Posted in Mormon Dilemmas, tagged Alpha Omega, bible, Christianity, false doctrines of Mormonism, false prophet, Greek in the Book of Mormon, joseph smith, Nephites, salvation on 04/18/2013 | Leave a Comment »
Alpha & Omega
3 Nephi 9:18; “I am the light and the life of the world. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.”
Revelation 1:8; “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”
Posted in Mormon Dilemmas, tagged false doctrines of Mormonism, false prophecies in BoM, Jaredites, Nephites, Reformed Egyptian on 03/30/2013 | 1 Comment »
Reformed Egyptian
Mormon 9:32; “And now, behold, we have written this record according to our knowledge, in the characters which are called among us the reformed Egyptian, being handed down and altered by us, according to our manner of speech.”
Hosea 2:17; “For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.”
Posted in Mormon Dilemmas, tagged bible, false doctrines of Mormonism, false prophecies in Book of Mormon, Jesus, Lamanites, Lamanites turn dark, Nephites, sin causes dark skin on 03/26/2013 | Leave a Comment »
Racial Divisions
1 Nephi 13:15; “And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance; and I beheld that they were white, and exceedingly fair and beautiful, like unto my people before they were slain.”
Acts 10:34-35; “Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: 35 But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.”
Posted in March, Witnessing Tip of the Day, tagged bible, Book of Mormon, false doctrines, false prophecies, Jesus, Laman River, Nephites, Red Sea on 03/19/2012 | Leave a Comment »
March 19 – Numbers 14:25; “(Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley). To morrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea”.
Posted in Book of Mormon, tagged bible, Book of Mormon, dates in Book of Mormon history, false doctrine, false gospel, false prophets, Jerusalem, Jesus, Lamanites, Mesoamerica, Nephites on 09/18/2011 | Leave a Comment »
Book of Mormon & Dates in History
A few years ago I took a bible study class on the book of Jeremiah. Now I’ve been taking bible study classes non-stop since I was saved back on Palm Sunday of ’93 and I have to say that just like every other Christian I learn a lot, but there are times when the studies are more significant than others. The study of Jeremiah did that for me.
Posted in Mormon Dilemmas, tagged angel of light, another gospel, bible, Book of Mormon, false doctrine, Helaman, Jesus in BC era, joseph smith, Lamanites, Nephites, salvation on 09/18/2011 | 1 Comment »
The Book of Questions
Helaman – BC 52-2
I’ve always thought of Helaman as the book of questions. While the entire Book of Mormon has many unanswered questions this one book has always made me wonder why my people can’t see through the lies of Joseph Smith. Today we’re looking at just a couple of things.
Posted in July, Witnessing Tip of the Day, tagged bible, Book of Mormon, false doctrine, false prophecy, how to witness, Jesus, joseph smith, Lamanites, mormonism, Nephites, salvation on 07/08/2011 | Leave a Comment »
July 8 – Jeremiah 6:13; “For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.”
Posted in Book of Mormon Inspired of God?, tagged bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, false gospel, Jarom, Jesus, joseph smith, Lamanites, lds church, Moroni, Nephites, Omni, Red Sea, Redeemer, salvation, Shiz on 04/21/2011 | Leave a Comment »
Inspired of God? Difficulties in the Book of Mormon
“All scripturei s given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” 2 Timothy 3:16.
The key word here is inspiration. This word in the Greek is theopneustos. It means God breathed. Look anywhere in the Bible, there is nothing in it that contradicts itself, there are no mistakes, and it is all one hundred percent perfect! Archaeologists will sometimes use the Bible to search for the spots they want to investigate. There are hundreds of documents which prove the Bible to be true, from Josephus of the first century to the Dead Sea Scrolls. Each time they find something new, it validates what the Bible says!
Posted in Witnessing Tip of the Day, tagged bible, Book of Mormon, false gospel, grace, Hebrew, Israelites, Jesus, mormonism, Nephites, Reformed Egyptian, salvation, Savior, truth on 04/19/2011 | Leave a Comment »
April 19 – In Deut. 28:49 God said; “The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand.”
Posted in Witnessing Tip of the Day, tagged 400 AD, another gospel, bible, Book of Mormon, Brigham Young, exalted man, false god, freedom, grace, Jesus, joseph smith, law of progression, lds church, Mormon prophet, Nephites, salvation, Savior on 03/26/2011 | Leave a Comment »
March 26 – Romans1:25; “Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. A-men.”
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Today’s witnessing tip is a classic example of how Joseph Smith went about tricking people. The teachings of the Church would have their people believe one thing with the teaching of their god being a risen man who is progressive, but in the scripture below they say something totally different. Ask your Mormon loved one what they think of this contradiction.
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Mormon 9:10; “And now if ye have imagined up unto yourselves a god, who doth vary, and in whom there is shadow of changing, then have ye imagined up unto yourselves, a god who is not a God of miracles”.
Posted in Witnessing Tip of the Day, tagged 1830, angel of light, another gospel, bible, Book of Mormon, false doctrine, false prophet, freedom, grove of trees, Jesus, Joseph Smith's First Vision, lds church, mormonism, Nephi, Nephites, Palmyra New York, Pearl of Great Price, Redeemer, salvation, Savior, testimony of Joseph Smith, truth on 03/23/2011 | 2 Comments »
March 23 – John 1:18; “No man hath seen God at any time…the Only Begotten Son hath declared Him”.
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The whole Mormon story depends on what or whom Joseph Smith talked to in the grove of trees. He claims it was God the Father and His Son. In light of the above verse, one has to wonder.
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“God, the Eternal Father and His Son appeared to Joseph Smith”. A Marvelous Work and Wonder, pg. 7, by LeGrand Richards.
Posted in Witnessing Tip of the Day, tagged angel of light Moroni, another gospel, bible, Book of Mormon, freedom, grace, Jesus, joseph smith, Lamanites, lds church, Lehi, Mormon god, Nephi, Nephites, raw meat, Savior, truth, Works for salvation on 03/20/2011 | Leave a Comment »
March 20 – Ex. 12:9 says; “Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it”.
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God was rather clear when He told the Israelites not to eat raw meat, but in the Book of Mormon this isn’t a problem with their god. Ask them why this would be so.
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1 Nephi 17:2; “And so great were the blessings of the Lord upon us, that while we did live upon raw meat in the wilderness, our women did give plenty of suck for their children, and were strong, yea, even like unto the men; and they began to bear their journeyings without murmurings”.
Posted in Witnessing Tip of the Day, tagged America, angel of light, another gospel, Apostle Paul, bible, body of Christ, Book of Mormon, Christianity, Egypt, false doctrine, false prophecy, false prophet, freedom, Galatians, Ishmaelites, Israelites, Jaredites, Jerusalem, joseph smith, lds church, Lehi, Nephi, Nephites, Red Sea, river of Laman, salvation, truth on 03/19/2011 | Leave a Comment »
March 19 – Numbers 14:25; “(Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley). To morrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea”.
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Use this verse as a geography lesson for the Mormon. There has never been a river that empties into the Red Sea. It is surrounded by wilderness (desert) only.
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1 Nephi 2:8; “And it came to pass that he called the name of the river, Laman, and it emptied into the Red Sea; and the valley was in the borders near the mouth thereof.”
Posted in Witnessing Tip of the Day, tagged baptism for the dead, bible, Book of Mormon, false gods, false gospel, freedom, godhood, gospel, Jesus, joseph smith, Lamanites, lds church, Mormon temple oaths, mormonism, necromancy, Nephites, sacred temple oaths, salvation, satanic symbols on Mormon temples, secret oaths, secrets, temple oaths, truth on 03/18/2011 | Leave a Comment »
March 18 – Luke 11:33 says; “No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light”.
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Word study! The Mormon Church has their temples to utter secret oaths to their god. They will tell you they are sacred not secret, but they won’t tell you what those oaths are. That’s what makes them secret!
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1 Nephi 20:16 even says that their god doesn’t speak in secret. “Come ye near unto me; I have not spoken in secret; from the beginning, from the time that it was declared have I spoken; and the Lord God, and his Spirit hath sent me”.
Posted in Witnessing Tip of the Day, tagged 3rd Nephi, angel of light, apostassy, apostles, bible, body of Christ, Book of Mormon, Christianity, Christians, false apostles, false teachers, freedom, Holy Spirit, Jesus, joseph smith, Lamanites, lds church, mormonism, Moroni, Nephites, salvation, truth, Witnessing to a Mormon, word of God on 03/17/2011 | Leave a Comment »
March 17 – 1 Corinthians 14:33 tells us that God is never a God of confusion. “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints”.
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The Mormon Church teaches that three of the twelve apostles never died. If this is the case, then why do the Mormons claim the church needed to be restored?
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Introduction of 3 Nephi 28. “Each of the twelve is granted his heart’s desire – Three elect to remain on earth until the Lord comes in his glory…They are made immune to death and disaster”.
Posted in Witnessing Tip of the Day, tagged Alma, angel of light, bible, Book of Mormon, false prophet, false teachings, Jesus, Jesus born in Bethlehem, Jesus born in Jerusalem, joseph smith, Lamanites, lds church, mormonism, Moroni, Nephites, salvation, Savior, trustworthy, truth on 03/16/2011 | Leave a Comment »
March 16 – Matt. 2:1; “Now Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea…”
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As of 2004, the Book of Mormon has had more than 4,000 changes made to it that are not considered typographical errors. Even today’s writings in the Book of Mormon contain a falsehood about Jesus’ birthplace. Ask your Mormon friend what they think about this and remind them that their personal opinion matters to you!
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Alma 7:10; “And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers…”
Posted in Witnessing Tip of the Day, tagged angel of light, bible, Book of Mormon, Christianity, Christians, endure, eternal, Everlasting, false prophets, false teacher, forever, God, gospel, Isaiah 40:8, Jesus, joseph smith, Lamanites, lasting, lds church, Mormon, mormonism, Moroni, Nephites, trustworthy, truth, word of God on 03/15/2011 | Leave a Comment »
March 15 – Is. 40:8; “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever”.
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Word study time! Eternal and forever are the key words for today. Look them up in a dictionary, concordance and lexicon and then share your new found knowledge with the Mormon. Be sure to use some of your favorite verses from the Bible that contain these words. Don’t forget to explain why the verses you share are your favorites. What did God reveal to you through these things?
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2 Nephi 9:16; “And assuredly, as the Lord liveth, for the Lord God hath spoken it, and it is his eternal word which cannot pass away”.
Posted in 600 BC, tagged 600 BC, archaeology, Babylon, bible, Book of Mormon, Egypt, false gospel, false testimony, God, Holy Spirit, Jeremiah, Jerusalem, Jesus, joseph smith, lds church, mormonism, Nephites, Redeemer, Savior, truth on 01/24/2011 | Leave a Comment »
600 BC
Since I’ve been a Christian one of the coolest things I’ve discovered and will never get tired from is the way God places people and situations together. Case in point is Bible studies. I don’t know about you, but every time I sit to do my Bible study, the Lord will invariably use what I’ve learned to share it with a Mormon or someone in my life whether it is work or at home. The women’s ministry at my church studied the book of Jeremiah this year. When I signed up I was excited because I didn’t really know much at all about Jeremiah other than he was a prophet in the Old Testament.
It’ll be 14 years ago this month (March 20007) that I accepted the Lord into my life and you’d think I’d have studied him by now, but it was always something else that came up. I love studies because I am able to keep the focus off of me and as I said, He will always use it for His glory!
This particular study has to be one of my very favorites. I feel as if I’m a brand new Christian again with all that I’m learning and know just how blessed I am while I soak up His provision in the Word. There have been many times it has brought back the memories of what it was like growing up in Utah a sixth generation Mormon.
I don’t recall how many times that I would sit on my bed at night and try to line up parts of the Old Testament with the Book of Mormon. I remember each time I tried this and then asked someone to help me sort out the confusion; I was repeatedly told that we’ll figure that out when we come before the Lord. When I’d etch out the times to be alone and read again, I would get lost and more confused with the stories of Nephi leaving the fold and getting on that boat to cross the ocean.
Now here it is some thirty years later and I’m finally getting it! Thank you Lord! The stories from the Book of Mormon and the Bible aren’t ever going to match up and it doesn’t matter how long you study it or from what angle, it doesn’t fit.
I know this sounds like it’s over simplifying the events, but for those of us who aren’t qualified to be in the discussion boards of FARMS or FAIR, indulge me for a moment if you will.
When we open up the Book of Mormon we can see from the very first page that it is describing how the “prophet Lehi” was called by God to escape the impending doom of His wrath upon Israel. At the bottom of the first page the date of BC 600 tells us when the events of the Book of Mormon supposedly took place.
There are several problems with this scenario when you compare it to the Bible and the historical aspect of that time period. In Jeremiah we are given several examples of when events took place like the three different stages of when Babylon took Israel and Judah into captivity. It began in BC 605 and continued on until about BC 586, but the nation of Israel was finally let out of captivity after they had been exiled for seventy years.
We have dates of when Egypt fell to Babylon at Battle of Carchemish in BC 605 and dates of when Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD. These things are documented, verified and obviously true, factual events in history. We have ample evidence of communities that existed and were then destroyed all throughout the Middle East during history. The wells from where Jacob offered sacrifices to God, down to the location of the Garden of Gethsemane can all be verified.
There are two immediate reasons why we can’t trust the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith.
The first problem that raises suspicion is the date. In BC 600 Israel had just experienced it’s first of three stages of being taken into captivity by the Babylonians. The Lord God had given the Israelites specific guidelines as to what they should do during the sieges, whom to listen to and how to behave; then He gave them a choice.
The children of God could submit themselves willingly to the yoke of slavery or they would die by one of three ways; famine, pestilence or sword. In other words, God never gave the tribes a choice of fleeing the continent! You either chose to submit, be obedient and He would bless you and prosper you while in captivity; or you became food for the vultures.
The other problem is why. Why would you worship a god who doesn’t keep his promises? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob promised His children they would be punished for their sin of idol worship. The Bible specifically declares what happened to the Israelites. Yet Joseph Smith introduces a “lost tribe” that claims they fled the scene.
Why should you believe those people are holy?
Why should you believe a group of people that kept going back to retrieve the plates and writings of their people if they thought their people were behaving ungodly? Remember how Nephi made a few attempts at going back to retrieve the plates and ran into continuous trouble until he finally beheaded Laban in 1 Nephi 4:18?
Both kingdoms of Israel and Judah were definitely living in sin, that’s why God punished them by sending them into captivity. Both Israel and Judah had their own set of problems and neither of them was any better than the other nations (Gentiles) that surrounded them. So when the missionary tells you they “escaped” because of the sin around them, you can now say that God provided a way out and they obviously rejected it. IF in fact they were even a “real tribe” to begin with!
The rest of First Nephi chapter four goes on to tell the reader that they were afraid the Jew would find out what they were doing. They spoke of “the Jews” as if they weren’t one of them. Did they or did they not come from the God of Israel? 1 Nephi 18:1-8 is the story of the ship being packed and how they sailed for the Promised Land.
The examples are taken from the entire book of Jeremiah. The majority of the book of Jeremiah is filled with prophecy, so if I listed all the scriptures about the subjects I’d basically be writing down the entire book of Jeremiah. The promise of forgiveness and redemption by God, the remnant He will leave here on earth and the punishment God deals out to His people is intermixed with future prophecy. Also note, the book of Jeremiah is not in chronological order.
Below is a chart that contains the basics; timeline, God’s instructions, behavior of people, and the results.
| Bible | Book of Mormon | |
| Timeline/dates | BC 627-585* – Jer. 1:1-3 | Circa BC 600
1 Nephi 1 |
| Behavior of people | Idol worship/listening to false prophets who proclaim no punishment from God | Jews hated prophet Lehi for denouncing their sin. 1 Nephi 1:19. |
| God’s instructions to people | Repent and return | Start packing to leave for wilderness. 1 Nephi 2:2 |
| Behavior of people | Some obeyed/most did not | They left for Promised Land on ship 1 Nephi 18:1-23; sailed for two years BC 591-89. |
| Consequences of sin | Judgment/Punishment | None, according to BoM. |
| Immediate results | Death by sword, famine or pestilence if stayed in Jerusalem. If obeyed; 70 yrs. captivity. | Lived in the Americas for 1,100 yrs. Circa BC 589 to 421 AD. |
| Future results | God welcomed them back, Messiah is delivered 500+ yrs. later | All Nephites die. Moroni 10:34. |
| Historical, factual evidences of Jerusalem in circa BC 600 | Letters, seal w/ name Gedaliah, ration tablets w/ name of Jehoiacin, king of Judah, found near Ishtar Gate. ** | No evidence found/Result of the exodus of Lehi and Nephi was BoM. |
*Time of Jeremiah’s ministry.
**Notes from Ryrie Study Bible, NASB, 1995
Because it’s impossible to write anything about Jeremiah and not mention Daniel or Ezekiel you will notice if you study anything further about Jeremiah, you will be referring back to their books in addition to 1st and 2nd Kings. Jeremiah served from BC 627 to BC 585. Ezekiel’s and Daniel’s ministry took place in BC 592-570 and BC 605-536 respectively. So as you can see these three power houses were contemporaries. Their books provide a comprehensive view of rulers, people, countries and God’s dealings with mankind.
I would like to encourage and challenge the members of the LDS Church to not just take my word for this Biblical truth, but also to look at these events from an historical outlook as well. The following is a short list of what was going on historically worldwide from BC 600 – 570.
The following references were taken from http://www.answers.com/topic/6th-century-bc
BC 600 – “The Persian religious leader Zoroaster in this century will found a faith whose sacred literature will be the Zend-Avesta. The teachings of Zoroaster (Zarathustra) will dominate Persian religious thought for centuries.”
BC 597 – “The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, with exotic shrubs and flowers irrigated by water pumped from the Euphrates.”
BC 597 – “Jerusalem falls March 16 to Babylon’s Nebuchadnezzar II (Nebuchadrezzar II), who plunders the city and has Judah’s king Jehoiachin taken to Babylon, where he will be imprisoned for years (see 587 B.C.).”
BC 595 – “Egypt’s 26th dynasty king Necho II dies after a 15-year reign and is succeeded by his son, who will defend his southern borders against the kingdom of Cush in his 6-year reign as Psamtik II.”
BC 568 – “The former Egyptian king Apries invades his former realm with support from Babylon’s Nebuchadnezzar II (Nebuchadrezzar II), but he is defeated and imprisoned; although he escapes, he is later murdered by the usurper Ahmose II, who has him buried with full military honors.”
Also see some of the other links for sources of historical events circa BC 600 – 550
http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/timelines/greece/archaic/archaic.html
http://www.wilsonmar.com/1history.htm#Moses
http://www.packrat-pro.com/600BC.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/600_BC
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/religion/jews/captivity.htm
http://www.thenagain.info/WebChron/MiddleEast/RevMesopot.html
http://www.transformativedesigns.com/archaeology/Artifactsisrael.html
