Mormon Dilemma 47

17 August

Mormon Dilemma 47

This time we’re looking at the contradiction between:

D&C 124:29-30; For a baptismal font there is not upon the earth, that they, my saints, may be baptized for those who are dead—For this ordinance belongeth to my house, and cannot be acceptable to me, only in the days of your poverty, wherein ye are not able to build a house unto me.

and

2 Nephi 9:38; “And, in fine, wo unto all those who die in their sins; for they shall return to God, and behold his face, and remain in their sins.

Along with:

1 Cor. 15:29; Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?

Let’s review the biblical scripture above shall we?  Paul was delivering his famous speech to the Corinthians on the defense of the resurrection of Jesus.

The Corinthians did not believe in the resurrection, yet they were practicing baptisms for dead people.  This practice was performed by the false teachers in Corinth and Paul was asking the question why they would do such a thing if they didn’t believe in the resurrection to begin with. 

If you read the entire passage in context you will see that in verses 12-49 Paul is asking the Christians a series of questions regarding the false teachings of the Gnostics and other groups who were trying to infiltrate the true gospel with their manmade edicts which were clearly contradictory to the gospel of Christ.

Paul didn’t use the terms “we” or “us” in v. 29, instead he said “they”, meaning someone other than the Christians.  Paul had a deep love for the Corinthians and saw them as his special group of children who were new in the Lord.  He was an excellent orator and being a student of Gamaliel, you can be assured he knew the Torah front to back.  If the body of Christ was practicing baptisms for the dead, he certainly wouldn’t have used the term “we” and he would’ve expounded on this important ritual if it was mandated by God.

Another clue that something about this practice is amiss is the resounding absence of any such teaching in the Book of Mormon.  The Book of Mormon makes no mention of people being baptized for the dead anywhere in its text.  With the claim that the Book of Mormon is the fullness of the gospel, you’d think this would’ve most certainly been a topic of discussion.  Instead, we find quite a contradiction and dilemma in our findings that no such practice is or was needed.  The section of D&C was written on January 19, 1841 which was at least twelve years after the Book of Mormon was written. 

Once again we see an evolving philosophy with Smith and how it’s virtually impossible to trust in the god he’s trying to sell to his unsuspecting audience.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

3 Responses to “Mormon Dilemma 47”

  1. shematwater August 17, 2011 at 9:07 pm #

    Once again we see that you have no clue what you are talking about.

    There is no baptism for the dead in the Book of Mormon because that ordinance was not practiced until after the resurrection when Christ had loosed the bans of death and declared liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that were bound (Isaiah 61: 1). Considering that the record we have of the Nephites after the time of Christ is so compact and lacking in any real detail it is not surprising this ordinance is not contained within it.

    Speaking of Paul’s quote, you don’t understand good speaking. If the Corinthians were already familiar with the practice of Baptism for the Dead he would not have expounded on it, as you claim. He would have made the simple reference he did in support of what he was teaching, knowing that the people would understand his meaning.
    We know that Paul wrote a previous epistle to the Corinthians that we don’t have (1 Corinthians 5: 9). It is very possible that he expounded the doctrine to them at that time.
    In truth, the idea that Paul, who did know the scriptures and the gospel so well, would use false doctrine to prove true doctrine is ridiculous. His entire argument would collapse as soon as he tried to correct them on the baptisms for the dead. It would be like “If you believe in baptism for the dead you should believe in the resurrection.” Then following that with “You shouldn’t believe in baptisms for the dead.” The inevitable conclusion is that there is no reason to believe in the resurrection, as the prove of the resurrection has just been said to be false.

    Lastly, there is no contradiction between D&C 124:29-30 and 2 Nephi 9:38. We must understand that to die in one’s sins requires us to know that they are sins. If a person dies in ignorance to the gospel he has not died in his sins, but has died in ignorance. As such 2 Nephi 9: 38 does not apply to him, until he is given an understanding of the gospel.
    No person who had the chance to accept the gospel while in this life will have the chance to accept it unto salvation in the next. It is impossible.

    • lifeafterministry August 17, 2011 at 9:54 pm #

      1. You are born a sinner. All men are born into sin (Rom. 3:23) and a sacrifice needs to be made to atone for your sin and come into a covenant relationship with God (Rom. 5:8). The Bible is quite clear that God has and will continue to reveal Himself to His creation; there is no excuse for anyone who’s ever lived to not know Him. You will know whether or not you’ve sinned. God is not a God of confusion and He is not a vengeful God who just creates mankind to only zap them out of existence for the fun of it. He will make sure you have access to Him no matter where and/or when you live (Acts 17:26-27, Romans 1:18-20).
      2. If you personally insult me or anyone else commenting on this blog one more time you’ll be banned from this site. I do not have God’s patience, although I do try hard to hold my tongue. I choose not to insult you or your character, nor would I dream of doing so. Your tone and choice of words are walking a thin line at this point. If you are insulted by the Bible and our expose of Joseph Smith, by all means feel free to not come back, although we pray you will learn something and God will open your eyes and heart.
      Michelle, Life After Ministries

  2. shematwater August 18, 2011 at 7:14 pm #

    MICHELLE

    I mean no insult. I mean only to open your eyes and heart to the errors you make and the misunderstanding you hold.

    As to your first post, it is meaningless to the article topic selected in the original article. The supposed dilemma is between these two verses. Explaining LDS doctrine I have shown how there is no dilemma. In return you explain your doctrine and expect it to reinforce the dilemma you present. You might as well say that the laws of Iran pose a dilemma for actions of US citizens.

Leave a Reply