Progressive Disclosure: Why Our Understanding of Scripture Might Differ From Yours

In a world where religious debates often center around interpretations of ancient texts, make the choice to seek continuing revelation.

I've been thinking lately about how God teaches us. There's a beautiful verse in Isaiah that captures this process perfectly: "For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little." (Isaiah 28:10)

This is how the Lord deals with us sometimes. He doesn't overwhelm us with all truth at once, but rather reveals it progressively as we're ready to receive it. It's a pattern I've seen in my own spiritual journey and in the evolution of scriptural understanding throughout history.

One concept that highlights this progressive nature is our view on scripture itself, which differs from the Protestant doctrine of *sola scriptura*.

What is Sola Scriptura?

Many Christian churches today look to the Bible as the ultimate authority of truth—a pillar of the Protestant Reformation that began with Martin Luther in 1517. This doctrine holds that scripture is:

- Inerrant - containing no mistakes
- Sufficient - containing all of God's word intended for humanity
- Clear - able to be clearly interpreted

I deeply appreciate the respect shown to scriptures with this paradigm. There's something beautiful about treasuring these sacred texts that have guided believers for centuries.

But this is not our paradigm.

A Misunderstanding About Being "Biblical"

When someone asks if our church is "biblical," we usually think they're asking if our doctrines find support in the Bible—to which we confidently answer yes.

What we often miss is that the question usually means something different: "Is your doctrine firmly based on, and *only* based on, the words in the Bible?"

When we hear someone say the Bible is the word of God, we immediately agree, without realizing we probably define that phrase differently.

What We Actually Believe About Scripture

We believe scripture is the product of men inspired by God. They received revelation and then wrote it down. All scripture we have today results from God calling a prophet, revealing things to him, and then him recording these revelations.

Often, it's a prophet or apostle taking past scripture and reinterpreting it (or revealing its interpretation) based on present inspiration and revelation.

For example, the Gospel of Matthew contains 124 quotations or references to Old Testament prophecies, connecting them with Jesus' life, even when the original prophecy had another meaning.

Matthew 2:15 states, "And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 'Out of Egypt have I called my son.'" This quotes Hosea 11:1: "When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt."

The original context of Hosea refers to Israel as Jehovah's son, but Matthew gives it new meaning as he writes about Mary, Joseph, and Jesus going to Egypt to escape Herod.

Scripture, then, is the written record of revelations given by God to prophets at specific times, in specific places, and for specific purposes. The Bible is a compilation of revelations given over time—truly a gift and blessing to have available today.

Our Church is Based on Revelation, Not Just the Bible

Instead of saying our church is biblical, I'd say our church and beliefs are based on God's revelations to prophets and apostles, which is what all scripture is based on.

**And these revelations continue today!** The heavens are open, and so is the scriptural canon.

Evidence Against a Closed Canon

Consider Revelation 22:18: "If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book."

This couldn't have been applicable to the entire Bible or even just the New Testament for two reasons:

1. Several books in the New Testament (Jude, the three epistles of John, and the Gospel of John) weren't even written yet when this statement was given.
2. The Bible didn't exist as a single collection of books until around 1000 AD.

Modern Revelation Enhances Ancient Scripture

As Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, one of today's apostles, beautifully explained:

*"Continuing revelation does not demean or discredit existing revelation. The Old Testament does not lose its value in our eyes when we are introduced to the New Testament, and the New Testament is only enhanced when we read the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ... Were those early Christians who for decades had access only to the primitive Gospel of Mark offended to receive the more detailed accounts set forth later by Matthew and Luke, to say nothing of the unprecedented passages and revelatory emphasis offered later yet by John? Surely they must have rejoiced that ever more convincing evidence of the divinity of Christ kept coming. And so do we rejoice."*

You Don't Have to Believe This

You don't have to accept this paradigm, but understanding it helps explain our approach to scripture. As I progressively share our beliefs, remember that we believe in an open canon of scripture that continues to grow today.

Sometimes you'll hear us use a Bible verse in support of something we believe, in a way that might seem unfamiliar. Remember that our interpretation of biblical scripture is informed by other revelations received in modern times, which we also consider to be scripture.

​In a world that often looks only to the past for divine guidance, choose to believe that God still speaks today—adding line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little.