Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Accusation: The Truth About Mormons - Part 1

Every now and then, a comment comes along that leaves me, well… speechless; actually, shocked might be the better word. After reading your comments on Mormonism, I feel it my responsibility to shed some light on the subject for the benefit of whoever may find themselves reading this, and/or possibly the actual naysayer and author of these comments.

ACCUSATION - Part 1
"If you believe that GOD is the same "today, yesterday and forever" then why would you need a mormon bible? If you believe what Joeseph Smith taught that when he was drawn to an angel of light (which means= Devil) and asked about what church to go to..and that angel of light said none..they are ALL WRONG..which states that EVERYTHING about them and beliefs arnt true-then your calling GOD a LIAR! THAT MEANS GOD WAS WRONG>>>>GOD IS NEVER WRONG."

ACCUSATION
If you believe that GOD is the same "today, yesterday and forever" then why would you need a mormon bible?

RESPONSE
We absolutely believe god is the same “yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8) and that is one of the main reasons that we believe we need the Book of Mormon. The Bible records God speaking to his prophets for 4,400 years, if he is the same “yesterday, today, and forever,” don’t you think he would also speak to his prophets today? The prophets of the Book of Mormon had our day in view when they wrote their records. It serves as a second witness to the Bible in bearing testimony to the truth that Jesus is the Christ and that salvation is to be found in his gospel.
If you think it’s not necessary to have another book that supports the Bible’s teachings, you might well take Mark, Luke, and John out of the Bible because they basically say the same thing. Preposterous, right?
–By the way, the Mormon Bible is the King James Version, meaning the Bible we read from. The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ.

ACCUSATION
“If you believe what Joseph Smith taught that when he was drawn to an angel of light (which means= Devil)…”

RESPONSE
Two things jump out immediately in this comment that show this naysayer’s lack of study on the subject:
First, Joseph Smith did not claim to be “drawn to an angel of light.” His claim was even more amazing in that God the Father and Jesus Christ visited him in response to his humble prayer when he was fourteen.
Second, angel of light does not mean “devil.” I assumed when reading this that the naysayer was referring to 2 Cor 11:14 which reads, “for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” In context, this verse is saying that in order to deceive, Satan can transform into an angel of light (or imitate, because Satan obviously can’t be a righteous angel). The proceeding verse (2 Cor. 11:13) mentions deceitful workers that transform themselves into apostles of Christ. I think we can agree that wicked men cannot literally transform into the Lord’s chosen apostles.
Just for added good measure, let’s mention that “transformed” in these verses is translated from the Greek “metaschematizo,” which means to disguise.

to be continued...

Best Wishes,
Rusty

Friday, April 25, 2008

Question: Was Jesus Married?

QUESTION:

Dear Rusty,

I have a question do mormons believe Jesus was married? I was also wondering about their thoughts on the virgin Mary. If they believe Jesus was married do they believe he had more than one wife. Thank You so much for taking the time to answer my questions.


RESPONSE:

Sorry it took a couple days for me to get back to you. I actually wrote a short article on this topic on my site truthisrestored.blogspot.com.

My answer is my own opinion from my own study over the years. I have no problem believing that Christ was married. As a matter of fact, I am more disturbed by the belief that he was not.

Marriage is and always has been a commandment of God (Gen 1:28). Christ was perfect in every way, including keeping every commandment of God. Therefore, if someone professes that Christ was not married, they're also saying he did not keep the commandments, which would make him not perfect. See what I'm saying?
As far as him having more than one wife, it would not surprise me one way or the other. Polygamy was a common practice then and was approved by God (Think of Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David (2 Sam 12:8), etc...)

Mary, the mother of Jesus was one of the most righteous of Heavenly Father's daughters. How many others would be trusted with the role of being the Mother of the Son of God? the exact details of Christ's conception are not nearly as important as the fact that he was conceived by miraculous means and was literally the Son of God. Some people unwisely get hung up on the means of his conception instead of the reason for it.

"We believe in God the eternal father, and in his son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost" -Articles of Faith, Joseph Smith: 1

"There shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent." -Mosiah 3:17 (in the Book of Mormon)

I hope I've been able to answer your questions satisfactorily.

Best Wishes,
Rusty

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