1 Corinthians: The Milk, But Not the Meat

"AND I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?" (1 Corinthians 3:1-3)

In the latter half of the first century A.D., the Apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians for the second time (the first epistle is lost to us; 2 Corinthians actually represents Paul's third letter to Corinth) and explains that, previously, he has fed them with "milk" because they could not bear "meat". This time, he states that "neither yet now are ye able", the reason being the contentions, arguments, and divisions among them. Paul acknowledges that they have separated themselves into Christian "factions", some claiming to be followers of Paul, others of Apollos, others of Peter, and others of Christ.

Because Paul states that the saints at Corinth cannot yet bear "meat", it is safe to assume that there is probably not any doctrine contained in 1 Corinthians except that which Paul would have considered "milk". Obviously Paul was aware of other, deeper doctrines, but felt it unwise to share them with the Corinthian saints at this point.

Does Paul share the "meat" in any of his other epistles? Is the "meat" that Paul knew about even contained in the New Testament? I am not aware of anything especially significant in the rest of Paul's writings, or in the rest of the New Testament, that fits the mold for the "meat" that the Corinthians cannot yet handle.

But let me get to my point: God's works are endless, and his words never cease. The Bible by itself does not contain every single revelation that God ever gave, nor was the completion of it God's "going out of business" sign. Paul wasn't an anomaly; some men are given the same calling today, and their words carry just as much weight.

Mormon Messages: None Were with Him

The following video is the latest of the Church's Mormon Messages series on YouTube. It's taken from Elder Holland's talk in the last General Conference, centering on the Atonement and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This video received over 150,000 views within a few days and quickly became one of the most-viewed YouTube videos on Easter Sunday.

Mormon Myths: Polygamy Resulted from too Few Men Crossing the Plains

When I was about eleven-years-old and first began thinking critically about polygamy in the early Church, I was offered this explanation: while Brigham Young and the other early saints were crossing the plains, they had to marry other women because there were too few men to take care of them. This is sometimes coupled with the additional "fact" that women could not legally own property, and so had to marry in order to survive.

This was the explanation that fueled me for several years, probably until I was around seventeen. During those years, I heard it repeated several times and unfortunately probably repeated it to other people.

This explanation is demonstratively untrue, and once aware of that, it is deceptive and dishonest to perpetuate it. Actually, once aware of any of the facts surrounding the beginnings of plural marriage, it's difficult to see how anyone could believe this anyway.

• The doctrine of plural marriage was conceived of by at least the mid-1830s when Joseph Smith had a relationship with Fanny Alger; Joseph was probably aware of it as early as 1831. Plural marriage in Joseph's lifetime increased exponentially once in Nauvoo (although, it should be noted, that plural marriage was more esoteric while Joseph was alive).
  
• Historical records do not demonstrate a demographic imbalance between males and females while crossing the plains. In fact, throughout the 1800s, there were periodic episodes where men would write to the First Presidency complaining about how they had "run out of women", and there was no one left to marry.
• Plural marriage was first recorded as a commandment in 1844 as the "new and everlasting covenant". In the minds of the early saints, the concepts of "celestial marriage" and "plural marriage" were not separate concepts. Brigham Young and other early leaders taught that it was impossible to enter the Celestial Kingdom without entering into this covenant.
• Plural marriages were intimate. Joseph Smith was intimate with several of his wives, and Brigham Young had 50+ children by his. Obviously they weren't just caring for widows who'd lost their husbands.
  
• If it was against the law for women to own property, why break the law and enter into polygamous marriages instead of breaking the law and giving them property? This is silly, anyway, as women could own property.

A lack of men and trying to protect women by supporting them across the plains does not explain the origin or reasoning behind polygamy, and we should be wary about trying to frivolously explain away the commandments of God.

The Book of Mormon - A Book With a Promise

The following video is the latest in the Church's YouTube series "Mormon Messages". It's titled "A Book With a Promise", and is selections from a conference address given by Elder Christensen of the Seventy.

Al Gore and Thomas S. Monson Meet Privately

Former Vice President and Nobel Prize winner Al Gore met with President Monson last night at the Vice President's request, two days before the LDS Church's semi-annual General Conference. A Church spokesman said the Church was "a little taken aback".

Footage of Gore meeting with LDS leaders last night can be viewed here