Bruce R. McConkie

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Bruce R. McConkie

Bruce Redd McConkie (born July 29, 1915 in Ann Arbor , † April 19, 1985 in Salt Lake City , Utah ) was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1972 until his death. Prior to that, McConkie was a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy from 1946 until he was called an Apostle. McConkie published many books on Mormonism and wrote, among other things, the chapter headings for the canon of the output from 1979-81.

McConkie received a Bachelor of Arts and a Juris Doctor from the University of Utah . He married Amelia Smith (1916–2005), daughter of Joseph Fielding Smith , in 1937.

Early years

McConkie was born in Ann Arbor. His parents were Oscar W. McConkie and Margaret Vivian Redd. Before he was one year old, his parents moved to Monticello , Utah. His family moved back to Ann Arbor in 1925 and to Salt Lake City in 1926. McConkie attended Bryant Junior High School and later ecclesiastical LDS High School . He graduated from school at age 15 and then studied for three years at the University of Utah . Then he went on a mission for the Church .

McConkie followed his father's sermons and his religious views. However, he had different political views than his father. His father was a Democrat and as such was a member of the Utah Senate , he was a Republican .

Mission in the Eastern United States

On September 6, 1934, McConkie was called to serve as a missionary in the eastern United States. The first stop on his mission was Pittsburgh . He then served in the Cumorah district near Palmyra . These missionary activities were combined with the erection of a statue of the angel Moroni on the Cumorah hill .

In 1936 McConkie took part in the first Hill Cumorah Festival . His mission was extended by six weeks at the request of the mission president after the regular two years of service.

Education, marriage and family

McConkie with his wife Amelia and children. Around 1946.

McConkie met Amelia Smith prior to his mission while studying at the University of Utah . He and Amelia graduated there: he with a Bachelor of Arts and she with a degree in bacteriology and pathology . They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on October 13, 1937. They were married by Joseph Fielding Smith . Together they had nine children: Bruce (1938), Vivian (1940), Joseph (1941-2013), Stanford (1944), Mary (1946), Mark (1948), Rebecca (1950), Stephen (1951), and Sara (1957). Bruce lived less than two months.

McConkie graduated with a Bachelor of Laws in 1939. He was third best out of 75; therefore, his degree was converted to a Juris Doctor in 1967 . McConkie worked as a lawyer in Salt Lake City after graduating.

military service

While he was studying, he signed up for the US Army . He was a member of the Reserve Officer Training Corps . After the outbreak of World War II , he was drafted on March 5, 1942. He had the rank of lieutenant colonel when he was discharged from military service on February 26, 1946.

Called to seventies

McConkie while he was a seventies.

McConkie worked as a reporter for church news for some time. As he was reporting on general conference , he was interviewed by David O. McKay on October 6, 1946 . He wanted to know if he wanted to take a vacant place in the First Quorum of the Seventy . His name was presented to members at general conference, and they agreed that he should have a place in the quorum. On October 10, he was ordained by George Albert Smith to be a member of that quorum. McConkie served as the Seventy for the next 26 years.

Mormon Doctrine (book)

Front cover of the 1966 second edition of Mormon Doctrine.

In 1958 McConkie published the book called Mormon Doctrine: A Compendium of the Gospel . He described the book as "the first major attempt to summarize and explain the main doctrines and dogmas of Mormonism" and "the first comprehensive summary of the entire gospel - the first attempt to publish an encyclopedic commentary that covers the entire revealed religion" . The book includes a declaration from him that he alone is responsible for interpreting the teachings and the scriptures.

In writing the book, McConkie relied heavily on the scriptures and the authorities of the Church. Church leaders were surprised that he wrote such a book because he had not asked their permission and had not been commissioned to write such a book. They were glad McConkie took the trouble, but dissatisfied with the implacable text of the book. The apostle Mark E. Petersen called the book "full of errors and false quotations" and regretted that "it has had such widespread use."

Church President David O. McKay asked McConkie if he shouldn't reprint the book. However, it was printed again, but this time with the help of Spencer W. Kimball , who made the text more conciliatory. The second edition from 1966 included many such changes as the more conciliatory written texts.

While the Mormon Bible Guide to the Scriptures borrows much from the Guide to the Scriptures published by Cambridge University Press , changes were made in the 1979 edition that were inspired by the Book of Mormon Doctrine .

The Book of Mormon Doctrine was printed until 2010. Church-owned Deseret publisher said the book would no longer be published due to insufficient sales.

Mission President in Australia

On February 6, 1961, McConkie was called to be a mission president in Australia . His mission spanned all of the western and southern parts of Australia. His daughter Vivian was married and his son Joseph served a mission in Scotland. So six of their children went to Australia with them.

In October 1962, McConkie reported "a high number of converts and willingness of members to build new meetinghouses." McConkie taught the missionaries to listen to the Holy Ghost and be frugal.

McConkie returned to Utah in 1964 and again served as President of the Seventy.

Calling to be an apostle

Bruce R. McConkie tombstone.

McConkie was ordained an Apostle in October 1972 by President of the Church, Harold B. Lee . He remained an apostle until he died of cancer at the age of 69.

McConkie wrote Hymn 134 of the Church Hymnbook. The title of the song is "I Believe in Christ." The text was first read aloud by McConkie at general conference, entitled "The Testimony of Jesus".

His last general conference address was "The Purifying Power of Gethsemane" in April 1985. He died less than two weeks later and was buried in Salt Lake City Cemetery .

criticism

McConkie's works are known for their authoritarian character. McConkie once said to a Mormon scholar, "My field is to teach the Church about doctrine, and your field is to accept or keep silent." In his bestselling Doctrinal New Testament Commentaries and Messiah Series, the most frequently cited sources are other publications of his.

However, one of his most controversial positions is his defense of the ban on black people from becoming priests. McConkie wrote in his Book of Mormon Doctrine that blacks should not become priests because they were less righteous than whites in the premortal life. McConkie was also against mixed marriages.

McConkie was present at the Salt Lake Temple when the priesthood revelation of 1978 was received. He then called on all members to forget his quotes about black people.

McConkie also wrote that the Jews were being discriminated against for rejecting Jesus.

Publications

  • Doctrines of Salvation , by Joseph Fielding Smith , collected by Bruce R McConkie: Volume 1 , 1954; Volume 2 , 1955; Volume 3 , 1956.
  • Mormon Doctrine, A Compendium of the Gospel , 1958.
  • Mormon Doctrine , Second Edition, 1966.
  • Doctrinal New Testament Commentary: Volume 1, The Gospels , 1965. Volume 2, Acts – Philippians , 1970. Volume 3, Colossians – Revelation , 1972.
  • The Messiah Series , six books with the following three Messiah titles
    • The Promised Messiah , 1978.
    • The Mortal Messiah , four volumes, 1979-81.
    • The Millennial Messiah , 1982.
  • A New Witness for the Articles of Faith , 1985

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ From Father to Son: Joseph F. McConkie on Gospel Teaching Archived from the original on October 29, 2006. Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Meridian Magazine . May 5, 2003. Retrieved November 3, 2006. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ldsmag.com
  2. ↑ Beginning of Chapter 3, "The House of Faith . "
  3. ↑ In Memoriam: Elder Bruce R. McConkie, Advocate for Truth . In: New Era . June 1985, p. 8. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
  4. ↑ a b c d e f Dennis B. Horne: Bruce R. McConkie: Highlights From His Life & Teachings . Eborn Books, 2000, ISBN 1-890718-01-7 . .
  5. ↑ Paul, Erich Robert: Science, Religion, and Mormon Cosmology . University of Illinois Press, 1992, ISBN 978-0-252-01895-4 , p. 179 (Retrieved July 21, 2009). .
  6. ↑ Lavina Fielding Anderson , "Church Publishes First LDS edition of the Bible" , Ensign , Oct. 1979, p. 9
  7. ↑ Peggy Fletcher Stack : Landmark 'Mormon Doctrine' goes out of print . May 21, 2010. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 31, 2010. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.sltrib.com
  8. ↑ Elder Bruce R. McConkie Dies , Ensign , May 1985.
  9. ^ I Believe in Christ , lds.org.
  10. ↑ Bruce R. McConkie, The Testimony of Jesus , Ensign , July 1972.
  11. ↑ Bruce R. McConkie, The Purifying Power of Gethsemane , Ensign , May 1985.
  12. ↑ [1]
  13. ^ Philip L. Barlow: Mormons and the Bible: The Place of the Latter-day Saints in American Religion . Oxford University Press, February 27, 1997, ISBN 0-19-510971-6 .
  14. ↑ David John Buerger: Speaking with Authority: The Theological Influence of Elder Bruce R. McConkie Archived from the original on March 23, 2006. (- Scholar search ) In: Sunstone Education Foundation (Ed.): Sunstone . No. 47, March 1985, pp. 8-13. Retrieved May 24, 2006.
  15. ↑ McConkie, Mormon Doctrine , p. 114 .: “In a broad general sense, caste systems have their root and origin in the gospel itself, and when they operate according to the divine decree, the resultant restrictions and segregation are right and proper and have the approval of the Lord. To illustrate: Cain, Ham, and the whole negro race have been cursed with a black skin, the mark of Cain, so they can be identified as a caste apart, a people with whom the other descendants of Adam should not intermarry. "
  16. ↑ McConkie, Bruce R. (1982), The Millennial Messiah , Deseret Book, ISBN 0-87747-896-1 , pp. 224-25 .: “Let this fact be engraved in the eternal records with a pen of steel: the Jews were cursed, and smitten, and cursed anew, because they rejected the gospel, cast out their Messiah, and crucified their King. Let the spiritually illiterate suppose what they may, it was the Jewish denial and rejection of the Holy One of Israel, whom their fathers worshiped in the beauty of holiness, that has made them a hiss and a byword in all nations and that has taken millions of their fair sons and daughters to untimely graves. "
personal data
SURNAME McConkie, Bruce R.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES McConkie, Bruce Redd (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American Church Leader, Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
DATE OF BIRTH July 29, 1915
PLACE OF BIRTH Ann Arbor , Michigan
DATE OF DEATH April 19, 1985
Place of death Salt Lake City , Utah