In a recent work from a Reformed Protestant apologist, Travis Kerns, who has purportedly been studying The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since 1996, the author, as with most Protestant critics of the Church, assumes but never attempts to prove the doctrine of Sola Scriptura, which is the formal doctrine of Protestantism. Indeed, to understanding the importance of this doctrine, note the following comments from the author’s book:
To say the doctrine of sacred texts is important would be a dramatic understatement. One’s doctrine of holy writ informs many other doctrines and offers vital information concerning a person’s understanding of deity, humanity, and many other theological issues. (Travis S. Kerns, The Saints of Zion: An Introduction to Mormon Theology [Nashville, Tenn.: B&H Academic, 2018], 71)
Put in a more concise way, the idea that the Bible alone is sufficient for all things is simply not a Latter-day Saint idea. (Ibid., 79)
In light of McConkie’s mention of additional revelatory information needed for biblical interpretation, he also argued, “One of the great heresies of modern Christendom is the unfounded assumption that the Bible contains all of the inspired teachings now extant among men.” Therefore, as McConkie would likely maintain, Latter-day Saints believe the Bible to be one part of revelation, but not the entire corpus of authoritative revelation from heaven . . . although the Bible is God’s word to humanity, it is not the final word from heaven. Third, although the Bible is God’s word to humanity, it is not inerrant or infallible. (Ibid., 80, 81)
To review, then, there are three theological reasons, from a Latter-day Saint perspective, for continuing revelation. First, the Bible is believed to be incomplete. Second, the scriptural canon is believed to be open. Third, Latter-day Saints believe it is necessary to continue to hear from God. (Ibid., 107)
It will not surprise people to know that no exegesis of biblical texts are provided in the book, which is rather disingenuous as the author wishes to see Latter-day Saints syphoned off into his flavor of Protestantism, evidenced by the following:
It will be argued throughout this book that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are not to be considered Christians in a soteriological sense due to the major theological differences with historic, orthodox Christianity. In other words, because of the significant differences between Mormon beliefs and historic, orthodox Christianity, any person holding to the theology of the LDS Church will not inherit the kingdom of heaven after death. (Ibid., 2 n 2)
For a thorough refutation of Sola Scriptura, including a lengthy exegesis of 2 Tim 3:16-17, see:
