Miracle of Forgiveness, p. 286 “In the context of the spirit of forgiveness, one good brother asked me, “Yes, that is what ought to be done, but how do you do it? Doesn’t that take a superman?’ ‘Yes,’ I said, ‘but we are commanded to be supermen. Said the Lord, ‘Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.’ (Matt. 5:48.) We are gods in embryo, and the Lord demands perfection of us.’” — Spencer W. Kimball, 1969
Ephesians 4:31-32 “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”
Psalm 86:5 “For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.”
Our hearts grieve for those who believe you have to be a perfect superhero. If Kimball had been a true prophet, he never would’ve said such things.
Yes, the Lord has told us to forgive others, and at the same time He’s also very aware that we’re human. Sometimes it can be difficult to forgive someone, but this is when we need to pray, and tell Him about it.
There’s nothing in the Bible telling us to be ‘supermen’, nor is there anything telling us that we’re ‘gods in embryo’.
Sadly, many people bought into that lie, and still do so today. When you have the opportunity, share the truth with the Mormon you know!
With Love in Christ;
Michelle
We are not commanded to be Supermen. We are simply asked to Love God with all out heart and to love one another as the Lord has loved us. It is the abiding of God’s spirit within us that gives us the strength which allows us to carry out his will for us.
“Then he answered and spoke unto me, saying. This is the Word of the Lord, saying, Not be might, nor by sword, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts.” (Zechariah 4:6)
“For it is God’s spirit which worketh in you both to will and to do his good pleasing.” (Philippians 2:13)
“Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything of ourselves, BUT OUR SUFFICIENCY IS OF GOD.” (2 Corinthians 3: 5)
“One of the most fallacious doctrines originated by Satan and propounded by man is that man is saved alone by the grace of God; That belief in Jesus Christ alone is all that is needed for salvation” Spencer W. Kimball p. 206 Miracle of forgiveness.
I met Eric Johnson at the Manti pageant, and one of his tactics in sharing the true gospel at events such as temple openings, pageants, general conference…is to “try” give out free copies of this horrible book in hopes of engaging Mormons in a conversation about the church’s view on the gospel AKA “the impossible gospel”,and Christ’s gospel.
I actually borrowed a copy from someone when I was in Manti, I didn’t finish it but, I read enough to know that Mr. Kimball has it all backwards. “The Miracle of forgiveness” is originated by Satan.
Right, Forgiveness is originated by Satan. How backwards is a statement like that?
How can one be saved by “grace alone” if anyone who is to be saved, must do something or they remained unsaved? modern Christians seem to be of the opinion that works comes after being saved, but that seems to be the cart leading the horse since the person has to do something in order to be saved. And then there is the problem of doing something that would make them unsaved, i.e. rape, murder, blaspheme the Holy Ghost… If works can make a person unsaved, then it seems there is no such thing as being saved until one as actually been saved in the kingdom of God, as in, died and judged. Hence works very much has an important role in salvation.
Brotherofjared, thanks so much for your reply.
First, I didn’t say forgiveness is originated by Satan, I said the book “Miracle of forgiveness” was originated by Satan…big difference. According to Nephi 25 and Mr. Kimball grace is ONLY merited AFTER ALL YOU CAN DO. First do all that is expected, THEN the grace. So to use your analogy that’s putting the cart first.
Ephesians 2: 8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith, and not of yourselves; it’s a gift of God.
Grace through faith is not a system of ordinances and rules to follow, but rather to believe and receive. But that doesn’t mean we should be lazy Christians either
God’s gift of forgiveness is just that, a gift, we cannot earn this gift. Your paycheck is not a gift, you earned it, that is the difference.
I said a few posts ago, that many Christians struggle with this as well. It can be a tough concept. If you believe you can merit ANY part of your salvation, then Jesus isn’t necessary. Christ came to save sinners not perfect people. Truth is, we can never be perfect, no matter how hard we try. And that’s why I’m so very THANKFUL to our loving and merciful God for our Savior, Jesus Christ.
It’s Thanksgiving today, I hope you thanked Our Lord and Savior for doing what you can’t.
Again, thanks for your comment, hope to hear from you again.