Tip of the Day, June 26

26 June

June 26 – Is. 33:14; “The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?”

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The only place in the Bible that refers to everlasting burnings is found in the Isaiah passage.
The Israelites were just found worshipping other gods and so the God of Israel destroyed those places with a fire.  God wanted their attention and He got it by catching them off guard.  References for everlasting fires all have to do with hell.  The study word for today is burnings.  In the Hebrew it is: mowqed; a fire.  Notice what the LDS teachings have to say about everlasting burnings.

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“Hear it, all ye ends of the earth…Some shall rise to the everlasting burnings of God; for God dwells in everlasting burnings, and some shall rise to the damnation of their own filthiness, which is as exquisite a torment as the lake of fire and brimstone.”  Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg.  361.

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8 Responses to “Tip of the Day, June 26”

  1. thegardensofboxwoodmanor June 26, 2012 at 3:05 am #

    I am confused again.. Does that quote from Smith mean he is referring to hell? I thought that Mormons don’t believe in hell.
    Also, what does he mean that”…God dwells in…”?

    • lifeafterministry June 26, 2012 at 6:06 am #

      Well technically Mormons do but don’t believe in hell. They believe hell is where people go when they’ve been bad and will be consigned to the lowest kingdom when all is said and done.
      As for what Smith was referring to in this particular sermon it’s hard to say Sue.
      I use these quotes as a way to give examples of how this man’s mind worked. This sermon was a call to repentance. Here it is in its entirety. I’m posting this to give further insight into where he’s coming from and not as an excuse for his pathetic teachings. I truly believe Smith purposefully went about to confuse and condemn all those who didn’t agree with him.

      “Hear it, all ye ends of the earth—all ye priests, all ye sinners, and all men. Repent! repent! Obey the Gospel. Turn to God; for your religion won’t save you, and you will be damned. I do not say how long. There have been remarks made concerning all men being redeemed from hell; but I say that those who sin against the Holy Ghost cannot be forgiven in this world or in the world to come; they shall die the second death. Those who commit the unpardonable sin are doomed to Gnolom—to dwell in hell, worlds without end. As they concoct scenes of bloodshed in this world, so they shall rise to that resurrection which is as the lake of fire and brimstone. Some shall rise to the everlasting burnings of God; for God dwells in everlasting burnings, and some shall rise to the damnation of their own filthiness, which is as exquisite a torment as the lake of fire and brimstone. I have intended my remarks for all, both rich and poor, bond and free, great and small. I have no enmity against any man. I love you all; but I hate some of your deeds. I am your best friend, and if persons miss their mark it is their own fault. If I reprove a man, and he hates me, he is a fool; for I love all men, especially these my brethren and sisters. I rejoice in hearing the testimony of my aged friends. You don’t know me; you never knew my heart. No man knows my history. I cannot tell it: I shall never undertake it. I don’t blame any one for not believing my history. If I had not experienced what I have, I could not have believed it myself. I never did harm any man since I was born in the world. My voice is always for peace. I cannot lie down until all my work is finished. I never think any evil, nor do anything to the harm of my fellow-man. When I am called by the trump of the archangel and weighed in the balance, you will all know me then. I add no more. God bless you all. Amen. (April 7, 1844.) T&S Aug. 15, 1844.”

      Michelle

    • thegardensofboxwoodmanor June 27, 2012 at 2:44 am #

      Well, that total quote is even more confusing! I’m glad you only pick a part of it to quote…yes, that seems logical, Smith confusing people that didn’t agree with him.
      If you throw a lot of verbage at people of whom you want to agree with you like he did, they have to stop and try to figure it out. If they can’t then they agree by acquiecence. interesting stance.

  2. CamdenC June 26, 2012 at 8:06 pm #

    He thought pretty highly of himself, didn’t he… “I never did harm any man since I was born in the world. My voice is always for peace… I never think any evil, nor do anything to the harm of my fellow-man”.

    We could probably cite numerous occasions where he did “harm” men, where his voice wasn’t “always for peace”, where he thought “evil”, and where he did harm his fellow-men.

    Furthermore it is an intersting statement he makes, “I don’t blame any one for not believing my history”… He if he didn’t blame any one for not believing, why are we blamed of being against him and apostate Christians by the LDS church if we don’t believe his history?

  3. Brad Stanton June 27, 2012 at 1:08 am #

    nice post, very interesting

    • lifeafterministry June 27, 2012 at 1:25 am #

      Thanks Brad –

      It’s sad the Church doesn’t post ALL of Smith’s comments like Camden mentioned above in his posting. Some of the things Smith said in his sermons are so confusing and after you take them apart sentence by sentence you’ll find that most of what he says is just rhetoric and can’t be found in the Bible.

      When I see things like this I am frustrated mainly for my mother, but the other Mormon people as well. These are the things she’ll never take the time to read and if she did she wouldn’t stop to study them in-depth to learn what he and the others meant.

      To date her “favorite” of all “God’s prophets” is still Joseph Smith. Ugh. One day I asked her what she thought of Isaiah and she told me that she’d never heard of him…

      Michelle Grim
      1 Cor. 1:18

    • CamdenC June 27, 2012 at 1:29 pm #

      Michelle – We are praying for your mom and hope all is well with her…. I honestly don’t think it is a question of the LDS “taking the time” to read something that, in the Mormon church’s eyes, is “anti-Mormon”. The members are so afraid that something might “click” and they realize their whole life and family structure and eternity was based on a lie. Lee Baker makes the great point in his book, “Mormonism: A Life Under False Pretenses” when he was accused of bringing up “anti-Mormon” materials. He says, “How can it be “anti-Mormon” if I am using Mormon scripture and sermons to ask questions with?” (paraphrased) The church isn’t worried about ones “faith being shaken or questioned” when it comes to a belief in God, but it is worried that members would question Joseph Smith, his story, and the extra-biblical teachings of the LDS church. Romans tells us that all people are without excuse when it comes to the fact that there is a God who created everything and provided a means for us to be saved, that is inherent within all of us… just look around at creation… the commandments are written on the tablets of our hearts. I “correspond” with Atheists and read their points of view without any fear because I KNOW that God exists… Growing up in the LDS church, I was absolutely forbidden to attend any other church or read anything of a religious subject that wasn’t published by the church’s “Deseret Books” publishing company in Utah.

      You know the story of my dad and brother, but just for anyone who hasn’t read my full testimony… I will never forget that day, it is so clear to me even after 30+ years. I was in the living room watching TV (probably Battlestar Galactica, one of the few shows we were allowed to watch… Michelle, you should do a story on that show… I definately remember we were not allowed to watch “Little House on the Prairie” because they talked about God and the LDS church teaches that nobody has the authority to talk about God except them). Well, I heard a heated exchange erupting from my brother’s room. I remember my dad saying, “I will not allow this filth in my house”. My brother said, “It’s just a book about Armageddon, I was interested in reading it”. (My brother had always been interested in the military and war. He is a great hero of this country as he not only helped restore order during the “Rodney King riots” in L.A. back in the 90’s, but has also served a tour in Iraq and Afghanistan since 9/11 as a member of the Army National Guard). My dad said, “This guy has no authority to discuss or comment on the word of God”. The rest of the conversation aside, my dad came storming out of his room with a copy of “The Late Great Planet Earth” by Hal Lindsey in his hand. He was tearing groups of pages from the paperback binding while heading straight for the fireplace and he threw it in. He turned to me sitting on the couch and said, “Don’t you ever bring trash like this into my house!” I (being the good little brainwashed Mormon) said, “I would never do that”. I remember having a great disdain towards my brother for bringing that “filth” into the house and upsetting my dad. I looked back on that incident after I got saved (and have since read the book twice and the follow up book “Planet Earth 2,000 A.D.) and it was like that would be the reaction of a parent finding a pornographic magizine or movie in a teenager’s room… Today, I would be overjoyed and full of pride to find a book like that in one of my kid’s room… it would be a great oppurtunity to connect with them and discuss the love of Jesus and His finished work on the cross…
      Ephesians 2:13-16

  4. thegardensofboxwoodmanor June 27, 2012 at 2:17 am #

    yes, that IS sad about your mother. Just blind belief. I am still praying for her and others like her to question authority.

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