Comments on: Lifeblood Battles: George Pace

By: Rob

Rob — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 18:00:27 +0000

I never knew about this incident. I understand that people say stupid things. But McConkie said so many anti-Christ things. He was out of control throwing out rebukes for people following Christ. I wonder if anyone else in the leadership ever tried to boot him.

By: Bill J.

Bill J. — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 04:26:57 +0000

I have not read G. Pace’s controversial book, but I know the scriptures teach being “born again” is a very intense life changing experience. It is precisely this enduring intensity which informs the dramatic life-long change which committed Christians are known for. Many such Christians report not only that their love for Christ has reached a new level – but also describe a new “oneness” with Christ. This feeling of unity often provides incredible motivation for positive change in one’s life, even leading in many cases to a state of sanctification.

So I am not sure where all this leaves Bro. Pace and his convictions. Nor can I fathom why McKonkie evidently perceived a threat to LDS in Pace’s writings. For me, however, gaining a personal love relationship with Christ was very hard-won and came about at a high price. So I can only encourage similar-minded LDS’s to think long and hard before allowing others – even a general authority – to undermine their own unique and personal experiences vis-a-vis the Savior.

By: Nathan C.

Nathan C. — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:40:33 +0000

When I was a freshman at BYU, I took a Book of Mormon class taught by George Pace. I thought he was a very kind, sincere, humble man. When McConkie publicly rebuked him, I think it was like the proverbial swatting of a fly with a sledge hammer. I have little doubt that Pace would have issued the same public “recantation” if he had been privately and discreetly contacted. But, the “smackdown” McConkie gave him was only partially for Pace, with it also being a lesson to others not to challenge the institutional authority of the LDS church.

That authority is very important to the LDS hierarchy. As Dallin H. Oaks said, “My duty as a member of the Council of the Twelve is to protect what is most unique about the LDS church, namely the authority of priesthood, testimony regarding the restoration of the gospel, and the divine mission of the Savior. Everything may be sacrificed in order to maintain the integrity of those essential facts.” (http://www.mormonwiki.org/Dallin_H._Oaks)

I think Oaks realizes that the LDS claim to divine authority is really the only thing that substantively separates the LDS church from other christian churches, not counting some of the finer points of doctrine that according to Gordon B. Hinckley, “we don’t know very much about.” (San Francisco Chronicle, April 13, 1997, p 3/Z1)

An interesting idea that many Protestant churches believe is the idea that when Jesus was crucified, when “the veil of the temple was rent in twain”, (Matthew 27:51) that it meant that God removed all institutional barriers between Himself and humanity. So, according to Protestant thought, it’s not so much a question of “who” has divine authority, as it is that divine authority is not even necessary anymore. (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_tore_the_Temple_curtain_when_Jesus_died )