… The act of partaking of the sacrament, in and of itself, does not remit sins. But as we prepare conscientiously and participate in this holy ordinance with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then the promise is that we may always have the Spirit of the Lord to be with us. And by the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost as our constant companion, we can always retain a remission of our sins.” — David A. Bednar
Hebrews 9:14 “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
Hebrews 10:10 “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
Philippians 1:6 “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ”.
1 Corinthians 11:26 “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.”
The four verses listed above were a shocker for me coming out of the Church. We’ve no doubt they’ll be useful when witnessing to your Mormon friends/loved ones.
Mr. Bednar lied numerous times in his talk. For the sake of time, we’re looking at just a small portion of this talk to compare it with what our Lord has said.
- Mr. Bednar lied by telling members they’d always have the Spirit of the Lord with them when they take the Sacrament. Jesus told us that when we call upon Him, He’d come and make His abode with us and never leave – John 14:23. This has nothing to do with taking Sacrament!
- Mr. Bednar lied, and caused a lot of confusion about Communion. As you can see in 1st Corinthians, Paul stated taking Communion means you’re proclaiming the Lord’s death. While believers do take that time to remember His loving sacrifice for us, this isn’t done so we can ‘always have the Spirit of the Lord with us’. As the author of Hebrews stated, we are sanctified through the offering of Jesus’ body. He didn’t sacrifice Himself over and over again!
- Mr. Bednar used biblical terms to sound godly, but his words held no substance. It’s reminiscent of someone who’s a name dropper. Mr. Bednar stated,
‘…by the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost as our constant companion, we can always retain a remission of our sins’.
The sanctifying power of God’s Spirit is revealed as people grow in the Lord, and become spiritually mature as it says in 2 Peter 3:18. The phrase, ‘retaining a remission of sins’ isn’t in the Bible anywhere. John said when we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us of our sins. 1 John 1:9.
This talk was anything but hopeful for Mormons. He took people on a wild goose chase leading nowhere fast. Moreover, the title he chose for this sounded like a reminder to retain a receipt for something purchased at a store. Remember beloved, the only One who’s purchased something is Jesus – He paid the price in full for our sinful selves.
Please, share the truth with a Mormon today, and lovingly explain the steps of forgiveness, and purpose of Communion!
For more info on God’s sanctifying power, see these two great articles at GotQuestions.org, and DesiringGod.org.
With Love in Christ;
Michelle