Let No Man, Nor Woman, Deceive You!

The following is a quote from Elder Ballard:  https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/10/the-trek-continues?lang=eng&country=au

Quote below:

We must be careful where our footsteps in life take us. We must be watchful and heed the counsel of Jesus to His disciples as He answered these questions: “Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

“And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man [and I add woman] deceive you.”9

Today I repeat earlier counsel from Church leaders.

·        Brothers and sisters, keep the doctrine of Christ pure and never be deceived by those who tamper with the doctrine. The gospel of the Father and the Son was restored through Joseph Smith, the prophet for this last dispensation.

·        Do not listen to those who have not been ordained and/or set apart to their Church calling and are not acknowledged by common consent of the members of the Church.10

·        Be aware of organizations, groups, or individuals claiming secret answers to doctrinal questions that they say today’s apostles and prophets do not have or understand.

Once I heard this counsel, I stopped reading books of people who have claimed to have visions.  My feeling is, perhaps they are telling the truth about their vision.  In fact, I really liked some of the books I read.    Perhaps Elder Ballard’s counsel does not apply to the books I read.  But, I decided to play it safe and I wanted the Lord to know that I took Elder Ballard’s counsel seriously even if I am somehow misinterpreting it. My feeling is that if I am wrong, it doesn’t matter.  On the other hand, if I am correct, I have avoided studying material that puts my spiritual growth at risk.

Not many people are aware that Visions of Glory was addressed with concerns by FAIR Mormon .org:  https://www.fairmormon.org/archive/publications/spencers-visions-of-glory

I don’t judge others.  I could be wrong.

FYI…here’s the book from Brent L. Top, BYU Dean of Religious Education.  Great book and likely a very safe book on people that of shared their accounts of near death experiences: https://deseretbook.com/p/whats-other-side-what-gospel-teaches-us-spirit-world-brent-l-top-1255?variant_id=112950-hardcover