Sunday School Old Testament: Lesson 22

19 March

old-testament-gospel-doctrine-teachers-manual-3557000011 Samuel 13:14; “But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.”

 Week 22 for the LDS Sunday School OT Lesson is called“The Lord Looketh on the Heart”.

This has to be one of the most fascinating lessons thus far when you look at how the LDS Church operates and what God says in His word.

The one thing I noticed that causes me great concern is how they’ve taken weeks 22 and 23 to study 1st Samuel and they left out one of the most important events in King Saul’s life. If they had taken the time to study what happened in 1 Samuel chapter 23 they’d realize they’re worshiping a false god named elohim.  Imagine what that might do for the captives who are caught in the lies of Mormonism!!!

Alas, here we are in week 22 so let’s take a quick look at the overall message.

Several questions were presented for class members to ponder and apply to their personal lives.

After the prophet Samuel revealed to Saul that God had chosen him to be King of Israel, Saul made a few major mistakes in his leadership role. He didn’t wait upon the Lord and wrested in his heart what he thought was right.

After being anointed king he didn’t wait for word from God through the prophet Samuel to seek direction on how to fight the Philistines and he offered a burnt offering when he didn’t have the priesthood authority to do so – 1 Same 13:13. When Samuel reached Saul he told him what the consequences would be for not seeking the Lord first. – 1 Samuel 13:14;

“But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.”

Class members were asked what Saul’s actions revealed about him and of course the answer is that he rested on his own understanding and not the Lord’s. They went on to say that he had failed to trust the Lord and “had an exaggerated opinion of his own power and importance”.

They were then asked “how we are sometimes impatient with the Lord or his servants and what the consequences of that might be”.

All I could think of was Joe Smith on the night he said he went to the woods to pray and ask God which church he should join.  Did Joe wait on God’s answer or did he listen to his own heart?

They also asked why it’s important that we see beyond the outward appearances of man and look on the heart.

I have to say this is one of the most telling questions in the lesson.  I believe that some in the LDS faith today have a much better attitude about race than they did back when I was in the Church (’63 – ’93).

However, if they truly held to this doctrine God commanded then I wonder why their sacred canon still holds racist teachings.  Somehow there’s a disconnect in the hearts of the Mormon people.  They’re mouthing the words of what’s socially acceptable in society today and have turned a blind eye to the very thing they’ll defend without question. Joe Smith and his prophecies.

So where is the heart of the Mormon people? Are they following the God of the Bible or the leader that has an exaggerated opinion about himself? One of the other perplexing items in this lesson is how they’ve used King David as someone to emulate and look up to when in fact they don’t believe he’s in heaven, nor will he be when the end of time comes.

They believe that because he had Uriah killed he lost true salvation and won’t be able to enter the Celestial Kingdom.

Discourses of Joseph Smith, pp. 62-63; “A murderer, for instance, one that sheds innocent blood, cannot have forgiveness. David sought repentance at the hand of God carefully with tears for the murder of Uriah, but he could only get it through hell: he got a promise that his soul should not be left in hell.  Although David was a king, he never did obtain the spirit and power of Elijah and the fulness of the priesthood; and the priesthood that he received, and the throne and kingdom of David is to be taken from him and given to another by the name of David in the last days, raised up out of his lineage.”

The last item that shouldn’t be overlooked is what we mentioned in the beginning of this lesson. Where did King Saul go and what did he do?

In 1 Samuel 28:13 we find that Saul went to the witch of Endor to seek guidance and receive word from Samuel on what God wanted from him (Saul) even though Samuel had passed away. When he arrived the witch was surprised to see him and asked why he’d come there when they both knew God wouldn’t approve.

Saul insisted that she bring up the spirit of Samuel to hear what he’d have to say about Saul’s life.

“And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth.”

The word for “gods” in this verse is elohim. Specifically, it’s referring to pagan gods. The Hebrew word “elohim” has three distinct meanings; “the fullness or deity of God” as in Genesis 1:26 – “pagan gods” as we see in 1 Samuel 28:13 and lastly “kings, rulers, princes” as in Psalm 82:6.

In this one verse they’ve overlooked in 1st Samuel there are two huge problems for the Mormons.

1. They refer to their heavenly father as “elohim” and they don’t believe in the Trinity.

2. Just as the witch of Endor was practicing necromancy, so do the Mormons when they’re baptized, sealed and married for dead people by proxy in their temples. More than 90% of the works performed in Mormon temples are done for the dead, not the living.

We’ll be looking at the incident of the witch of Endor and King Saul’s experience another time, but for now it should be pointed out what actually took place that day. It’s interesting because at the beginning of their lesson they spoke on the importance of knowing the true meaning of words and how it’s vital they use dictionaries to get clarification…

We’re praying the Mormon people will open their eyes and look upon their own hearts to see if their actions are aligned with what God desires of them.

With Love in Christ;

Michelle

1 Cor 1:18

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