Teaching Choral Concepts

Review

     The "early church fathers" is a term used in reference to the outstanding bishops, elders and apologists who wrote in defense of the Christian faith during the first three centuries after Christ. Those who wrote prior to A.D. 200 are often called the "apostolic fathers." These early Christian writers and leaders had direct connections with the apostles or with others who knew the Lord and his disciples in the flesh. Those who wrote and ministered prior to the famous Council of Nicea held in A.D. 325 are frequently called the "ante-Nicene fathers."

     The writings of these men are of great value to the Christian community today because they reflect the doctrinal understandings of the leaders and members of the original Christian church. It is also possible to see the effects of the great apostasy taking hold on the church by comparing the doctrinal views of the early church fathers with the writings of their later counterparts.

     The writings of Ignatius, Clement of Rome, Polycarp, Justin Martyr; Methetes, Lactantius, Origen, Eusebius, Tertullian, Hippolytus, Didymus, Methodius, Clement of Alexandria, Cyprian, Irenaeus, Chrysostom and many other early Christian apologists are cited. The author has assembled their writings as a strong evidence of the validity of the doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They show that the LDS Church today truly is the restoration of the early Christian church.

     Forty-three doctrinal areas are examined, including intriguing topics such as the Father, Son and Holy Ghost as three separate deities; the Son's subordination to the Father; the identity of Jehovah; Jesus as the Firstborn; pre-mortal existence; godhood as man's divine potential; the apostasy and restoration; the need for continuous revelation; good works being essential for salvation; the necessity of baptism; and higher teachings and ordinances in ancient Christianity.

     This book is an excellent resource based on much in-depth research.

Table of Contents

About the Author, 7

Abbreviations, 8

Introduction, 9
Which Church is Right?, 9
A Striking Message, 9
The Restoration of the True Church, 10
Important Confirmation of the Restoration, 10
What Does It All Mean?, 11
Further Study, 11

1. Which Church is Right?, 12
The Three Choices 12
The Protestant Reformation 12
Easten Orthodoxy 13
A Catholic Utterance 13

2. The Importance of the Early Church Fathers, 15
Who Were the Early Church Fathers?, 15

3. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost: Three Separate Deities, 18
1 Corinthians 8:4-6, 19
The Divine Council, 21
A Note on Terms, 21

4. The Tangible Nature, or Corporeality, of the Father and the Son, 24

  5. How Are Jesus and the Father "One"? The True Nature of Their Unity, 29
The "Oneness" of the Father and the Son, 29
The Ancient Law of Agency, 31
More on the Oneness of the Father and the Son, 33

6. The Son's Subordination to the Father in the New Testament, 36

  7. The Son's Subordination to the Father in Early Christian Writings, 40

  8. The Savior and Redeemer of the World, 53

  9. Who is Jehovah?, 55
Jehovah and Jesus Are the Same Person, 55
Heavenly Father is Christ's "God", 56

10. Jesus as the Firstborn of the Father, 62
Christ as the "Firstborn" in the New Testament, 63
The Meaning of the Word "Firstborn" in the Old Testament, 64
The Church Fathers on Jesus as a Begotten or "Created" Being, 66
A Heavenly Mother, 67
Satan, 67

11. The Savior's Role in the Creation of the World, 69

12. The World Created from Pre-existent Matter, Not Ex Nihilo, 71

13. Our Pre-Mortal Existence, 75
The Grand Council in the Pre-Earth Life, 78

14. Godhood: Man's Divine Potential, 80
Deification in the New Testament, 81
The Early Church Fathers and Deification, 83

15. "Except There Come A Falling Away First": The Apostasy of the Ancient Church, 88
The Apostasy Foretold, 88
The Apostasy in Progress Toward End of New Testament Era, 89
What About Matthew 16:18?, 91

16. The Restitution of All Things: The Return of the Lord's Church, 93
Ancient Jewish Prophecies of a Latter-day Restorer, 95

17. Only One True Church, 98
The Name of the Church, 99

18. Prophets: Their Role and Importance, 101
Prophets as Representatives of the Divine Council, 103

19. Priesthood Authority, 105
The Priesthood in the New Testament, 107
The Priesthood in Early Christian Writings, 108
Chain of Authority, 111

20. The Melchizedek and Aaronic Priesthoods, 113
The Aaronic Priesthood, 116

21. The Early Church's Priesthood Offices, 117
Bishop and Elder: Two Different Offices, 119

22. An Unpaid Clergy, 120

23. Church Members Called Saints, 122

24. Missionary Work, 124

25. The Living Voice: Continuous Revelation, 126

26. The Church and Scripture: The Primacy of the Living Voice, 129

27. The Heavens Are Not Closed: The Church's Open Canon, 132
The Sealed Book of Isaiah 29, 133
Ezekiel's Sticks, 134
2 Timothy 3:16 and Additional Scripture, 135
Missing Scripture, 136
What About Revelation 22:18-19?, 138

28. The Sabbath, 141
Are Christians Exempt from Sabbath Observance?, 142
Can Only One Day Be the Sabbath?, 142
Which Day Was the Early Church's Day of Rest?, 143

29. The Law of Tithing, 147

30. The Lord's Supper (The Sacrament), 150
Who Should Partake?, 151
Water or Wine?, 151

31. Persecution: The Lot of the Saints, 154

32. Should We Use the Cross as a Religious Symbol?, 156

33. Good Works Are Essential for Salvation, 159
The Role of Grace, 161
What About Ephesians 2:8-9 and Titus 3:5- 7?, 162
What About the Thief on the Cross?, 164
Are Good Works Merely a Result of Salvation? 164
Salvation and the Early Church Fathers, 165

34. The Necessity of Baptism, 172
Baptism and the Early Church Fathers, 173

35. Infant Baptism and Original Sin, 178

36. Morality and Salvation: No Unclean Thing Can Inherit the Kingdom of God, 180

37. The Church Blessed With Spiritual Gifts, 183

38. Secrecy: Higher Teachings and Ordinances in Ancient Christianity, 185
New Testament Allusions to Higher Teachings, 186
Higher Teachings in the Post-Apostolic Church, 187
The Early Christian Rite of Initiation, 189

39. Eternal Marriage, 192
What About Matthew 22:23-30?, 193
Apocryphal and Rabbinic Evidence, 194

40. The Spirit World, 196
We Will Never Cease to Exist, 197

41. The Ministry in the Spirit World: All Will Have a Chance to Hear the Gospel, 199

42. Baptism for the Dead, 202
1 Corinthians 15:29, 202

43. The Universal Resurrection: All Will Be Raised from the Dead, 207
Our Resurrected Bodies Will Be Perfect, 208
Three Degrees of Glory, 208

Appendix: An Index of Selected LDS Teachings Found in Ancient Christianity, 210

Bibliography, 228

Index, 243

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