Asaph wrote:I was trying to witness to a colleague of mine last week about Prophets. Of course Amos 3:7 always comes into the dicussion and the question I got was basically "what does your prophet know that we don't or can't find out". I was kind of in a spot becuase, to be honest, I have felt a little bit the same lately too and this coment kind of brought it out on the table. Can someone help me turn this ecounter to a testimony strengthener?
Junior Tier apologist Hamba Tuhan has just the right answer,
Hamba Tuhan wrote:When I was young, back in the early 90s, I happened upon a book which the First Presidency and the Twelve had commisioned way back in the 70s when the Church was officially opposing the Equal Rights Amendment in the US. In it, the case was made why the Church would oppose such an amendment despite not being opposed to the concept of women having equal rights per se. In one chapter, the author (Dallin Oaks, who was then a lawyer whom the Apostles had asked to present their case for them) explained that the wording of the proposed amendment was such ('Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex') that it would be virtually impossible in future to fight in the courts against such things as same-sex marriage...
Wow, maybe Oaks is a prophet? Could it be that through the divine tutelage of Jesus Christ within the Holy of Holies, Oaks revealed the mystery of slippery-slope argumentation to the world for the first time?
Asaph is overjoyed with Hamba's response, I guess he's really going to sock it to his co-worker now!
Asaph wrote:Beautiful......thanks, that is what I was looking for. Much obliged!
After some back-patting from other junior apologists, Honorentheos jumps in,
Honorentheos wrote:I suppose I am the only one here who finds it hilarious that legal counsel opinion as occurs all the time is advanced as prophetic foresight. To anachronistically project the modern SSM debate as the main reason for the church's ERA opposition is ridiculous. This was but one of a number of opposing arguments being made by STOP and other anti-ERA organizations. To make this argument is to water down the notion of "prophecy" even lower. Besides, it also implies the Dalin Oaks got his job because...well. We'll leave it at that.
LOL! Ouch! How embarrassing for young Hamba! It turns out that once again the Church has been caught proffering right-wing talk radio as prophecy! Ha ha ha ha -- this is what you guys pay 10% of your income to get? Let's hope Asaph's co-worker doesn't have access to the internet!
Merry Miss A apologist Deborah raises her head from the sand long enough to object to Honorentheos's thorough trouncing of Hamba Tuhan,
Deborah wrote:I doubt that you know anything about it. I know that they have knowledge of things that they don't always reveal
She's sounding like the Maxwell Institute, in all fairness. I'm reminded of a saying from the late author Douglas Adams, "Just because I'm crazy, doesn't mean they're not out to get me."
Hamba Tuhan isn't deterred from coming up with an apologetic for the prophets,
Hamba Tuhan wrote:Out of the literally infinite number of things which may be believed by others, prophets are led and inspired to emphasise certain things as they bear witness of the Saviour and call us to repentance, having their vision extended in both space and time by virtue of their high callings.
OMG! Imagine if Asaph has to go back to his co-worker and explain that Oaks didn't predict the slippery slope from equal rights to gay marriage after all, but he was a prophet because he emphasized right-wing political hype! If Asaph's co-worker comma, I guess this knowledge about the ERA could be something he couldn't have known.
But young Hamba keeps trying to score a point.
Honorentheos wrote:So, based on Hamba's response, we can say safely that the legal advise of Dalin Oaks, prior to his apostleship and in review of a legal opinion that did not actually originate with the brethren, is a good example of modern day revelation?
Hamba wrote:It's clear you never actually read the book. It was commissioned by the Brethren specifically to explain to a completely secular audience how and why Church leaders could oppose the ERA without being in favour of suppressing women.
So while Oaks's argument was entirely derivative and emphasized by everyone opposed to ERA, the real answer to Asaph's query is that Oaks translated the slippery slope into a language that a secular audience could understand. No one, save a prophet of God, could have done that. Asaph's co-worker may yet be moved by the possibility; that is, if he is put in a cell and subjected to sleep deprivation for the next ten years.
These junior apologists are really coming along. Let's face it, they have the basic techniques of the MI pretty much nailed down.