Ezekiel 36:26 “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.”
On January 21, 1836 Joseph Smith prophesied and said those who would have accepted the Mormon gospel, but died before they could have done so, will go to the Celestial Kingdom.
“Thus came the voice of the Lord unto me, saying: All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God; 8 Also all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom.”
On February 16, 1832 Smith prophesied and said some people didn’t do as well as they could have, but will still receive some inheritance, just not all of it. They’ll be spending eternity in the Telestial Kingdom.
“And again, we saw the terrestrial world, and behold and lo, these are they who are of the terrestrial, whose glory differs from that of the church of the Firstborn who have received the fulness of the Father, even as that of the moon differs from the sun in the firmament. 72 Behold, these are they who died without law; 73 And also they who are the spirits of men kept in prison, whom the Son visited, and preached the gospel unto them, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh; 74 Who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it. 75 These are they who are honorable men of the earth, who were blinded by the craftiness of men. 76 These are they who receive of his glory, but not of his fulness. 77 These are they who receive of the presence of the Son, but not of the fulness of the Father. 78 Wherefore, they are bodies terrestrial, and not bodies celestial, and differ in glory as the moon differs from the sun.”
On September 6, 1842 Smith gave the ground rules on baptisms for the dead (See D&C 128), and then in 1918 LDS prophet Joseph Fielding Smith reiterated their founder’s original prophecy about redeeming the dead which is part of Mormon canon – D&C 138.
Our question today is this:
In spite of the repeated baptisms for the dead revelations, the Book of Mormon clearly states there is no redemption for anyone after death, as does the Bible!
“Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?”
Why the contradictions?
Both the BoM, and baptisms for the dead, are revered in Mormonism, so how do they reconcile these two things?
“…that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world… ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his… and the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked.”
(See also 2 Ne 9:38 and Mosiah 2:36-39, 3:25)
Besides all the hoopla in LDS writings, we need go no further than our trusted word of God who is always the same, and Who will always tell us the truth.
God Himself has revealed on numerous occasions that if someone wants to know Him, He’ll reveal Himself to us. He promised in Ezekiel 36:26 He would put a new heart in us (a heart of flesh) which means we aren’t to be bound by the Law any longer. This supernatural transformation took place with the arrival of His Son.
Another passage in Romans 1:19-21 says that man has known Him simply by looking around at creation. It’s evident everything around us didn’t just happen. And finally, in Proverbs God promises us that those who seek Him shall find Him.
If we can’t rely on the Bible as a personal message to us from the Lord, then we have nothing but the guesses mankind comes up with to guide us along.
“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: 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”