Elder David A. Bednar presided at our stake conference months prior to being called as an apostle. In the leadership session he taught that the Church operates under three layers. The layers are
Doctrine,
Principle, and
Practices.
It is important to note that the word doctrine is generally defined as "teachings" which could be applied to anything that is taught. For the purpose of this discussion let us define it, as Elder Bednar did, to be limited to those overarching elements that span these exigencies.
For example,
the "Practice" of ordaining 12 year old men to the office of a deacon is a function of
the "Principle" of Priesthood which is a function of
the "Doctrine" of the Divine Investiture of Authority.
Similarly,
the "Practice" of calling a sister to be the RS President is a function of
The "Principle" of Presidency which is a function of
the "Doctrine" of the Divine Investiture of Authority.
Occasionally we run into "Practices" that are not connected to any Principle or Doctrine. Some have been around for so long that they have achieved "Doctrine" status.
Can you cite the doctrine associated with these beliefs; "Practices"?
Moroni facing East on the Temples.
Taking the Sacrament with the Right hand.
"A call in the hall is no call at all"
He then said, almost as an aside, that there are far fewer "Doctrines" than we think. It is to this remark that I would comment.
I have spent significant time and energy studying, pondering and inquiring about
the number of real "Doctrines", as defined above, that exist.
I have found ten.
All of the "Principles" and "Practices" of the Church, as long as they are not falderal, fall under ten "Doctrines".
They are (not in any particular order):
The Nature of God
The Nature of Man
Obedience
Reverence
Divine Investiture of Authority
Chastity
Faith
Hope
Charity
Agency
Can you name another?
Can you cite a "Principle" or "Practice" that does not fall under any of these "Doctrines?"
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1 comment:
We totally teach our kids to take the sacrament with their right hands...so is that practice really a practice?
I remember my single's ward bishop chastising us for not taking the sacrament when we'd already taken it in another meeting the same day. He said that was wrong, though I'd never really thought about it before. It made sense immediately that there wouldn't be any offense created by taking the sacrament twice in one day, probably more offense if you passed it up, given the significance and our constant need for it.
There are many examples of this on church school campuses. At Ricks, the belief is that you can't wear hats or wear shorts because your classrooms are also used as chapels. However, you CAN wear shorts in the chapel where you have aerobics class, and you CAN wear hats and shorts in Provo, where all the same room dedications apply. I don't know if that really falls under the same umbrella because it isn't church-wide, but certainly the student body of those schools confuses the rules with practice and doctrine.
I wouldn't tag you on something like that. Sometimes tags are fun because they give you something to post, but that tag was burdensome and invasive! I only tagged people who I thought would want to do it. Glad I guessed right.
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