Doctrinal Ping Pong

I often receive questions about various aspects of the gospel from those who frequent my lesson outlines posted on the Internet. Though I’m not a scholar, I search my resources and attempt to provide an answer based on the teachings and writings of the Brethren (past and present).

I recently received the following question: At what point in time did Joseph Smith become the prophet? The question was raised by a sister during a lesson discussion in Relief Society. The instructor taught that Joseph became a prophet at the time of the First Vision. At the end of the class, the sister who raised the question came up to the instructor and said that Joseph could not have been the prophet until he received the priesthood and the Church was organized. This sister then raised the question with the husband of the instructor. Apparently, the discussion continued among some of the sisters the following week, creating a certain amount of stress and contention.

I recall a High Priest group meeting I attended some years ago. I do not recall the topic of the discussion. What I do recall is the group discussing a variety of answers to a particular question, some of those answers speculative. The discussion continued for several minutes when one of the quorum members indicated that we were participating in doctrinal ping pong and not getting to the heart of the matter. I remembered that discussion when I received the inquiry about the Joseph Smith and at what point in time he became a prophet.

I love nothing more than a good gospel discussion and have probably been involved in more than my share of doctrinal ping pong conversations. I would also be among the last to put the brakes on a healthy interchange of ideas. Such discussions can be both spiritually and intellectually stimulating. However, within our class and quorum discussions, we need to be careful about getting caught up in discussions over questions that cannot be resolved, require speculation, or may negatively affect the feelings of a class member. Doctrinal ping pong discussions should be limited.

The answer to the question posed by the writer, did not have a simple answer. Each party seemed wed to a particular answer without exploring the response by the other. In the end, one simple fact remains, Joseph Smith became the Lord’s mouthpiece for a new generation. Regardless of the day or year his prophetic calling began, this simple truth stands above the rest. Our ultimate goal is to seek truth and we need to be careful about getting sidetracked in that quest by participating in doctrinal ping pong.