An LDS perspective of The Da Vinci Code

Please note that the following is not a representation of the opion of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but is merely the opinion of one member of the church.

With the upcoming release of The Da Vinci Code, I thought I would express my own views towards the highly controversial film. First of all I will say that my own religious views have not kept me from reading the novel by Dan Brown, nor will it keep me from attending the movie on opening night with a group of friends. I read the book some time ago so I will be borrowing from a web site to refresh my memory and explore the different premises laid in the book. The site from which I am referencing the books main premises is as follows: http://www.y-zine.com/mona_lisa.htm.

The premises are these:

• The Roman emperor Constantine conspired to deify Jesus Christ.
• Constantine personally selected the books of the New Testament.
• The Gnostic gospels were banned by men to suppress women.
• Jesus and Mary Magdalene were secretly married and had a child.
• Thousands of secret documents disprove key points of Christianity.

I must acknowledge my limited knowledge of church history and what would be considered documented facts. I will be taking these points in hand from more of a religious standpoint, rather than the standpoint of a scholar.

The first premise listed is that the Roman emperor, Constantine, contrived a conspiracy to deify Jesus Christ. To quote the cited article, “Brown reveals his conspiracy through the book’s fictional expert, British royal historian Sir Leigh Teabing. Presented as a wise old scholar, Teabing reveals to cryptologist Sophie Neveu that at the Council of Nicaea in a.d. 325 “many aspects of Christianity were debated and voted upon,” including the divinity of Jesus.”

It is my understanding that Christ was about 33 at the time of his crucifixion. If this is the case then the council at Nicaea took place 292 years following the ministry of Jesus Christ. If we look to the Bible as a historical document as well as a religious text then we know that following the crucifixion Christ spent 40 days among his apostles and other disciples in his resurrected form (Acts 1: 3). During his three year ministry and this time Jesus fully organizes his church and brings people into His fold (John 10:16). If you will further explore this same tenth chapter of John then you will see that the Jews sought to slay Christ for His own claim of divinity in verses 33-38. Was it the emperor, Constantine, 292 years after the time of Christ who first claimed divinity, or was it Christ himself that taught his followers that he was sent from God?

This question might be answered by addressing the second premise that it was Constantine who selected the books of the New Testament. Unless the great church historians have been manipulated this is highly unlikely. Several books of the New Testament were considered as authentic early as 140 AD by the historian, Marcion. The majority were recognized by Irenaeus in 180 AD. Several books were left out by Eusebius in 325 which is the time that Constinantine was working to unify the church and declare what was accepted as authentic. It was not Constantine alone who chose these books, but it was also the role of the council to ratify any decisions. The books of the New Testament were not listed in full as they are presently constituted until 367 AD by Athanasius.

Another of the premises that is presented is that several Gnostic gospels were suppressed in order to keep women in subjection. If this was indeed the case, it was the members of the early church and not Christ or the Apostles who wished to keep women in subjection to the will of men. From all scriptural accounts, Christ never degraded women, but rather held them in the highest of esteems. He never condemned them as was witnessed when he was presented with the woman taken in adultery (John 8:3-11), he taught them that it was faith that worked miracles when he spoke to the woman who believed that by touching the hem of Christ’s garment and was made whole from an issue of blood (hemorrhage) that she had been suffering for twelve years (Matthew 9:20-22). He allowed a woman who was a known sinner to bathe his feet with her tears (Luke 7:37-38). It was Mary Magdalene to whom he first appeared following his resurrection (John 20:1-17). To appear first to a woman showed that they were held in high regard in his eyes. It was also a woman from Samaria to whom he taught that if they were to drink of the water that he had to give that they would never again thirst (John 4:7-27).

It seems that the most controversial issue that arises in The Da Vinci Code was that Jesus Christ was married and perhaps had even conceived children. It must be remembered that Christ was around 33 years of age when he was crucified. The scriptural record accounts for the three years of his ministry. Prior to that time there are another 30 years of which we know very little of the life of Jesus. To say with certainty whether Christ was or wasn’t married according to scriptural records is to say so from silence as there is no indication one way or the other that he was married and had children or that he was not and did not. There are however, teachings of Christ himself and the apostles to indicate that marriage was a very important aspect of the gospel. Let us take the words of Christ as found in Matthew 19:5-6, “For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh. Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” Marriage is not just a practice of men for their own benefit, but it is ordained of God. Paul taught the people of Corinth that the man is not without the woman, neither the man without the woman in the Lord (1 Corinthians 11:11). As far as LDS theology is concerned, none of our Heavenly Father’s children may be saved without their husband or wife at their side and so it must be that Christ also marries. Whether he fulfilled this requirement during mortality, or following, it has not been made known. But it would not take away from His divinity if it were made known that he had married during mortality, nor would it do so if he were to have been part of the fulfilling of the commandment to Adam and Eve to multiply and replenish the earth. Christ’s love of children was also displayed when they came to see him and his disciples attempted to send them away (Matthew 19:13-15). It is also pure conjecture to say why the scriptures are silent on the matters of Christ’s marriage or conception of children. We must remember that our thoughts are not his thoughts, nor are our ways his ways (Isaiah 55: 8-9) and that he has a reason for such silence.

The last premise to address is that of the alleged existence of thousands of documents that would disprove key points of Christianity. Such is the test of faith. To paraphrase an LDS movie entitled, “God’s Army,” it was said that it seems as though we are presented with thousands of things which might destroy our faith, and few to sustain it. One of the greatest blessings of being LDS is that we do not have to rely only on the Bible to sustain our faith. Another work of scripture reaffirms and provides instruction as to how one may come to a knowledge of the truth. This work is known as The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. The original record was written by ancient prophets that lived upon the American continent upon plates of gold which were revealed to and translated by Joseph Smith, Jr. through the inspiration of God. It confirms that Jesus Christ was indeed sent forth from God to make the means of salvation available to all mankind and that his divinity was not conceived by the mortal mind in order to gain power or influence over other mortal minds.

Man may come up with many great schemes, ideas, and philosophies, but those that are inspired of God could never be overturned or destroyed.