086 Why Does God Guide Those Not of His Church? (w/Dr. Christopher Blythe)

From our brief survey of some of the various branches of the Restoration in this series, a few things have become apparent. First, it’s clear that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints do not have a monopoly on a love of the Book of Mormon. Many of our Restoration cousins also deeply revere this sacred text, have their faith in Christ strengthened because of it, and draw near to God by abiding by its precepts. Second, and perhaps more puzzling to some Latter-day Saints, it’s also clear that we do not have a monopoly on God’s notice, God’s mercy, and God’s guidance in our Church. In spite of many key differences between us, God also seems to actively be at work among many in the other Restoration branches as they seek him in faith. So what are we to make of this? What does it mean for our Church if God is guiding others as well? 

In this episode of Church History Matters, Casey and I sit down with Dr. Christopher Blythe, a gifted historian, author, fellow podcaster, and Joseph Smith Papers editor. Together we briefly overview two additional branches of the Restoration—the Henrickites and Cutlerites—and then dig into the question about how we reconcile God’s involvement in other faiths with the generally shared belief among Latter-day Saints that ours is God’s one-and-only authorized Church (and not least because we got succession right!). We each share why we choose to continue our membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in spite of other attractive alternatives.

For show notes and transcript for this and other episodes go to https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/church-history-matters-podcast/