An article published in TIME magazine on August 4th 1997 stirred debate regarding what is doctrinal in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The controversy arose from one question by David Van Biema, associate editor of TIME magazine, during an interview with the Mormon Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley.  Van Biema asked President Hinckley directly: “Is the teaching of the church today that God the Father was once a man like we are?”  Hinckley’s response was baffling as he himself sounded uncertain, "I don't know that we teach it.  I don't know that we emphasize it.  I haven’t heard it discussed for a long time in public discourse.  I don’t know.  I don’t know all the circumstances under which that statement was made.  I understand the philosophical background behind it, but I don't know a lot about it, and I don't think others know a lot about it."

This teaching of Eternal Progression (men can become gods) is official doctrine in the LDS Church, but it is also one of Mormonism chief roadblocks to being accepted as a Christian denomination.  If you read official LDS literature, the doctrine is clear and unambiguous, but when interviewed by a magazine read by millions of Americans the Prophet claimed it was not taught nor emphasized.

Luke P. Wilson, Executive Director of The Institute for Religious Research (IRR), a non-denominational Christian foundation wrote to the LDS Office of the First Presidency in Salt lake City on August 27, 1997 inquiring about Hinckley’s response in the TIME article.  Wilson asked the LDS Church to confirm if President Hinckley’s response is an accurate statement regarding LDS doctrine.

In a letter dated Sepembert 3, 1997, F. Michael Watson, LDS Secretary to the first Presidency responded that the quotation was “taken out of context” and that “the statement was made in response to a question about the actual circumstances and background surrounding remarks given during the funeral services of a man named King Follet, not the doctrine of exaltation.”

Luke Wilson of IRR then contacted TIME editor David Van Biema for clarification and whether TIME quoted President Hinckley out of context.  TIME faxed back the transcript of the interview and stated that Hinckley’s response was directly following a long discussion about whether men could become gods.

Click here to view or download the scanned correspondence between the IRR, the LDS Church and TIME magazine, including the original letters and faxed transcript of the interview with President Gordon B. Hinckley.

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