Way to Perfection, pg 164-165; “Before the crucifixion of the Lord there was a great gulf fixed separating the righteous dead from those who had not received the Gospel, and across this gulf no man could pass. (Luke 16:26.) Christ bridged that gulf and made it possible for the word of salvation to be taken to all corners of the kingdom of darkness. In this way the realms of hell were invaded and the dead prepared for the ordinances of the Gospel which must be performed on earth since they pertain to the mortal probation.” – Joseph Fielding Smith
Luke 16:19-26; “There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.”
We’ve listed the passage of Jesus’ conversation with the Pharisees so we can look at it in context.
Where in scripture does it say Christ bridged the gulf?
Where in His word does it tell us the realms of hell can be invaded?
When did God ever tell us to take the gospel message to those in hell?
Why wouldn’t Jesus have said something about this in His exhortation to the Pharisees?
The context of Jesus’ teaching here contradicts the Mormon claim that this gulf has been taken away.
Mr. Smith wrote about this in his book to justify the practice of proxy baptisms and marriages for the dead. We see in Mark 12:18-27 Jesus told the Sadducees there was no marriage in heaven and then in 1Cor 15:29 the Apostle Paul asked the new Christians why they were baptizing dead people if they didn’t believe in the resurrection. Both of the beliefs these two groups held onto were incorrect.
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