Biblical Canon: Are We Missing Books in the Bible?

In this video, we respond to Bradley Wilcox’s October 2021 General Conference Talk labeled “Worthiness isn’t Flawlessness.” This talk has been making the rounds on the internet, as it communicates a hopeful message to Latter-day Saints struggling with sin. But while Brad Wilcox has a nice message, is this General Conference talk biblical?

The crux of Wilcox’s talk centers around the premise that God doesn’t expect us to be totally flawless, but rather to be devoted to the pursuit of righteousness and a repentant disposition. Flawlessness is an unachievable goal—and Wilcox admits this! Yet this perspective is at odds with both the prior teachings of the LDS Church, and the teachings of the Bible.

Scripture teaches that the Most Holy God will never be satisfied with “mostly righteous.” He is Just and WILL punish all wrongdoing. Brad Wilcox is fundamentally wrong: worthiness IS flawlessness! To be acceptable by God is to be perfect, yet this is completely impossible. The Bible tell us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and that “the wages of sin is death.”

The only hope for humanity is to look for a worthiness, a righteousness, that is foreign to us—the righteousness of God! And the Bible is clear about this: we can have this alien righteousness by faith.

“be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith” (Philippians 3:9)