神還在學習嗎？

神祂是否有與日俱增的知識？

這就是我上一篇文章中說到的，吸引我注意的問題。

我以下是一字不漏的引用那篇anti-mormon文章的一部分(可能是他們牧師翻譯的)

楊百翰會長和伍惠福都教導   神在知識上是漸進發展的（證道錄十一卷286頁、伍惠福的講道第3頁）。

可是約瑟斐亭斯密卻說"這種教訓是非常危險的"（救贖的教義一章8節）。哪一位先知說的是實話？

其實我看到這問題的時候，覺得有點刺激，這是蠻有趣的一個問題。

我認真的把相關的資料都看了一遍，發現確有此事，

以下就是我查到的文獻中的紀錄：(沒時間翻譯成中文，有興趣請看原文)

在惠福‧伍的演講(Discourses of Wilford Woodruff)裡面有段話：

If there was a point where man in his progression could not proceed any further, the very idea would throw a gloom over every intelligent and reflecting mind. God Himself is increasing and progressing in knowledge, power, and dominion, and will do so, worlds without end. It is just so with us. We are in a probation, which is a school of experience.—JD 6:120, December 6, 1857.

我去查了一下，惠福‧伍當時是十二使徒定額組的成員，所以講話也算是有份量的。

在Journal of Discourse 11:286裡面，時任總會會長的百翰‧楊講了一段話：

Some men seem as if they could learn so much and no more. They appear to be bounded in their capacity for acquiring knowledge, as Brother Orson Pratt, has in theory, bounded the capacity of God. According to his theory, God can progress no further in knowledge and power; but the God that I serve is progressing eternally, and so are his children: they will increase to all eternity, if they are faithful.

關於這段話中，談到奧申‧普瑞特弟兄說錯的教義引用如下：(Brother Orson Pratt，當時是十二使徒定額組的成員)

Orson Pratt once taught the erroneous doctrine that neither exalted man nor God progresses in knowledge or truth. Because of his false teachings, Elder Pratt was publicly reprimanded in an official declaration issued by the First Presidency, which was also signed by members of the Quorum of the Twelve.  Elder Pratt had written:

. . . when they [the Saints] become one with the Father and the Son and receive a fulness of their glory, that will be the end of all progression in knowledge, because there will be nothing more to be learned. The Father and the Son do not progress in knowledge and wisdom, because they already know all things, past, present, and to come.

Again from the false teachings of Elder Pratt:

There are none among them [the Gods] that are in advance of the others in knowledge; though some may have been Gods as many millions of years as there are particles of dust in all the universe, yet there is not one truth that such are in possession of but what every God knows. None of these Gods are progressing in knowledge; neither can they progress in the acquirement of any truth.

以上的引用，參見 Hyrum L. Andrus 所著的Doctrinal Commentary on the Pearl of Great Price

關於這件事的詳情請看補充資料二

另外朗卓‧舒在擔任總會會長時曾說(Conference Reports, p. 2, April, 1901)：

. . . we will continue on improving, advancing and increasing in wisdom, intelligence, power and dominion, worlds without end.     

               

以上是贊成神在知識上繼續進步的重量級領袖。

不過，下面幾個則是反對這種觀念的領袖：

約瑟•斐庭•斯密會長在救恩的教義，卷一，前幾頁有談到：

 It seems very strange to me that members of the Church will hold to the doctrine, "God increases in knowledge as time goes on." Or that they can believe (as a recently published article says): "If absolute perfection were attainable, there would eventually come a time when those who had chosen the better way would reach the ultimate; and if the ultimate could be gained, progression would cease. This cannot be, for as before specified nothing in nature remains at a standstill. When progression abdicates the throne, retrogression is the degrading successor."

But, how does anyone know? Where has the Lord ever revealed to us that he is lacking in knowledge? That he is still learning new truth; discovering new laws that are unknown to him? I think this kind of doctrine is very dangerous. I don't know where the Lord has ever declared such a thing. It is not contained in any revelation that I have read. Man's opinion unaided by the revelations of the Lord, does not make it so.

 其實在救恩的教義中，第一本的前幾頁就講得很清楚了。詳情請看補充資料一。

另外在教義和聖約學生用本，研究資料D中有寫道：

有些人曾經教導: 救主，甚至父神，是永遠在學習的。

這種教導與經文中的教導不符，經文教導：神通曉萬事。 

(見教約38:2 ; 88:6,41 ; 尼腓二書 2:24 ;9:20; 摩爾門書 8:17 ; 摩羅乃書 7:22) 。

布司•麥康基長老講到「神也許仍在學習」這種錯誤觀念時，說：

「甚至有些人擁護這幾乎難以相信的理論，說神是一位在宇宙大學註冊的永恆學生，祂在那裡忙於學習新的真理，並在積聚祂以前從未知道的新知和陌生的知識。

「這是多麼的輕視. . . . ..已近乎褻潰......貶低無所不能的主神的身份，猶如在說祂是一個偶像，或是神像，或是動物，或是一個靈體，或說祂是永遠在學習，卻永不能知道所有真理( 見提摩太後書3 : 7) ( 1980年10月，大會報告，第75頁;  或 1980 年11 月，旌旗)。

在尼爾•麥士維長老的著作All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience中寫道：

Unfortunately, the omniscience of God in the minds of some well-meaning Latter-day Saints has been qualified by the concept of "eternal progression." Some have wrongly assumed God's progress is related to His acquisition of additional knowledge. In fact, God's "eternal progression" (if one is nevertheless determined to apply these two words to God) is related to the successful execution, again and again, of His plan of salvation to redeem billions of His children throughout His many creations. President Brigham Young said there are "millions of earths" like this one. (JD 11:41.) Of this marvelous recurring and redemptive process that rolls forth on such a vast scale, God has said that "his course is one eternal round." (D&C 3:2.)

President Joseph Fielding Smith observed that God's progression "is in building worlds and bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man, . . . not his intelligence or knowledge, or virtue, or wisdom, or love, for these things are, as the scriptures teach, in a state of perfection." (Church History and Modern Revelation , 1947, 1:169.)

另外，在信心的講辭裡面，先知約瑟斯密也談到神是無所不知的。

在經過一番筆戰之後，大家是否覺得很混亂呢？

我自己分析，認為約瑟•斐庭•斯密會長的說法是對的。

有人會說：｢那這不就矛盾了嗎？｣
不就被 anti-mormon 說中了嗎？

所以，到底哪位先知說的是真的？？？

現在才是這個問題的關鍵所在，

也就是 anti-mormon 的問題所在

對於這個問題：

約瑟•斐庭•斯密會長曾說：

任何人所說的只要跟主所啟示的話是衝突的，我們就可以把它棄置一旁。我的話也好，任何本教會成員的話也好，不管其職位高低，假如所說的話跟標準經文不符合，我們就不需要承認它們。(見救恩的教義3:166，教約學生用本，研究資料J)

海樂•李會長也說過：

｢不要認為總會持有權柄人員所說的每一個字，都是受靈感動而說的。你要牢記在心，我不管他的職位是什麼，假使他所寫的或所說的，你無法在教會的標準經典中找到，除非他是先知，先見，啟示者――請注意此一例外――否則你可以立刻說：那只不過是他的想法。假如他所說的與標準經文中所說的相矛盾，你就會知道那是假的，不管說話者的職位是什麼。｣(見教約學生用本 68:3-5)

神的先知從未暗示他們是絕對沒有錯誤的，或暗示他們所說和所做的事都是主的旨意。

只有在他們依照主的旨意行事時，才成為主的發言人。

每位本教會的總會會長都曾很快指出他們有弱點和缺點。

先知約瑟說過：

｢一位先知只有在他做先知的事時，才是一位先知」(教會史，5 : 265)。

約翰•維特蘇長老對先知約瑟的話作了如下的闡釋：

｢這段話清楚地說明了本教會職員正式與非正式的言行之差別。在這段話中，先知約瑟•斯密承認他身為本教會總會會長和先知的特別能力和職責，在主的感召下，有權正式地講話，以啟迪教友領導教會。但是他也要求像別人一樣的權利，勞動和休息，工作和遊戲，訪問和討論，提出自己的看法，聽取別人的意見，像普通教友一樣的勸告和祝福。｣( Evidences and Reconciliations，1 : 182) 。

每個人都是為他自己的言論負責。教會不為他的言論負責。

每個領袖的稟賦不同，就算是十二使徒定額組的成員，靈性也不同。對同一個福音問題的想法解釋可能也不一樣。並不是說他被召喚為使徒，解釋經文的能力就是完美的。他們也是人，靈性也是還在進步中。 (這觀念的出處我忘記了。)

先知也是人，並不是說先知每一句話都是正確的，都是受靈啟發的，他們一樣也提出自己看法的權利。

總之，先知只有在主吩咐他執行先知的腳色時才是先知。

再次提醒，我網站上的資料只是代表我個人的理解，教會不需要為我所說的話負責。(請留意網站的副標題)，也許我哪天有不同的想法，我也會修改我的文章。


2012/2/25 後記：神到底是怎樣的神，這個問題很難。現在還對我的答案抱持著開放的態度。


約伯記11：7也講 No man by searching could find out God.


歌林多前書第2章說

如經上所記：神為愛他的人所預備的是眼睛未曾看見，耳朵未曾聽見，人心也未曾想到的。 只有神藉著聖靈向我們顯明了，因為聖靈參透萬事，就是神深奧的事也參透了。 除了在人裡頭的靈，誰知道人的事；像這樣，除了神的靈，也沒有人知道神的事。 我們所領受的，並不是世上的靈，乃是從神來的靈，叫我們能知道神開恩賜給我們的事。 並且我們講說這些事，不是用人智慧所指教的言語，乃是用聖靈所指教的言語，將屬靈的話解釋屬靈的事。（或作：將屬靈的事講與屬靈的人） 然而，屬血氣的人不領會神聖靈的事，反倒以為愚拙，並且不能知道，因為這些事惟有屬靈的人才能看透。