The prophet Joseph Smith said a time would
come when every man "...walketh in his own way,
and after the image of his own God..." (DC 1:3(e)
Often this scripture is used to talk about those whose
gods are idols of materialism or some other 'ism'.
Those who are included in this group are often
thought to be the "unbelievers". I wonder if this
scripture isn't referring to those that believe they are
christian, but have wrested the scriptures to justify
their walk in strange paths.
There are churches that build their entire theology on one or a few verses and ignore the rest of their Bible. Henry Schaeffer often told me that if you believed your entire Bible you would be a member of his church. Lets talk about examples. Some believe that we are saved by grace (alone); some by faith (alone) (Acts 15:11; Eph 2:8; Luke 7:50) If I read those scriptures, I believe I am saved by grace. I am saved by faith. The problem is that the word "alone" is added to the scripture. If those scriptures are true, to the exclusion of other scriptures, what do we do with Rom. 5:10, we are saved by his life; or Rom 8:21, we are saved by hope. Which is it? Is it grace, or hope, or his life, or faith? How can it be only one of these alone, without regard to the rest of the Bible? Scriptures are wrested by adding a word that isn't there, just as they are wrested by deleting a word that is there. DC 3:15d says that Satan stirs the hearts of the people to contention regarding the true points of doctrine. Peter says that the unlearned and unstable wrest the scriptures to their own destruction. (II Pet 3:16)
In our own faith, we face the same challenge. Some quote a scripture and say, "that's all there is". "Nothing more is needed". For example, DC 3:16 is quoted, "Behold, this is my doctrine: Whosoever repenteth and cometh unto me, the same is my church; whosoever declareth more or less than this, the same is not of me, but is against me..." I would ask, "Is Jesus against himself"? For He said, "in his doctrine, Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow..." (Mk 4:3) "And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes..." Don't both of these scriptures include "more"? How about another scripture from 3 N 5:39-42: And again I say unto you, Ye must repent, and become as a little child, and be baptized in my name, or ye can in no wise receive these things. And again I say unto you, Ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine; and whoso buildeth upon this, buildeth upon my rock; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them. And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil..." I think the scripture in 3 Nephi more clearly states what it means to "come unto him". Saints, we need to follow the whole gospel, not bits and pieces. Otherwise we are merely following in the image of our own God.