Mormon Terminology: Soul

09 January

Doctrine and Covenants 88:15 “And the spirit and the body are the soul of man.”

Genesis 35:18 “And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Ben-oni: but his father called him Benjamin.”

Genesis 2:7 “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

Today we’re obviously looking at the meaning of the word ‘soul’. As you probably saw in the LDS references above, their version is rather sketchy compared to the Bible. sigh…

From God’s word we can know the soul is separate from the body based on what it says about Rachel (Jacob’s wife) as she died. Her body didn’t depart, her soul did.

The transliteration for soul is ‘nepesh’. Strong’s Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary defines it as follows ~

“from <H5314> (naphash); properly a breathing creature, i.e. animal or (abstract) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental) any, appetite…lust, man, me, mind, mortally, one, own, person, pleasure…”

The human soul lives forever, but this doesn’t mean it’s always been in existence. As we see in Genesis 2:7, the human soul is created. 1 Corinthians 15:44-47 explains we’re first created physically, and then spiritually. Only Jesus, who is God, has existed eternally. Souls will exist eternally after death – they’ll either be in heaven, or hell based on one’s acceptance of the Lord.

GotQuestions.org, has a great article on what constitutes a soul with references you can share with Mormons – when you have a moment don’t miss checking it out!

And please, do share the truth with a Mormon so they’ll understand the correct definition of this word. Their very life depends on it! Joseph Smith never skipped a beat when it came to the opportunity of confusing people. It’s heartbreaking to see what he chose to do.

With Love in Christ;

Michelle

1 Cor 1:18

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