September 4 – What apostasy? Matthew 16:18 “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
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3 Nephi 28:1-40 is the account of when Jesus told three of the Nephites they would never die. (Also see “This is My Gospel, Book of Mormon Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual”, p. 185)
Things to ponder in light of today’s topic:
Here we have a few people wandering the earth with the “truth” and no one intervenes to warn the Christians they were falling into apostasy… Why?
What purpose does this story serve the Mormon people? Does it draw them closer to the Lord? Does it glorify the Lord?
Exactly who benefits from this, and why?
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3 Nephi 28:38-40; “Therefore, that they might not taste of death there was a change wrought upon their bodies, that they might not suffer pain nor sorrow save it were for the sins of the world. 39 Now this change was not equal to that which shall take place at the last day; but there was a change wrought upon them, insomuch that Satan could have no power over them, that he could not tempt them; and they were sanctified in the flesh, that they were holy, and that the powers of the earth could not hold them. 40 And in this state they were to remain until the judgment day of Christ; and at that day they were to receive a greater change, and to be received into the kingdom of the Father to go no more out, but to dwell with God eternally in the heavens.”
The whole Apostasy situation began when Joe Smith claimed that there was a kind of Apostasy prevailing over the land at the time he had his first vision. Problem is, historical records from that time do not back up his claims. I always tried to give old Joe the benefit of the doubt on this one. Through the eyes of a 14 year old boy, perhaps it did appear that there was a mighty Apostasy prevailing over his neighborhood at the time. However, he uses this whole Apostasy thing as a prelude to his first vision. According to old Joe, the Lord told him not to join any of the churches because they were all corrupt. Something the Mormon Church has always hidden from it’s members, is the fact that Joe applied for membership in the Methodist Church sometime in the early 1830s.
I gave ol’ Joe the benefit of the doubt far too long and didn’t leave the Church until I was 30. sigh…
As far as his Methodist gig goes, you can read about it from an article we wrote back in 2014. Here’s the link. 🙂 https://lifeafterministry.com/2014/10/joe-smith-becomes-methodist-almost/
Thanks, I will check that out.