the Son, and we do not worship the Holy Ghost. I know perfectly well what the scriptures say about worshipping Christ and Jehovah, but they are speaking in an entirely different sense…There are those deluded cultists, and others who, unless they repent, are on the road to becoming cultists, who choose to believe we should worship Adam. They have found or should find their way out of the Church…
Another peril is that those so involved often begin to pray directly to Christ because of some special friendship they feel has been developed…This is plain sectarian nonsense.
Our prayers are addressed to the Father, and to him only. They do not go through Christ, or the Blessed Virgin, or St. Genevieve or along the beads of a rosary. We are entitled to “come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).”
Proverbs 8:27, 35-36; “When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: 35 For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD. 36 But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.”
As mentioned earlier, this is classical Mormon theology. The Mormons do not have a personal relationship with Jesus although they live their lives to try and emulate what He did by always doing good works with a twist – they do it for their salvation because they don’t live by grace.
The words of McConkie are the typical diatribe you hear from the leaders in the Church.
And this is the typical nonsense we hear from the enemies of the church.
First, where in anything that is quoted does it say we do not seek out or have a personal relationship with Christ. It is never mentioned. In fact, quite the opposite is indicated in the fact that it is acknowledged that we do worship Christ, but in a different sense or way than we worship the Father. If we did not have or seek out a personal relationship with him we would not worship him.
Secondly, as is common, it is being assumed that the motivation of all members of the church is a selfish desire and has no connection to the love of Christ. Again, this is never mentioned in the quotes given, and is truly a false statement in regards to most of the membership.
Quite simply, what Brother McConkie is saying is beautiful: “While we seek out a relationship with Christ we do not rely on that relationship to form one with the Father. While we revere and love the Son, we are bold enough to approach the Father directly, which is what he wants of us.