Baptismal Interview Questions – Part 5

02 January

Baptismal Interview Questions – Part 5

lds_baptismOne thing you’ll learn as you begin the process of converting to Mormonism is that Mormons think of themselves as a “covenant keeping people”. They believe they enter into and make many covenants with God throughout their lives, the first being the one they enter into when they’re baptized into the Mormon Church. This final question in the interview process asks for their commitment to keep this covenant.

6. When you are baptized, you covenant with God that you are willing to take upon yourself the name of Christ and keep His commandments throughout your life. Are you ready to make this covenant and strive to be faithful to it?

First let’s talk about the covenants God has made with His people, and then what covenant means.

In the Bible we find that God made covenants with the nation of Israel as well with mankind. There are four covenants He made with the nation of Israel they are; the Abrahamic, Palestinian, Mosiaic, and Davidic Covenant. The covenants He made with mankind are the Adamic, Noahic, and New Covenant; these aren’t limited to the nation of Israel only.

From studying the word covenant and the covenants God has made with the nation of Israel and mankind we know that He’s the one who initiates the covenant process. We can’t approach God to make covenants with Him, He chooses who He makes covenants with and when it happens.

Through Jesus Christ God has created a New Covenant where man can enter into a covenant relationship with Him. This is made through the shed blood of His Son, and is offered to all who repent and put their trust in Him for their salvation.

In the Old Testament God spoke of the New Covenant He was going to make with His people

Jeremiah 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:

Jeremiah 31:33 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.

On lds.org the church defines “covenant” this way.

“A covenant is a sacred agreement between God and a person or group of people. God sets specific conditions, and He promises to bless us as we obey those conditions. When we choose not to keep covenants, we cannot receive the blessings, and in some instances we suffer a penalty as a consequence of our disobedience.”

While it’s true God has made conditional and unconditional covenants with His people in the past, it’s the New Covenant that matters to us now. The New Covenant God has made with all who repent and put their trust in His Son is unconditional. We can’t lose our salvation, because there’s nothing we’ve done to earn it.

Titus 3:5-7 “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; (6) Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; (7) That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

The moment we’re saved the Holy Spirit takes up permanent residence inside our hearts and we become the temple of God. We don’t have to make the promise to take upon the name of Christ because He dwells in us, nor do we have to promise to always keep the commandments because our salvation is unconditional.

It boggles my mind how Mormonism has to make everything so hard and micromanage everything, even something like choosing to follow Christ and be baptized. But sadly the Christ they desire to follow isn’t the one of the New Covenant.

This is clear just by the stipulations one must agree to before they can be baptized into the Mormon Church.

In the Old Testament those who were in covenant with God made sacrificial offerings. Leviticus 17:11 tells us:

For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

In the New Testament Jesus became that offering by shedding His blood and offering Himself as a sacrifice.

Ephesians 5:1-2 “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.”

So where’s the blood for the Mormon’s covenant? They can’t say it’s the blood of Jesus because as we just learned the blessings of His sacrifice are unconditional. The covenants they believe they make are very conditional, and rooted in a works righteous system. And as their definition states if they don’t keep the covenants they will “suffer a penalty as a consequence” for their disobedience.

My prayer is and will always be that Mormons come into a real covenant relationship with Jesus Christ.

In Christ,

Melissa Grimes melissa@lifeafter.org

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