Way to Perfection, pg 176; “Since the Jews refused to redeem their dead, and since there have been countless millions pass away who did not hear the Gospel, the obligation is upon the people of this generation to do the work for them. We are informed that the great work of the Millennium will be performed in behalf of these fathers unto whom the promises were made.” – Joseph Fielding Smith, 1931
Romans 1:19-20; “Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.”
Jeremiah 31:33; “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
Genesis 18:25; “…Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
As the reader can see the LDS Prophet Joseph Fielding Smith wrote this book in 1931 and since that time the Church has gone round and round with Jewish communities about their incessant need to baptize dead Jews.
A few years back the Church promised once again they’d stop baptizing Holocaust survivors, but they were found doing it again.
While that in itself is a problem so is the issue of what God says in His word about baptizing dead people. We all know that Paul asked the Corinthians why they were baptizing dead people if they didn’t even believe in a resurrection (1 Cor 15:29), but there’s also another issue to look at as well.
God tells us in Jeremiah He would give man a heart to know Him and in Romans we see Paul’s exhortation to his fellow Jews that all around they could see God in the things He had made so they were left without excuse.
Today the popular question by many, Mormons included, is if God would send someone to hell if they’d never heard of Him. There are too many examples in the Bible to list here; suffice it to say that God isn’t some malevolent God who’s looking to find people He can throw into fire and brimstone.
Even from the earliest writings of Moses we find God’s grace when Abraham mentioned that God is a righteous Judge. God doesn’t want any to perish (John 3:16), but our sinful nature keeps us from God as it says in Isaiah 59:2.
“But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”
The God of the Bible will make it possible for all to know Him. It’s man who has turned their backs on God, not vice versa. Also remember Luke 1:37 the next time someone says it’s impossible that everyone will hear of Jesus; “For with God nothing shall be impossible.”
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