Moroni is a book within the Book of Mormon. What does Moroni 8:18 say?
"For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity."
Other Book of Mormon verses register this same emphasis:
"For behold, I am God...I am the same yesterday, today and forever;" (2 Nephi 27:23)
"For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variableness neither shadow or changing?" (Mormon 9:9)
"...why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet ben an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God..." (Mormon 9:19)
Now, this was 1830 Mormonism. We have a glimpse that early 1832 Mormonism, it was still the same:
"From eternity to eternity, he [God] is the same..." (Feb. 16, 1832 D&C 76:4)
Indeed, a huge shift was breaking on the Mormon waters by March, 1839, when Smith introduced multiple gods. (When the Bible references "gods," it never goes beyond one TRUE GOD by nature/essence). Smith wrote: "According to that which was ordained in the midst of the Council of the Eternal God of ALL OTHER GODS before this world was..." (D&C 121:32)
By the last year of his life, Joseph Smith, having gone wild in embracing dozens of wives over the previous year and a half, had also moved on to embracing multiple gods.
You see, on Feb. 9, 1831 -- 180 years ago this very week -- I believe Joseph Smith fully meant what he said when the following was recorded as a "revelation": "Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else." (Feb. 9, 1831, D&C 42:22)
What made Smith go from a "none else" husband to a open philanderer? Well, that very year, the Smith took in a 14 yo "adopted" maid, Fanny Alger, whom he took as another bed partner at least by 1833 when Alger was 16.
On Aug. 7, 2009, one of the groups some Mormon FREEPERS link to -- FAIR -- a Mormon apologetics organization -- held its annual apologetics conference. One of the presenters (Greg Smith) gave a boldly-titled workshop: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Plural Marriage* (*but were afraid to ask) [Source url: http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Conferences/2009_Everything_You_Always_Wanted_to_Know_About_Plural_Marriage.html
Greg Smith was wrapping up his workshop when he took one last question: "I am a woman and NOT a fan of polygamy, although I and my husband are both descendants of it. Is the text of D&C 132-58-66 the origin of the practice?" Answer: The best historical evidence suggests that plural marriage was revealed to Joseph by 1831, and that he was teaching it to a limited circle by that year.28" (Footnote #28 went to: See discussion here: http://en.fairmormon.org/Polygamy_book/Initiation_of_the_practice)
Well, of course, it was "revealed" in the bodily shape of a minor girl -- one he had in the bedroom at least by 16 if not earlier.
Emma resisted; but Smith gradually added a few more wives and then by 1842 was going hog-wild; getting a new lover each month or more.
The multiple-woman lover, having "graduated" from "none else" from 1831 days...had likewise "graduated" from a "none else" God...and of course, wouldn't you know that Joseph Smith first introduced multiple references to multiple gods in his 1843 "revelation" that was really at the time geared toward one person and "none else" -- his original wife, Emma. (D&C 132). He thought that beings which "have no end" and "have all power" should be properly referenced as "gods." (D&C 132:20)
With these 1839-1843 references to multiple gods, this implied that the Mormon god wasn't the first god -- or the ultimate god.
Less than three months before his death, Smith sealed the "deal" in provoking the real God by preaching at a funeral service where he claimed God was once a man; and that men needed to find out how to become gods themselves.
Smith was preaching against D&C 76:4 and all those Book of Mormon passages! The Mormon god had indeed "changed" in a HUGE way, graduating from mere manhood to godhood!
Please, look closely:
The 1843 Smith continued to show his wobbly self -- certainly not the "voice of certainty" you'd expect to hear from somebody saying he's directly speaking for God -- using a first-person voice:
Q We're we to ask Joseph Smith today, "Is your God a voice of certainty -- or provide some examples how your god frames issues to you?"
A. "It MAY PROBABLY arise through the slave question...Joseph, my son, IF THOU livest until thou art eighty-five years old, thou shalt see the face of the Son of Man..." (April 2, 1843 D&C 130: 13,15)
Mr or Mrs. or Elder or Miss Mormon. Face this Mormon "Scripture" test honestly. It's April, 1843. Joseph Smith is about to take yet another wife to give him approximately two dozen -- 21 that's added in the previous 24 months! Is this a believable man character-wise?
Even if you think God told him to become a polygamist, does a man of God add 21 wives in about a 24-25 month span?
Furthermore, look closely @ D&C 130:13-15. Ask yourself these questions:
(1) Does a true pipeline to God's voice use words like "may probably"? (see D&C 130:13) Do you believe in a "may probably" type of less-than-sovereign god?
(2) Would God address slavery as a "question?" (see D&C 130:13) (As if he wasn't settled on his stance on slavery?)
(3) Would God say to ANY man, "if" and then wonder how long he might live? If you were God and you knew a man was about to die in less than 15 months, would you project his life out another 45.5 years and say, "IF THOU livest until thou art 85"...I mean why bother? What's the point besides needlessly dangling an empty dream before Smith's ears?
(4) Why is God still talking in King James English ("thou livest...thou art") when that's not the way family members spoke one to another or newspapers communicated in 1843!
(5) If God knew that Jesus, the Son of Man, had already appeared to Jesus on earth, why raise this future earthly specter that would supposedly occur in 1890 or 1891 -- and present it as if it would happen for the first time?
(6) Finally if this was truly God giving Joseph this promise, and since Joseph didn't live til 85, guess what? This promise was irrelevant for Smith then -- non-applicable, wasn't it?
Journey through these years and ask yourself, does this sound like a God of certitude who proclaims "unalterable...decrees?"
Two anti-certitude verses:
* "Let there be a craft made, or bought, as seemeth you good, IT MATTERETH NOT UNTO ME... (Aug. 8, 1831 D&C 60:5)
* AND: "And then you may return to bear record, yea, even altogether, or two by two, as seemeth you good, IT MATTERETH NOT UNTO ME;" (Aug. 13, 1831 D&C 62:5)
If God took the time to communicate on something, then it matters to Him! Is this "mattereth not" god the Ultimate God you want to worship?
Another anti-certitude voice:
"And verily I say unto you, the rest of my servants, go forth AS YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL PERMIT..."... (September 22-23, 1832, D&C 84:117)
Wow! Such sovereignty of the Mormon god in action! 'Circumstances rule permissions...NOT the Lord!'
How about Book of Mormon voice of "prophetic narratives" where the narrator just can't make up his mind within the same given point of history?
* Supposed timeframe: 74 BC: "...there BEGAN to be CONTINUAL PEACE throughout ALL the LAND." (Alma 30:2)
* Supposed timeframe: 74BC: It mentions the Ammons leaving one land & heading for another -- and then having the armies engage in warfare in that other land. (Alma 35:13)
So, yes, while it's another land that might be distinct from the other, why bother highlighting "continual peace" being jumpstarted if it didn't continue within even the same year??? Sorry, Alma as any kind of historian thereby flunks any credibility right there!
* "Wherefore, at that day when the book shall be delivered unto the man of whom I have spoken, the book shall be hid from the eyes of the world, that the eyes of NONE shall behold it SAVE it be that three witnesses shall behold it, by the power of God, besides him to whom the book shall be delivered; and they shall testify to the truth of the book and the things therein." And there is NONE other which shall view it, SAVE it be A FEW according to the will of God, to bear testimony of his word unto thei children of men; (2 Nephi 27:12-13)
Ask yourself: Is a specific God going to use the word "NONE" right before mentioning three exceptions and then decides to tack on "a few" -- which, it turns out, wasn't supposedly a "few" at all-- but was eight? Which is it? None or 3? 3 or 8? "A few" or 8? "None or 8?" What a maddening god who on the one thing that there is a clear absolute on -- numbers -- can't even figure it out in two sentences!
And speaking of numbers, how many times did the Mormon jesus ascend into heaven?
And while they were overshadowed he departed from them, and ascended into heaven. And the disciples saw and did bear record that he ascended into heaven. And now it came to pass that when Jesus had ascended into heaven..." (3 Nephi 18:39 - 19:1)
Note: The Bible wasn't "carved up" into verses until the 12th century. Hence, what you don't notice about 3 Nephi 18:39-19:1 is that it's the last verse of one chapter, and the first verse of the next chapter. I doubt that in AD34, this Nephi was chopping up these sentences into chapters as he supposedly carved them on gold plates. My point? Think of it: The character "Jacob" in the Book of Mormon has already gone on record, saying: "I cannot write but a little of my words, because of the difficulty of engraving our words upon plates." (Jacob 4:1) Now think of YOU writing on such "plates." Are you going to etch three back-to-back sentences in which within 33 words, you've used the "ascended" three times, "heaven" three times, "into" three times, and the word "departed" once? Does that make sense that you would do that?
You see, this last reiteration was a pure creation of Smith to set up another chapter when we know that ancient writers didn't do those chapter & verse demarcations. But guess what this writer (a third Nephi) THEN says happen as he gets further into chapter 19. He's already emphasized beyond any necessity that Jesus departed via ascension. Look at v. 15: "And it came to pass that while the angels were ministering unto the disciples, behold, Jesus came and stood in the midst and ministered unto them." (So now the ascended Jesus is immediately back? Why make such a big deal about his ascension if he's doing a quick u-turn?) The other thing ya gotta know is how Mormons tend to ignore 3 Nephi 19, anyway...because it repeatedly stresses Mormon disciples praying DIRECTLY to an already-ascended Jesus. That's a Mormon doctrinal no-no-- to pray directly to Jesus. They are told to pray ONLY directly to the Father (in Jesus' name).
"And whoso believeth in me and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God. And whoseo believeth not in me, and is not baptized, shall be damned. Verily, verily I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and I bear record of it from the Father; and whoso believeth in me believeth in the Father also; and unto him will the Father bear record of me, for he will visit him with fire and with the Holy Ghost...Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them. And whoso shall declare MORE or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock; but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand open to receive such when the floods come and the winds beat upon them." (3 Nephi 11:33-35, 39-40)
OK, so what do we have here? Supposedly this Nephi writer mentions "doctrine" (singular) twice. What points does it cover? Belief in Jesus, baptism, repentance (not covered above, but mentioned in v. 38), a visitation of "fire and the Holy Ghost," and also -- in vv. 37-39 -- twice emphasizes becoming like a litle child to inherit God's kingdom. That's essentially it. And this Nephi then says if you "declare MORE...than this" as new established doctrine, you're "evil" to the of being hell-bound!
Question: Mormon -- read D&C 20 verses below and then ask yourself,
* "How many gods am I to worship and am to give glory to?"
* "Is giving worship and glory roughly the same thing? And if not, what's the difference?"
"...according to the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to whom be ALL GLORY both now AND FOREVER....Thereby showing that he is the same God yesterday, today, and forever. Amen...By these things we know that there is a God in heaven who is infinite and eternal, from everlasting to everlasting the same unchangeable God...that they should serve him, the ONLY LIVING and TRUE God, and that he should be THE ONLY being whom they should worship." (D&C 20:4, 12, 17, 19)
Mormon, if Jesus was a different "being" than the Father, then why does D&C 20:4 conclude that God "should be THE ONLY geing whom they SHOULD worship" while simultaneously concluding that God told angels to worship Jesus (see Hebrews 1:6)...As I challenge grassroots Mormons to defy their leaders when they tell them NOT to directly worship Jesus (see Mormon 7:7; 2 Nephi 25:29; 4 Nephi 4:37; 3 Nephi 11:17; 3 Nephi 17:10).
Mormon, you want the truth right? You want to worship Jesus right? How can you worship Jesus -- and obey all those Book of Mormon & Bible verses about worshiping Jesus -- and obey D&C 20:19? Unless...Unless...Jesus is that SAME BEING!
Thomas calls Jesus his God in John 20:28; even the Nephite disciples likewise called Jesus “their Lord and God” (3 Nephi 19:18). D&C says Jesus is God (19:4; 62:1; etc.) Since there’s only one true God in the bible and in the LDS scriptures (for example, Pearl of Great Price says "no God besides me" (1:6), either Jesus is a false god or the one true God. As Jesus Christ is a God to Thomas (John 20:28) -- so Thomas has two gods?
Alma is the longest book in the Book of Mormon, and right up front it teaches universalism -- that all will be saved. Hasn't that ever caught your spirit? I mean, c'mon, if Alma 1:4 is true, why bother with the Mormon missionary and genealogical enterprise systems?
"And he also testified unto the people that ALL MANKIND SHOULD BE SAVED AT THE LAST DAY, and that they need not fear nor tremble, but that they might lift up their heads and rejoice; for the Lord had created all men, and has also redeemed all men; and, in the end, ALL MEN SHOULD HAVE ETERNAL LIFE" (Alma 1:4)
Less than a year before the Book of Mormon was published, Joseph Smith was still wrestling with "gift of eternal life" or keeping commandments gets you eternal life:
Q. "Joe, is eternal life a gift -- or something you have to work toward by way of commandment keeping?"
A. [Yes]
Follow-up comment: "Joe, that's not a yes-no question"
A. "...if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God." (June, 1829 D&C 14:7)
Yet Joseph kept answering those multiple-choice questions with a "yes" answer. Other examples:
Q. "Joe, do ALL men need to repent?"
A. "Wherefore, I will that ALL men shall repent..." (March, 1831 D&C 49:8)
Q. "Joe, are ALL men 'under sin' or MOST men?"
A. [Yes] "Wherefore, I will that ALL men shall repent, for all men are under sin, except those which I have reserved unto myself, holy men that ye know not of." (March, 1831, D&C 49:8)
Follow-up comment: "Joe, that's not a yes-no question! Besides, you just contradicted your answer to my previous question! I asked if 'ALL men were under sin?' And you said all needed to repent. Then you said there were 'except[ions]' to men being 'under sin' -- which if they weren't under sin, why the need for 'ALL men to repent?' Is it all or most?"
The English language dictates that if "ALL" wasn't even in the equation, why carelessly bring it into the conversation? (Especially if that's God talking)
Q. "Joe, is anybody allowed after you receive commandments and revelations in this church?"
A. "...behold, verily I say unto thee, NO ONE shall be appointed to receive commandments and revelations in this church excepting my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., for he receiveth them even as Moses...thou shalt not write by way of commandment, but by wisdom; (Sept. 1830, D&C 28:2,5)
First of all, note "shall be appointed" is a future-tense prophecy. Second any further "revelations," Smith seems to say, can't be relayed as having come as "commandments" from God. Mormon, what good is that "living prophet" you tout if he can only coax people by exposition of "wisdom" -- and NOT by passing any new God's commandments? If you think such a newer "prophet" can reveal new commandments, guess what? You are labeling Joseph Smith a "false prophet" based upon his words form D&C 28!
Finally...was Adam & Eve's sin a good thing (opened door to parenthood & godhood, per Mormonism) or a bad thing (opened door to rebellion, sin, disobedience, generational fall, etc., per Christianity)?
If the Mormon version goes, then what "fall" was that? "Fall" shouldn't even be in the Mormon language. Yet...it is...in fact, the fall was so bad, per the Book of Mormon, that you and I -- no matter what our church heritage is -- needs redemption. Elsewise, why would Ether say:
"Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall..." (Ether 3:13)
Most Christians believe that God is changeable, but Mormons do not?
"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!"
NO I DO NOT AGREE WITH MORONI 8:18 or ANYTHING ELSE IN THE FALSE LDS GOSPEL!!!!
This campaign is ill concieved and will ONLY serve to further the deception that Mormons are Christians and keep them in that cult.
This campaign is already backfiring on the ministry involved and none of the people (many I know personally) involved in this campaign were ever LDS and have no idea how the LDS spin this verse.
Even the parts of the Book of Mormon that Smith plagiarized from the Bible should not be agreed with. Agree with the Bible not a work of FICTION.
BTW, if you would like an answer on how I would have responded to this when I was LDS, feel free to ask. This isn’t a ‘gotcha’ to them at all.
Avoid this campaign, please.
I don’t. If I agree with one part of the BoM, I’m in agreement with mormonism. I am not.
The plagiarization and or bastardaziation of Biblical verses inserted into the BoM is something I cannot endorse.
To simplify the discussion of moronism, see Solomon Spalding (the truth behind the wall of secrecy).
I Agree With Moroni 8:18