When I was introduced to the Church of Jesus Christ I found the missing pieces that the scripture refer too but seem silent to complete picture!
Eph.4
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
The work of the ministry is to do the work of the Lord on the earth - to represent the Lord among the people, preach the gospel, and administer the ordinances thereof. The chosen servants and appointed officers in the Church of Jesus Christ are put on earth by him to conduct the work necessary for the salvation of mankind.
A minister “called of God, as was Aaron” (Heb. 5: 4), and endowed with the holy priesthood, represents the Lord when he is performing his official duties, and is the Lord’s agent. Therefore, what he does “according to the will of the Lord is the Lord’s business” (D&C 64: 29).
The Lord has given apostles, prophets, evangelists, high priests, seventies, elders, bishops, priests, teachers, deacons, helps and governments “for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (the Church), until all have reached the spiritual stature of Christ, the whole body being “fitly joined together” by that which every part supplieth.
See Eph. 4: 11-16; 1 Cor. 12: 12-28; D&C 20; D&C 107. Other references are Acts 11: 30; Acts 14: 23; Acts 15: 6; Acts 16: 4; Acts 20: 17, 28; Acts 21: 18; Philip. 1: 1; 1 Tim. 3: 8-12; James 5: 14.
The scriptures testify to a God who has a body of Flesh and Bones.
GS Body
The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, Gen. 2: 7 (Moses 3: 7). Handle me and see, for a spirit has not flesh and bones, Luke 24: 39. I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, 1 Cor. 9: 27.
There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body, 1 Cor. 15: 44. The body without the spirit is dead, James 2: 26. The mortal body will be raised as an immortal body, Alma 11: 43-45.
Every part of the body shall be restored, Alma 41: 2. Jesus showed his resurrected body to the Nephites, 3 Ne. 10: 18-19; 11: 13-15.
The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also, D&C 130: 22. God created male and female in the image of his own body, Moses 6: 9 (Gen. 9: 6).
The Scriptures testify to the mystery of God
1 Tim 3
16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
John 5
19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
20 For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.
I had such joy when I found the Lord Church to me so much of the plain and precious truths have been restored in this last dispensation!
When I was introduced to the Church of Jesus Christ I found the missing pieces that the scripture refer too but seem silent to complete picture!
Restornu ... I have been a christian for almost 40 years.
I've read all of the scriptures of the Bible and have taught in my church's Sunday School/Bible Study for 25 years.
It is true ... the Bible scriptures will not answer every question you have.
But you have to consider ...
God is our Father.
There are some questions which we don't need to know the answers to.
There are some questions which we wouldn't understand the answers to.
But ... God is faithful ... and everything we need to know ... can be found and understood from the pages of the Bible.
If it's not there ... we don't need to know it.
Just like our parents didn't answer all of our questions, ... but who would always tell us what we need to know.
This is where our faith comes in ... we trust God that He has told us everything we need to know.
The truths of christian belief have been available since the time of Jesus Christ.
Since that time, many have come, saying that they have truth to add to the truth that Jesus Christ brought.
But to believe the claims of these ... one must believe that Jesus Christ did not bring all necessary truth with Hm when He came.
As I mentioned in my first post on this thread ... the teachings that Joseph Smith brought are additions to ... and, in some cases, ... conflict with the truth that Jesus Christ brought.
I listened to just some of the presentations you suggested.
In just 10 minutes of listening, ... I heard many beliefs that are contrary to christian belief.
For instance, Matthews (the presenter) talks about the Heavenly Mother.
But Jesus never mentions anything about a heavenly mother.
Mormons also believe that marriage is eternal.
But Jesus said that there is no marriage in heaven.Luke 20:27 Then came to him certain of the Sadducees, which deny that there is any resurrection; and they asked him,The chrisitian churches of Joseph Smith's days recognized that Joseph Smith's teachings were not the same as those of christianity ... and, so, they refused to allow his teachings to become a part of christian teaching.
28 Saying, Master, Moses wrote unto us, If any man's brother die, having a wife, and he die without children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.
29 There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died without children.
30 And the second took her to wife, and he died childless.
31 And the third took her; and in like manner the seven also: and they left no children, and died.
32 Last of all the woman died also. 33 Therefore in the resurrection whose wife of them is she? for seven had her to wife.
34 And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage:
35 But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:
In response to this ... Joseph Smith went on to form his own organization and following.
There is not doubt ... Restornu ... that Mormon belief and true Christian belief are different.
Mormonism claims to answer many questions that Christianity doesn't answer ... but the real question is whether God really wants for us to have the answers to these questions.
I would suggest to you, Restornu, ... that you would stick to the truth that Jesus brought with Him when He came 2000 years ago, and trust that it is enough.
What Joseph Smith brought (1800+ years later) ... is definitely questionable ... and I would keep those teachings at arms length.
All the scriptures you wrote do not one particle of good if you are worshiping a wrong God. It is not disputed that Jesus Christ The Son of God came in the flesh. Christ did this so that He would live the perfect life and in our place die for us. He paid the price of our sins when He died on the cross in our stead. Jesus Christ is God come in the flesh. Only God could do the work of our salvation. Jesus Christ was always absolutely perfect and sinless. As God he did not work His way into perfection. As God-man He matured as all men do from a baby into an adult. Again the problem is that the Jesus you worship is another Christ than the one of the Holy Bible. The god you worship is another god than the God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit of the Holy Bible. The true God is the only God. He Himself said beside Him there is none other. He is the creator of ALL things. He always existed as the only God of all of existence. He never was a man who became a God. He said I am that I am. He is the great I Am. Not a scripture or facsimile of a scripture that you wrote addresses these facts. I know when Mormons try to proselytize me they try to get me to pray with them a prayer about finding truth and God. The problem is that they are not part of the LORD because they do not really know Him. When they "pray" with someone it is the with the wrong spirit and that spirit is the spirit that comes through their prayer that they pray with you. You may feel something at that point but what you are feeling is not the Holy Spirit but rather a false spirit that imitates The Spirit of God. This is all done unwittingly. The missionaries believe that they have the right spirit and are passing it along. They also have been duped. They have fallen for a false God and a false Christ. Do you not know in your heart that the God of all of creation is the only God and that He is and always has been the only God, 100% God and 100% holy, pure and righteous? He is the only true God and totally worthy of our complete adoration and worship. We cannot ever be God. We must and can worship Him with all of our heart but we will never be God. The thing about Mormon doctrine is it elevates the ego rather than the LORD. This draws people into it because it makes them believe that they can become a God. It is the same as the New Age beliefs packaged a little differently. It tells you that you can become a god or even The God of your own universe. It also gives you an office in the Church that elevates the ego and makes you feel very important. This is how it draws you in. It works on the ego. It makes you feel that you have an important role in your own salvation. You yourself can work your way into heaven. The Bible teaches that you can only be saved by grace. It is Jesus Christ who did the work of saving us when He went to the cross and died to pay the price of our sins. All that we can do is humbly except Christ and the work that He did for us by living a perfect, sinless life and becoming the sacrificial spotless lamb when He died in our place on the cross. The Bible says that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes on Him should not perish but hath everlasting life. That is all we can do is believe on Him. This alone saves us eternally, not all the good works of the whole world. We are sinners unable to save ourselves, only Christ can save us. This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is that simple. Add anything to it and you have works. We are not justified by works. But you must believe on the true and living Christ. He said that there would be many false Christs. The Mormon "Christ" is a false Christ, not The Christ of The Holy Bible. Put aside all indoctrination and get away to a quiet place. Pray to the God of ALL creation for understanding and read The Holy Bible. Your eternal life depends on it.