CEK is Chris Kimball: a father of three, husband of one, son of two, a tax lawyer and a rock climber. His guest post helps rectify the sad lack of the lawyer’s perspective in Mormon Studies.
Mormonism is essentially a sacramental religion, defined by ordinance and ritual more than doctrine or belief. Any effort to define “Mormon doctrine†is fraught with difficulty and virtually certain of error, although one might venture that the “belief†portion of the temple recommend interview defines doctrine.[1] As Edward Kimball says, “Church history shows that General Authorities frequently declare, clarify, refine, and qualify interpretations of doctrine, but these statements generally constitute only informed opinion.â€[2] (more…)
