Doctrinal Essays

Over the last several months as I have been interviewed by ecclesiastical leaders and administrative staff at Brigham Young University Idaho, where I work, I have often heard the phrase fringe doctrine  used. I became curious to see if there were times in history when doctrines were taught which apparently seemed controversial, but were nevertheless true. I was happy to find without much effort that such has often been the case. Those periods when fringe doctrine seemed to enter public discourse occurred between transitions when one law became fulfilled, and another law became operative. Those various stages of law can be thought of as the same as the word dispensation. It may also be appropriate to use the word church for those distinct but still connected stages of God's Kingdom. The first dispensation belonged to Adam, who walked and talked with God, and who was given the gospel by divine messengers. If Adam's time period were considered a kingdom of God , then it stands...