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Posts Tagged ‘baptism’

Isaiah 40:25 “To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.”

 [Original Posting 2016]

Earlier this month (August 2016) I was searching around for info on a speech by Melvin J. Ballard, when I came upon a  very interesting online publication called Mormonism Against Itself, written by a fellow by the name of Maurice Barnett.

The book was a compilation of dozens of Mormon documents that are now out of print, or hard to find. One of the items I read in Mr. Barnett’s compilation was a handout for a ward teacher’s lesson from 1922. While I am fully aware this sounds mundane, when you glance over this, one will discover how the Church knew no bounds when trying to pull the wool over the eyes of its followers. And surprisingly (or maybe not), they’re still banking on the same doctrines they did way back when.

They obviously felt no shame when referring to Joseph Smith as a redeemer, nor did they bother with publishing biblically sound materials. The content for their comparison of Jesus and Joseph was so outlandish, I’m still left without words to describe how awful it is!

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April 5  — LDS Reject Blood of the Covenant. Hebrews 9:12-14; “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?” (more…)

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April 7 – False ‘age of accountability’. Matt. 3:13-16 “Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him”.

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April 5  — Blood of the Covenant. Hebrews 9:12-14; “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?” (more…)

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The past forty years has brought a lot of change to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Probably more than they expected, and far less than they were wanting to see (as in members, that is).

The one thing that’s remained consistent is the downward spiral of church membership. While the rate of decline has fluctuated, the one constant element is its presence; year in, and year out.

The other common denominator is the Church’s inability to face facts, and tell the truth about why they’re experiencing an unprecedented loss of members. In 2015 we noted their membership growth rate was the slowest since 1937, and as we saw then, they weren’t telling the truth about how many people are Mormon.

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April 4 – Matt. 3:13-16; “Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.  Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him”.

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November 19 – One God, therefore, one baptism. Ephesians 4:5; “One Lord, one faith, one baptism.”

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 I Nephi 10:8; “Yea, even he should go forth and cry in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight; for there standeth one among you whom ye know not; and he is mightier than I, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose. And much spake my father concerning this thing.” – c. BC 600

 

 

 

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 April 7 –Complications with the ‘age of accountability’. Matt. 3:13-16; “Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him”.

(more…)

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John 10:30; “I and my Father are one”.

salt lake mormon temple 2 Journal of Discourses 23:360; “Some might think it strange that a man like Joseph, so gifted of the Lord, should deem it necessary to be administered to by a man or men holding the holy Priesthood, in order to receive the Holy Ghost. But it is upon the same principle that the Son of God had to be baptized in order to fulfill all righteousness; and yet He was a pure and holy being. …

… In like manner it was as necessary that Joseph should be baptized, and have hands laid upon him for the reception of the Holy Ghost—for there is no doubt in my mind that Joseph Smith was called just as the Son of God, our Lord and Redeemer was called, before the foundation of the earth, as Jeremiah in his record says he was— …” – George Q. Cannon, Tooele, Utah, October 29th, 1882

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baptized

baptized ldsclipart.com

Not long ago a Utah newspaper, the Utah Valley 360 published an article titled “Eight is great: 8 things to teach your child before baptism”. In the article the author lists 8 things Mormon parents need to teach their children about baptism before they turn eight.

In this article I’d like to cover these “tips” given to Mormon parents, offer a Christian perspective to this practice, and share my experience on this matter.

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Isaiah 40:25 “To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.”

Earlier this month (August 2016) I was searching around for info on a speech by Melvin J. Ballard, when I came upon a Mormonism_Against_Itself_0000very interesting online publication called Mormonism Against Itself, written by a fellow by the name of Maurice Barnett.

The book was a compilation of dozens of Mormon documents that are now out of print, or hard to find. One of the items I read in Mr. Barnett’s compilation was a handout for a ward teacher’s lesson from 1922. While I am fully aware this sounds mundane, when you glance over this, one will discover how the Church knew no bounds when trying to pull the wool over the eyes of its followers. And surprisingly (or maybe not), they’re still banking on the same doctrines they did way back when.

They obviously felt no shame when referring to Joseph Smith as a redeemer, nor did they bother with publishing biblically sound materials. The content for their comparison of Jesus and Joseph was so outlandish, I’m still left without words to describe how awful it is!

(more…)

Read Full Post »

MormonBaptisimAs I conclude this series on Mormon Baptism I’d like to touch on what it means to be baptized in the Mormon Church versus into the body of Christ. The quote below is from the church’s Newsroom website, and gives an accurate view of how the church sees baptism (emphasis mine).

“Baptism into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints requires full immersion in water by a person who holds the priesthood authority to baptize. It is the means by which people join the Church. Those who are baptized into the Church are cleansed of their previous sins and placed under covenant to live the principles of the gospel.”

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LDS_baptismIn part 4 of my series I’m going to address the 5th question asked of new converts at their interview to be baptized into the Mormon Church. The question in its entirety goes as follows:

5. You have been taught that membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints includes living gospel standards. What do you understand of the following standards? Are you willing to obey them?

a. The law of chastity, which prohibits any sexual relationship outside the bonds of a legal marriage between a man and a woman.

b. The law of tithing.

c. The Word of Wisdom.

d. The Sabbath day, including partaking of the sacrament weekly and rendering service to fellow members.

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This is part one of my series on the interview questions asked of people before they’re baptized in the Mormon Church. The first question has two parts, one is asking them if they believe God is their “Eternal” Father and the second is about Jesus.

1. Do you believe that God is our Eternal Father?

   Notice the word “eternal” in this question? Mormons believe that all of us are born children of God and that He has always been our Father, even before we were born. They believe that all of us lived in a pre-existent state as spirit children of the Father and his goddess wife/wives before we were born on earth.

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LDS_baptismDuring the next couple of weeks I’ll be presenting a short series on the six questions people are asked before they’re baptized into the Mormon faith.

As I read over the questions I wondered if people going through the interview process felt more like they were interviewing for a job than coming to faith in Jesus Christ. As you’ll see the questions are more about what the convert is committed to do, and what they believe about Church leaders than a testament of what Jesus has done in the life of the believer.

That’s what our conversation to Jesus should be about; it should be about what he did for us on the cross. We were once lowly, wretched sinners and He picked us up out of the muck and mire, washed our sins away with His blood and saved us.

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Which Comes First – Baptism or Holy Ghost?

salt lake mormon temple 2Preach My Gospel, pg 63; “After a person is baptized by water, one or more authorized priesthood holders lay their hands upon the person’s head and confirm the person a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They then confer the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

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When Did the Need for Baptism Begin? 

Mormon Decisions 10Articles of Faith, p. 110; “The Establishment of Baptism dates from the time of the earliest history of the race. When the Lord manifested Himself to Adam after the expulsion from the Garden of Eden, He promised the patriarch of the race: “If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son…”

Matthew 3:1-2, 6; “In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, 2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 6 And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.

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Birth of Baptism

Ensign, Feb 1994; “Through the birth known as baptism, we are cleansed from sin and we become part of a new family — the family of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

– “The Birth That Is Baptism”

http://www.lds.org/ensign/1994/02/the-birth-that-is-baptism?lang=eng

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August 19 – Hebrews 9:15-16; “And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.  For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.”

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