October 24 –– Jesus, not Joseph, is God’s Tender Shoot. Ezekiel 17:22-24; “Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent: 23 In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell. 24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the LORD have spoken and have done it.”
Luke 3:23-31; “And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli, 24 Which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Janna, which was the son of Joseph …31 Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David”.
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Descendant of David…This is another fulfilled prophecy we can read about in Luke’s gospel!
God’s promise to raise the royal family from out of Judah came to pass through Jesus. God’s kingdom on earth was instituted through God’s Son, and thereby manifested by Jesus proclaiming the good news people could become members of His kingdom through belief, not works. Mormons believe Jesus was born, and died, giving you the opportunity to join Mormonism, and work for salvation. Acknowledgment of Jesus as King is lip service only.
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The Miracle of Forgiveness, p. 102; “…however powerful the saving grace of Christ, it brings exaltation to no man who does not comply with the works of the gospel.” – Joseph Fielding Smith
[…] Jesus, not Joseph, is God’s Tender Shoot– Joseph Fielding Smith […]
Could you please elaborate.
Now let me get this straight: 2 Nephi 3:5 says, ‘the Lord God would raise up a righteous branch unto the house of Israel’ and through this righteous branch ‘the Messiah should be made manifest unto them in the latter days.’ (verse 5) and that Joseph in Egypt prophesied of Joseph Smith the latter-day seer. ‘For Joseph (of Egypt) truly said, a choice seer shall I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins,’ and ‘he shall be great like unto Moses.’ and he would bring salvation by restoring ‘the plain and most precious parts of the gospel.’ (1 Nephi 13:32).
So their claim is that Joseph Smith and Jesus Christ are prophetically linked; that Joseph Smith comes out of the loins of Joseph of Egypt; that Joseph Smith is the root or rod out of Jesse or the tender shoot; and that Joseph Smith is on a par in greatness with Moses; that the Bible is incomplete and errant so that there is no salvation in the testament of the testator (the Bible) and that the Book of Mormon restores the plain and most precious parts of the gospel.
To reinforce this claim section 113:5-6 answers the question ‘What is the rod spoken of in Isaiah 11:1? Answer: It is a servant, a descendant of Jesse as well of of Ephraim on whom there is laid much power.’ ‘What is the root of Jesse spoken of in Isaiah 11:10?’ Answer: ‘It is a descendant of Jesse as well as of Joseph unto whom rightly belongs the priesthood, and the keys of the kingdom for the gathering of my people in the last days.’ (Accordingly, this descendant would be Joseph Smith who definitely does not come out of the loins of Joseph of Egypt)
Wow, What happened to the priesthood being the inheritance of the Levites? And how did keys of the kingdom (the commission) get switched to keys of priesthood? And the verse that explains that ‘it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.’ Hebrews 7:14 And that ‘if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there were priests that offer gifts according to the law:’ Hebrews 8:4
Where do you start? How do you address the religious dementia of Mormonism?
To answer your last question/comment…THE BIBLE! 🙂 Just as you said!