Hebrews 9:22 “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”

Today we’re looking at a passage in the Book of Ether that has to be one of the strangest, not to mention blasphemous stories, found in the Book of Mormon.

Our prayer is for Mormons to discover what it says in Hebrews 9:22, and in so doing, come to know that everything in this BoM story is absolutely wrong. Check out what it says, and compare it with our findings from the Bible!

Ether 3:9-13, 19; “And the Lord said unto him: Because of thy faith thou hast seen that I shall take upon me flesh and blood; and never has man come before me with such exceeding faith as thou hast; for were it not so ye could not have seen my finger. Sawest thou more than this?

10 And he answered: Nay; Lord, show thyself unto me.

11 And the Lord said unto him: Believest thou the words which I shall speak?

12 And he answered: Yea, Lord, I know that thou speakest the truth, for thou art a God of truth, and canst not lie.

13 And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord showed himself unto him, and said: Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore I show myself unto you.

19 And because of the knowledge of this man he could not be kept from beholding within the veil; and he saw the finger of Jesus, which, when he saw, he fell with fear; for he knew that it was the finger of the Lord; and he had faith no longer, for he knew, nothing doubting.”

Here’s why this BoM passage is rife with problems.

• Did Jared’s brother let the high priest know he had been redeemed, and wouldn’t be needing his services any longer?
• The OT vernacular didn’t include the idea of personal redemption in the same way the NT does.
• The timeline for this is way off. If Jared’s brother had to find redemption from the fall, where is the temple?
• The rituals, offerings, and sacrifices, performed in the temple were purely a domestic interaction man had with God, and this began c. BC 1400. Jared and his brother lived c. BC 2200.
• The entire existence of an Israelite revolved around one thing: the temple. What would that mean for this man? This passage implies he never had to go to temple again, or make sacrifices of any kind. It’d be unheard of!
• Nowhere in the Bible does it say someone was exempt from sacrificing.
• The name ‘Jesus’ is Greek. The Greek language wouldn’t exist for another 2,000 years after the brother of Jared lived.
• The phrase, ‘the fall of man’ isn’t in the Bible (KJV). While the phrase ‘the fall’ shows up numerous times, e.g. Luke 2:34, Romans 11:12, they aren’t speaking directly of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
• The word ‘fall’ is in the KJV 252 times, but again, none of those occurrences refer to Adam and Eve’s expulsion.
• Matthew 8:8-10 is the passage where the centurion begged Jesus to heal his son. Jesus told the crowd He’d never seen anyone in Israel with this kind of faith. Sound familiar? This means Jesus was lying c. 32 AD if He’s already told the brother of Jared the same thing 2,200 years earlier!
• Lie #2 for Jesus. How could knowledge earn eternal redemption? The Bible clearly states the only way this is done is through the shedding of blood, hence, Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.
• If this so-called god can’t lie, why did he? He perjured himself by stating this guy had been redeemed by simply knowing something.
• How could the brother of Jared see the finger of Jesus in BC 2200, when Jesus clearly said he’ll take upon himself flesh and blood. This has to mean he still didn’t have a body. According to Joe Smith’s doctrines, Jesus didn’t receive a body until he came here to earth! How does someone see a spirit?
• The BoM passage also contradicts the 2^nd Article of Faith, which says Jesus’ atonement was for Adam’s sin only.

 Articles of Faith 1:2 “We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.”