Liahona, ‘Why We Need Jesus Christ’, December 2020
Today we’re looking at an article in the upcoming Liahona. This article was supposed to be focused on Jesus’ birth, but as you’ll see in the text, it was far from anything to do with our Lord.
For the sake of brevity, we’re only looking at a few of the things mentioned. Originally, D. Todd Christofferson gave this talk at a 2017 BYU devotional. To read his talk in full, the link is provided above.
We’ve inserted comments/questions below.
I am grateful that, in addition to Christmas, December brings an occasion to contemplate the life and contributions of the Prophet Joseph Smith, his birthday being on December 23. It is hard to appreciate fully what he achieved as an instrument in the Lord’s hands in an environment of constant opposition, persecution, and challenge. In a time to come, we will see the Prophet Joseph honored as the worthy head of this great and last dispensation—the one dispensation destined to succeed even though all previous dispensations have ended in apostasy.
Why isn’t Jesus the head of ‘this dispensation’?
The translation and publication of the Book of Mormon was a signal achievement and one that is foundational to the success of the Lord’s cause in this last dispensation. Through the Book of Mormon and by his visions and revelations, Joseph has revealed Jesus Christ for the modern era in His true character as the Only Begotten Son of God and Redeemer of mankind. …
On the contrary, the Lord’s ‘success’ is, and always has been, Himself! One of the things we can always rely on back then, and in this ‘modern era’, is how God has already revealed Himself through His everlasting word. Isaiah 40:8
Why Do We Need Jesus Christ?
A while ago, a person who has been a member of the Church for many years asked me, “Why do I need Jesus Christ? I keep the commandments; I’m a good person. Why do I need a Savior?” I must say that this member’s failure to understand this most fundamental part of our doctrine, this foundational element of the plan of salvation, took my breath away.
We have to wonder why this is a shock to Mr. Christofferson. The man’s question is a legitimate one, if indeed this was a real scenario. This church is a work-based salvation entity. They use the Lord’s name, but in reality, they are their own redeemer. Luke 6:46 comes to mind when Jesus asked, ‘And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?’
“Well, to start with,” I replied, “there is this small matter of death. I assume you don’t want your death to be your final status, and without Jesus Christ there would be no resurrection.”
I talked about other things, such as the need that even the best people have for the forgiveness and cleansing that is possible only through the Savior’s atoning grace.
This is a hollow response, Mr. Christofferson. There’s nothing mentioned about needing a Redeemer because we’re sinful, and the way to be seen as righteous is to have the blood of Jesus covering us. Sadly, in Mormonism, this can’t happen because the Mormon Jesus didn’t pay for sins on the cross, and the Mormon Jesus isn’t God, but a created being.
At another level, however, the question might be, “Can’t God do whatever He wants and save us just because He loves us, without the need for a Savior?” Phrased this way, quite a few people in today’s world would share that question. They believe in God and a postmortal existence but assume that because God loves us, it doesn’t matter so much what we do or don’t do; He just takes care of things.
This philosophy has ancient roots. …
The ancient roots Mr. Christofferson mentioned was Nehor, from the BoM. It just so happened this Nehor fellow preached the same doctrine Smith claimed happened in the pre-existence when Satan, and Jesus presented their opposing plans of salvation.
There’s something else that has ancient roots, and it’s the yin-yang theory which is what we see in Mormon theology, and the passage about Nehor from Alma 1:4.
“And he also testified unto the people that all mankind should be saved at the last day, and that they need not fear nor tremble, but that they might lift up their heads and rejoice; for the Lord had created all men, and had also redeemed all men; and, in the end, all men should have eternal life.”
See article for info on the Yin-Yang symbol. In essence, it means everything in life has to have an opposite. Ironically, this is a common theme in Witchcraft as well.
Our Perfect, most Holy God, doesn’t need evil. In fact, God doesn’t need anything because He’s a Sovereign God!
After quoting several BoM references Mr. Christofferson made two other comments worth noting. In the first one, he said:
‘Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can recover from bad choices. Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the impact upon us of others’ sins and mistakes, and every other injustice, is redressed.’
Leaders of this church like to say this, but it’s without merit. Not all mistakes of others will be redressed. There are some things we can’t recover while on earth. We can find peace from things that have happened, but what he said here is wrong.
Lastly, Mr. Christofferson closed his talk with the following statement –
“Take time to relax, be at peace, and see this little child [Jesus] in your mind. Do not be too concerned … with what [may be] coming in His life or in yours. Instead, take a peaceful moment to contemplate perhaps the most serene moment in the history of the world—when all of heaven rejoiced with the message ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men’ (Luke 2:14).”
What does it mean not to be too concerned with what may be coming in His life?
If you’re not concerned about Jesus, what does this say about your relationship with Him?
One thing is absolutely certain. There’s a disconnect somewhere in this man’s understanding of our Lord. This talk had little, to no info, about our Lord, but everything to do with their false gospel.
Pray for those who’ll be reading the lies of this man, and for Jesus to protect the minds of those involved.
With Love in Christ;
Michelle
[…] 2020 LDS Christmas Message: BoM Foundational to God’s Success […]