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Posts Tagged ‘Ether’

 November 1 – Fishy BoM Sailing Tales – Genesis 6:8-9; “Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.

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 August 25 – Four Events in Ether… Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

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Nameless Brother of Jared Sees Jesus 700 years Before Moses Sees God

 The Improvement Era, Vol. 13, No. 1, November 1909, p 78 “More than seven hundred years before Moses was shown the things pertaining to this earth, another great prophet, known to us as the brother of Jared, was similarly favored by the Lord. He was even permitted to behold the spirit-body of the foreordained Savior, prior to His incarnation; and so like the body of a man was His spirit in form and appearance, that the prophet thought he was gazing upon a being of flesh and blood. He first saw the finger and then the entire body of the Lord— all in the spirit.”

 

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 August 25 – Four Events in Ether… Philippians 4:8; “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

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July 16 – God’s Sovereignty. Psalm 135:6“Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.” (more…)

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May 7 – “Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.”  Gen. 6:8-9.

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August 25 – Four Events in Ether… Philippians 4:8; “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

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november-2016-witnessingNovember 1 – Nonsensical BoM Stories – Genesis 6:8-9; “Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.

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Old-Testament-Gospel-Doctrine-Teachers-Manual-35570000The LDS OT Sunday school lesson for week six made me feel like I was in elementary school once again.  The way the Church presents their lessons have been a source of wonder for Melissa and me once we got going on these things and the reason why is because of their material.

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Mormon Decisions 10 Juvenile Instructor, Vol. 27, No. 9, May 1, 1892, pg 282; “MAHONRI MORIANCUMER

While residing in Kirtland Elder Reynolds Cahoon had a son born to him. One day when President Joseph Smith was passing his door he called the Prophet in and asked him to bless and name the baby. Joseph did so and gave the boy the name of Mahonri Moriancumer.

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There are many doctrinal issues that must be looked at when someone’s leaving Mormonism. For me the last thing I wanted to accept in my heart is that my beloved heritage would subject itself and the members to anything spiritually degrading and demonic.

In light of that it never occurred to me as a Mormon the names in the Book of Mormon were in such opposition to what the Lord has shown us in His word. My discovery came about after my exodus while studying a few points on Masonry for an article I was writing for Ed Decker at Saints Alive.

I recognized one of the names in Masonry was also in the Book of Mormon and it began an investigation that opened my eyes beyond what I’d ever thought or imagined when it came to the spiritual problems within Mormonism.

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Nameless Brother of Jared Sees Jesus 700 years Before Moses Sees God

 The Improvement Era, Vol. 13, No. 1, November 1909, p 78 “More than seven hundred years before Moses was shown the things pertaining to this earth, another great prophet, known to us as the brother of Jared, was similarly favored by the Lord. He was even permitted to behold the spirit-body of the foreordained Savior, prior to His incarnation; and so like the body of a man was His spirit in form and appearance, that the prophet thought he was gazing upon a being of flesh and blood. He first saw the finger and then the entire body of the Lord— all in the spirit.”

 

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Studying the Book of Mormon 11

 “The measure of a man’s real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.” – Lord Macaulay

 If I were to rank the books in the Book of Mormon on the level of the most nefarious and cockamamie stories, Ether would be at the very top of my list.  It’s obvious from Joseph Smith’s paper trail that nothing was left to the imagination of what kind of man he was.

 One of the main problems with this story is the timeline.  According to reputable historians, the confounding of languages at the Tower of Babel took place circa 3,300 BC and through the Peleg continental division in 3006 BC.  Ether supposedly took place in 2200 BC.

 A very reliable and well written site on the historical, archaeological and biblical findings of this event in history can be found here:

http://ldolphin.org/babel.html

 The book of Ether contains so many impossibilities, false prophecies, plagiarisms, contradictions and flat out lies that we’re just going to jump right into the list this week.

 If the book of Mormon is true, it’ll hold up to the scrutiny and prove itself to be from God.  Thus far, history has proven otherwise.  If you’re a member of the LDS Church, do this for yourself; actually study it and see if I’m wrong.  This isn’t a time for feelings – this is a time for truth.

 We learn from scripture when we should and shouldn’t judge.  I was reminded of this while doing some research for a friend about another subject matter.  We are not to judge motives which are hidden because only God knows our hearts.  According to Paul we are not to judge what others eat or drink because those things are between that person and God alone.  Romans 14:1-4.  We must, however, judge public teachings and commanded to do this as Paul advised Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:6.

 False prophets teach messages that come from themselves, not from God.  Jesus tells us in John chapter ten that He is the door and robbers never go through the door of Jesus.  They always try to hoist themselves up through another way, to trick the sheep with another teaching and another belief.  They always have a secret or exclusive doorway and teaching they’ve privately been shown by God.

 We are to defend the gospel that has been delivered once to the saints (Jude 1:3) and hate even the garment that’s been tarnished (Jude 1:23).

 Here’s what the LDS Church has to say about Mr. Smith’s teachings; as you can see, they obviously don’t have a problem with what he did or said.

 “As guided by the Spirit, Joseph spent about three years going through the Bible, making thousands of corrections to the text and restoring information that had been lost. This restored information sheds marvelous light on many doctrines that are not clearly presented in the Bible as it exists today.

 http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=c5a720596a845110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&vgnextoid=da135f74db46c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD

 Noteworthy teachings

 Jared says you can read about Sodom and Gomorrah as well as Jericho in the Bible, why would the Mormons do this if the Bible is corrupt? – Ether 1:4

Everyone’s language confounded but Jared, his brother & friends – Ether 1:35-7

Jared and brother along with families and friends of friends and their families went to the valley to gather animals – Ether 2:1

Sailing crew commanded to go no further than America – Ether 2:7

Circa 2,200 BC even before there were Israelites, Gentiles told to repent – Ether 2:11

God leaves when you sin – Ether 2:15

God forgot they needed air in the barge so Jared instructs God on how to build a seafaring vessel – Ether 2:16

Barge built tight just like a dish – Ether 2:17

Built the boat so they wouldn’t drown in the flood – ??? – Ether 2:20

Brother of Jared saw the finger of Jesus and was afraid Jesus would smite him because he found out God has flesh and bones – Ether 3:8

No one has greater faith than brother of Jared – Ether 3:9

There are a couple of problems with the verse listed below.

 Ether 3:13; “And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord showed himself unto him, and said: Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore I show myself unto you.

 This story contradicts the Bible – no man has seen God.  Exodus 33:20

Knowing something doesn’t bring salvation – Eph. 2:8-9

 How can God be the father and the son? – Ether 3:14

VERY confusing verse –

 Ether 3:19;And because of the knowledge of this man he could not be kept from beholding within the veil; and he saw the finger of Jesus, which, when he saw, he fell with fear; for he knew that it was the finger of the Lord; and he had faith no longer, for he knew, nothing doubting.

 Why would God do this?  Only priests were allowed behind the veil.  What’s the deal with the faith statement?

Brother of Jared has perfect knowledge of God – Ether 3:20

Another VERY confusing verse –

 Ether 3:22;And behold, when ye shall come unto me, ye shall write them and shall seal them up, that no one can interpret them; for ye shall write them in a language that they cannot be read.

 Again, why would God do something like this?  Why would he have something written in a language no one could understand?

Jesus shows the nameless brother of Jared every single person on earth that had lived before him and even those who will ever live on the face of the earth after him – Ether 3:25

God can’t withhold anything – Ether 3:26

Textual change – Mosiah was Benjamin in 1830 version – Ether 4:1

Moroni seals up the interpreters – Ether 4:5

Jesus curses anyone that doesn’t believe the Book of Mormon – Ether 4:8

Either God is talking about his father in heaven or Jesus is his own dad – Ether 4:12

Circa 2,200 BC, before there were Israelites, Jesus calls upon the Gentiles to believe – Ether 4:13

Only 3 uneducated men will know how to translate plates – Ether 5:2-4

Was Orihah a polygamist?  He had 31 kids – Ether 7:2

Story of John the Baptist lifted with name changes – Ether 8:4

Why were these Jewish people eating pork? – Ether 9:18

Lots of big cities…no archaeological evidence – Ether 9:23

Many serpents poison lots of people – Ether 9:31

Poisonous serpents chase people – Ether 9:33

Oaths are bad – Ether 10:33

They rejected the prophets because of their secret societies (Mormons come to mind…) – Ether 11:22

In 2200 BC the Spirit of the Lord was inside of Ether – Ether 12:2

Christ showed himself after his resurrection to the fathers of Jaredites (remember this was written in 2200 BC) – Ether 12:7

By faith the Law of Moses was given – Ether 12:11

By faith the 3 disciples didn’t die – Ether 12:17

Many people saw beyond the veil because of faith – Ether 12:19

God can’t hide his finger from the brother of Jared – Ether 12:20

New Jerusalem in America – Ether 13:4

Wanted to write more but was forbidden – Ether 13:13

The curse of the vanishing tools – Ether 14:1

Fighting for the defense of his property and wives – Ether 14:2

One of the secret combinations murdered a high priest – Ether 14:10

Coriantumr invites Shiz to battle – Ether 14:28

2 million people died in war (this is 5x the number of Americans killed in WW2) – Ether 15:2

Headless Shiz rises up on his arms and breathes – Ether 15:31

 Things not invented yet OR not in America at that time

 Aquariums – Ether 2:2

Bees – Ether 2:3

Glass – Ether 2:23

Flocks & herds – Ether 6:4

Steel – Ether 7:9

Silks, grains – Ether 9:17-19

Flocks – Ether 9:31

Grains, flocks, gold – Ether 10:12, 23, 24

 Greek & Latin words found (small list) in BC era

 Apostles – Ether 12:41

Baptize – 4:18 (2x), 12:14

Christ – 4:1, 2, 3; 12:7, 16, 19, 38; 13:4

Cross – 2:6, 22, 25; 3:3, 4; 4:1; 6:3; 8:9

Disciples – 4:10; 12:17, 31

Epistle – 15:4, 5 (2x), 18

Exceedingly – This word was used 40 times in 15 chapters

 2:17

3:1, 9

6:28

7:1, 4, 7, 11, 19

8:5, 7, 8, 9

9:15, 16 (3x), 23, 26, 30

10:3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 13, 22, 27

11:4

12:19

13:27 (2x)

14:4, 16, 29

15:8, 9, 16

Gentile – God had not formed the nation of Israel at this point in history, but Ether seems to have already separated the people and made reference to Gentiles 10 times.

 2:11

4:6, 13

12:22, 23, 25, 28, 35, 36, 38

Gospel – 4:3, 18

Grace – 12:26, 27, 36, 41

Holy Ghost – 5:4; 12:14, 23, 41

Jesus – 3:17, 19, 20; 5:5; 12:39, 41

Jesus Christ – 2:12; 3:14, 19, 20; 4:7, 8; 12:22, 41

John – 4:16

Saint – 8:22

Son of God & variations – 4:7; 9:22; 12:18

 Use of the phrase “and it came to pass”

Ether has 433 verses and this phrase showed up 167 times in 156 of the verses.  That means 35% of the text contains this phrase.  Questions for the Mormon: how does this glorify God and how did this phrase add to the storyline of the text?

 1:35. 37, 38, 39, 40 – 5 verses

2:1, 4, 5 (2x), 6, 13, 14, 16, 18, 21 – 10x, 9 verses

3:1, 6, 21, 28 – 4 verses

6:2, 4 (2x), 5, 6, 7, 8, 13, 18, 21, 22, 25 (2x), 26, 27, 29, 30 – 17x, 15 verses

7:1, 3 (2x), 5, 7, 8, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, 18, 24 (2x), 26 – 15x, 13 verses

8:1, 2, 4, 5, 6 (2x), 9, 11, 13, 14, 15, 18, 25 – 13x, 12 verses

9:1, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 14, 15, 23 (2x), 24 (2x), 25, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 – 21x, 19 verses

10:1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 12, 13, 15, 17, 18, 19, 29, 30, 32 – 15 verses

11:2, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14 (2x), 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 23 – 15x, 14 verses

12:1, 5, 36, 37 – 4 verses

13:15, 18, 19, 22, 23, 27, 28 (2x), 29 – 9x, 8 verses

14:4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 26, 29 (2x), 30 – 16x, 15 verses

15:1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 – 23 verses

 Poor grammar

 Ether 3:2; “…and that we are unworthy before thee; because of the fall our natures have become evil continually…”

Ether 7:16; “And he gave battle unto Shule, the king…”

Ether 7:17; “And it came to pass that he gave battle again unto Shule, the king…”

Ether 7:19; “…nevertheless they did not gain power any more over Shule the king…”

Ether 7:21; “And Cohor, the son of Noah, caused that his people should give battle unto Shule…”

8:3; “And when he had gained the half of the kingdom he gave battle unto his father…”

Ether 8:5; “…they did raise an army and gave battle unto Jared.  And it came to pass that they did give battle unto him by night.”

Ether 8:8; “…daughter of Jared being exceedingly expert…”

Ether 10:9; “…Morianton, (he being a descendant of Riplakish) gathered together an army of outcasts, and went forth and gave battle unto the people…”

Ether 10:27; “…they did work all manner of work of exceedingly curious workmanship.”

Ether 10:34; “Now Com did fight against them much….”

Ether 11:15; “…and there arose a mighty man among them in iniquity, and gave battle unto Moron…”

Ether 12:6; “And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things…”

Ether 13:16; “…wherefore he gave battle unto them who sought to destroy him”

Ether 13:23; “…Shared, and he also gave battle unto Coriantumr; and he did beat him, insomuch that in the third year he did bring him into captivity.”

Ether 13:29; “…Shared gave him battle again upon the plains…”

Ether 13:30; “…Coriantumr gave Shared battle again…”

Ether 14:3; “…the brother of Shared and he gave battle unto Coriantumr…”

Ether 14:4 “…the brother of Shared did give battle unto him in the wilderness of Akish…”

Ether 14:7; “…which he did receive great strength to his army.”

Ether 14:8; “…Gilead, also received great strength to his army, because of secret combinations.”

Ether 14:10; “And it came to pass that one of the secret combinations murdered him in a secret pass…”

Ether 14:11; “…Coriantumr came up unto the land of Moron, and gave battle unto Lib…”

Ether 14:12; “And it came to pass that he fought with Lib, in which Lib did smite upon his arm that he was wounded…”

Ether 14:13; “…and Lib gave battle unto him upon the seashore.”

Ether 14:16; “And when he had come to the plains of Agosh he gave battle unto Lib, and he smote upon him until he died…”

Ether 14:26; “…and there he gave battle unto Shiz for the space of three days”

Ether 15:2; “He saw that there had been slain by the sword already nearly two millions of his people…”

Ether 15:6; “…the people of Shiz did give battle unto the people of Coriantumr.”

Ether 15:16; “…so great were their cries, their howlings and lamentations, that they did rend the air exceedingly.”

Ether 15:17; “…they did rend the air with their cries, and their howlings, and their mournings, for the loss of the slain of their people.”

 False prophecies

Intro for Ether – God didn’t confound their language (Gen. 11:9)

Ether 1:35 – God didn’t confound their language (Gen. 11:9)

Ether 1:43 – This is a false prophecy. These folks were destroyed.

Ether 3:9-17 – Because of faith of Jared’s brother, God will become man & he showed himself unto the brother of Jared

Ether 4:6 – Gospel not given to Gentiles until they repent

Ether 4:15 – Those who don’t believe Book of Mormon are not saved

 Ether 6:11; “And thus they were driven forth, three hundred and forty and four days upon the water.

 I have a few questions about the verse above.  According to the website of Port World, sailing from Kuwait to Los Angeles is 11,551 miles.  Sailing along at 4 knots would take 121 days.  http://www.portworld.com/map

Most ships at the time of the Greco-Roman Empire could sail from 50-60 miles per day with 170 oarsmen.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trireme

 How many people were on that ship and why didn’t God know how to build the barge with the amount of people needed to properly navigate it?  Why did it take them 3 times longer than it should have?

 Ether 12:11 – By faith the Law of Moses was given and the Son came because of faith.  Jesus came to pay the price for sin, not because people had faith.

Ether 12:19 – by faith the ancient fathers saw behind the veil

Ether 15:19 – Spirit of the Lord went away because of sin (the Bible tells us He will never leave once He comes to us in John 14:16-17)

 Plagiarism

 Ether 4:18-19 – See Acts 2:38, Mark 16:16-17; Matthew 25:34

 Ether 8:10, 25 – See Matthew 14:6-11; John 8:44; 2 Cor. 11:3

 Ether 12:4, 6, 8, 11, 17, 19, 22, 26, 28, 32-35, 37, 41 – See Heb. 6:19; 2 Cor. 9:8; Heb. 11:1 (Compare rest of this passage with all of Hebrews 11 – “The Hall of Faith”; Hebrews 6:4, 2 Cor. 12:31; Heb. 11:30, Heb. 11:5, 6:19, 11:33, 2 Cor. 12:9; 1 Cor. 13:13; John 14:2, 10:17; Matt. 25:28-29; 2 Cor. 13:14

 Ether 13:9-10, 12 – See Rev. 21:1; 2 Cor. 5:17; Rev. 21:2, 7:14; Matt. 19:30

 Greatness of America

 America is great –

1:42, 43

2:7, 9, 10, 12, 15

 America is the Promised Land –

2:7, 8, 9

6:5, 8, 12, 16

7:27

 America is choice above all other lands –

2:7, 10, 12, 15

9:20

10:28

13:2

 New Jerusalem in America –

3:3, 4, 5, 6, 10

 America is land of inheritance –

13:8

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Interesting Facts about the 3 – in – 1 – Part 3

      3-in-1We’re taking a deeper look at the claims of the Triple Combination for the sake of the Mormons as well as the Christians!  So here we go with the third installment of Interesting Facts about the Triple Combination.

 What’s in a Name – again!

 2 Nephi 10:3;

 “Wherefore, as I said unto you, it must needs be expedient that Christ—for in the last night the angel spake unto me that this should be his name.

False Promises

      I asked a few friends to help me count how many verses they could find containing Greek words in the Book of Mormon.  Thanks to everyone’s help we came up with the discovery of several Greek words which appeared in 752 verses throughout the BC era of the Book of Mormon!  The reason for pointing this out is twofold.  First of all why were Greek words being used in the BC era?

Secondly, Smith publicly proclaimed the Book of Mormon contained no such thing!  In Times & Seasons 4:194 it says;

 “There was no Greek or Latin upon the plates from which I, through the grace of God, translated the Book of Mormon Let the language of that book speak for itself.”

      Whenever I am reminded of this scenario I think of what the Apostle Paul told the Galatians in 1:6-9;

 “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.  8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.  9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

      “Why or better yet how, could you not question these things?”  This is the question I receive from Christians all the time when writing in to ask why their loved one has fallen into the trap of Mormonism.  With all of the evidence of plagiarism, lies, and improbabilities, it is amazing that people do not question.  When I was LDS I remember seeing these things and then blaming myself for not understanding or for questioning the Church.  Remember though one of the other things the Apostle Paul warned us about in Ephesians 6:11-12;

 “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

 Eve Praises God for Their Sin

      The contradictions found in LDS theology run rampant in regards to the subject of sin.  The average Mormon truly believes two things that are diametrically opposed to what God declares.  1 – Man is inherently evil.  2 – They believe it was necessary that Adam & Eve sin.

     As you dig deeper into Mormon theology, you can easily see how they keep members confused.  The following two examples are found in the Pearl of Great Price.  As you can see in the first example they are lauding Eve’s choice and in another instance they are being taught that by sinning you are choosing to be separated from God.

 Moses 5:11; “And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.

 Moses 6:48-50; “And as Enoch spake forth the words of God, the people trembled, and could not stand in his presence.  48 And he said unto them: Because that Adam fell, we are; and by his fall came death; and we are made partakers of misery and woe.  49 Behold Satan hath come among the children of men, and tempteth them to worship him; and men have become carnal, sensual, and devilish, and are shut out from the presence of God.  50 But God hath made known unto our fathers that all men must repent.

      Compare this with what the Bible says in Romans 3:23;

 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.

      Also see Rom. 5:12;

 “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”

 The Making of Mankind

      Moses 2:27;

 “And I, God, created man in mine own image, in the image of mine Only Begotten created I him; male and female created I them.”

      If God created male and female after His own image and God is an exalted man as they claim in D&C 130:22, would this mean that God is also an exalted woman?

 Timeliness is of the Utmost Importance…

 Abraham 3:24 says;

 “And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell.

      Where exactly is “down there”?  Wouldn’t that mean there was already something down there that had been created and if so, wouldn’t that contradict Abraham 3:22 which says;

 “Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones.

 Packing Your Bags…Travel Itineraries for Nephites & Jaredites

      First Nephi tells us about the travels of the prophet Lehi and his sons, one of which is Nephi of course.

     Is it reasonable that Lehi and his family could have left Jerusalem and walked 210 miles in three days to get to the Red Sea?  See 1 Nephi 2:4-7.

     Also note 1 Nephi 2:6, 8 which tells us Nephi & company traveled 3 days in the wilderness to get to the Red Sea and then set up camp next to a river called Laman.

 1 – Most travelers in those days could travel roughly 15 miles on a really good day’s travel.  The distance between the northern tip of the Red Sea to Jerusalem is approximately 153 miles.  That’s roughly ten or so days and as you can see Nephi said he did it in three.  Is this really possible?

2 – There has never been a river that has emptied into the Red Sea; even to this day.  There are and have been canals built for shipping for the past 200-300 years, but no rivers.

      The story in Nephi would be considered a false prophecy.  I realize this is “tough language”; but we need to be honest here and call it what it is – a lie.  A good concise map and data can be found at www.encyclopedia.com for info on this subject.

     In the book of Ether we find Jared, his family and friends building and then packing their boat for the trip to the Promised Land.  There are several items of note within this text that we could spend a good amount of time in, however let’s just look at a few interesting “facts”.

 In Ether 2:2 it says;

 “And they did also lay snares and catch fowls of the air; and they did also prepare a vessel, in which they did carry with them the fish of the waters.

      If they’re going to be sailing for a bit of time, why would they need to pack fish?  Noah was out on the waters for about 370 days and the Bible doesn’t mention one thing about him packing fish of any kind to take with him.  See Gen. 7:11-13 & Gen. 8:14-15 for length of time Noah was on the Ark.

     Didn’t they (the Jaredites) have any food?  If they didn’t need to eat the fish, where were they kept – an aquarium?

 Ether 2:18-20 says;

 “And it came to pass that the brother of Jared cried unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, I have performed the work which thou hast commanded me, and I have made the barges according as thou hast directed me.  19 And behold, O Lord, in them there is no light; whither shall we steer? And also we shall perish, for in them we cannot breathe, save it is the air which is in them; therefore we shall perish.  20 And the Lord said unto the brother of Jared: Behold, thou shalt make a hole in the top, and also in the bottom; and when thou shalt suffer for air thou shalt unstop the hole and receive air. And if it be so that the water come in upon thee, behold, ye shall stop the hole, that ye may not perish in the flood.

      Why didn’t the Lord remember to put air holes in the “barges” so they could breathe and why was there a “plug” in the bottom of the boat?  How could air come into the boat if you’re using the plug in the bottom?  Wouldn’t only water be coming through?

 Why was there an Apostasy?

      3 Nephi 28:1-18 is the account of when Jesus told three of the Nephites they would never die.  (Also see “This is My Gospel, Book of Mormon Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual”, pg. 185)*

     Here we have a few people wandering the earth with the “truth” and no one intervenes to warn the Christians they were falling into an apostasy?

     The history of Joseph Smith in 1:19 says that God told Joseph not to join any of the churches, for they were all wrong.

 Joseph Smith History 1:19; “I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: “they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.”

      For a concise explanation of what the Church considers to be “the Apostasy” see what the Apostle Bruce McConkie said in Mormon Doctrine, pg. 699;

 “Existence of the sects of Christendom is proof positive of the universal apostasy. Truth is one; Christ is not divided; those who enjoy the Spirit, all speak the same things; there are no divisions among them; but they are “perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” (1 Cor. 1:10-13.) When Joseph Smith retired to the Sacred Grove, it was to ask the Lord which of all the sects was right and which he should join. The answer: “I must join none of them, for they were all wrong.” (Jos. Smith 2:14-20.)

      Of course we know this is nothing but lies.  Jesus promises us in Matthew 16:18 that His church will always stand the test of time!

 “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

    Dietary Laws for the People of the Book of Mormon

      It is difficult at best to believe the Jewish people wouldn’t know or understand Torah.  The life of a typical Israelite is lived obeying and observing it.  The country they lived in or traveled through wouldn’t matter; they knew the Law just as much as you and I know the pledge of allegiance as it was ingrained in them from one generation to the next.

 About Wine:

      This first example puzzles me because here we have a direct example of how to take the Lord’s Supper using wine.  Apparently this wasn’t a sin, but now it is?  Also note how they prayed in the name of the Eternal Father.  The god of Mormonism isn’t eternal.

 Moroni 5:1-2;

 “The manner of administering the wine—Behold, they took the cup, and said:  2 O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee, in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this wine to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.

 About Raw Meat:

 1 Nephi 17:2;

 “And so great were the blessings of the Lord upon us, that while we did live upon raw meat in the wilderness, our women did give plenty of suck for their children, and were strong, yea, even like unto the men; and they began to bear their journeyings without murmurings.

 1 Nephi 17:12;

 “For the Lord had not hitherto suffered that we should make much fire, as we journeyed in the wilderness; for he said: I will make thy food become sweet, that ye cook it not.

 Lev. 7:26-27;

 “Moreover ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings. 27 Whatsoever soul it be that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.

 Lev. 19:26;

 “Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.

 About Swine:

 Ether 9:18;

 “And also all manner of cattle, of oxen, and cows, and of sheep, and of swine, and of goats, and also many other kinds of animals which were useful for the food of man.

 Leviticus 11:7-8; “And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.8 Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you.

How Did Ammon Know to Quote Jesus in 90 BC?

Alma 19:10;

 “And Ammon said unto her: Blessed art thou because of thy exceeding faith; I say unto thee, woman, there has not been such great faith among all the people of the Nephites.

      It’s obvious that Smith is plagiarizing Jesus.  How would someone in Mesoamerica know to say something like this 120 years before it was said by Jesus Himself in Luke 7:9;

 “When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

Personal Injuries

 1 N 4:19-21;

 “And after I had smitten off his head with his own sword, I took the garments of Laban and put them upon mine own body; yea, even every whit; and I did gird on his armor about my loins.  20 And after I had done this, I went forth unto the treasury of Laban. And as I went forth towards the treasury of Laban, behold, I saw the servant of Laban who had the keys of the treasury. And I commanded him in the voice of Laban, that he should go with me into the treasury.  21 And he supposed me to be his master, Laban, for he beheld the garments and also the sword girded about my loins.

      Notice there was no mention of any blood found upon the body of Nephi from the beheading of Laban…Alma 44:12-16;

 “And now when Moroni had said these words, Zerahemnah retained his sword, and he was angry with Moroni, and he rushed forward that he might slay Moroni; but as he raised his sword, behold, one of Moroni’s soldiers smote it even to the earth, and it broke by the hilt; and he also smote Zerahemnah that he took off his scalp and it fell to the earth…16 Now it came to pass that Zerahemnah was exceedingly wroth, and he did stir up the remainder of his soldiers to anger, to contend more powerfully against the Nephites.

      Zerhemnah gets scalped and all it says is that he’s “wroth”?  I would imagine that I’d be a little more than angry if I got scalped.

 Twelve years of war and not one person died… really?  Alma 56:56;

 “But behold, to my great joy, there had not one soul of them fallen to the earth; yea, and they had fought as if with the strength of God; yea, never were men known to have fought with such miraculous strength; and with such mighty power did they fall upon the Lamanites, that they did frighten them; and for this cause did the Lamanites deliver themselves up as prisoners of war.

Living Under Law

    The following verse in the Doctrine and Covenants make me absolutely heart sick for the Mormon people and angry with the leadership that will not tell the truth about God.  Memories of my mother working herself almost to death for the sake of a false gospel has left me baffled on many an occasion.

     If we were to work under the Law then why pray tell even bother with the Jesus side of things?

 D&C 132:32;

 “Go ye, therefore, and do the works of Abraham; enter ye into my law and ye shall be saved.

      There are two passages of scripture that keep coming to mind whenever I read this in the Mormon “scripture”.  Romans 4:2-3 and Galatians 2:20-21;

 “For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.

3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

 “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

      Clearly we are living under grace now, if you’ve accepted the Messiah actually delivered on His promises that is.  The scripture is also very clear about living under the Law:

 Galatians 5:3-4; “For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. 4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

 Romans 5:19; “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”

      Notice how Paul said that by one man’s obedience.  This demonstrates it isn’t by your works or my works, it is by one person’s obedience, that being Jesus Christ.

 Deacons

     The list of discrepancies, contradictions and outright lies are many in the teachings of the LDS Church, so when I’m going through my list of what to publish for these articles, I am trying to just pull out the most prevalent.  This particular subject matter caught my attention because of its levity.

     When we take communion it is a very serious event for those of us who participate in it.  In fact the Apostle Paul said this in 1 Cor. 11:26-27 regarding the Lord’s Supper;

 “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. 27Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.

      I could go on and on about the elements of bread & wine or juice in the Christian churches vs. the “Wonderbread” and water the LDS Church uses and the way they administer it with everyone just eating and drinking at their own will, but that’s for another time…

     The LDS Church ascribes to the teachings of Joseph Smith by observing the perfunctory ordinances at each and every event, but I am left to wonder why they haven’t changed their “scripture” for this one.

     D&C 20:58 says;

 “But neither teachers nor deacons have authority to baptize, administer the sacrament, or lay on hands.”

      This must have been a pretty important rule if Smith thought enough of it to make it “scripture”, so I have to ask the proverbial “why” on this one.  Mormon Doctrine pg. 361 says this about the deacons and sacrament;

 “Twelve-year-old LDS males usually receive the Aaronic Priesthood and are ordained deacons, continuing in that priesthood office until age fourteen. Deacons receive assignments from their bishops that may include distributing the Sacrament to the congregation, serving as messengers, collecting fast offerings, providing assistance to the elderly or disabled, and caring for the meetinghouse and grounds.

      Again, please know that we don’t publish our findings or write these articles to bash or demean the Mormon people.  We love the people dearly and our prayer is that they will come to know the real Jesus Christ of the Bible who died for them.

 With Love in Christ;

Michelle Grim

1 Cor. 1:18

 *The following “note” appears at the end of page 185 in Gospel Doctrines Teachers Manual.  It’s interesting how they teach their members to keep secret about things and to not discuss them amongst each other.  Could it be they might logically come to the conclusion this was a fabricated story?  “Note: Stories often circulate about the three Nephites who were translated. Members of the Church should be careful about accepting or retelling these stories. You should not discuss them in class.”

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