In this episode, we welcome Dr. Charles Harrell to discuss his recent article “John Taylor on the ‘Dark Ages’”. Pure Original, Great Apostasy, Restoration; this has been the mainstream traditional LDS view, overwhelmingly. Yet, many have used a particular quote from an 1873 sermon by Elder John Taylor to complicate this narrative. Did John Taylor believe in the Great Apostasy, or was he open to people in the “dark ages” communing and seeing God, and experiencing the gifts of the spirit in ways much more comparable to the LDS church community than the mainstream traditional narrative has allowed? Does John Taylor, who will later become the third Prophet-President of the LDS Church, actually provide a “historical precedent” in justifying the near-abandonment of the Great Apostasy narrative, thus opening the door for more ecumenism with other religions? Dr. Harrell takes us through both the story of this famous quotation – as well as a proper analysis of the full text of this 1873 sermon, in context, in order to aid us in accurately understanding what John Taylor was actually teaching. This episode includes a lesson in motivated reasoning that should leave the audience wondering why it took nearly 25 years for a scholar to double-check a quotation that should have seemed too good to be true for those with ecumenical aspirations. Moreover, Dr. Harrell will take us into an important 19th century apologetic context that has “faded from LDS institutional memory”.

Article: “John Taylor on the ‘Dark Ages’”

Slideshow

Some other resources by Dr. Harrell:

“This Is My Doctrine”: The Development of Mormon Theology

“The Development of the Doctrine of Preexistence, 1830-1844”

Elder John Taylor sermon: “The Knowledge of God and Mode of Worshiping Him” (September 7, 1873)

Other President John Taylor resources:

Truth Defended; The Government of God;

JD 13.221-233;16.369-376; 18.306-313; 21.241-256; 22.290-297; 23:320-326;23:368-376

Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: John Taylor

The Last Pioneer: John Taylor, a Mormon Prophet by Samuel W. Taylor

Other resources:

Gospel Principles: here, here, here, and here

JSH-1; Gospel Topics: Apostasy

“The Gathering of Scattered Israel” ;“Hear Him”; “Rejoice in the Gift of Priesthood Keys” by President Russell M. Nelson (also here)

Jesus the Christ; The Great Apostasy by Elder James Talmage

A New Witness for the Articles of Faith by Elder Bruce R. McConkie

“Statement on the First Presidency Regarding God’s Love for All Mankind” (Feb. 15, 1978)

“The Light of Christ” by Elder Boyd K. Packer; D&C 93

The Essential Parley P. Pratt

President Wilford Woodruff: JD 2.191-202; 19.223-230; 22.169-176

Elder Moses Thatcher: JD 26. 327-335

Elder George Bywater: JD 23.142-149

Elder Henry W. Naisbitt: JD 26.228-240

Elder George Q. Cannon: JD 14. 45-58; 14. 122-129

“Inheriting the ‘Great Apostasy’: The Evolution of Mormon Views on the Middle Ages and the Renaissance” by Eric Dursteler

Standing Apart: Mormon Historical Consciousness and the Concept of Apostasy, edited by Miranda Wilcox and John D. Young

Mormonism in Transition by Thomas Alexander