What’s the Church’s Official Position on Official Positions?: Grappling with “Truth” and “Authority”
Keywords
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, church authorities, official positions, truth seeking
Abstract
In the previous essay, Dr. Rabbi Peter Haas considered how some of our Jewish friends have approached the issue of authority in their search for truth. During my engagement with such approaches as a student at Baltimore Hebrew University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies in Chicago, I have wondered how this approach might inform my own quest for truth within the context of my faith tradition. As a Latter-day Saint, what authorities should I consult? Where do I turn for truth? How can I know whether a certain claim is an “official position” of the Church or where to find the “official position” if one exists? If the Church does not have an “official position” on a particular issue, then how do I proceed in formulating my own personal “official position”?
Original Publication Citation
Hatch, Trevan G., “What’s the Church’s Official Position on Official Positions?: Grappling with ‘Truth’ and ‘Authority’”, In “The Learning of the Jews”: What Latter-day Saints can Learn from Jewish Religious Experience, edited by Trevan G. Hatch and Leonard J. Greenspoon, 53–85. Sandy, UT: Kofford Books, 2021.
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Hatch, Trevan, "What’s the Church’s Official Position on Official Positions?: Grappling with “Truth” and “Authority”" (2021). Faculty Publications. 5387.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/5387
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2021
Permanent URL
http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/8119
Publisher
Kofford Books
Language
English
College
Harold B. Lee Library
Copyright Use Information
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