Life After Ministry

‘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 9:14

 Today we’re looking at part of a talk given by LDS General Authority, Dennis B. Neuenschwander.

I came across this man’s talk a few weeks back and it reminded me of Masonry and the book Alice in Wonderland. There were a lot of nonsensical statements shrouded in circular reasoning. To read his talk in full see link provided below.

Ensign, ‘Ordinances and Covenants’, August 2001 “A Way to Know God …

First, through personal participation in sacred gospel ordinances we come to know God. I refer to the 84th section of the Doctrine and Covenants, in which we read:

And this greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God. …in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest. … Second, sacred gospel ordinances are the gateway to solemn covenants with God. Ordinances and covenants can hardly be understood apart from each other. By ordinances we enter into covenants, and by covenants we receive the ordinances.

Though there may be ordinances that do not have an associated covenant—…—there is no eternal covenant that is not connected to an ordinance.” — Dennis B. Neuenschwander

Let’s compare what Mr. Neuenschwander said to what our Lord has already revealed to us about knowing Him.

1.The Lord told us through the prophet Jeremiah He would make a new covenant with the house of Israel. He said that He would put His law in our hearts which made it so everyone will know Him. See Jeremiah 31:33-34.

This negates the need for performing ordinances in order to know God!

2.Mr. Neuenschwander also said ordinances are the gateway to covenants with God, but this can’t be true because of what God said through the Apostle Paul in Romans 10:8-10 where he assures us that if we believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths we will be saved.

This isn’t an ordinance beloved!

3.The entire concept that we have to perform anything to be in covenant with the Lord is negated by what it says in Hebrews chapters 9 & 10. See references below.

4.The Mormon Church has tried to ignore the entire reason we need God, and that’s because we are sinners in need of redemption. We don’t qualify to redeem ourselves, and besides all that dear one…

Jesus declared ‘I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life’ in John 14:6!

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

We could list hundreds of other verses like Eph. 2:8-9, or Isaiah 64:6, and they all reaffirm what the Lord said about going through Him.

Although this talk was given 20 years ago, their stance on this hasn’t changed. Please, share the truth with a Mormon today and remember to pray for them!

With Love in Christ —

Michelle

1 Cor. 1:18

Jeremiah 31:33-34 “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. ³⁴ And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Romans 1:20-23 “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: ²¹ Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. ²² Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, ²³ And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.”

Romans 10:8-10 “But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; ⁹ That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. ¹⁰ for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

Hebrews 9:8-14 “The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: ⁹ Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; ¹⁰ Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. ¹¹ But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; ¹² Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. ¹³ For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 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 10:14-18 “For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. ¹⁵ Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, ¹⁶ This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; ¹⁷ And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. ¹⁸ Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.”