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An announcement was made which signals the end of an era. It was reported that Bruce R. McConkie's
Mormon Doctrine will no longer be published by the Church, and that it will not be sold by Deseret Book. One viewer stated, "Why? For tighter correlative control, because of the book's embarrassing clarity, and because of some controversial assertions in the book." He also said that the publisher asserted the book was withdrawn because of poor sales.
Sandra Tanner was interviewed on the 5:30 segment of the news, with her collection of every edition of McConkie's book. She provided me with her view of the decision:
I believe the main reason McConkie's "Mormon Doctrine" was taken out of print was due to its candid discussion of LDS doctrines that the church is now trying to hide. Such teachings as God once being a man, his wife–Heavenly Mother, and Jesus being the literal, physical son of God are just a few of the doctrines that are being minimized in current manuals. If the LDS Church felt "Mormon Doctrine" presented a faulty compilation of their doctrines, why haven't they issued an authorized compendium of their beliefs? Mormons often say to me, "That's not official doctrine" as though there was some place to look up the official teachings. Where is the official systematic theology of Mormonism?
References to McConkie's work were taken out of the Gospel Principles manual when it was reissued this year for use in Priesthood and Relief Society classes. Now it seems it is being further phased out. It is only surprising that this has not been done before, since Mormon Doctrine has not enjoyed the support of every member of the highest Church Councils over the years.
The [KUTV] story is at Connect2Utah.Read the entire article here.
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