During Jesus Ministry in the first century, he sustained the "Jewish Brethren" (Leaders) of his day, as those who had the authority to interpret the Hebrew Scriptures which they would do while sitting in Moses' seat. Jesus makes it clear in the passage below, to do what they say when their interpretations and recommendations align with the Scriptures. But Jesus clarifies that, clearly acknowledging they are men who are fallible, if they add some oral tradition (known as the Tradition of the Elders) that conflicts with the Hebrew Scriptures, he recommends his followers do not follow their actions if it's based on their traditions:
Matthew 23:2-3 (EXB):
2 “The ·teachers of the law [scribes] and the Pharisees ·have the authority to interpret what the law of Moses says [L sit in Moses’ seat/chair]. 3 So you should ·obey [do; practice] and ·follow [keep; observe] whatever they tell you, but ·their lives are not good examples for you to follow [L do not follow their actions]. ·They tell you to do things, but they themselves don’t do them [L For they say but do not do].
“Moses’ seat” referred to the place in the synagogue where the Hebrew Scriptures were read. So He is saying to listen to them if their actions and directive align with the Scriptures, but to disregard any additional Traditions they add that conflicts with the Hebrew Canon. For example, one of the Traditions of the Elders was the performance of a ceremonial hand washing, a purity ritual, not based on hygiene but to basically "virtue signal" your piety. So Jesus did not ceremonially wash His hands in the way some of the Leaders demanded, based on their pious traditions (see Matt 15:1–9).
In the same chapter of Mattew 23, quoted above, after Jesus distinguishes between following what the "Israelite Brethren" say and advise if it accords with the Torah/Scriptures and to ignore their added man-made traditions; in the same chapter, Jesus refers to these same Leaders (in regards to their man-made Traditions), that they are “play actors/religious fakers” (verse 13), “blind guides” (verse 16), “blind fools” (verse 17), “full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” (v. 28), “serpents” (verse 23), “a brood of vipers” (verse 33). Despite this, Jesus remains a Jew, a member of the Jewish Faith or Judaism. So while he says to obey the Leaders and follow them as Leaders, it is clear that he means only when they are upholding the Hebrew Scriptures; meanwhile he clearly condemns their man-made traditions (see Matt. 15:9, quoting Isa. 29:13).
It's important to note that after Jesus died, his brother James continued to remain a Jew (a member of the Jewish Faith or Judaism); and he attended the Jewish Temple and respected the concept of Leadership and the importance of organized religious behavior, as echoed in the Epistle of James; which according to the EXB translation, the Epistle of James, "is the most Jewish book in the NT. Except for two or three references to Christ, it would fit rather well in the OT. The life to which the epistle exhorts is that of a profoundly pious Jew who is fulfilling the law in every regard. ... A still more striking fact is the number of parallels between this epistle and the words of Jesus. As Ross says, 'this Epistle contains more verbal reminiscences of the teaching of Jesus than all of the other apostolic writings' (The Epistles of James and John, p. 16). Instead of quoting specifically from the gospels, it seems that the author is simply reflecting the words he heard from the lips of Jesus Himself, perhaps as they worked together as youths in Nazareth. He certainly knew and shared the insights and attitudes reflected in the Sermon on the Mount, in parables, and in other teachings about life, poverty, and values (cf. e.g., James 1:22 with Matt 7:20, 24; James 3:12 with Matt 7:16; James 2:5 with Matt 5:3; James 4:11, 12 with Matt 7:1; James 5:2 with Matt 6:19; and James 5:12 with Matt 5:34-37).'
This all actually aligns with the official LDS position:
It makes no difference,” stated President Joseph Fielding Smith, “what is written or what anyone has said, if what has been said is in conflict with what the Lord has revealed, we can set it aside. My words, and the teachings of any other member of the Church, high or low, if they do not square with the revelations, we need not accept them. Let us have this matter clear. We have accepted the four standard works as the measuring yardsticks, or balances, by which we measure every man’s doctrine. You cannot accept the books written by the authorities of the Church as standards in doctrine, only in so far as they accord with the revealed word in the standard works. Every man who writes is responsible, not the Church, for what he writes. If Joseph Fielding Smith writes something which is out of harmony with the revelations, then every member of the Church is duty bound to reject it. If he writes that which is in perfect harmony with the revealed word of the Lord, then it should be accepted” (Doctrines of Salvation, 3:203-4).
… Teaching the same principle, President Harold B. Lee said: “It is not to be thought that every word spoken by the General Authorities is inspired, or that they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost in everything they [speak] and write. Now you keep that in mind. I don’t care what his position is, if he writes something or speaks something that goes beyond anything that you can find in the standard church works, unless that one be the prophet, seer, and revelator—please note that one exception—you may immediately say, `Well, that is his own idea.’ And if he says something that contradicts what is found in the standard church works (I think that is why we call them `standard’—it is the standard measure of all that men teach), you may know by that same token that it is false, regardless of the position of the man who says it” (“Place of the Living Prophet, Seer and Revelator,” 14).(Joseph Fielding McConkie, Answers: Straightforward Answers to Tough Gospel Questions [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1998], 221.)
Source: https://www.ldsscriptureteachings.org/2016/01/is-that-doctrine/
At this point, somebody might bring up the quote by Brigham Young when he pointed out that the LDS Scriptures are not as important as the "word of the Lord" through a living prophet. This quote needs to be put in perspective, for this was said when Joseph Smith "the Prophet" was alive. Joseph was regularly receiving revelations and continually adding to the Canon when Brigham Young said that the living oracles were more important than the Canon. After Joseph's death LDS Scholars acknowledge that the Leaders of the Utah-based LDS Church referred to themselves as "Presidents," and only Joseph was considered "the Prophet of the Restoration"; and thus they considered themselves custodians of the revelations and scriptures. For example, in the book Restorations: Scholars in Dialogue from Community of Christ and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints with Editors Andrew Bolton and Casey Paul Griffiths, on page 39, in the section written by Joshua Sears of BYU, we read:
After Joseph's death in 1844, Brigham Young and other church leaders who immigrated to Utah saw themselves as custodians of Joseph's scriptural legacy. A new edition of the Doctrine and Covenants in 1876 added twenty-six new sections, one of which contained a Brigham Young revelation, marking the first expansion of the canon beyond Joseph's work.
In other words, the Leaders were the custodians of Joseph's authoritative scriptural production. The few additional revelations that came through to later LDS Presidents, after Joseph's death, were themselves canonized in order to make them authoritative. In other words, that which is canonized as scripture is the authority. Not even a signed First Presidency letter is authoritative, for anyone who has diligently studied the issue will find out that when the First Presidency wrote official letters regarding the pre-1978 issue of blacks and the priesthood in the 1950s-1960s, those letters and the racial doctrines therein, were disavowed as folklore in the 2013 Church Essay Race and the Priesthood.
In his book Doctrines of Salvation, which is quoted from above, we saw that Joseph Fielding Smith declared that only the Scriptures are authoritative, and one should ignore the teaching of any Church President if it is not in alignment with the Scriptures; ironically, Joseph Fielding Smith own book Doctrines of Salvation (originally published before 1978), contains racist ideas about black people being the seed of Cain, which is not contained in the LDS scriptures (which is confirmed by today's LDS Scholars). Thus we see a kind of wisdom in his indirect condemnation of his own racist views, which would a few decades later be considered a contradiction to the gospel and declared false folklore. Yet at that time, Joseph Fielding Smith considered such racist folklore to be true doctrine; while simultaneously telling the reader in the same book to only consider the Scriptural Canon as authoritative and to ignore any Church President if what they say or do contradicts the Scriptures (which is what Joseph Fielding Smith ironically did in fact do, that is contradict the scriptures). Thus, we see a modern recurrence of the issues of Jesus' day, and all the more reason to pay attention to Jesus's admonition in his day to follow the interpretations of the "Israelite Brethren" only when it accords with the Hebrew Scriptures and to not believe or do what they do if it's based on false traditions. So that if we follow this advice today we would sustain the LDS Brethren but only do what they suggest if it aligns with the Scriptures.
This passage of Scripture below is interesting in that it mirrors modern times regarding the Word of Wisdom. Many LDS members who do not agree that the Word of Wisdom should be interpreted as a "commandment" with a constraint on the behavior of the Saints; when it was clearly presented in the original revelation as being not a commandment. For this passage below does two things, it talks about not worrying about what you should eat (food or beverages) but also encourages sustaining "the Brethren" of that era:
Hebrews 13:7, 9, 17 (EXB):
7 Remember your leaders who ·taught [proclaimed; spoke] God’s ·message [word] to you. ·Remember [Consider; Reflect on] ·how they lived and died [or the outcome/result of their way of life], and ·copy [imitate] their faith.
9 Do not let all kinds of strange teachings ·lead you into the wrong way [take you off course; lead you astray]. ·Your hearts should be strengthened by [or Inner strength comes from] God’s grace, not by obeying rules about foods [C referring to Jewish dietary laws; Lev. 11; Mark 7:19; Acts 10; Col. 2:16], which ·do not help [or have never benefited] those who ·obey [observe; live by] them.
17 ·Obey [or Have confidence in] your leaders and ·act under [or submit to] their authority. [L For; Because] They are watching over you, because they ·are responsible [will give an account (to God)] for ·your souls [or you]. ·Obey them [Do this; Act this way] so that they will do this work with joy, not ·sadness [or complaint; groaning], for that would be of no ·benefit [advantage; help] to you.
