When I came upon the Church’s Easter message, I had to shake my head at the number of inconsistencies they plastered on their website. Today we’re taking a look at what they tried to tell people about Jesus. And for Easter Holy Week of all times…good grief! We’ll be listing each name title they used and define them in a proper manner so there won’t be any confusion!
First Presidency Easter Message, March 17, 2016; “Jesus Christ is the Son of God, Jehovah of the Old Testament, and the Messiah of the New Testament. He died and was resurrected, and He lives in glory with our Eternal Father.
Just to clarify a couple of things first…Jesus is the Messiah of the Old Testament, and the New Testament as well. Here’s the definition of the words they used to either name, and/or describe the Lord:
Christ –
Christ is the Greek form for the Hebrew word ‘Messiah’. The transliteration is Christos and it appears 569 times in the Bible. Strong’s Concordance defines it this way – ‘anointed, i.e. the Messiah, an epithet of Jesus :- Christ’.
Romans 5:8-9; “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”
Jehovah –
The Hebrew form of Jehovah is yhwh. Strong’s Concordance defines it this way – ‘(the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God :- Jehovah, the Lord.’ This appears in the Bible 546 times!
Isaiah 12:2; “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.”
Messiah –
This is a Hebrew word. The transliteration for Messiah is māshîah which means anointed and it’s used 39 times in the Bible. Strong’s Concordance defines it this way – ‘usually a consecrated person (as a king, priest, or saint); specifically the Messiah :- anointed, Messiah’.
Daniel 9:25; “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.”
Did you notice? The Messiah is mentioned in the OT, yet the Church said their Jesus is Messiah of the NT and Jehovah of the OT. Why the confusion?
The Church went on to say –
As a result of our Savior’s atoning sacrifice, death, and resurrection we become the beneficiaries of His mercy and grace. In a world of trouble and uncertainty, His peace can fill our hearts and ease our minds. Jesus is in very deed “the way, the truth, and the life” for God’s children everywhere (John 14:6).
But did you take note of how they cherry-picked this verse? Where is John 14:7? This tells us about the Trinity, which of course the Church denounces.
John 14:6-7; “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.”
Furthermore, their statement that he can fill us with peace is exactly what Joe Smith preached against…The HS of Mormonism doesn’t have to be with someone all the time if he doesn’t want to be there. D&C 130:23; “A man may receive the Holy Ghost, and it may descend upon him and not tarry with him.”
At this Easter season we give our sure witness that Jesus is the Christ. Though He was crucified, He rose triumphant from the tomb to our everlasting blessing and benefit. He stands as our Advocate and Savior.
Savior –
‘Savior’ is a Hebrew word, and it’s transliteration is ‘yāshaʿ’. It’s listed in the Bible 205 times. Strong’s Concordance defines it this way – ‘to be safe; causative to free or succor :- × at all, avenging, defend, deliver (-er), help, preserve, rescue, be safe, bring (having) salvation, save (-iour), get victory’.
Isaiah 43:11; “I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.”
Mormons don’t believe Jesus is the only savior, they too can become saviors themselves.
“…we are told that by taking the gospel to others and bringing them to repentance, by doing genealogy and temple work, and by living Christ-like lives, we can come to stand as saviors on Mount Zion”. – New Era, ‘Becoming Saviors on Mount Zion,’ April 1973
Advocate –
The word ‘advocate’ is a Greek word. The transliteration is paraklētos. Strong’s Concordance defines it as ‘comforter, consoler, intercessor, advocate’. The word ‘para’ means to come alongside of.
1 John 2:1-2; “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
How can this Mormon Jesus stand as our advocate when they’ve denounced who he is?
Joseph Smith declared this –
D&C 130:3; “John 14:23—The appearing of the Father and the Son, in that verse, is a personal appearance; and the idea that the Father and the Son dwell in a man’s heart is an old sectarian notion, and is false.”
An important thing to note about the many biblical words they’ve used here is how they weren’t tied to scripture except for in the case of quoting John 14:6. Notice how all the phrases they used are actually found in both the Old and New Testaments, yet no mention of the prophecies being fulfilled is ever hinted at by the Church.
Case in point is Psalm 16:10;
“For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.”
This is known as a resurrection prophecy which we know was fulfilled on the day Jesus was resurrected. The Mormons rarely speak of scripture being fulfilled because they’ve denounced God’s Holy Word. Instead, they use Christian vocabulary to make themselves look good, and out of the other side of their mouths, denounce it.
He has done for all mankind that which no other could have done. God be thanked for the gift of His Beloved Son, our Savior, the Redeemer of the world, the Lamb without blemish who was offered as a sacrifice for all mankind. First Presidency”
If Jesus was offered as a sacrifice for all mankind, why didn’t the Church allow blacks into the priesthood until 1978 when the race issue was at its apex?
If Jesus was the spotless Lamb sacrificed, why does the Church say otherwise? Why do they insist the atonement took place in the Garden of Gethsemane, and not the cross on Calvary?
Doctrines of Salvation 1:130; “GREATEST SUFFERING WAS IN GETHSEMANE. We speak of the passion of Jesus Christ. A great many people have an idea that when he was on the cross, and nails were driven into his hands and feet, that was his great suffering. His great suffering was before he ever was placed upon the cross. It was in the Garden of Gethsemane that the blood oozed from the pores of his body…That was not when he was on the cross; that was in the garden. That is where he bled from every pore in his body.”
Doctrine and Covenants 19:18; “Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—”
As we’ve seen here today, the First Presidency’s message sure sounds Christian, however, what’s lurking underneath is anything but.
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