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Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Mormon Theology no. 46 - "One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism"

The prophet Nephi prophesied of our day, he having seen it in vision.  He prophesied, "And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God" (2 Nephi 28:8).  The Mormon Eagle will examine the correctness of Nephi's prophecy as seen today in the national press.

"After the Image of His Own God . . ."
In the Tuesday 13 September 2011 issue of USA Today, "religion statistics expert George Barna . . . laments, 'People say, 'I believe in God.  I believe the Bible is a good book.  And then I believe whatever I want.''"*

We read the words of Nadine Epstein, an editor and publisher.  Concerning the Jewish magazine Moment, she states, "The September edition of Moment asks, 'Can their be Judaism without God?'  And most say yes.  It's incredibly exciting.  We live in an era where you pick and choose the part of the religion that makes sense to you.  And you can connect through culture and history in a meaningful way without necessarily religiously practicing."*

Lastly, Rusty Steil of Denver, Colorado remarks, "I don't find much comfort in imagining there's an all-powerful God who would allow people starving and all the natural and man-made disasters."*

These opinions of Mr. Steil, Ms. Epstein, and observation by Mr. Barna, although sincere, are wrong, and will garner the hot displeasure of Jehovah.  Speaking of the inhabitants of Earth, He saith, "They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth old and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the great, which shall fall" (D&C 1:16).

"One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism"
We at The Mormon Eagle will address the above three quotations, expose the falsities of religious secularism, and throw open the door to let in some light.  We will address both concerns of George Barna and Nadine Epstein at once.  They both make remarks saying Americans think they can believe in God (or not believe in Him), do what they want, and all will turn out right in the end.  This is a fallacy of the most hellish hue.  Nephi warns, "And others will he [the devil] pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell" (2 Nephi 28:21).

There are certain facts, which cannot be wished away, when it comes to religious matters.  We will list those that counter the quotations found herein, which quotations were pulled from USA Today:

1.  God exists as a Personal Being, with a body of flesh and bone.  God loves all His children, no matter the race, political persuasion, sexual orientation, nationality, or creed (or lack thereof).  Heavenly Father loves His children, and wants them to choose for themselves how to act, whether those actions are to help an old lady across the street or to murder and kill one another.  He holds all accountable to Himself for their actions (or lack thereof), yet He will not intervene in the actions of His children, no matter how evil or good they may be.  He has said, "And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them; And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon" (Abraham 3:25-26).  He wants us to become Gods as He is a God.

2.  The Bible is true, not just a good book.  In it (as well as in the Book of Mormon) we find the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the Messiah the Jews have long since hoped for, even the Redeemer of the world.  In the Bible and Book of Mormon, we learn what we must do to gain salvation and exaltation with Christ and God.  The Bible and Book of Mormon are evidences that God has a concrete organization to His kingdom, and that one must join it (through ordinances) or one cannot be saved; that Kingdom is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

3.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Christ's Church, restored as prophesied in Acts: "And he [God] shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began" (Acts 3:20-21).  To restore means to bring back something in its original state.  Why would Peter say the Church of Christ need be brought back unless the Lord took it away?  Indeed the Lord did take away His Church, but has restored it through His servant Joseph Smith the Prophet.

The above three verities the world must accept or they cannot be saved in the Celestial Kingdom of God; they must accept the above or they cannot be united as families for eternity.  This I know, through careful study and prayer, by the power of the Holy Ghost.  In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

*Quoted in "More Americans customize religion to fit their personal needs", USA Today, 2A

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