The Local Church and the General Church | An Interview with Tom Roberts

Tom Roberts, PhD, DD, holds a BTh from Triune Biblical University,
a MTh from Covenant Bible College and Seminary, as well as an MDiv
and PhD in Theology from Hellenic Orthodox University in Athens,
Greece, and is currently pursuing doctoral studies at EUCLID
University. Dr. Roberts has published two books, From Sacral
Kingship to Sacred Marriage – A Theological Analysis of Literary
Borrowing, and Divorce and Remarriage – A Middle Eastern View. His
articles have appeared in Ancient American, Convergent Streams, and
other professional publications. Dr. Roberts has presented at Kent
State University’s Communal Studies Group conference, and the
Society for Mormon Philosophy and Theology, and reviewed books and
articles for The Interpreter Foundation. Tom is also the co-author
with Brent Schmidt for the BYU New Testament Commentary volume on
Romans and recently taught at BYU Education Week. He and his wife
reside in Big Piney, Wyoming. Highlights 01:40 Tom joined the
Church in 2017 but has been familiar with the Church since the
1960's. Tom shares his faith journey. 12:00 The moment in 2017 that
led him to be baptized. He read the Doctrine and Covenants thinking
he was going to disprove it but it led him to be converted. 17:45
Tom’s cultural experience in the Church after being a Catholic
Priest. 23:00 The importance of knowledge in the church. It’s
important to gain the skills necessary to minister to others. We
need to do better preparing people for callings instead of just
handing them a handbook. 31:0 The guides and curriculum are there
for us but we need to take advantage of them. Tom sees a lot of
misinformation in gospel doctrine. 36:00 The effort of leadership
development begins by acquiring a strong theological foundation of
our beliefs. It’s not just for the sake of intellect. It’s to
inform your heart and your growth. 39:15 People are afraid of
intellectual pursuits in our culture. While doing seminary, come
follow me, and going on a mission are all great, there is more.
Giving youth powerful spiritual experiences is important but there
is also the piece of gaining deep spiritual knowledge. 42:30 The
church focuses more on a very young-oriented spirituality. We go
through different spiritual spiritual steps throughout our lives.
44:00 Joseph Smith didn’t have a corporate view of the church. Tom
explains what he means by ‘corporate.’ 45:30 Local leaders are
afraid to step out of line from the 'corporate' church to also
pursue more academic and theological information. We need to
broaden LDS worship. Everything in our church is so streamlined and
almost too much so. 53:10 Tom shares what he would share with a new
bishop or Relief Society president that wants to move forward with
some of these ideas. Tom recommends beginning with Friday or
Saturday fireside to talk about more academic subjects. We want to
mature the tradition of the church, not attack it. 55:30 Leaders
that push the boundaries and create change. 1:03:10 Pushing this
movement forward isn’t about any particular person or for self
aggrandizement. It’s about unifying in the spirit within our faith
and with other faiths too. We need a revolution of the heart.
1:06:00 The more you understand others, the more you understand
yourself. Tom believes that this is what the saints need to do. We
need to be asking more questions. Having questions is not a bad
thing. We cannot question our faith in a faithful way. 1:10:00 Tom
shares his final testimony and thoughts on his time as a leader.
Links YouTube channel: Sacral Kingship of Christ BYU New Testament
Commentary Facebook: Sacral Kingship of Christ Tom Roberts at
Academia.edu Read the TRANSCRIPT of this podcast Watch on YouTube
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