Don’t modern prophets talk about moral law using idea-truth language?

Yes, modern prophets and apostles sometimes use the terms and forms of Greek thought to communicate their ideas. For example, Elder L. Tom Perry declared quite boldly: “God reveals to His prophets that there are moral absolutes. … Surely there could not be any doctrine more strongly expressed in the scriptures than the Lord’s unchanging commandments.”¹ This seems to present an idea view of truth, where truth can be expressed through statements of unchangeable, abstract law.¶

However, in this context, Elder Perry uses the language of absolutes to express distinctly relational ideas. He speaks of God as the author and source of the commandments. He expounds, “Sin will always be sin. Disobedience to the Lord’s commandments will always deprive us of His blessings.”² In other words, focus of our moral accountability is God, a divine person. This is an idea that is foreign to the philosophical tradition.¶

Further, God’s commandments often do not change. Some instructions have remained the same from the beginning of time and will likely persist throughout all eternity. We must not harbor illusions that we can disregard God’s present commandments just because they are not the immutable entities prized by the philosophical tradition. Ironically, to do so would not be adhering to the covenantal tradition, but rather—once again—to Greek philosophical assumptions. It is the philosophical tradition that teaches us to reverence only that which is immutable. We should treat God’s laws with the reverence warranted by the fact that they have been given by our Creator.¶

It is entirely unsurprising that prophets and apostles sometimes use the language of the philosophical tradition in their sermons. After all, they speak English, a language of Indo-European descent, and are speaking to audiences who were also raised in the Western world and who respond positively to the language and norms of the philosophical tradition. The language of the philosophical tradition can communicate the weightiness and persistence of God’s law—and teach us what to expect of the future on many important issues. The language of absolutism can be a powerful tool against the insidious doctrines of moral relativism.¶

Footnotes

1. L. Tom Perry, “Obedience to Law Is Liberty,” Ensign, May, 2013, 88. ↩

2. Ibid. ↩