He used a video presentation using line segments at different angles to represent different faiths' differing interpretations of the Bible like this:But why is the Book of Mormon so essential if we already have the Bible to teach us about Jesus Christ? Have you ever wondered why there are so many Christian churches in the world today when they obtain their doctrines from essentially the same Bible? It is because they interpret the Bible differently. If they interpreted it the same, they would be the same church. This is not a condition the Lord desires, for the Apostle Paul declared that there is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5). To help bring this oneness about, the Lord established a divine law of witnesses. Paul taught, “In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established” (2 Corinthians 13:1).
He explained that with the Book of Mormon we now have two reference points (witnesses) and that only one line of interpreting can be drawn between the two books.
As represented in this picture:Only one interpretation of Christ’s doctrines survives the testimony of these two witnesses.
If Elder Callister's analogy were truly compelling, one might wonder if a memo and his video might help Christopher Nemelka or the followers of James Strang accept the gospel truth as taught by Elder Callister that the SLC-based LDS Church is the only true one.
But, the problem is that Elder Callister's premise is all wrong. Just because he uses linear segments to represent interpretations in his analogy does not mean that this is the only way to represent interpretations or to best represent the reality of the situation. We could also use an analogy that represents interpretations of scripture with non-linear segments, as in this diagram:
And this diagram does a much better job of representing the reality of the situation. There are quite a number of sects with interpretations of the Bible and Book of Mormon that accept each as the true word of God, but differ quite a bit from the SLC-based LDS Church.
So what are your non-linear thoughts regarding Elder Callister's or the SLC-based LDS Church's teachings? Do you have a different way of representing this to better reflect the results of having these two witnesses, the Bible and the Book of Mormon?
Zack