Bruce R. McConkie

Bruce Redd McConkie (July 29, 1915–April 19, 1985) was an influential Latter-day Saint apostle and theologian.

McConkie was the son-in-law of Joseph Fielding Smith, tenth President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from 1972 until his death. During his service as a General Authority, he published Mormon Doctrine and wrote the chapter headings of the LDS standard works.

McConkie received a Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctorate from the University of Utah. He spent his childhood between Monticello, Utah, Salt Lake City, and Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Bruce R. McConkie served in the First Council of the Seventy from 1946 until his calling as an apostle in 1972, where he served until his death in 1985.

Early Years

Bruce was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan to Oscar Walter McConkie and Margarat Vivian Redd. Before he was a year old, his family moved to Monticello, Utah. In 1925 his family moved back to Ann Arbor while his father completed Law School, then in 1926 they moved to Salt Lake City, Utah. Bruce attended Bryant Junior High School and LDS High School, where he graduated at age 15. He attended three years of college at the University of Utah before serving a Church mission. He grew to be a tall man at 6 ft. 5 in. in height.

Eastern States Mission

On September 6, 1934, Bruce received a call to serve in the Eastern States Mission under President Don B. Colton. His first assignment was in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. From May 1 to July 24, 1935, he served in the Cumorah District in Palmyra, New York as part of an intensive missionary campaign tied to the dedication of a monument to Moroni on the Hill Cumorah. Elder McConkie then served in the Seneca District and later presided over that same district.

In 1936 Elder McConkie participated in the first Hill Cumorah Pageant which was attended by his future father-in-law, Elder Joseph Fielding Smith. At the end of his second year of missionary service, Elder McConkie "extended his mission for six weeks to travel, without a companion, from town to town throughout the mission, teaching investigators and missionaries" at the request of his mission president.

Education, Marriage, and Family

Bruce met Amelia Smith, daughter of apostle Joseph Fielding Smith, before his mission while attending the University of Utah. He and Amelia graduated from that institution in June 1937, he with a Bachelor of Arts degree and she with a bachelor's degree in bacteriology and pathology. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple by Amelia's father on October 13, 1937. Together they had nine children: Bruce (1938), Vivian (1940), Joseph (1941), Stanford (1944), Mary (1946), Mark (1948), Rebecca (1950), Stephen (1951), and Sara (1957). Their oldest child, Bruce, lived less than two months.

Bruce graduated with his Bachelor of Laws degree in 1939 and ranked third out of seventy-five on the bar exam. His degree was automatically upgraded to Juris Doctor in June 1967.

Military Service

Bruce enrolled in Army ROTC while at the University of Utah. With the advent of World War II, he was called to active duty service on March 5, 1942. He served in military intelligence at Fort Douglas for the duration of the war and received the American Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal. He held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel at his discharge on February 26, 1946, one of the youngest in Army Intelligence to hold that rank.

Call to the Seventy

Bruce worked for a time as a reporter for the Deseret News. While covering the proceedings of General Conference on October 6, 1946, Bruce was interviewed by President David O. McKay to fill a vacancy in the First Council of the Seventy created by the death of Elder John H. Taylor. His name was presented for a sustaining vote by the membership of the Church that same day and on October 10, he was ordained and set apart by President George Albert Smith. He served as a member of the First Council of the Seventy for twenty-six years.

On June 11, 1961, Elder McConkie was ordained a High Priest by President Henry D. Moyle. This was in accordance with a new policy requiring the First Seven Presidents of Seventy to assist the Twelve in setting apart stake presidents, high councilmen, and bishops.

Doctrinal Expositor

Elder McConkie wrote several works which have become popular among Latter-day Saints for their doctrinal exposition and reference. These are listed in the Published Works section below.

Elder McConkie's works in general are characterized by their authoritative tone. Elder McConkie himself wrote to a Mormon intellectual in 1980, "It is my province to teach to the Church what the doctrine is. It is your province to echo what I say or to remain silent." In his best selling Doctrinal New Testament Commentaries and Messiah series, the sources that are most frequently cited as authority for his interpretational positions are other works authored by Bruce R. McConkie himself.

Mormon Doctrine, is an encyclopedic work that has become a frequently used reference for English-speaking Latter-day Saints. The first edition, which was printed in 1958, was criticized by then Church President David O. McKay, other members the First Presidency, and members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for 1) referencing other religions and their doctrines, 2) declaring church doctrine on controversial topics, 3) personal interpretations, and 4) overuse of the word "apostate" and related terms which were discourteous and offensive.

President McKay asked Marion G. Romney, a counselor in the First Presidency, to review the first edition of the book. President Romney concluded in a January 28, 1959 letter to President McKay that "notwithstanding its many commendable and valuable features and the author’s assumption of ‘sole and full responsibility’ for it, its nature and scope and the authoritative tone of the style in which it is written pose the question as to the propriety of the author’s attempting such a project without assignment and supervision from him whose right and responsibility it is to speak for the Church on ‘Mormon Doctrine.’"

Nearly a year later, after meeting to discuss the book, the January 8, 1960 office notes of President McKay reflect that:

We First Presidency of the Church decided that Bruce R. McConkie’s book, ‘Mormon Doctrine’ recently published by Bookcraft Company, must not be re-published, as it is full of errors and misstatements, and it is most unfortunate that it has received such wide circulation. It is reported to us that Brother McConkie has made corrections to his book, and is now preparing another edition. We decided this morning that we do not want him to publish another edition.

The feelings of the First Presidency were never made public because President McKay decided that "the book should be repudiated in such a way as to save the career of the author as one of the General Authorities of the Church. . . ." This was done in private meetings with Elder McConkie

In his 2003 biography of Bruce R. McConkie, The Bruce R. McConkie Story: Reflections of a Son, Bruce R. McConkie's son, Joseph Fielding McConkie, states that:

In January 1960, President McKay asked Elder McConkie not to have the book reprinted. ... On July 5, 1966, President McKay invited Elder McConkie into his office and gave approval for the book to be reprinted if appropriate changes were made and approved. Elder Spencer W. Kimball the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was assigned to be Elder McConkie’s in the First Quorum of the Seventy mentor in making those changes. ... My father told me that President McKay had so directed him. In addition to that, I am in possession of handwritten papers by my father affirming that direction.

Elder McConkie published the second edition of Mormon Doctrine in 1966. Joseph McConkie's claim of assent is based on personal evidence, not corroborating evidence from third parties. He further suggests that the publication of the second edition was approved by President McKay by the fact that Bruce R. McConkie was called in 1972 to fill a vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles created by the death of McConkie's father-in-law, Joseph Fielding Smith.

One of the most controversial topics that McConkie discussed in his writings was the church's policy of denying its priesthood to people of African descent. This policy, known informally as the "Negro doctrine," was increasingly criticized as racist in the 1960s and 1970s. McConkie vigorously supported the Negro doctrine, writing that God had cursed people of African descent, whom he referred to as "negroes":

Of the two-thirds who followed Christ a "War in Heaven" in which the LDS still believe, however, some were more valiant than others....Those who were less valiant in pre-existence and who thereby had certain spiritual restrictions imposed upon them during mortality are known to us as the negroes. Such spirits are sent to earth through the lineage of Cain, the mark put upon him for his rebellion against God and his murder of Abel being a black skin. (Moses 5:16-41; 12:22) Noah's son Ham married Egyptus, a descendant of Cain, thus preserving the negro lineage through the flood. (Abraham 1:20-27) Negroes in this life are denied the priesthood; under no circumstances can they hold this delegation of authority from the Almighty. ...The present status of the negro rests purely and simply on the foundation of pre-existence....The negroes are not equal with other races where the receipt of certain spiritual blessings are concerned, particularly the priesthood and the temple blessings that flow there from.

McConkie also rationalized segregatory policies and anti-"miscegination" policies based on this "negro doctrine":

Certainly the caste systems in communist countries and in India, for instance, are man made and are not based on true principles. “However, in a broad sense, caste have their root and origin in the gospel itself, and when they operate according to the divine decree, the resultant restrictions and segregation are right and proper and have the approval of the Lord. To illustrate: Cain, Ham, and the whole negro race have been cursed with a black skin, the mark of Cain, so they can be identified as a caste apart, a people with whom the other descendants of Adam should not intermarry.

When the LDS church abandoned this policy in 1978, McConkie abruptly recanted his positions. "Forget everything that I have said, or what President Brigham Young or President George Q. Cannon or whomsoever has said in days past that is contrary to the present revelation," he stated. "We spoke with a limited understanding and without the light and knowledge that now has come into the world. We get our truth and our light line upon line and precept upon precept. We have now had added a new flood of intelligence and light on this particular subject, and it erases all the darkness and all the views and all the thoughts of the past."

When asked how he could suddenly change his empahtic doctrinal teachings, McConkie, in typcial authoritative form, called on those who had not followed his sudden about fact to "repent":

I have said the same things, and people write me letters and say, "You said such and such, and how is it now that we do such and such?" And all I can say to that is that it is time disbelieving people repented and got in line and believed in a living, modern prophet.

Poetry

Elder McConkie wrote several poems, a few of which he read in various General Conference addresses. One for which he is especially remembered is the poem I Believe in Christ, delivered in a 1972 General Conference address, "The Testimony of Jesus". It was later set to music and published in the 1985 LDS hymnal, as Hymn #134, "I Believe in Christ" and has since gained popularity among members of the church.

Elder McConkie also penned the fourth verse to Hymn #21, "Come, Listen to a Prophet's Voice".

General Conference Talks

Elder McConkie gave several influential general conference talks. Among them was his well-known last conference talk in 1985, "The Purifying Power of Gethsemane." The oft-quoted closing of the talk reads:

And now, as pertaining to this perfect atonement, wrought by the shedding of the blood of God—I testify that it took place in Gethsemane and at Golgotha, and as pertaining to Jesus Christ, I testify that he is the Son of the Living God and was crucified for the sins of the world. He is our Lord, our God, and our King. This I know of myself independent of any other person.

I am one of his witnesses, and in a coming day I shall feel the nail marks in his hands and in his feet and shall wet his feet with my tears.

But I shall not know any better then than I know now that he is God’s Almighty Son, that he is our Savior and Redeemer, and that salvation comes in and through his atoning blood and in no other way.

Published Works

Doctrines of Salvation, by President Joseph Fielding Smith, compiled by Bruce R McConkie: volume 1, 1954; volume 2, 1955; volume 3, 1956.
Mormon Doctrine, A Compendium of the Gospel, 1958.
Mormon Doctrine, Second Edition, 1966.
Doctrinal New Testament Commentary: Volume 1, The Gospels, 1965. Volume 2, Acts–Philippians, 1970. Volume 3, Colossians–Revelation, 1972.
The Promised Messiah, 1978.
The Mortal Messiah, four volumes, 1979-1981.
The Millennial Messiah, 1982.
The Messiah Series, six-volume set that includes the three Messiah titles listed above
A New Witness for the Articles of Faith, 1985

References

McConkie, Joseph Fielding (2003) The Bruce R. McConkie Story: Reflections of a Son, Deseret Book Company. ISBN 1-59038-205-6
Horne, Dennis B. (2000) Bruce R. McConkie: Highlights From His Life & Teachings, Eborn Books. ISBN 1-890718-01-7

Footnotes

The Bruce R. McConkie Story: The Mormon Doctrine Saga. Meridian Magazine, May 11, 2004. Retrieved February 19, 2006.
Barlow, Mormons and the Bible: The Place of the Latter-day Saints in American Religion (Oxford University Press: 1991): 190.
Buerger, David John, "Speaking with Authority: The Theological Influence of Elder Bruce R. McConkie." Sunstone Magazine, Issue 47 (March 1985): 8-13. Retrieved May 24, 2006.
Benson, Steve, Bruce R. McConkie's "Mormon Doctrine" An Embarrassment to the LDS Church and Officially Repudiated. Recovery from Mormonism. Retrieved May 2, 2006.

1915 births | 1985 deaths | Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Latter Day Saint leaders | Latter Day Saints

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