Reasons 191-226

 

580 REASONS (and counting) WHY YOU SHOULD LEAVE THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

 

       

    

191 – God Cannot be Seen

 

 

Answers to Gospel Questions 2:161; Question:“How, as the Church claims, could Joseph Smith see God when the Bible clearly states in St. John 1:18, ‘No man hath seen God at any time,’ and in Exodus 33:20, ‘Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live?”Answer: You quote from Exodus 33:20, “And he said, thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.” Yet in the same chapter, Verse 11, it reads thus: “And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.”…It is to be hoped that you are aware that the Bible has come down to us through many translations and that it has been copied many times; moreover that there is no original manuscript of any of the books of the Bible. The scribes in the beginning and through the years had to write every word by hand. Moreover, the original manuscripts were not written as we write today with separate words but in uncials, that is to say, the words ran together in this fashion so that it became very difficult to discover the correct meaning, and errors crept in.

 

Exodus 34:10; And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face.  (See other phrases for “face” such as presence, glory and countenance which all have the same transliterations.)

 

 

192 – God Cannot Change

 

 

Mormon 9:19; “And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.”

 

Ps. 102:26; They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:27 But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.

 

 

193 – God Changes Not

 

 

Mormon 9:9-10; For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variableness neither shadow of changing?  And now, if ye have imagined up unto yourselves a god who doth vary, and in whom there is shadow of changing, then have ye imagined up unto yourselves a god who is not a God of miracles.

 

Malachi 3:6; For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

 

 

194 – God Created the Earth vs. Organized

 

 

TPJS, pg. 350; Meaning of the Word Create – You ask the learned doctors why they say the world was made out of nothing; and they will answer, “Doesn’t the Bible say He created the world?” And they infer, from the word create, that it must have been made out of nothing. Now, the word create came from the word baurau which does not mean to create out of nothing; it means to organize; the same as a man would organize materials and build a ship. fn Hence, we infer that God had materials to organize the world out of chaos—chaotic matter, which is element, and in which dwells all the glory. Element had an existence from the time he had. The pure principles of element are principles which can never be destroyed; they may be organized and re-organized, but not destroyed. They had no beginning, and can have no end.

 

Isaiah 40:12; Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

 

 

195 – God Dwells in Everlasting Burnings

 

 

TPJS, pg. 361; 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.

 

Psalm 9:11; Sing praises to the LORD, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings.

 

196 – God Dwells in Eternal Fire

 

 

TPJS, pg. 367; God Almighty Himself dwells in eternal fire; flesh and blood cannot go there, for all corruption is devoured by the fire.”Our God is a consuming fire.” When our flesh is quickened by the Spirit, there will be no blood in this tabernacle. Some dwell in higher glory than others.

 

Psalm 123:1; Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.

 

 

197 – God Gives Man Heart to Know Him – (Knowledge of Christ restored)

 

 

DS 3:210; KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST RESTORED IN BOOK OF MORMON. It was necessary in the restoration of all things that the people of this continent, who anciently had received the favor and blessing of the Almighty, should be brought to light through their history which contained the prophesying and commandments they received from God. Although it should be, as stated by one of their prophets, as a voice speaking from the dead, out of the dust of the ground, they were nevertheless to speak and bear witness for Christ.

 

Jeremiah 24:7; And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.

 

 

198 – Glory of God

 

 

D&C 93:43; The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.

 

Romans 1:18-23; For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.  20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

 

 

199 – God Had Sex with Mary

 

 

DS 1:102; “”When the Virgin Mary conceived the child Jesus, the Father had begotten him in his own likeness. He was not begotten by the Holy Ghost. And who is the Father? He is the first of the human family; and when he [Christ] took a tabernacle, it was begotten by his Father in heaven, after the same manner as the tabernacles of Cain, Abel, and the rest of the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve….

 

Lord Forgive them, for they know not what they do…

 

John 1:15, 18; John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.  18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

 

 

200 – God has No Blood

 

 

Matthias F. Cowley, Cowley’s Talks on Doctrine, pg. 73; The Latter-day Saints regard our Heavenly Father as possessing an actual tabernacle of flesh and bones (not blood), and that in His image man is created. Our views respecting this important subject are based upon the revelations of God to man in ancient and modern times, and regarding which there is no contradiction in the testimony of the prophets. “God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.” (Gen. i: 26, 27.)

 

1 Samuel 15:29; And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.

 

 

201 – Godhood

 

 

The Teachings of Lorenzo Snow, pg. 1; As man now is, God once was; as God is now man may be.

 

Isaiah 43:10-11;Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.  11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.

 

 

202 – God, If God Didn’t Exist…

 

 

Lowell Bennion, Unknown Testament, pg. 30; Even if God did not exist, our human life would be rich with good and loving things; but those things would be overshadowed by the ultimate futility that would come with the inevitable end of life. The Old Testament is reassuring about God’s existence and about the purposefulness of human experience. It affirms God’s nature and being as one that thoughtful, sensitive human beings can worship with confidence and with fervor. It is those attributes, as revealed by the Old Testament, that succeeding chapters will explore.

 

2 Timothy 2:16; But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.

 

 

203 – God is Giant or Monster

 

 

TPJS, pg. 372; Many men say there is one God; the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are only one God. I say that is a strange God anyhow—three in one, and one in three! It is a curious organization. “Father, I pray not for the world, but I pray for them which thou hast given me.” “Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one as we are.” All are to be crammed into one God, according to sectarianism. It would make the biggest God in all the world. He would be a wonderfully big God—he would be a giant or a monster.

 

Psalm 111:2-4; The works of the LORD are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.  3 His work is honourable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth for ever.  4 He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.

 

204 – God is Immutable

 

 

Moroni 8:18; For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity.

 

James 1:17; Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

 

 

205 – God Incarnate on Earth

 

 

2 Nephi 25:12; But, behold, they shall have wars, and rumors of wars; and when the day cometh that the Only Begotten of the Father, yea, even the Father of heaven and of earth, shall manifest himself unto them in the flesh, behold, they will reject him, because of their iniquities, and the hardness of their hearts, and the stiffness of their necks.

 

Luke 4:12; And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

 

 

206 – God is a Physical Man

 

 

TPJS, pg. 345; “God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret. If the veil were rent today, and the great God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by his power, was to make himself visible,—I say, if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form—like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as a man; for Adam was created in the very fashion, image and likeness of God, and received instruction from, and walked, talked and conversed with him, as one man talks and communes with another.

 

Hosea 11:9; I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city.

 

 

207 – God is Sovereign

 

 

TPJS, pg. 345; God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret. If the veil were rent today, and the great God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by his power, was to make himself visible,—I say, if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form—like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as a man…

 

Exodus 18:11; Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them.

 

 

208 – God is “a” Spirit

 

 

Are Mormons Christians, pgs. 80-81; Actually John 4:24 should be translated “God is Spirit” rather than “God is a Spirit,” for there is no indefinite article (a, an) in the Greek language, and it is always a matter of subjective judgment as to when the translator should add one… Like first-century Jewish Christians, the Latter-day Saints do not understand the categories of “spirit” and “element” to be mutually exclusive. According to Joseph Smith, “there is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but it is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes” (D&C 131:7). Thus Latter-day Saints understand the term spiritual to mean “infused with spirit,” whereas Hellenized Christianity would under- stand it to mean “incorporeal.”

 

John 4:24; God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

 

 

209 – God; Nature of

 

 

D&C 130:22; “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us.

 

1 Tim. 6:16; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.

 

 

210 – God Needs Satan/Dualism

 

 

EM pg. 380; What Satan did not realize in Eden was that what he did in attempting to destroy the Father’s work was actually the very thing needed to fulfill the Father’s plan (Moses 4:6). People could not demonstrate their love of God and their willingness to do the work of righteousness sufficiently to qualify them for exaltation unless they were subject to, and able to overcome, evil and devil adversaries, such as Satan and his hosts (2 Ne. 2:11-22).

 

Rev. 20:10; And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

 

 

211 – God’s Plan for You

 

 

Neal Maxwell, That Ye May Believe, pg. 10; If we criticize God or are unduly miffed over sufferings and tribulation, we are really criticizing the Planner for implementing the very plan we once approved, premortally (see Job 38:4, 7). Granted, we don’t now remember the actual approval. But not remembering is actually part of the plan!

 

Jeremiah 29:11-12; For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.  12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.

 

 

212 – God Reproduces after His Own Kind

 

 

Adam, Who Is He, pg. 54; The Almighty, in creating various forms of life, commanded all to reproduce after their own kind. Man also was commanded to reproduce himself. He could bring forth only after his kind according to the law of God, and he was “after the kind” or order of his Eternal Father in heaven. No lower forms were involved… This is interesting in view of the previous scripture in which all life was commanded to reproduce only after its own kind. Now he says that all forms of life remained in the sphere in which he created them. There was no transfer from one species to another.

 

Galatians 3:26; For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

 

 

213 – God Revealed All Truth on Earth through LDS

 

 

Discourses of Brigham Young, pg. 2; Embraces All Truth—Our religion measures, weighs, and circumscribes all the wisdom in the world—all that God has ever revealed to man. God has revealed all the truth that is now in the possession of the world, whether it be scientific or religious. The whole world are under obligation to him for what they know and enjoy; they are indebted to him for it all, and I acknowledge him in all things. 8:162.

 

Romans 16:24-26; The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.  25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, 26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith.

 

214 – God without Body Parts is Nothing

 

 

TPJS, pg. 181; “”That which is without body, parts and passions is nothing. There is no other God in heaven but that God who has flesh and bones. John 5:26. As the Father hath life in himself, even so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself. God the Father took life unto himself precisely as Jesus did.”

 

Deuteronomy 4:15; Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire.

 

 

215 – God, Strange Acts of

 

 

D&C 95:4; For the preparation wherewith I design to prepare mine apostles to prune my vineyard for the last time, that I may bring to pass my strange act, that I may pour out my Spirit upon all flesh.

 

2 Cor. 3:12-17; Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: 13 And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: 14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.  15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.  16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.  17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

 

 

216 – God vs. Council of gods

 

 

Abraham 4:25; And the Gods organized the earth to bring forth the beasts after their kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after its kind; and the Gods saw they would obey.

 

Isaiah 40:13-14; Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him? 14 With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?

 

217 – God Will Destroy the Temple of God:  You

 

 

D&C 93:35; The elements are the tabernacle of God; yea, man is the tabernacle of God, even temples; and whatsoever temple is defiled, God shall destroy that temple.

 

John 14:16-18; And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.  18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

 

 

218 – Gods, Becoming

 

 

David O. McKay, Pathways to Happiness, pg. 240; The great secret of human happiness lies in progression. Stagnation means death. With man’s attitude toward service to his fellow men, with his heart compassioned and free from selfish endeavor, he will march on to the goal that is his—to become master, creator, God…this is the mainspring of the actions of the people, embracing all the powers necessary in performing the duties of life.  Discourses of Brigham Young – 133-34.

 

1 Kings 18:21; And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

 

Polytheist: “One who believes in a plurality of gods.” (See www.dictionary.com)

 

 

219 – Gods, Born to become

 

Eternal Man, pg. 41; To the degree that Christendom denies the genuine fatherhood of God and the genuine sonship of man’s spirit (and both Christendom and the major world religions do deny them) they have lost the image of man’s real origin and therefore the image of his real destiny. They deny the “power of godliness.”All the rapturous things that are said about the love or agape of God who sent His Only Begotten in the flesh are hollow when coupled with the dogma that He did not so love us that He distinguished us from the rest of creation by implanting in us the potential of His own likeness. The dogma “lessens man.” But, as any reference to a contemporary book on theology will show, it also lessens God, even while claiming to dignify Him. Shall we reject the shining truth because it is so shining?

 

Genesis 3:5; For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

 

 

220 – Gods, Council of

 

 

TPJS, pg. 348; I will transpose and simplify it in the English language. Oh, ye lawyers, ye doctors, and ye priests, who have persecuted me, I want to let you know that the Holy Ghost knows something as well as you do. The head God called together the Gods and sat in grand council to bring forth the world. The grand councilors sat at the head in yonder heavens and contemplated the creation of the worlds which were created at the time.

 

Romans 11:33-36; O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!  34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? 35 Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? 36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

 

221 – Gods; Each god has Millions of Children

 

 

Orson Pratt, The Seer, pg. 37; As soon as each God has begotten many millions of male and female spirits and his Heavenly in heritance becomes too small, to comfortably accommodate his great family, he, in connection with his son, organizes a new world after a similar order to the one which we now inhabit, where he sends both the male and female spirits to inhabit tabernacles of flesh and bones.

 

Hosea 10:12-13; Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.  13 Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.

 

222 – Gods in Embryo

 

 

Miracle/Forgiveness, pg. 3; “…Through him God has abundantly confirmed that man is the supreme creation, made in the image and similitude of God and his Son, Jesus Christ; that man is the offspring of God; that for man, and man alone, was the earth created, organized, planted and made ready for human habitation; and that, having within him the seeds of godhood and thus being a god in embryo, man has unlimited potential for progress and attainment.

 

Easton’s Bible Dictionary, “Idols”; Hero worship, the worship of deceased ancestors, or of heroes.

 

 

 

223 – Gods Formed Before the Only True God

 

 

Gospel Through the Ages, pg. 105; “As early as February 16, 1832, the Lord revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith the sublime truth that “men may become gods.” Among many other important truths revealed to Joseph and Sidney Rigdon that day, God showed them a vision of the three degrees of glory and explained to them who should be assigned to each degree.”  (Also see JST Is. 43:10-11)

 

1 Kings 18:21; And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

 

 

224 – Gods & Galaxies

 

 

Answers to Gospel Questions 2:143; In the days of the Prophet Joseph Smith the idea throughout the world in relation to the universe was exceedingly vague. Great discoveries were made during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The knowledge is now revealed that there are throughout the universe millions, in fact, innumerable galaxies—island universes—of stars…Evidently each of these great systems is governed by divine law; with divine presiding Gods, for it would be unreasonable to assume that each was not so governed. As the discoveries increase—and we have learned but a few of the principles concerning them—more and more knowledge may be imparted, but the fulness will never come to mortal minds restricted to mundane things. The time will eventually come, when time and mortality are changed and immortality comes, that all things will be made known to those who have obtained the exaltation.

 

Isaiah 44:24-25; Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself; 25That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish.

 

 

225 – God, Rising to the Station of a

 

 

Encyclopedia of Joseph Smith’s Teachings, pg. 95; Although the earthly tabernacle is laid down and dissolved, they shall rise again to dwell in everlasting burnings in immortal glory, not to sorrow, suffer, or die any more, but they shall be heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. What is it? To inherit the same power, the same glory and the same exaltation, until you arrive at the station of a god, and ascend the throne of eternal power, the same as those who have gone before. . . .

 

Isaiah 45:5-6; I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: 6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.

 

 

226 – Gods; Ye are gods

 

 

LDS Hymns #301, I am a Child of God;

 

I am a child of God,

 

And he has sent me here.

 

Has given me an earthly home

 

With parents kind and dear.

 

Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,

 

Help me find the way.

 

Teach me all that I must do

 

To live with him some day.

 

I am a child of God,

 

And so my needs are great;

 

Help me to understand his words

 

Before it grows too late.

 

I am a child of God,

 

Rich blessings are in store;

 

If I but learn to do his will

 

I’ll live with him once more.

 

Note:  The Biblical Reference cited at end of this hymn was Psalm 82:6.

 

Psalm 82:5-7; They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course. 6 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. 7 But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.

 

 

227 – Gods; Ye Shall be

 

 

D&C 132:20-21;Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.  21 Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye abide my law ye cannot attain to this glory.

 

John 10:34; Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?”

 

 

228 – Gospel

 

 

The Life and Teachings of Jesus & His Apostles, p. 351;But the Lord, through his grace, appeared to man, gave him the gospel or eternal plan whereby he might rise above the carnal and selfish things of life and obtain spiritual perfection.  But he must rise by his own efforts and he must walk by faith.” 

 

Romans 6:22-23; But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

229 – The Gospel

 

 

Discourses of Brigham Young, pg. 1; The Gospel of the Son of God that has been revealed is a plan or system of laws and ordinances, by strict obedience to which the people who inhabit this earth are assured that they may return again into the presence of the Father and the Son. 13:233.

 

Romans 10:9; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

 

 

230 – Gospel in BC Era

 

 

Gospel Through the Ages pg. 86; The Nephites came from Jerusalem and brought with them the practices of the Law of Moses; yet it seems that their religious life was governed during the first 600 years by a combination of the Law of Moses and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

Prov. 1:24-28; Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; 25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: 26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; 27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.  28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me.

 

 

231 – Gospel Always the Same

 

 

TPJS, pg. 264; Now taking it for granted that the scriptures say what they mean, and mean what they say, we have sufficient grounds to go on and prove from the Bible that the gospel has always been the same, and the officers to officiate, the same; the ordinances to fulfill its requirements, the same, and the signs and fruits resulting from the promises, the same…

 

1 Peter 1:25; But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

 

 

232 – Gospel Free to Everyone

 

 

John Taylor, Journal of Discourses 20:267; Again, we are told to go and preach the Gospel to every creature; and there is a great deal of pains being taken to do this. What is it? The Gospel of life and salvation. Is it free to all? Yes, free as the streams that pass your city, and all are invited. Some do not like it. What of that? We cannot help that; we are going to perform the work that God has set us at, and we will treat all men right.

 

Romans 6:23; For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

233 – Gospel: Man is Self-existent and Can Advance

 

 

TPJS, pg. 354-355; The first principles of man are self-existent with God. God himself, finding he was in the midst of spirits and glory, because he was more intelligent, saw proper to institute laws whereby the rest could have a privilege to advance like himself. The relationship we have with God places us in a situation to advance in knowledge…This is good doctrine. It tastes good. I can taste the principles of eternal life, and so can you. They are given to my by the revelations of Jesus Christ; and I know that when I tell you these words of eternal life as they are given to me, you taste them, and I know that you believe them.

 

Matthew 5:3; Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 

 

234 – Gospels, Men with Other; the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon

 

 

EM, pg. 574-575 and Faith, pg. 2; Martin Harris (1783-1875), a New York farmer, was one of the Three Witnesses to the divine origin of the Book of Mormon…In June 1829, Martin Harris, along with Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, and David Whitmer, prayed and received no answer. Harris blamed himself for the failure and withdrew. The Prophet, Cowdery, and Whitmer prayed again and were shown the gold plates of the Book of Mormon by the angel Moroni. Subsequently, the angel appeared to Harris and Joseph Smith. In this vision, Harris heard the voice of God say that Joseph’s translation was correct, and Jesus Christ commanded Harris to testify of what he had seen and heard. The testimony of the Three Witnesses is printed in the Book of Mormon (see Book of Mormon Witnesses).

 

In the early days of the restoration of the Church, Sidney Rigdon did not retain his membership in the kingdom even though he had, with Joseph Smith, witnessed marvelous signs. Had he not participated in the great vision, and had he not been the recipient of many revelations? Yet despite all these manifestations from our Heavenly Father, he did not remain in the kingdom…Oliver Cowdery saw many signs. He handled the sacred plates; saw John the Baptist; received the higher priesthood from Peter, James, and John; and was the recipient of many great miracles; and yet they could not hold him to the faith.

 

Ezekiel 13:2-4; Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD; 3 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!  4 O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts.

 

 

235 – Gospel Message is Timeless

 

 

Church News, March 31, 1990; The Church was barely 20 years old when Apostle Parley P. Pratt spoke those words in general conference on Friday, Sept. 6, 1850… The concerns then seem to be largely the concerns now. And while the Church’s circumstances since have changed vastly, the message of the gospel proves timeless, adapting readily from words spoken before a shaded pulpit to today’s satellite-beamed signals.

 

1 Corinthians 2:4-5; And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

 

 

236 – Gospel Ordinance

 

 

MD, pg. 548; “Most of these rites and ceremonies, as illustrated by baptism and celestial marriage, are essential to salvation and exaltation in the kingdom of God; some of them, such as the blessing of children and the dedication of graves, are not ordinances of salvation, but are performed for the comfort, consolation, and encouragement of the saints.

 

Hebrews 10:10-14; By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.  11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: 12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; 13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.  14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

 

 

237 – Gospel Ordinances

 

 

EM, pg. 1032; One is fully accepted of God and is “of God” if, and only if, she or “he obey mine ordinances” (D&C 52:14-19).

 

Luke 9:33; And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said.

 

 

H

 

 

238 – Ham

 

 

Answers to Gospel Questions  2: 176; Could it not be said of Ham that he was righteous in that he followed his father into the Ark? The seed of Cain had to be preserved, and Cain was chosen for that mission. It is very possible that Ham received his name due to the fact that he married a black woman. We learn that the names of many individuals in those early years were given them—and often changed—due to incidents which occurred in their lives. For example, Esau’s name was changed to Edom, and Jacob’s name to Israel, and Abraham was at first known as Abram. It is likely that Ham’s name was changed because he had a black wife, for ham is an adjective in Egyptian for black. The name Egyptus means forbidden. (Abraham 1:23.) Is it not reasonable to believe that this has reference to the fact that her descendants, as well as her ancestors, were denied some great blessing? And that that great blessing was denial of the priesthood?

 

HAM (Ham) Personal name meaning, “hot or burnt.” Second of Noah’s three sons (Gen 5:32). Following the Flood, he discovered Noah, his father, naked and drunken and reported it to Shem and Japheth (Gen. 9:20-29). When Noah learned of the incident, he pronounced a curse onCanaan the son of Ham. Ham became the original ancestor of the Cushites, the Egyptians, and the Canaanites (Gen. 10:6).

 

Gen. 6:10; And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

 

 

239 – Happiness is Object of Existence

 

 

Encyclopedia of Joseph Smith’s Teachings, pg. 310; Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God. . . .

 

Ephesians 1:18; The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.

 

 

240 – Happiness, Teachings of God is Philosophy for

 

 

Book of Mormon, Message & Evidences, pg. 35; According to the Book of Mormon the teachings of God are a philosophy for obtaining happiness, here as well as hereafter.

 

Colossians 2:8; Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

241 – Harlots, Mother of

 

 

1 Nephi 13:26; And after they go forth by the hand of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, from the Jews unto the Gentiles, thou seest the formation of that great and abominable church, which is most abominable above all other churches; for behold, they have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious; and also many covenants of the Lord have they taken away.

 

Revelations 17:5-6; And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.  6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

 

Heaven

 

 

242 – Heaven’s Gatekeeper

 

 

Brigham Young, JD 7:289; …no man or woman in this dispensation will ever enter into the celestial kingdom of God without the consent of Joseph Smith. From the day that the Priesthood was taken from the earth to the winding-up scene of all things, every man and woman must have the certificate of Joseph Smith, junior, as a passport to their entrance into the mansion where God and Christ are—I with you and you with me. I cannot go there without his consent. He holds the keys of that kingdom for the last dispensation—the keys to rule in the spirit-world; and he rules there triumphantly…

 

2 Corinthians 5:10; For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

 

 

243 – Heaven:  How to get in

 

Discourses of Brigham Young, pg. 416; Endowment Temples and Temple Ordinances – Let me give you a definition in brief. Your endowment is, to receive all those ordinances in the house of the Lord, which are necessary for you, after you have departed this life, to enable you to walk back to the presence of the Father, passing the angels who stand as sentinels, being enabled to give them the key words, the signs and tokens, pertaining to the holy Priesthood, and gain your eternal exaltation in spite of earth and hell.

 

Phil. 3:8-9; Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.

 

 

244 – One Heaven, One Hell

 

 

Marvelous Work and Wonder, pg. 25; There is also the false teaching of one heaven and one hell, with the thought that all who reach heaven will share alike, and the same will be true of those who are assigned to hell.

 

Revelations 20:13-15; And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.  14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.  15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

 

Heavenly Father

 

 

245 – Heavenly Father a Resurrected Man

 

 

HC 5:426; As the Father hath power in Himself, so hath the Son power in Himself, to lay down His life and take it again, so He has a body of His own. The Son doeth what He hath seen the Father do: then the Father hath some day laid down His life and taken it again; so He has a body of His own; each one will be in His own body; and yet the sectarian world believe the body of the Son is identical with the Fathers.

 

Hosea 11:9; I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city.

 

 

246 – Who hath Seen the Father?

 

 

 

EM, pg. 1123; There is indeed indication that the intelligence dwelling in each person is coeternal with God. It always existed and never was created or made (D&C 93:29). In due time that intelligence was given a spirit body, becoming the spirit child of God the Eternal Father and his beloved companion, the Mother in Heaven. This spirit, inhabited by the eternal intelligence, took the form of its creators and is in their image (Ballard, p. 140).

 

John 1:18; No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

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