God is Progressing
Journal of Discourses 6:120; “God himself is increasing and progressing in knowledge, power, and dominion, and will do so, worlds without end. It is just so with us.” – Wilford Woodruff, Salt Lake City, December 6, 1857
Hebrews 13:8; “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”
Where in the Bible does it say God progresses or that there’s more than one god? While some of us humans do increase in knowledge there’s a fair amount of evidence in the Bible that God does not.
While living in the Kirtland area, the Prophet also continued his work on the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible, a work he had begun in 1830, as commanded by the Lord. Many plain and precious things had been lost from the Bible over the centuries, and the Prophet was guided by the Spirit to make corrections to the text of the King James Version of the Bible and to restore information that had been lost. This work led to the restoration of important gospel truths, including many revelations now included in the Doctrine and Covenants. Although the Prophet intended to publish his revision of the Bible, pressing matters, including persecution, kept him from publishing it in its entirety in his lifetime.
“The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever”. Isaiah 40:8
Jesus died for you and for me… He loved us so much that He would leave Heaven, empty Himself of His God attributes, feel cold, hunger, thirst, tiredness, etc. as He was growing up. Then to be challenged at every Word He spoke by the so-called religous leaders of His day on His very own Words from the scriptures. A joke of a trial, spit on, stripped naked, beat, beard pulled out, 4″ thorns jammed into His skull, humiliated, struck 39 times with leather straps that had pieces of rocks and bones braided into them that tore his back to shreds, nailed to a Roman cross… all the while having compassion on His torturers and asking the Father to forgive them. (Any one of us in our fallen sinful state would’ve called down the 12 legions of angels to vindicate us and save ourselves) He slowly, painfully suffocated on the cross… BUT, worse than all of that, He was for the first time in eternity, seperated from the Father when He bore ALL the sins of mankind, past, present, and future on Himself. He didn’t say a word in anguish up to the point of “My God, My God… why have You forsaken Me?” (Psalm 22). That was the darkest time for Him, when God the Father turned away from Hiim as He became sin for us.
He eventually died of a broken heart, as evidenced by the blood and water that flowed from His side when the soldier pierced Him with the spear.
He went through all of that for me and for YOU.
Why would He do all that (after telling His disciples that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life) and then just sit back while His very own written Word gets “mis-tranlsated”, “mis-interpreted”, or just flat out “corrupted, changed, and lost” throughout the centuries. God so loved the world… then why let the world live in “darkness” without many “plain and precious things” to guide them unto salvation.
That is a “Deist” philosophy… God just would the clock and sat back to watch.
Silver –
So tell me which things were left out of the Bible?
Were you aware the Community of Christ, formerly known as the Reformed LDS Church, owns the copyright to the JST? The mainstream church in Salt Lake has received permission to use parts of it but not all. The entire JST is owned by the CoC today.
All that aside, the question goes back to whether or not the Bible is/was reliable.
Which plain and precious things were omitted?
Have you heard of the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in Qumran in 1947? They’re another proof to the Mormons as well as the world the text is good and can be trusted.
The bigger question is this god that teaches that the Bible couldn’t be sustained and preserved throughout history. It seems there really isn’t a problem with the Bible but those who reject its message.
Know that we’re praying for you and hope to hear back from you!
Michelle