The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles
"The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles" is a 2000 restatement of doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
Description
The document is a one-page declaration that was issued on January 1, 2000 and was signed by the fifteen apostles in the LDS Church: the three members of the First Presidency and the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The declaration commemorates the birth of Jesus and is a reaffirmation of church doctrines and teachings about him. The text includes quotations of significant scriptural passages from the Bible and other LDS Church scriptures and identifies Jesus as the Jehovah of the Old Testament.
Use and criticism
Since it was issued, the document has been frequently featured in church magazines and publications. One commentator has suggested that "the document may have been created to strengthen LDS Christian claims".[1] Another found it "noteworthy" that the declaration did not state that Jesus is the elder spirit brother of mankind, a doctrine of Mormonism that has been criticized by other Christians.[2]:153
Signatures
The document was signed by the following individuals:
- Gordon B. Hinckley (First Presidency)
- Thomas S. Monson (First Presidency)
- James E. Faust (First Presidency)
- Boyd K. Packer (Quorum of the Twelve)
- L. Tom Perry (Quorum of the Twelve)
- David B. Haight (Quorum of the Twelve)
- Neal A. Maxwell (Quorum of the Twelve)
- Russell M. Nelson (Quorum of the Twelve)
- Dallin H. Oaks (Quorum of the Twelve)
- M. Russell Ballard (Quorum of the Twelve)
- Joseph B. Wirthlin (Quorum of the Twelve)
- Richard G. Scott (Quorum of the Twelve)
- Robert D. Hales (Quorum of the Twelve)
- Jeffrey R. Holland (Quorum of the Twelve)
- Henry B. Eyring (Quorum of the Twelve)
See also
- Public relations of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- The Family: A Proclamation to the World
Notes
- ↑ Bushman, Claudia L. (2006), Contemporary Mormonism: Latter-day Saints in Modern America, Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers, p. 26–27, ISBN 0-275-98933-X, OCLC 61178156.
- ↑ Volluz, Corbin (2006), "Jesus Christ as Elder Brother", BYU Studies, 45 (2): 141–158
External links
- "The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles", lds.org (HTML)
- "The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles", lds.org (PDF)