Birth of Jesus; Purely Philosophical or Purely Divine?
Christmas 2007
Gal. 5:24; “And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.”
While doing some research for a project I came across the following statement made by the Prophet Brigham Young in Journal of Discourses 8:115-116;
“While brother Joseph was referring to the providences of God, I was led to reflect that there is no act, no principle, no power belonging to the Deity that is not purely philosophical. The birth of the Saviour was as natural as are the births of our children; it was the result of natural action. He partook of flesh and blood—was begotten of his Father, as we were of our fathers.”
This quote was one of those that made me stop in my tracks. How pathetically disgusting the thoughts was of this man to say such a thing! I’ve always said that you can worship the rocks in your back yard and call them “god”, but that doesn’t make it any truer than calling my car “god”.
Mankind has learned a lot about the Lord over the past 6,000 plus years, but that is only because God has revealed these things to us. How could anyone believe the birth of Christ is purely philosophical? We only know what we do about Him because of what He’s revealed to us and nothing more. If His Son’s conception and birth could be found out through philosophical means, why pray tell are you worshipping a god that can only be as good as you are?
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I can assure you that I am grateful I worship the Only God of the Universe. I am assured success at the end of each day knowing that I can find comfort, rest, forgiveness and safety in His arms. I can still have bad days here on earth, but one thing is certain – my concerns for tomorrow lay in His Sovereign Hands.
Debasing the Father and Son brings no comfort to my soul. I don’t find any peace in thinking that He had to make the same stupid mistakes I go through here on earth. My question to those who believe this – how could you?
Gal. 6:7; “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
Here are the definitions of a few words taken from the American Heritage Dictionary and Random House Unabridged Dictionary at www.dictionary.com –
Philosophy – “Investigation of the nature, causes, or principles of reality, knowledge, or values, based on logical reasoning rather than empirical methods.”
Virgin – “A person who has not experienced sexual intercourse”
Incest – “The crime of sexual intercourse, cohabitation, or marriage between persons within the degrees of consanguinity or affinity wherein marriage is legally forbidden.”
* [see reference at end of article]
Now read what the Apostle Orson Pratt had to say about the Heavenly Father and His daughter Mary:
The Seer, pg. 158; “The fleshly body of Jesus required a Mother as well as a Father. Therefore, the Father and Mother of Jesus, according to the flesh, must have been associated together in the capacity of Husband and Wife; hence the Virgin Mary must have been, for the time being, the lawful wife of God the Father: we use the term lawful Wife, because it would be blasphemous in the highest degree to say that He overshadowed her or begat the Savior unlawfully….But God having created all men and women had the most perfect right to do with His own creation, according to His holy will and pleasure: He had a lawful right to overshadow the Virgin Mary in the capacity of a husband, and beget a Son, although she was espoused to another, for the law which He gave to govern men and women was not intended to govern Himself, or to prescribe rules for his own conduct. ..Inasmuch as God was the first husband to her, it may be that He only gave her to be the wife of Joseph while in this mortal state, and that He intended after the resurrection to again take her as one of his own wives to raise up immortal spirits in eternity.”
Why would you want to believe in a god that is your “father” knowing that in heaven you’d be married to him for eternity? As a female, the thought of sleeping with your father typically makes you shutter. I can only imagine that any decent man would have the same reaction.
I was a sixth generation Mormon from Utah and in the Church for thirty years. For the last couple or so years of my Mormon life I began giving some serious attention and purposeful thoughts to the subject of “religion”. I wasn’t so sure that I could stomach another religion per se; however I had a deep desire to read more about Jesus and find the truth. There were just too many teachings in Mormonism that overshadowed the basics.
In those last couple of years before I accepted the truth, my heart began to panic when I thought of the implications. I couldn’t stand the thought of being eternally pregnant and began telling God that I wanted to go to hell so I didn’t have to be married for eternity. Then there were many times I’d have an overwhelming urge to sit and read the Gospels, knowing in my heart that I wanted to be in heaven someday. As those times of study began more frequent, it occurred to me one day that I should probably read up on my Book of Mormon to see why I had such an aversion to it. So I studied.
The truth is this: no where in the Bible does it say that God had sex with Mary. No where in the Bible does it say that Jesus was “the only begotten according to the flesh”; no where in the Bible does it say that Jesus was married. The Bible doesn’t condone polygamy, nor does it intimate that God is an exalted man. On the contrary the Word of God is consistently consistent!
The entire Old Testament points to and prophecies about the coming Messiah. I’ve never counted the number of verses in the Bible that describes God and/or Jesus. I do know there are 333 prophecies in the Old Testament about Jesus Christ (all were fulfilled). The point being I’d be here forever making sure I listed all of them. For now, let’s take a look at just a handful of places we can “gain knowledge” about our God in order to worship Him the way we are meant to! I’ve listed several scriptures identifying the reality about the God of the Universe and His Beloved Only Begotten Son, Jesus.
And please, if you’re LDS, pray about these and ask God to give you clarity of mind when you do.
With Love in Christ;
Michelle
Jude 24-25
Hebrews 1:5; “For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?”
Is. 55:8-9; “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Ps. 111:2-4; “The works of the LORD are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein. 3 His work is honourable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth for ever. 4 He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.”
Numbers 23:19; “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”
Isaiah 7:14; “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
Luke 1:31-35; “And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”
Isaiah 9:6; “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
Acts 3:15; “And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.”
Isaiah 46:4-5; “And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you. 5 ¶ To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?”
Ex. 3:14; “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”
John 8:58; “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.”
Isaiah 53:7; “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.”
John 1:29; “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”
Psalm 27:1; “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
John 8:12; “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
Deut. 10:17; “For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward.”
1 Tim. 6:16; “Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.”
Gal. 4:6; “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.”
Nahum 1:3-5; “The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. 4 He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers…5 The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein.”
Matthew 8:25-27; “And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. 26 And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. 27 But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!”
Eph. 3:9; “And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.”
I pray that during this Christmas season the Mormon people will take more than just a few minutes to think about whom they are worshipping. The Jesus of the Bible is not a created being, but in fact is the Creator; He is God Incarnate; Redeemer; Prince of Peace; Light of the world; Son of God; and last but not least;
Jude 1:24-25; “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, 25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.”
* The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
* Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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