#Are Joseph Smith’s teachings greater than the Bible?

[mindfulldsliving]

Joseph Smith Greater Than Isaiah or Moses? An LDS Perspective on Prophets and Doctrine

The claim that Latter-day Saints see Joseph Smith as greater than Isaiah or Moses is both provocative and misleading. Critics often present this statement as evidence of misplaced devotion, framing it as a rejection of Biblical authority. But anyone familiar with Latter-day Saint teachings knows that such a comparison misrepresents their view of prophets. Honestly. Do you really believe Smith is…

[nerdygaymormon]

Is me masturbating and consuming erotic literature and comics okay? I have been rationalizing it because I'm not going to be able to get married if I stay in the church so this is better than leaving or just being unfulfilled for the rest of my life.

Anon, I do the same, and from what I can tell, it seems married people who go a stretch without sex regularly turn to masturbation. It is common among members, especially those who are single. Sexuality is a powerful drive and to say it should be turned off is impractical. 

Your question assumes that masturbation is a sin and you’re wondering if it’s okay in exchange for the greater good of you being able to stay in the church. I have some thoughts on that.

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Is masturbation breaking the law of chastity?

There is a section of gospel topics on lds.org where you can get a brief overview of our church’s beliefs.

Chastity is one of the topics. “Chastity means not having any sexual relations before marriage. It also means complete fidelity to husband or wife during marriage.” This is a good definition. "Relations” would involve more than one person. 

The page goes on to say that to help us abstain from sex before marriage, we should avoid things things that awaken our sexual feelings. These things are not called out as sins, but as things to avoid, such as controlling our thoughts, staying away from porn, and not doing the following with a person we aren’t married to: “passionate kissing, lying with or on top of another person, or touching the private, sacred parts of another person’s body, with or without clothing.”

This page on chastity doesn’t even mention masturbation.

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Brief history of church’s teachings about masturbation

Jesus, the prophets and apostles never once mention masturbation in any of our scriptures: The Bible, Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price or D&C.  

This wikipedia page is a good source for the history of the LDS Church’s views and statements on masturbation. Here’s a few highlights:

Joseph Smith and Brigham Young never broached the topic. Ever. So, for a very long time the church was not anti-masturbation in any detectable way.

Church leaders only began talking about it in the very late 1800’s when they told youth the same false medical information that was popular at the time - that it caused insanity. These leaders also worried masturbation was why so many young men weren’t married.

In the 1920′s & 1930′s, it was widely understood that people did not go insane from masturbation and church manuals did not forbid it.

The Kinsey reports of 1948 & 1953 showed masturbation was extremely common. In response, church leaders in the 1950′s began speaking out more forcefully against masturbation. It also started being mentioned in General Conference talks.

In the 1960′s research showed masturbation is common and normal and rarely has negative consequences, it’s an important part of sexual development. In 1972 the American Medical Association declared masturbation to be a normal behavior. This resulted in many more addresses by church apostles against the behavior, including speaking against the medical profession’s acceptance of it.

In 1980 Spencer W. Kimball, president of the church, said masturbation can lead to homosexuality.

The 1990 For the Strength of Youth booklet states the “Lord specifically forbids … masturbation”

In the 2000′s the rhetoric starts to soften. For the Strength of Youth is changed to remove “masturbation,” but says not to arouse sexual feelings in one’s own body.

In 2017, Sam Young learned his daughter had been regularly subjected to sexually explicit questions from age 12 to 17. He began a campaign to safeguard children and curtail the asking of questions of a sexual nature by bishops. In response, the church instructs bishops “to not be unnecessarily probing or invasive in their questions.“

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If it is against the law of chastity, is it something I must confess to a bishop?

As I indicated above, masturbation is absent from the scriptures or on important church sites about chastity. However, the church taught masturbation is wrong for a long period of time.

If you feel “guilty, unsettled, unhappy, or even miserable” then speak with your bishop. Your own conscience is your guide. One benefit of speaking to a bishop about any sin or possible wrongdoing is sometimes it’s difficult to forgive ourselves, so having someone in a position of authority say you’ve done enough and that you’re forgiven can be helpful.

My current calling gives me access to the church’s Handbook 1 which specifically states that a disciplinary council should not be called for pornography use or masturbation. In other words, they are not major sins. It is possible that a Bishop could enact some sort of informal probation, like not take the sacrament for a period of time.

When you feel the Spirit, then you’ve been forgiven or are being made clean, or don’t have a major sin you need to repent of “for the Spirit cannot dwell in an unholy tabernacle”

Masturbation yields positive results, especially for people like you and me who are not in a relationship.

“Orgasm has been shown to help with relieving stress, aiding with pain (especially helpful for menstrual cramping), regulation of hormones and prevention of certain cancers.”  

Our marital status does not change the fact we are people with sexual needs and drives – which are God given. Be willing to trust yourself.

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What if a bishop asks about masturbation?

Most men who are currently bishops grew up at a time when anti-masturbation rhetoric in church was at its peak. This was drilled into them. 

I recently attended a bishops council on the topic, my stake president counseled the bishops to read with the interviewee the chastity section in For the Strength of Youth before asking if the individual obeyed the law of chastity. If the interviewee answers that they do live the law of chastity, there shouldn’t be additional, probing questions. To my stake president’s credit, he also said the bishops should never make any blanket statement against a female touching or exploring herself, that it’s necessary and important, particularly because of menstruation, that they be familiar with their body.

Unfortunately the bishops’ responses showed they were very keen to want to be able to ask teenagers about masturbation, including frequency and in what circumstances. They’re concerned about “addiction” or “addictive behaviors.”

If you find yourself being asked such questions and you do not want to answer, try saying “I’m not sure you should ask that.” If the bishop says he must ask, let him know you feel uncomfortable and would like another adult to join you in the room. He may feel entitled to ask, and you also are free to say you answered the question about the Law of Chastity and that should be sufficient.

Don’t get me wrong, I think confession and repentance can be extremely healing. However, confession of a sin should be voluntary, but my experience of youth interviews is they sometimes felt like an inquisition.

[mormonmonastery]

How do you reconcile the imperfection of the Jewish conception of God, a God who can be wrong, with the inerrability of the Christian one, a God whose ways are higher than man's without exception, since we Christians claim we worship the same God as Abraham and Isaac and Jacob?

A good question and one where I can do no better than attempt to answer it. Joseph Smith once said that “by proving contraries, truth is made manifest” and I’ll stand by that--in all cases where it is possible, we should aim for a higher synthesis that comprehends both perspectives. So here with the concepts, both present in scripture, of God corrected and God in-correctible.

One of my guesses is that this divergence comes from the necessity of our knowing God in a fallen and mortal state. Like Hagar in the desert, our God is El Roi, “god who sees” and specifically the god who sees us where and how we are (Genesis 16:13). The importance of covenant cannot here be overstated. We know and interact with God through a relationship and that relationship is set up as a give-and-take (”I promise this, God promises that”) despite the apparent absurdity of a fallen human having anything to give God. And yet, in another way, the freedom of our souls and our divine potential means we have everything to give to God: we can choose to return our love to the very source of love, or we can not; we can choose to progress closer to our potential as God’s own children, or we can not. In each case, the choice is ours and the choosing is our end of the covenant. Because of this, I think that God is willing to appear to us in the form that is at any given time most conducive to our spiritual growth and most beneficial to our relationship with Them. And sometimes, to grow spiritually, we might need to correct someone, to argue our case out, to maintain our belief in one truth at the expense (for the time being) of the other--I think of Noah convincing God to spare some life from the flood, or of Abraham talking God down to saving Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of ten righteous souls, or Moses interceding with God to not destroy Israel. If God must seem fallible in some way in order for us to realize our highest capacity or desire for mercy, justice, charity, or any other virtue: well, then I think God is willing to sacrifice the appearance of infallibility in order to help us achieve that virtue. If Paul, a mere man, is willing to be all things in order to win more people to the gospel, then I would expect an even greater willingness to do so from God (1 Corinthians 9:19-23).

I think the same basic idea I laid out above could apply more broadly to an entire cultural view of what God is like. We learn in scripture that the Lord teaches us “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little” (2 Nephi 28:30). A historical study of the Hebrew Bible convinces me pretty well that Abrahamic monotheism as we know it--the belief that the God of Israel is indeed the only God who exists--only really took form in the period surrounding the Jewish Exile through the inspiration of prophets like Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Habakuk, and those whose writings have been collected together in the book of Isaiah. The trauma of that historical era led the Jewish people to cast off what was likely their previous belief--that their God was one national god among a host of gods belonging to the other nations and that so catastrophic a defeat said something negative about the Lord’s capability as a god--to a more expansive revelation that saw all history and creation as elements of the Lord’s providence. I think the implications of the Lord’s fallibility we see in the Hebrew Bible are often historical remnants of an earlier worldview that remain preserved in the text despite the revelation of the later prophets. 

From all this, I guess you could say I lean towards what you call the Christian perspective: God may seem fallible to human beings at times, but that is because Their ways are higher than ours without exception and to appear wrong can sometimes be useful from that vantage. That’s a fair enough summary, but I would like to complicate it. Mormonism thinks about God very differently from most other Christianities: 1) we do not view God as absolute and place some limitations on Them (for instance, we do not believe that God created our cosmos out of nothing, which is the normative Christian position, and that gives us a very different idea of what it means for God to be Creator), 2) we view God in very anthropomorphic terms, as our Heavenly Mother and our Heavenly Father, as the same essential species of being as us. From those accepted differences, several questions arise about the nature of God, including about fallibility. Even if we accept that God will never make a mistake in regards to us and our mortal probation, the question of if God continues to learn and progress eternally becomes a difficult mystery, mainly because it is so far beyond our pay grade as mortals (you should find the Eugene England and Bruce McConkie correspondence on this question quite intriguing if you’ve bothered to read this far through; it will not surprise you to hear that I find England far more convincing in this debate).    

I also think there is much to admire and that is worth emulating in the Jewish perspective that allows for God to be wrong. I do not think that our Heavenly Parents have much interest or use for children who are blindly obedient and entirely questionless, for disciples who are only interested in “just following orders” and who fail to understand the broader picture. I think argument and debate and questioning and interrogation can be positive actions to bring with us into prayer and our study of the scriptures, provided they are also balanced by humility, love, and patience (a balance that many rabbis strike). I don’t think we should ever take a spiritual question as fully settled, but should go through the effort to seek after an answer for ourselves. The Jewish tradition often provides me with great examples of what it looks like to truly engage with and commit to one’s faith at the highest level--to the point of being willing to argue with God about how best to apply it! Now that is a worthwhile and vital faith, the very sort I pray to have.

In conclusion: God only knows the answer, but asking the question is always valuable and worthwhile.

[wisdomfish]

Mormonism’s false doctrine of ‘the three kingdoms’...

Christ’s atonement gave virtually all mankind general salvation which, in the Mormon view, means simply resurrection. Nonreligious people and even atheists are “saved” in this sense, but are resurrected to the lowest or telestial kingdom. Members of Christendom's churches and other religious people who sought to please God but who never joined the LDS Chruch will be raised to life in the terrestrial kingdom. And faithful, obedient Mormons will reach the highest or celestial kingdom, where they may even become Gods.

These doctrines are taught in the “latter-day revelations” of Joseph Smith and other LDS leaders (particularly in Doctrine and Covenants, Section 76). But are they taught in the Bible, specifically in Paul's letter to the Corinthians? Not at all. A closer look at context and the words quoted above (1 Cor. 15:40-42) reveals that Paul was not talking about different kingdoms at all. Rather, he was talking about bodies. He was answering the question, “How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?” (1 Cor. 15:35). Using illustrations, he compared a seed planted in the ground to the body God gives the resulting plant. Next, he spoke of four different types of flesh: human, animal, fish, and bird (v. 39). Then he contrasted celestial (literally, heavenly) bodies with terrestrial (literally earthly) bodies. If there is any doubt as to what Paul meant by celestial or heavenly bodies, verse 41 clarifies it with examples; the sun, the moon, and the stars. Then Paul went on to develop the point he was illustrating, namely that he resurrection body is greater than the body in which we die: “It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power” (v. 43).

Paul was thus writing about bodies, not about kingdoms. He contrasted earthly (terrestrial) bodies with heavenly (celestial) bodies, but he did not in any way teach that heaven was divided into kingdoms called celestial, terrestrial and telestial - the latter being a word Joseph Smith evidently coined himself.

John R. Farkas, David A. Reed, Mormons Answered Verse by Verse, p. 87, 88

[missrkl]

The Temple Chapter Sixteen

The author has had a very exhaustive week, so only now writing the next chapter. Enjoy!

Rachel was a very gullible person. She didn’t like being gullible, but she was such a nice person, she easily trusted people, her reasoning was why would people feel the need to lie for no reason? That was one of Rachel’s weaknesses, trusting too easily, believing too easily, a bit like a child. Yet what did Adon (Adonai) say about being like a child? “ 2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children,(A) you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.(B) 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:2-4 in other words, Rachel has the ability to BECOME one of God’s Generals (Roberts Liardon terminology) because if one had the the ability to ‘believe like a child’ exactly what Adon has written in his Holy Book, then one can enter into His Kingdom and perform signs, wonders and miracles, much like the apostles of Christ back in the New Testament. As the Holy Book clearly says “Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” Luke 18:27 (all NIV) There is nothing Adon could not do. What was it that The famous Smith Wigglesworth had said? Just Believe (reference smith wigglesworth the complete collection of his life’s teachings, endorsed by the smith wigglesworth family, roberts liardon).

It was always our unbelief that sometimes limited the power of Adon, most especially when we held back out of fear or lack of faith or lack of spiritual insight. Adon had used Smith to heal so many people that he had become legendary across many nations, a global phenomenon of Adon’s goodness, kindness, and miraculous glory and power. What lies dormant in each and every one of Adon’s children through The Messiah was the supernatural miraculous power of Yahweh that yet to be unboxed, believed in, revealed. Rachel had that deep inside of her, and yet The Temple community had lost its way so much that they did not realise that they had hidden her lamp under a bowl (Matthew 5:15) with their ‘community segregation’s’ and ‘labels.’ It wasn’t only Rachel that felt like she was suffering under the weight of labels and segregation, there were many others just like her and yet none had taken the stance that Rachel had.

Rachel had a purpose and a calling in her life, much like Joseph. Despite being in what seemed like a prison right now, there was a season and a time for everything (book of Ecclesiastes holy Bible) and right now that was training, learning, education, practice, recruiting and saving. Berry and Rachel were not exactly a couple, they were a team first, they didn’t realise that they were the prophesied couple of evangelists who would shake the very foundations of The Temple, to wake the sleeping giant (RT Kendall prophecy based on romans 8) and they were to be used by Adon for the lighting of lamps and provision of Holy Oil to prepare the Bride for Christ (Matthew 25). There was a prophecy over The Temple since the 1800s that had said members would be entering the temple and hear the word and seen leaving the temple as doers of the word (book of James 1:22-25) as well as the latter house being greater than the former “‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord of hosts.””

‭‭Haggai‬ ‭2:9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Rachel read that part again, as she was reading the holy book in the temple, Adon will give peace. Well, right now there wasn’t any peace, so this would definitely be a walking by faith not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Rachel always spent some time in the week meditating on the prophecies of the temple. She wanted to remain focused on the task at hand, not get lost in activities that led them nowhere. Rachel wanted to keep her passion aflame, her light burning, her salt salty. For what use is salt if it loses its saltiness? How will it get salty again? (Matthew 5:13). She had instructed Berry to do the same. He had forgotten about them too because he spent so much time preparing sermons, he was one of the new funky leaders of the temple and he could only see so far ahead of him. He had forgotten to walk by faith and not by sight. Rachel was glad to remind him of that.

Rachel may be behind in the life the world would say is the timeline of life, but she was always just right on time because she was on Adon’s timeline, as the holy book says she was in the world and not of this world, she was chosen by Adon that’s why the world hated her, that’s also why her mind was different from that of the world. That’s why one of the many struggles of Adon’s children was to abolish every love of things in this world to embrace and make room for the love of Adon. That’s why Rachel had to set her affection on things above and not on things beneath and Rachel’s fruits were about to grow for all the world to see (reference John 15:19, Romans 12:2, 1 John 2:15, Colossians 3:2 and Matthew 7:16-20). Berry was the same, they did the same things together, they happened to do a lot of things together. They were not a couple yet, but they were a team. They were preparing to wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world and against spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:12) for that is what it means to be a born again Christian. Harry Potter has no mark on this type of life because as The Messiah had said “I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.”

‭‭John‬ ‭14:30‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

[thewahookid]

How can a loving and merciful God send a person into endless torture in hell? Actually, He does not. They send themselves there. The only unpleasantness to which He channels them is purgatory, where they have the hope of rising to heaven.

Protestants and Eastern Orthodox deny the concept of purgatory because limited, temporary detention for sin with a hope of release is not mentioned in Scripture or earliest church fathers. In real fact, purgatory is indicated by many of them, including those of the first three centuries of Christian literature. Consulting such early sources helps give us the most accurate meaning of New Testament doctrine and praxis. It does so through revealing the presuppositions shared by the New Testament personages and their original hearers and thus disclose the interpretation and lesson that recipients were intended to draw from them. In this way, the ancient sources help inform us of Biblical concepts (which are sometimes quite different from ours) and help supply its conceptual framework so that we can better relate to biblical paradigms. In addition, the literature cited in this article recorded contemporary beliefs and practices during a period as to which most present-day Christians agree the Holy Spirit was still actively guiding the church.

In evaluating modern interpretations and methods of interpreting the Bible, Christians today can derive much assistance from what ancient Christians wrote on various issues before they became subjects of dispute.1 It is more probable that the teaching of Jesus and His apostles was preserved among the first few generations of Christians, instead of the true faith and practice disappearing as soon as the last word of the Bible was written, then long afterwards being perfectly restored at the Reformation or by Mohammed in the seventh century or by Joseph Smith of the Latter-Day Saints in the nineteenth. Similarly, it is infinitely more credible that the correct interpretation of the Bible was preserved by these early generations than first come to light centuries later.

The probability is vanishingly remote that even the most dedicated and protracted study of the Scriptures in the sixteenth century or later would uncover a spiritual truth unknown to early Christians. Christianity has never been a mere collection of writings that can be interpreted by one person as accurately as by another regardless of time or place. The Christian faith has always been a living community or group of communities in which the gospel is shared and transmitted. One Christian interacts with others; older members tell younger members; unwritten memories are recorded in writing by a later generation; and each person directly or indirectly interacts with other Christians, ultimately preserved in the sources below.

Where the early Christian authors agree among themselves, it must be that their presentations of the Christian faith were received from the apostles not many years earlier. Theirs may be only an interpretation, but it is a more authoritative interpretation than those formulated since the sixteenth century because it was made closer to the milieu of the New Testament authors.

A major premise of belief in purgatory is that God is not vindictive or vengeful or inclined to bear grudges forever. The flames in the afterlife, as mentioned at various points in the Scriptures, are a purifying fire, like that for metals, not a destroying fire or one burning for the sole sake of punishment. The distinctive principle of a temporary, graded punishment after death is that the purpose of such chastisement is to purge sin from a soul and thus purify it for eventual entry into heaven. This principle of divine operation is hinted at in Ezekiel 22:18 and stated more clearly in Malachi 3:3: “He will sit refining and purifying silver, and he will purify the Levites.” In addition to this principle is the concept that evildoers must make reparation or pay for their earthly sins.

In early Christian times a commonly-used proof-text for this was Matthew 5:25-26: “Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.” Instead of “penny,” some translations say “farthing,” which was a quarter of a penny.

It may seem strange to twenty-first-century readers to link this passage with the afterlife, but purgatory — often called Hades — is the theme of all earliest known exegeses of it.

Origen was the foremost Christian theologian, Bible scholar and teacher of the first half of the third century AD, and the most prolific Christian writer prior to Martin Luther. From AD 202 to 230 or 233 he was the dean/principal of Christendom’s leading institution of higher learning. In AD 231 or 233 he established his own in Palestine. He traveled much in the eastern Roman Empire as a theological consultant to local bishops, and thus could witness ethics and doctrine in many places.

Origen taught in Against Celsus that somewhere in the universe God maintains a “training school of virtue” for Christians who died in sin, to perfect them for heaven. God purifies them “like gold in the fire” after their deaths so that they can recover their pristine spiritual status and eventually enter paradise.2 According to his Homilies on Samuel, purgatory is not hell or heaven but a waiting room where God intervenes in the lives of its inhabitants and metes out greater or lesser punishments, or no punishment at all, depending on the person’s life and faith on earth.3 His Homilies on Leviticus explain that purification for sins comes by death and eternal fires.4

About Origen’s time lived a bishop in central Italy whose Against Plato, on the Cause of the Universe indicated that Hades is the region in which the souls both of the righteous and the unrighteous are detained. He elaborated that “this locality has been destined to be as it were a guard-house for souls, at which the angels are stationed as guards, distributing according to each one’s deeds the temporary punishments for [different] characters.”5

Earlier in the third century, Tertullian, the Father of Latin Christian Literature, wrote that all souls go to purgatory, where they undergo punishment and consolation while awaiting judgment, in a certain anticipation either of gloom or of glory:6

In short, inasmuch as we understand “the prison” pointed out in the Gospel to be Hades, and as we also interpret “the uttermost farthing” to mean the very smallest offence which has to be recompensed there before the resurrection, no one will hesitate to believe that the soul undergoes in Hades some compensatory discipline, without prejudice to the full process of the resurrection, when the recompense will be administered through the flesh besides.7

This region, therefore, I call Abraham’s bosom. Although it is not in heaven, it is yet higher than hell, and is appointed to afford an interval of rest to the souls of the righteous, until the consummation of all things shall complete the resurrection of all men with the “full recompense of their reward.”8

Tertullian noted that “by Abraham’s bosom is meant some temporary receptacle of faithful souls.”9

These pronouncements are not alternate descriptions of a permanent, endless hell as commonly conceived. Its purpose is completely different from purgatory/Hades. In Protestant thought, hell is endless, only for persons who died in sin, has no bearing on the righteous (who go directly to heaven), where all inmates are treated the same way regardless of frequency or degree of turpitude, and the living cannot do anything to shorten the denizens’ stay or otherwise help them.

As for length of time in purgatory, Origen’s Homilies on Judges leave little doubt that the durations of punishment are determined according to the severity of the sin, and the prolongation of our conversion to God’s ways also prolonging the time of chastisement.10 His Homilies on Luke express the same thought: “Each one of us incurs a penalty for each single sin, and the size of the penalty is reckoned according to the quality and nature of the offense.”11 “Each one receives a sentence with a different fine, according to the quality and quantity of his sin.”12 “There is no other time to give an account except the time of judgment. Then, what has been entrusted to us, and what gains and losses we have made, will be clearly known.”13 “You will be sent to prison, and there you will have payment exacted by labor and work, or by punishments and torture; and you will not get out, unless you have paid the penny and the ‘last farthing.’14 One’s stay in purgatory will depend on how he or she behaved on earth, according to Homilies on Psalm 36.15

There is a widespread understanding that most of us, even virtuous souls, spend some amount of time in purgatory. The Homilies on Psalm 36 record that even Peter and Paul had to go there.16 This is because heaven is only for the absolutely perfect, and the purpose of purgatory is to purify the less-than-perfect for heaven, with saints and apostles spending only a short time.

Such postmortem chastisement is essentially medicinal and curative, designed to rehabilitate offenders so that everyone may eventually, although belatedly, enter heaven.17 Another explanation was given by Origen’s teacher in the AD 190s, and predecessor at the prominent Christian school:

For there are partial corrections, which are called chastisements, which many of us who have been in transgression incur, by falling away from the Lord’s people. But as children are chastised by their teacher, or their father, so are we by Providence. But God does not punish, for punishment is retaliation for evil. He chastises, however, for good to those who are chastised, collectively and individually.18

and:

God’s punishments are saving and disciplinary, leading to conversion, and choosing rather the repentance than the death of the sinner; and especially since souls, although darkened by passions, when released from their bodies, are able to perceive more clearly, because of their being no longer obstructed by the paltry flesh.19

As a loving father, God inflicts punishment only in order to correct and redirect his children; therefore, chastisement after death is no more severe and no longer in duration than is necessary to reform the individual sinner.

Lastly, much of the theology of the afterlife, “the four last things,” of standard Protestantism is without hope, and Christians on earth can do nothing to alleviate the fate of its inhabitants. However, in the second century, Christians taught that the living can indeed assist their brothers and sisters there. One book in early Christian use, the Apocalypse of Zephaniah, states there is prayer for the people in Hades.20 Even in the first or second century, the Testament of Abraham recognizes heaven, hell, and Hades, and that the prayer of a righteous man can transport a soul from purgatory to Paradise.21 A little later than our time period, the Acts of Andrew record that an apostle prayed that a dead repentant Christian “might rest in peace.”22 Tertullian’s On Monogamy described the activities of a Christian’s widow: “she prays for his soul, and requests refreshment for him meanwhile, and fellowship with him in the resurrection; and she offers a Eucharist on the anniversaries of his falling asleep.”23 In mentioning Christian traditions so old and so universal that they were embraced by the faithful often with the same level of authority as as Sacred Scripture, Tertullian spoke of offering a Eucharist for the dead “as birthday honors.”24

Despite standing alone among Christian churches in teaching about a transitory place of rectification and disciplining immediately after death, the Roman Catholic Church has preserved the concept that the earliest church possessed, unlike the Eastern Orthodox and most Protestants, including denominations with fulsome and intricate pronouncements on what happens in the afterlife.

[quakerjoe]

Statements about race in the Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon teaches that African Americans are inferior and loathsome, -- uncouth, uncomely, disagreeable and low in their habits, wild, and seemingly deprived of nearly all the blessings of the intelligence that is generally bestowed upon mankind it does state that they may eventually be saved. However, even in Heaven, they will be servants to others in 2 Nephi 30:6, the the Book of Mormon as originally translated by Joseph Smith said that if Lamanites accepted the true gospel, 3 Nephi 2:15 reads: "And their curse was taken from them, and their skin became white like unto the Nephites "...their scales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes; and many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a white and a delightsome people." Ham is described in Genesis 9 as a son of Noah who had seen his father naked. Ham himself was not punished. But Ham's son, Canaan, was cursed. Genesis 9:25-27: Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers. He also said, 'Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem. May God extend the territory of Japheth; may Japeth live in the tents of Shem and may Canaan be his slave'." This became known as the Curse of Ham racist statements by LDS leaders Brigham Young, who led many of the Mormons to Salt Lake City, UT wrote: Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African Race? If the White man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will always be so. Cain slew his brother. . . and the Lord put a mark upon him, which is the flat nose and black skin Joseph Fielding Smith -- not to be confused with Joseph Smith, the founder of the church -- was the sixth President of the LDS church. He wrote: "There is a reason why one man is born black and with other disadvantages, while another is born white with great advantages. The reason is that we once had an estate before we came here, and were obedient, more or less, to the laws that were given us there. Those who were faithful in all things there received greater blessings here, and those who were not faithful received less. Racist statements by LDS leaders during the 1950s: In 1954, Mormon elder Mark E. Peterson discussed blacks and the priesthood in an address to a Convention of Teachers of Religion at the College Level at Brigham Young University. He said: "The reason that one would lose his blessings by marrying a Negro is due to the restriction placed upon them. 'No person having the least particle of Negro blood can hold the Priesthood' (Brigham Young). It does not matter if they are one-sixth Negro or one-hundred and sixth, the curse of no Priesthood is the same. If an individual who is entitled to the Priesthood marries a Negro, the Lord has decreed that only spirits who are not eligible for the Priesthood will come to that marriage as children. To intermarry with a Negro is to forfeit a 'Nation of Priesthood holders'...." That is, all male descendents of a racially-mixed marriage in which one spouse had even a single distant black ancestor would be forever prohibited from becoming a Mormon priest. [All female descendents are also prohibited from ordination, as are females of all other races]. However, a black or partially black person could be baptized in the Mormon faith and attain heaven after death. Peterson concluded: "If that Negro is faithful all his days, he can and will enter the celestial kingdom. He will go there as a servant, but he will get celestial glory." It is not clear whether Peterson's reference for servant status for all persons of African-Americans ancestry refers to status as a literal servant, or as a slave. In theological terminology, as in many translations of the Bible, "servant" often means a human slave owned by a slavemaster Mormon Apostle and apologist, Bruce R. McConkie, (1915-1985) touched on the black issue in his book "Mormon Doctrine:" "...this is the standard LDS guide to church doctrine, found in nearly every active Mormon household." He wrote in the first edition of his book -- 1958 -- about the repercussions on earth of a war in heaven: "In the pre-existent eternity various degrees of valiance and devotion to the truth were exhibited by different groups of our Father’s spirit offspring… some were more valiant than others… Those who were less valiant in pre-existence and who thereby had certain spiritual restrictions imposed upon them during mortality are known to us as the negroes. Such spirits are sent to earth through the lineage of Cain, the mark put upon him for his rebellion against God and his murder of Abel being a black skin... Negroes in this life are denied the priesthood; under no circumstances can they hold this delegation of authority from the Almighty… The present status of the negro rests purely and simply on the foundation of pre-existence… The negroes are not equal with other races where the receipt of certain spiritual blessings are concerned, particularly the priesthood and the temple blessings that flow therefrom, but this inequality is not of man’s origin. It is the Lord’s doing, is based on his eternal laws of justice, and grows out of the lack of spiritual valiance of those concerned in their first estate." 4 In other words, racism and sexism -- as exhibited by refusing the priesthood to anyone who has an African-American ancestor or who is female -- is perfectly moral if it comes from God.

-via  God of the week

[updcbc]

March 18, 2018 - “The Doom of False Teachers” 2 Peter 2:1-22

Click KEEP READING to read the full sermon.

Introduction

As Satan can disguise as an angel of light and as demons can present themselves as servants of righteousness, so false teachers can appear as trustworthy guides to convince others that what is false is the truth. And they do this relentlessly on the shame of Christians who should be doing their task with zeal in reaching the world for Jesus by proclaiming the true gospel of Christ and in teaching the absolute truths of the Scriptures.

Yet, how can someone know for sure who is teaching what is true and what is false? This is a serious question we all wrestle with in a fallen and twisted world orchestrated by counterfeit.

What is a counterfeit? Cambridge dictionary defines it as “copied exactly in order to make someone believe that the copy is the original.” Merriam Webster renders it as “made in imitation of something else with intent to deceive.” And Collins dictionary defines it as “a version that is not genuine but has been made to look genuine in order to deceive people.”

To update myself on how religious groups use effectively the internet in propagating their own teachings, I recently surfed on the gospel of a particular sect. I was really curious about the gospel of salvation of this particular religious group posted in its website. Take note of the lead question for its audience to read: “What is the Gospel of Jesus Christ?” Notice carefully what this gospel is all about. Here is the good news propagated by this sect.

“The gospel of Jesus Christ is our Heavenly Father’s plan for the happiness and salvation of His children. It is called the gospel of Jesus Christ because the Atonement of Jesus Christ is central to this plan. According to His plan, our Heavenly Father sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to show us how to live meaningful and happy lives and experience eternal joy after this life. Through the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ, you can become clean from sin and enjoy peace of conscience. You can become worthy to live in Heavenly Father’s presence after life. You can live the gospel of Jesus Christ by developing faith in Jesus Christ, repenting, being baptized, receiving the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end.” (https:www.lds.org/manual/the-gospel?lang=eng)

Let us carefully make our observations by asking the following questions. First, does this gospel message sound evangelical? Second, does this gospel message sound biblical? Third, does this gospel message appealing? For us who come from an evangelical background, perhaps we may say to these three questions in the affirmative.

Now, if I were to ask you, what particular sect bears this kind of apparently evangelical, biblical and appealing gospel message, any guess? Probably, we may be clueless in making an intelligent guess. This only shows how powerful a counterfeit is! Yes, this is the gospel message of the Church of the Latter Day Saints of Jesus Christ, LDS for short, a dominant cult commonly known as The Mormons.

What is a cult? A cult is a religious group that claims to be a genuine Christian but deceitfully distorts the gospel of Christ. This means a cult claims their authority from God and establishes their teachings from the Bible. In a deceitful way, a cultic group uses biblical terms with unbiblical meanings to distort the gospel in defiance against God.

Let us make a brief survey about The Mormons. Joseph Smith was the founder of the LDS which he established in 1819. He claimed to be the prophet of God to reestablish the church of God for all the former Christian denominations had fallen away from God and from the truth. So he proclaimed that God called him in these last days to rebuild the true church of God known as “The Latter Day Saints of Jesus Christ.” In propagating this religious agenda, the Mormons are the most zealous missionaries in the world and they have the financial resources as the richest religious group with a stable and sustaining business empire.

What do they teach? When two Mormon missionaries knock at the door, their front is the Bible and Jesus Christ. But once their converts go deeper to their teachings, they may not realize that they are indoctrinated with teachings contrary to the Scriptures. They will gradually teach that besides the Bible, they will present the Book of Mormons as the final authority for their faith. They will introduce Joseph Smith, their prophet, to be greater than Jesus. They teach that they believe in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. But they do not believe in the Holy Trinity—one God in three persons, co-eternal and co-equal with each other. Instead, they embrace the belief in many gods and will introduce the teaching that a faithful Mormon would someday become a god. They believe that Jesus himself was a man who was exalted and become God. This is contrary to what the Bible says that Jesus is the eternal God the Son who became flesh. Though they mention grace and faith in Christ, in reality, salvation for them is strict observance to the rules and rituals inside the Mormon Church.

Apostle Peter, who had particularly written two general epistles addressed to the persecuted Christian brethren in Asia Minor—and to the rest of the world—declared the true knowledge of God. The true knowledge of God is centered in Jesus Christ as written in the Holy Scriptures under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. According to Peter, the bedrock foundation of the Christian faith rests upon the knowledge of the triune God. The Father chose his covenant people who are redeemed by the blood of Christ Jesus and anointed by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. (1 Peter 1:2). It was Peter who confessed the revelation from God the Father in heaven that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of the living God (Mt. 16:16). It was upon this revelation that Jesus declared to build his church (Mt. 16:18). It was Peter who proclaimed that there is no other name for humankind to be saved but the name of Jesus (Acts 4:12). It was Peter who proclaimed that salvation is entirely by grace through the death of Jesus, the Righteous One who died for the unrighteous sinners (1 Pet. 3:18). It was Peter who taught that Jesus alone is the chief cornerstone and capstone of the church of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:6). It was Peter who identified the true church of Jesus Christ as the covenant people of God (1 Pet. 2:9). In all of these biblical teachings, it was Apostle Peter who declared that these are absolute truths as revealed in the Holy Scriptures under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:20-21). Therefore, the Bible alone, and no other sources such as the Book of Mormon, is the final authority of the Christian faith and life (2 Tim. 3:15-17).

Anchored upon these foundational teachings, Apostle Peter made a clear biblical stand in defense of the true knowledge of God. Peter was fully aware that the greater harm inside the church was not through the painful persecution from unbelievers but from the devastating influence of false teachers. It was for this reason that he exposed the false teachings of false teachers (2 Pet. 2:1-3a), the dreadful judgments of God (2:4-10a) and the doom of false teachers (2:1c, 3b, 10b-22).

A. The Teachings of False Teachers (2:1-3a)

One time as I was watching a television program of a religious group, my son Larkin who was then five years old asked me, “Tatay, are those teachers teaching the truth?” I answered, “No, they are not.” “Then why do you have to listen to their teachings?” he inquired with a great surprise. I explained, “Son, as a bible teacher it is my task to understand the false teachings of religious groups so I can warn others.”

On another occasion, he saw me again viewing another program of a religious group. He stood at my front and inquired, “Are they teaching the truth?” I replied, “No, they do not.” My son gave a straightforward instruction, “Go ahead, Tatay, view the program. That is your job.”

We need spiritual discernment to understand the false teachings of false teachers as we teach the sound teachings of the Scriptures.

1. Destructive Heresies

In the second epistle of Peter, he warned the Christian brethren of the intrusive heresies of deceitful teachers in contrast to the prophets of God who were inspired by the Holy Spirit in proclaiming the Word of God.

“But there were false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.” (2:1a-1c)

A prophet, as understood by Peter, is someone who has the divine authority to proclaim the message of God, and a teacher is someone who gives a sound exposition of the Word of God. A false prophet is someone who claims to have a revelation from God and a false teacher claims to have the right interpretation of the teachings of God. Where can we find these false prophets and false teachers? False prophets are present among the people at large just as false teachers deceitfully find their way inside the church. The intrusive presence of false teachers is indeed alarming which the Christian brethren may not be fully aware of. Peter cited the works of false teachers inside the church. First, they secretly introduce destructive heresies among the Christian brethren. And second, they deliberately deny the sovereign Lord who bought them with his precious blood. These twofold schemes are inseparable and integrated. Anyone who denies that Jesus is Lord and God also corrupts the words and teachings of Christ. A heresy is a self-willed erroneous opinion which is substituted for submission to the power of truth. Interestingly, heretical teachings which are meant to destroy the faith of the believers will certainly lead to the self-destruction of false teachers who teach them.

 2. Distortion of Truth

False teachers are experts in twisting the Scriptures.

“Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.” (2:2)

“To bring the way of truth into disrepute” means to treat the holy Scriptures as garbage. Anyone who twists the truth is an act of sacrilege—a gross irreverence to what is sacred. A twisted mind leads to a twisted life. And this scheme is done deceitfully in the name of God and of truth. Sad to say, countless people will be deceived by false teachings and even follow the disgraceful lifestyles of false teachers.

3. Deceptive Stories

False teachers who know how to twist the Scriptures are experts in making stories and present them deceitfully with the imprimatur of truth. And they do this with a hidden agenda.

“In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up.” (2:3a)

A careful study of cult leaders will tell us that they have a common ground. These cult leaders knew the gospel truth and even experienced the grace of God in their spiritual journeys. Many among them, if not all, were former members of an evangelical church and even nurtured with the gospel truths. But they drifted away from God and abandoned the truth. In their testimonies they claim that their former knowledge of God and understanding of the Scriptures were false. And in their desire for “truth” they declared that God revealed himself to them and he called them to establish the true church of God that teaches the absolute truth. To authenticate their personal claims they make their own stories in upholding their self-declared authorities and well-crafted unbiblical teachings. Are these false teachers aware of their false teachings? Yes they do. Apostle Peter specifically described their bible stories as their own masterpieces—“stories they have made up.”

With these truth-coated fabricated stories, what is the ulterior motive of false teachers? Their hidden agenda is exploitation driven by greed. Exploitation in this regard is not simply focused on material gain but in gathering disciples who would follow their false teachings. In their insatiable desire to make money out of religion and in gathering followers to build their own religious empire, false teachers are zealous in intensifying their propaganda that appeals to unstable people.

Our Lord Jesus Christ gives a unique portrait of false prophets which also applies to false teachers. “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves” (Mt. 7:15). False teachers are “wolves in sheep clothing.” It was based on this warning of Christ that Peter warned the Christian brethren, “Be self controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). And the Enemy devours many souls through the deceptive stories of false teachers. And their destructive influence is like a gangrene penetrating within the Christian circles.

A disheartening fact can be observed within the Christian community. There are so called Christians who are members of an evangelical church and grounded with biblical teachings yet decisively turn away from the truth and embraced cultic teachings. Apostle Peter described them as dogs returning to their vomit and as pigs who wallow in the mud after being washed (2 Pet. 2:22). But why do they turn away from God and abandon the truth? Here, Apostle John gave a revealing explanation. “They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us, but their going showed that none of them belonged to us” (1 Jn. 19). Apostle Paul, referred to this kind of people as professing Christians in this manner, “The claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good” (Titus 1:16).

Indeed, the omniscient God who discerns the heart of every person knows his own people and those who are not. In the parable of the soils, he teaches that every human being who hears the truth has the freedom either to live by the Scripture or to do away with it. Blessed are those who are like good soils who hear the word of truth with a noble heart.

B. The Dreadful Judgments of God (2:4-10a)

In the sight of God, how serious is the influence of false teachers? Consider these two scenarios. First, here is a man who holds a gun in his hand, points it to someone then pulls the trigger and killed an innocent person. Second, here is a teacher who stands behind the pulpit and teaches that Jesus is not God but only a man and people believe in him. Who among these two have a greater accountability and face a heavier judgment before God? Indeed, it is the false teacher. The first one commits a murder and he will pay for his crime with his life in taking one innocent life—and that is the end of it. Whereas for the second, even when the false teacher dies, his false teaching lives on and those who will believe his erroneous teachings will perish into eternal damnation for embracing a lie they believed the truth. To focus on the gravity of the destructive influence of false teachers, Apostle Peter purposely cited the dreadful judgments of God in history.

 1. The Fallen Angels

First was the judgment of God over the fallen angels.

“For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment…” (2:4)

Angels are spirits greater than human beings. They have direct access to God in heaven. And like human beings, they too have the freedom on how they would relate to their Creator. Unfortunately, many angels, led by the archangel Lucifer, which means “morning star,” rebelled against God (Isa. 14:12). Their decision was final and irreversible that sealed their fallen state for eternity. Because of the rebellion of Satan and the fallen angels, identified in the Scriptures as demons, they were “brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit” (Isa. 14:15). Sheol is the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek Hades. Hades or Tartarus means “the unseen world” as described by Peter as “gloomy dungeons.” Hades was translated in English as Hell. Hades is a transitory place where the fallen angels are held for their final judgment to be thrown into the Lake of Fire at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ (Rev. 20:14). Just as the fallen angels were not spared by God when they sinned, likewise, false teachers will never escape the dreadful judgment of God.

 2. The Great Deluge

Second was the great flood that covered the whole earth with water.

“…if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others…” (2:5)

In the time of Noah, “The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The LORD was grieved that he had made man on earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the LORD said, ‘I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them.’ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD” (Gen. 6:5-8). It was God who commanded Noah to build an Ark and he built it for almost 100 years. Through those years he warned the people of his generation of the righteous judgment of God over their wickedness. In their stubbornness they defied his message. And when the ark was built there was a continuous downpour of rain for forty days and forty nights until the whole earth was engulfed with the great flood. And only eight people were saved from the Flood—Noah, his wife and their three sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, with their respective wives. If God did not spare the wicked people during the time of Noah and judged them by sending the Great Deluge, likewise, false teachers will never be spared of the coming fearsome judgment of God over them.

3. Sodom and Gomorrah

Third was the judgment over Sodom and Gomorrah.

“…if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men (for the righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his  righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)—if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment. This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority.” (2:6-10a)

When the LORD visited Abraham, he revealed to him the fulfillment of the promise of God that Sarah will have a son (Gen.18:10). And the LORD also unveiled to Abraham about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. “Then the LORD said, ‘The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not I will know” (Gen. 18:20-21). Abraham made several pleadings with the LORD to withhold his judgment until he made his final bargain for the sake of ten righteous men living in those wicked cities—but not even ten were found. Two angels visited the family of Lot, the nephew of Abraham. When the men of the city discovered the presence of the two visitors, “They called to Lot, ‘Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them’” (Gen. 19:5). The word sodomy, derived from Sodom, means unnatural sexual intercourse, especially that between two males. In this sodomite environment, Lot, a righteous man, everyday he was in deep distress and torment as he lived among the utterly wicked people. The angels rescued him and his two daughters—except his wife who turned into a pillar of salt when she looked back at the burning cities. And Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by fire and brimstone from heaven.

When we are confronted with the evil system in the world and dwell among the wicked in the land, like Lot, this brings anguish and torment to our souls. Yet God has his own way to rescue the righteous from their trials and sufferings. On the contrary, the wicked continue to be restless in their miserable plight because of their wickedness as they will face their final and full condemnation in the Day of Judgment. And this includes false teachers.

C. The Judgment of False Teachers (2:1c, 3b, 10b-22)

As Bible teachers, we are warned by James the Elder, “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly” (James 3:1). If faithful Bible teachers are under severe accountability to God, how much more with false teachers who defy God and distort the truth! If God did not spare the fallen angels, the wicked generation in Noah’s time and the perverted people in Sodom and Gomorrah, likewise, false teachers will be judged in their arrogance, wickedness and lies.

1. The Arrogance of False of Teachers

Apostle Peter gave a revealing portrait of false teachers. They may appear as humble and gentle but in reality they are proud and arrogant.

“Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings; yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord. But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instincts, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish.” (2:10b-12)

These false teachers are fearless in slandering celestial beings unlike the angels who are careful not to bring accusations such spiritual beings before God. “But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you’” (Jude 9). False teachers have disregard to heavenly beings. Moreover, they blaspheme in matters they do not understand. The Elder Jude, gave this description to these blasphemers, “Yet these men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand; and what things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals—these are the very things that destroy them” (Jude 10). What an irony! These false teachers who claim to be anointed by God, teachers of truth and servants of righteousness are bold and arrogant in defying divine authority and in blaspheming against celestial beings in rebellion against God.

 2. The Wickedness of False Teachers

The arrogance of false teachers rooted in their hearts is manifested in their ungodly behavior. Apostle Peter enumerated their hidden nature.

a.     Their Sensuality

First of all, false teachers gratify their sensual pleasures.

“Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you. With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable…” (2:13b-14a)

This unveiling of the true character of false teachers is utterly disgraceful and even shameful to mention it. They even share with the Lord’s Supper with us despite of their secret lustful and adulterous lives.

 b.    Their Greed

Secondly, false teachers are driven with greed in all their undertakings.

“…they are experts in greed—an accursed brood! They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness. But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—a beast without speech—who spoke with a man’s voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.” (2:14b-16)

It was God who sent a donkey to rebuke Balaam of his folly. Like the false prophet Balaam who prophesied against Israel because he “loved the wages of wickedness,” so these false teachers are “experts in greed” following the crooked way of madness.

These false teachers sell their souls in the name of money. Jesus’ warning stands: “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money” (Mt. 6:24).

c.     Their Depravity

Thirdly, false teachers are bound in their depravity. Depravity is the state of morally corrupt.

“These men are springs without water and mists driven by storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.” (2:17-19)

They are senseless and useless people portrayed as “springs without water” and “mists driven by storm.” In boasting of their false teachings they appeal to the lustful desires of sinful nature to enslave people who desire for freedom from a life bound by sin and falsehood. In outrage, Peter spoke of their doom, “Blackest darkness is reserved for them.”

 d.    Their Reprobation

Finally, false teachers gravitate in their reprobate state. In the sight of God they are rejected and worthless. This is their worst portrait.

“If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. On them the proverbs are true: ‘A dog returns to its vomit,’ and, ‘A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.’” (2:20-22)

3. The Destruction of False Teachers

What is the future of false teachers? Apostle Peter spoke of their doom.

a.     Swift Destruction

In all their deceitful false teachings and arrogant godless behavior, in the process, they are “…bringing swift destruction on themselves” (2:1c). Destruction, as used by Peter, refers to the wrath of God for the spiritual and eternal perdition of wicked people.

b.    Impending Destruction

False teachers will never escape the judgment of God. “Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping” (2:3b). There is a stern warning in the book of Proverbs, “A man who remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy” (Pr. 29:1). This is true to false teachers who hardened their hearts to the prodding and conviction of the Holy Spirits in their hearts.

 c.     Full Destruction

In the Judgment Day, false teachers “will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done” (2:13a). A crooked politician who rules in injustice brings grief to the people. An unsound economist who makes imbalanced policies causes economic meltdown in the land. But a false teacher who wins the minds, hearts, and souls of people leads to the spiritual and eternal damnation of unbelievers who embrace their false teachings. God will punish them in full for their heretical doctrines.

Conclusion

Our fallen world under the power of darkness is orchestrated by counterfeit. In using the name of God and the authority of the Bible, false teachers advance their cause through their destructive heresies, distortion of truth and deceptive stories. Their doom is certain just as God did not spare the fallen angels, the wicked generation in the time of Noah and the depraved people in Sodom and Gomorrah. In the end, these false teachers will receive their full judgment for all their godlessness and heresies. What is our evangelical response toward false teachers and the kingdom of cults?

Indeed, we have to be rooted in our biblical foundations. We believe in the Bible as the Word of God and the final authority of the Christian faith and life. We believe in the triune God—one God in three persons who are co-eternal and co-equal each with each other –the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We believe in Jesus Christ, the God incarnate, born of a virgin, died on the cross, resurrected from the dead and ascended to heaven. We believe that salvation is absolutely by grace through faith in Jesus Christ as the only Savior of the world and the Lord of all. We believe that we are called to make disciples of all nations as the salt and light of the world. And we believe that Jesus Christ is coming again to judge the living and the dead—the wicked to eternal damnation and the righteous to eternal bliss.

And we take a further step. It is well said, “Do not curse the darkness; instead, turn on the light.” A good question is set before us. Is the grace of God able to take its roots into a religious group founded by false teachers and nurtured by false teachings?

The Worldwide Church of God, founded by Herbert W. Armstrong in 1934, is a religious group that had deeply influenced the world through its unorthodox and unbiblical teachings propagated by its prophetic program, The World Tomorrow and its appealing magazine, The Plain Truth. Its primary doctrines focused on the Second Coming of Christ, the observance of the Sabbath for salvation, the Trinity as a pagan doctrine and promoted Anglo-Israelism, the belief that British people are the literal descendants of the ten “lost” tribes of Israel.

When Armstrong died in 1995, he was succeeded by Joseph Tkach, Sr. Tkach’s desire to teach the truth led him to institute reforms which was continued by his son Joseph Tkach, Jr. The shelved the doctrine of Anglo-Israelism and Sabbatarianism. And they embraced the doctrine of Trinity and believed that salvation is by grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ. Many who disagreed with the doctrinal reforms went out from the group and continued with the teachings of Armstrong. But those who remained embraced the true teachings of the Scriptures. On April 3, 2009, the Worldwide Church of God officially changed its name to Grace Communion International. From a heretical religion it became an evangelical denomination. In 1997, it was accepted as a member of the National Association of Evangelicals in the United States.

In documenting the spiritual journey and transformation of the Grace Communion International, they posted in their home website their testimony of the wonderful saving grace of God at work in their lives.

“Our strengths as a denomination include a fresh awareness of the importance of grace, a high respect for Scripture, and a willingness to do what it says. We recognize that Jesus, as our Savior and Lord, has reconciled us to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We rejoice in the implications of Trinitarian theology. We know that Christ makes a difference in the way we live. Through the agency of the Holy Spirit, he transforms our lives in this age, and gives us eternal life in fellowship with our Creator. Jesus is not done with us yet. We are still being shaped and fashioned for his purpose. We praise him and worship him, and seek to know his will for our lives.” (https://www.gci.org/about history)

This unprecedented movement in church history is the sovereign work of God. In overflowing gratitude, we give glory to the Triune God.

It is for this reason that the benediction of the Apostle Paul offers a deeper meaning to us. “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God (the Father), and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Cor. 13:14).

As Christians, our gospel message stands: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life” (Jn. 3:16).

The “world” includes the kingdom of cults and false teachers. Jesus died for them too. And they also need our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ—like we do.

[livingprophets-blog]

Education

Position: Obtaining an education is of monumental importance for each and every one of Heavenly Father’s children. What that means is that we have a personal responsibility to learn of the world that we live in so that we may better understand it, so that we may better navigate it on our journey back to Heavenly Father. Obtaining an education does not mean that we must all strive to obtain MBA’s or PhD’s, or attend some highly esteemed academic institution. From seeking out the words of the Prophets and Apostles on this matter, I have learned that a greater understanding that comes through education can safeguard us from sin. The Lord’s servants have urged us to become more educated so we can better serve the Lord, and lift our fellow men. Above all, we are personally accountable for our educations and particularly our gospel educations. Nothing will bring us more success and personal happiness than a deep understanding of what the Father’s will is for us as individuals.

“As you follow the promptings to learn about your family history, you may discover that a distant relative shares some of your facial features or your interest in books or your talent for singing. This could be very interesting and even insightful. But if your work stops there, you will sense that something is missing. This is because to gather and unite God’s family requires more than just warm feelings. It requires sacred covenants made in connection with priesthood ordinances.” Gathering the Family of God - President Henry B. Eyring - April 2017

“Because of our sacred regard for each human intellect, we consider the obtaining of an education to be a religious responsibility. Yet opportunities and abilities differ. I believe that in the pursuit of education, individual desire is more influential than institution, and personal faith more forceful than faculty.” Where is Wisdom? - President Russell M. Nelson - October 1992

“Our Creator expects His children everywhere to educate themselves. He issued a commandment: “Seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.” (D&C 88:118.) And He assures us that knowledge acquired here will be ours forever.” Where is Wisdom? - President Russell M. Nelson - October 1992

“Brethren, you have a duty to learn as much as you can. Please encourage your families, your quorum members, everyone to learn and become better educated. If formal education is not available, do not allow that to prevent you from acquiring all the knowledge you can. Under such circumstances, the best books, in a sense, can become your “university”—a classroom that is always open and admits all who apply. Strive to increase your knowledge of all that is “virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy.” Seek knowledge ‘by study and also by faith.’” Two Principles for Any Economy - President Dieter F. Uchtdorf - October 2009

“In some places, too many of our people are looking beyond the mark and seeking secret knowledge in expensive and questionable practices to provide healing and support. An official Church statement, issued one year ago, states: “We urge Church members to be cautious about participating in any group that promises—in exchange for money—miraculous healings or that claims to have special methods for accessing healing power outside of properly ordained priesthood holders.” The Church Handbook counsels: “Members should not use medical or health practices that are ethically or legally questionable. Local leaders should advise members who have health problems to consult with competent professional practitioners who are licensed in the countries where they practice.” Brothers and sisters, be wise and aware that such practices may be emotionally appealing but may ultimately prove to be spiritually and physically harmful.” The Trek Continues! - Elder M. Russell Ballard - October 2017

“Education prepares you for better employment opportunities. It puts you in a better position to serve and to bless those around you. It will set you on a path of lifelong learning. It will strengthen you to fight against ignorance and error. As Joseph Smith taught: ‘Knowledge does away with darkness, suspense and doubt; for these cannot exist where knowledge is. … In knowledge there is power.’” Meeting The Challenges of Today’s World - Elder Robert D. Hales - October 2015

“By focusing on and living the principles of Heavenly Father’s plan for our eternal happiness, we can separate ourselves from the wickedness of the world. If we are anchored to the correct understanding of who we are, why we are here on this earth, and where we can go after this mortal life, Satan cannot threaten our happiness through any form of temptation.” Answers to Life’s Questions - President M. Russell Ballard - April 1995

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart,” the scriptures teach, “and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” A Yearning For Home - President Dieter F. Uchtdorf - October 2017

“Something powerful happens when a child of God seeks to know more about Him and His Beloved Son. Nowhere are those truths taught more clearly and powerfully than in the Book of Mormon.” The Book of Mormon: What Would Your Life Be Like Without It? - President Russell M. Nelson - October 2017

“My dear brothers and sisters, I testify that the Book of Mormon is truly the word of God. It contains the answers to life’s most compelling questions. It teaches the doctrine of Christ. It expands and clarifies many of the “plain and precious” truths that were lost through centuries of time and numerous translations of the Bible. The Book of Mormon provides the fullest and most authoritative understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ to be found anywhere. It teaches what it really means to be born again.” The Book of Mormon: What Would Your Life Be Like Without It? - President Russell M. Nelson - October 2017

[free-mormons-blog]

Foreword -- Temple and Cosmos Beyond this Ignorant Present  -- HUGH NIBLEY 1992

Foreword

Don Norton

The words temple and cosmos appear together in the title of this volume because the “temple is a scale model of the universe” (p. 15). Participation in the instruction and ordinances of the temple enables “one to get one’s bearings from the universe.” The temple is the link between the seeming chaos and dissolution of this temporal world and the beautiful configuration (cosmos) and permanence of the eternal order. “The mystique of the temple lies in its extension to other worlds; it is the reflection on earth of the heavenly order, and the power that fills it comes from above.”

Except among Latter-day Saints, the notion of temple had been all but lost to the world until early in this century, when scholars rediscovered (or perhaps simply began to acknowledge) the richly consistent stories (myths) and practices (rituals) in nearly all cultures (but in particular the ancient Near East) that take place in sacred structures. One can now safely say that the temple is “the source of all civilization” (p. 22): “there is no aspect of our civilization which doesn’t have its rise in the temple” (p. 25) — all the arts, government, commerce, the traditional academic disciplines (mathematics, astronomy, history, architecture, philosophy), writing (and hence libraries), athletic competition, judicial systems, our festivals, the patterns of our celebrations, and so on. In fact, many of the accouterments and much of the aura of our contemporary institutions yet resemble what went on in ancient temples.

Latter-day Saints will welcome these “notes” on

temples. In acknowledging the temple as a high expression of godliness, a place where some of the most vital work of our dispensation takes place, Latter-day Saints have suffered some abuse. Outsiders find and remind members of the Church (sometimes to the point of ridicule) that temple worship is strange by the standards of the secular world and most modern religious communities. The temple is indeed a very “different” experience — as well it ought to be, reflecting, as it does, the realities of another world. Nibley most helpfully delineates the flatness of human attempts to avoid the big questions that all humanity poses — the “terrible questions,” as he calls them: Where did we come from? What is the purpose of life? What happens to us after death? These are questions the temple answers.

An interesting dimension to the notion of temple is the fact that many leading scientists now talk openly about an “organizing, ordering force” (p. 8) in the universe that creates and maintains order and stability — this in contradiction to the traditionally conceived “laws of nature,” according to which everything tends to “corruption and disintegration” (p. 10). While this occurs on the physical level, the temple is the school of the mind, producing a stable cosmic mental state: “bringing anything back to its original state in at-one-ment” (p. 10).

The present book naturally divides into two sections:

1. Articles 1-4: “The Meaning of the Temple” through “The Circle and the Square.” The chapters in this section focus on the nature, meaning, and history of the temple.

2. The remaining articles: These emphasize the cosmic context of the temple. A short review of each of the pieces in this latter section may be helpful.

The temple presents a view of human existence as a progression toward godhood. “The Expanding Gospel” emphasizes the dynamic quality of the gospel message, in contrast to the traditionally static view held by scholars

and clergy, most evident in their restrictive views of the scriptures — an uninspired or closed canon. The discovery of numerous new manuscripts (and these shed new light on long-known apocryphal documents) has led to a reconsideration of “many . . . areas of doctrine and important rites and ordinances” (p. 199). Nibley outlines broadly the documents and principal themes that have emerged — the general features of the plan of salvation (the premortal existence, the process of the creation, the doctrine of the two ways, and many others). “Rediscovery of the Apocrypha and the Book of Mormon” also rehearses the main themes of the gospel “plan,” in particular as set forth in the Book of Mormon — which turns out to be a genuinely cosmic (hence temple) document. The “Apocryphal Writings and Teachings of the Dead Sea Scrolls,” along with the Book of Mormon, takes up the persistent themes of creation: again, the process of the creation itself, relationships among the many worlds, the place of ordinances in the cosmic plan, and the role of messengers in communicating the plan to humankind.

“The terrible questions are terrible because they can’t be answered. . . . Few people will touch them, or even think about them” (pp. 351, 371): Who are we? What is real? Joseph Smith certainly did not flinch from these questions; and it is the temple that faces them most directly.

“Hermetism . . . is the label for a body of knowledge resembling that of the gospel which has been circulated among mankind for a very long time” (p. 389) — knowledge of the primal world, as expressed in countless cultures in sacred myth and ritual from time’s beginning. Such knowledge — touching on things “beyond this ignorant present” (William Shakespeare, Macbeth, act I, scene v, lines 57-58) — has a way of surfacing from time to time, always contradicting the prevailing practical pursuits of academics, business, and consumerism — the comfortable lifestyle. While Joseph Smith did not draw directly on the Hermetic

tradition, much that was revealed to him relates to it and is implicit in temple worship; hence the connections are instructive.

A prevailing modern view is that the facts of history contradict the claims of religionists. In “Do Religion and History Conflict?” Nibley asks, Whose history? And whose religion? He goes on to track the popular heresies of history and traditional religion, inviting readers to view history in a more complete perspective, one that considers open-mindedly the large ancient corpus of primary records; the ancients viewed the world much differently than we do, and in a manner very consonant with the tenets of a revealed religion.

The alphabet, which makes possible writing (the “miracle of miracles” [p. 458]), was a gift of heaven, appearing first in the decor and archives of ancient temples. In “Genesis of the Written Word,” Nibley reviews evidence that writing was not, as most scholars believe, the end product of a long, evolutionary process (evidence of intermediary stages is lacking), but a skill we humans have enjoyed from our beginnings.

Nibley calls science fiction “folk scripture” because its authors unoriginally draw their best themes and plots (and sometimes even titles) from the Bible or apocryphal literature. In fact, scripture itself, in its treatment of these themes and plots, is more mind-boggling; and its cosmic content is authentic.

The eternal perspective fostered by the temple provides answers to contemporary issues. “The Best Possible Test” discusses the now largely irrelevant question of why blacks did not hold the priesthood. It approaches this difficult subject in an other-world context: “The greater the tribulation here, the greater the glory hereafter.” “Some Notes on Cultural Diversity in the Univeral Church” describes the “Zion culture” and the expression of this culture in various world civilizations.

The book concludes with two reviews: the first, “From the Earth upon Which Thou Standest,” of artist Wulf Barsch’s paintings; and the second, “Foreword to Eugene England’s Book,” a review of England’s essays Why the Church Is As True As the Gospel. In both, Nibley emphasizes the advantage of an other-world perspective, which both England and Barsch reflect in their work.

Indeed, it is in the temple where “time, space, and lives are extended” (p. 83); where men and women are invited to step beyond “this ignorant present” and gain clear perspective of the great plan of the eternities.

This volume, like the other volumes in the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, is the result of countless hours of selfless work by many individuals. The energy and skill they have devotedly given has made this book possible: Glen Cooper, James Fleugel, John Gee, Fran Hafen, William Hamblin, Daniel McKinlay, Tyler Moulton, Phyllis Nibley, Art Pollard, Shirley Ricks, Stephen Ricks, Matthew Roper, Barbara Schmidt, James Tredway, and John Welch. Michael Lyon has directed the production and research on the illustrations, aided by Tyler Moulton, Mark Clifford, and Philip Lyon. Jack Lyon, Shauna Gibby, Patricia Parkinson, and Emily Watts at Deseret Book have been most helpful in the production of this volume. We also wish to thank those whose generous contributions have facilitated the preparation of this and other volumes in the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley.