Posted on 07/07/2002 4:27:46 PM PDT by P-Marlowe
All men have heard of the Mormon Bible, but few except the "elect" have seen it, or, at least, taken the trouble to read it. I brought away a copy from Salt Lake. The book is a curiosity to me, it is such a pretentious affair, and yet so "slow," so sleepy; such an insipid mess of inspiration. It is chloroform in print. If Joseph Smith composed this book, the act was a miracle--keeping awake while he did it was, at any rate. If he, according to tradition, merely translated it from certain ancient and mysteriously-engraved plates of copper, which he declares he found under a stone, in an out-of-the-way locality, the work of translating was equally a miracle, for the same reason.
The book seems to be merely a prosy detail of imaginary history, with the Old Testament for a model; followed by a tedious plagiarism of the New Testament. The author labored to give his words and phrases the quaint, old-fashioned sound and structure of our King James's translation of the Scriptures; and the result is a mongrel--half modern glibness, and half ancient simplicity and gravity. The latter is awkward and constrained; the former natural, but grotesque by the contrast. Whenever he found his speech growing too modern--which was about every sentence or two--he ladled in a few such Scriptural phrases as "exceeding sore," "and it came to pass," etc., and made things satisfactory again. "And it came to pass" was his pet. If he had left that out, his Bible would have been only a pamphlet.
The title-page reads as follows:
THE BOOK OF MORMON: AN ACCOUNT WRITTEN BY THE HAND OF MORMON, UPON PLATES TAKEN FROM THE PLATES OF NEPHI. Wherefore it is an abridgment of the record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites; written to the Lamanites, who are a remnant of the House of Israel; and also to Jew and Gentile; written by way of commandment, and also by the spirit of prophecy and of revelation. Written and sealed up, and hid up unto the Lord, that they might not be destroyed; to come forth by the gift and power of God unto the interpretation thereof; sealed by the hand of Moroni, and hid up unto the Lord, to come forth in due time by the way of Gentile; the interpretation thereof by the gift of God. An abridgment taken from the Book of Ether also; which is a record of the people of Jared; who were scattered at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people when they were building a tower to get to Heaven.
"Hid up" is good. And so is "wherefore"--though why "wherefore"? Any other word would have answered as well--though--in truth it would not have sounded so Scriptural.
Next comes: THE TESTIMONY OF THREE WITNESSES. Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people unto whom this work shall come, that we, through the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, have seen the plates which contain this record, which is a record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites, their brethren, and also of the people of Jared, who came from the tower of which hath been spoken; and we also know that they have been translated by the gift and power of God, for His voice hath declared it unto us; wherefore we know of a surety that the work is true. And we also testify that we have seen the engravings which are upon the plates; and they have been shown unto us by the power of God, and not of man. And we declare with words of soberness, that an angel of God came down from heaven, and he brought and laid before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates, and the engravings thereon; and we know that it is by the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, that we beheld and bear record that these things are true; and it is marvellous in our eyes; nevertheless the voice of the Lord commanded us that we should bear record of it; wherefore, to be obedient unto the commandments of God, we bear testimony of these things. And we know that if we are faithful in Christ, we shall rid our garments of the blood of all men, and be found spotless before the judgment-seat of Christ, and shall dwell with Him eternally in the heavens. And the honor be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, which is one God. Amen. OLIVER COWDERY, DAVID WHITMER, MARTIN HARRIS.
Some people have to have a world of evidence before they can come anywhere in the neighborhood of believing anything; but for me, when a man tells me that he has "seen the engravings which are upon the plates," and not only that, but an angel was there at the time, and saw him see them, and probably took his receipt for it, I am very far on the road to conviction, no matter whether I ever heard of that man before or not, and even if I do not know the name of the angel, or his nationality either.
Next is this: AND ALSO THE TESTIMONY OF EIGHT WITNESSES. Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people unto whom this work shall come, that Joseph Smith, Jr., the translator of this work, has shown unto us the plates of which hath been spoken, which have the appearance of gold; and as many of the leaves as the said Smith has translated, we did handle with our hands; and we also saw the engravings thereon, all of which has the appearance of ancient work, and of curious workmanship. And this we bear record with words of soberness, that the said Smith has shown unto us, for we have seen and hefted, and know of a surety that the said Smith has got the plates of which we have spoken. And we give our names unto the world, to witness unto the world that which we have seen; and we lie not, God bearing witness of it. CHRISTIAN WHITMER, JACOB WHITMER, PETER WHITMER, JR., JOHN WHITMER, HIRAM PAGE, JOSEPH SMITH, SR., HYRUM SMITH, SAMUEL H. SMITH.
And when I am far on the road to conviction, and eight men, be they grammatical or otherwise, come forward and tell me that they have seen the plates too; and not only seen those plates but "hefted" them, I am convinced. I could not feel more satisfied and at rest if the entire Whitmer family had testified.
The Mormon Bible consists of fifteen "books"--being the books of Jacob, Enos, Jarom, Omni, Mosiah, Zeniff, Alma, Helaman, Ether, Moroni, two "books" of Mormon, and three of Nephi.
In the first book of Nephi is a plagiarism of the Old Testament, which gives an account of the exodus from Jerusalem of the "children of Lehi"; and it goes on to tell of their wanderings in the wilderness, during eight years, and their supernatural protection by one of their number, a party by the name of Nephi. They finally reached the land of "Bountiful," and camped by the sea. After they had remained there "for the space of many days"--which is more Scriptural than definite--Nephi was commanded from on high to build a ship wherein to "carry the people across the waters." He travestied Noah's ark--but he obeyed orders in the matter of the plan. He finished the ship in a single day, while his brethren stood by and made fun of it--and of him, too--"saying, our brother is a fool, for he thinketh that he can build a ship." They did not wait for the timbers to dry, but the whole tribe or nation sailed the next day. Then a bit of genuine nature cropped out, and is revealed by outspoken Nephi with Scriptural frankness--they all got on a spree! They, "and also their wives, began to make themselves merry, insomuch that they began to dance, and to sing, and to speak with much rudeness; yea, they were lifted up unto exceeding rudeness."
Nephi tried to stop these scandalous proceedings; but they tied him neck and heels, and went on with their lark. But observe how Nephi the prophet circumvented them by the aid of the invisible powers: And it came to pass that after they had bound me, insomuch that I could not move, the compass, which had been prepared of the Lord, did cease to work; wherefore, they knew not whither they should steer the ship, insomuch that there arose a great storm, yea, a great and terrible tempest, and we were driven back upon the waters for the space of three days; and they began to be frightened exceedingly, lest they should be drowned in the sea; nevertheless they did not loose me. And on the fourth day, which we had been driven back, the tempest began to be exceeding sore. And it came to pass that we were about to be swallowed up in the depths of the sea.
Then they untied him. And it came to pass after they had loosed me, behold, I took the compass, and it did work whither I desired it. And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord; and after I had prayed, the winds did cease, and the storm did cease, and there was a great calm.
Equipped with their compass, these ancients appear to have had the advantage of Noah.
Their voyage was toward a "promised land"--the only name they give it. They reached it in safety.
Polygamy is a recent feature in the Mormon religion, and was added by Brigham Young after Joseph Smith's death. Before that, it was regarded as an "abomination." This verse from the Mormon Bible occurs in Chapter II. of the book of Jacob: For behold, thus saith the Lord, this people begin to wax in iniquity; they understand not the Scriptures; for they seek to excuse themselves in committing whoredoms, because of the things which were written concerning David, and Solomon his son. Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord; wherefore, thus saith the Lord, I have led this people forth out of the land of Jerusalem, by the power of mine arm, that I might raise up unto me a righteous branch from the fruit of the loins of Joseph. Wherefore, I the Lord God, will no suffer that this people shall do like unto them of old.
However, the project failed--or at least the modern Mormon end of it--for Brigham "suffers" it. This verse is from the same chapter: Behold, the Lamanites your brethren, whom ye hate, because of their filthiness and the cursings which hath come upon their skins, are more righteous than you; for they have not forgotten the commandment of the Lord, which was given unto our fathers, that they should have, save it were one wife; and concubines they should have none.
The following verse (from Chapter IX. of the Book of Nephi) appears to contain information not familiar to everybody: And now it came to pass that when Jesus had ascended into heaven, the multitude did disperse, and every man did take his wife and his children, and did return to his own home.
And it came to pass that on the morrow, when the multitude was gathered together, behold, Nephi and his brother whom he had raised from the dead, whose name was Timothy, and also his son, whose name was Jonas, and also Mathoni, and Mathonihah, his brother, and Kumen, and Kumenenhi, and Jeremiah, and Shemnon, and Jonas, and Zedekiah, and Isaiah; now these were the names of the disciples whom Jesus had chosen.
In order that the reader may observe how much more grandeur and picturesqueness (as seen by these Mormon twelve) accompanied on of the tenderest episodes in the life of our Saviour than other eyes seem to have been aware of, I quote the following from the same "book"--Nephi: And it came to pass that Jesus spake unto them, and bade them arise. And they arose from the earth, and He said unto them, Blessed are ye because of your faith. And now behold, My joy is full. And when He had said these words, He wept, and the multitude bear record of it, and He took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them. And when He had done this He wept again, and He spake unto the multitude, and saith unto them, Behold your little ones. And as they looked to behold, they cast their eyes toward heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were, in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them, and the multitude did see and hear and bear record; and they know that their record is true, for they all of them did see and hear, every man for himself; and they were in number about two thousand and five hundred souls; and they did consist of men, women, and children.
And what else would they be likely to consist of?
The Book of Ether is an incomprehensible medley of if "history," much of it relating to battles and sieges among peoples whom the reader has possibly never heard of; and who inhabited a country which is not set down in the geography. These was a King with the remarkable name of Coriantumr,^^ and he warred with Shared, and Lib, and Shiz, and others, in the "plains of Heshlon"; and the "valley of Gilgal"; and the "wilderness of Akish"; and the "land of Moran"; and the "plains of Agosh"; and "Ogath," and "Ramah," and the "land of Corihor," and the "hill Comnor," by "the waters of Ripliancum," etc., etc., etc. "And it came to pass," after a deal of fighting, that Coriantumr, upon making calculation of his losses, found that "there had been slain two millions of mighty men, and also their wives and their children"--say 5,000,000 or 6,000,000 in all--"and he began to sorrow in his heart." Unquestionably it was time. So he wrote to Shiz, asking a cessation of hostilities, and offering to give up his kingdom to save his people. Shiz declined, except upon condition that Coriantumr would come and let him cut his head off first--a thing which Coriantumr would not do. Then there was more fighting for a season; then four years were devoted to gathering the forces for a final struggle--after which ensued a battle, which, I take it, is the most remarkable set forth in history,--except, perhaps, that of the Kilkenny cats, which it resembles in some respects. This is the account of the gathering and the battle: 7. And it came to pass that they did gather together all the people, upon all the face of the land, who had not been slain, save it was Ether. And it came to pass that Ether did behold all the doings of the people; and he beheld that the people who were for Coriantumr, were gathered together to the army of Coriantumr; and the people who were for Shiz, were gathered together to the army of Shiz; wherefore they were for the space of four years gathering together the people, that they might get all who were upon the face of the land, and that they might receive all the strength which it was possible that they could receive. And it came to pass that when they were all gathered together, every one to the army which he would, with their wives and their children; both men, women, and children being armed with weapons of war, having shields, and breast-plates, and head-plates, and being clothed after the manner of war, they did march forth one against another, to battle; and they fought all that day, and conquered not. And it came to pass that when it was night they were weary, and retired to their camps; and after they had retired to their camps, they took up a howling and a lamentation for the loss of the slain of their people; and so great were their cries, their howlings and lamentations, that it did rend the air exceedingly. And it came to pass that on the morrow they did go again to battle, and great and terrible was that day; nevertheless they conquered not, and when the night came again, they did rend the air with their cries, and their howlings, and their mournings, for the loss of the slain of their people.
8. And it came to pass that Coriantumr wrote again an epistle unto Shiz, desiring that he would not come again to battle, but that he would take the kingdom, and spare the lives of the people. But behold, the Spirit of the Lord had ceased striving with them, and Satan had full power over the hearts of the people, for they were given up unto the hardness of their hearts, and the blindness of their minds that they might be destroyed; wherefore they went again to battle. And it came to pass that they fought all that day, and when the night came they slept upon their swords; and on the morrow they fought even until the night came; and when the night came they were drunken with anger, even as a man who is drunken with wine; and they slept again upon their swords; and on the morrow they fought again; and when the night came they had all fallen by the sword save it were fifty and two of the people of Coriantumr, and sixty and nine of the people of Shiz. And it came to pass that they slept upon their swords that night, and on the morrow they fought again, and they contended in their mights with their swords, and with their shields, all that day; and when the night came there were thirty and two of the people of Shiz, and twenty and seven of the people of Coriantumr.
9. And it came to pass that they ate and slept, and prepared for death on the morrow. And they were large and mighty men, as to the strength of men. And it came to pass that they fought for the space of three hours, and they fainted with the loss of blood. And it came to pass that when the men of Coriantumr had received sufficient strength, that they could walk, they were about to flee for their lives, but behold, Shiz arose, and also his men, and he swore in his wrath that he would slay Coriantumr, or he would perish by the sword: wherefore he did pursue them, and on the morrow he did overtake them; and they fought again with the sword. And it came to pass that when they had all fallen by the sword, save it were Coriantumr and Shiz, behold Shiz had fainted with loss of blood. And it came to pass that when Coriantumr had leaned upon his sword, that he rested a little, he smote off the head of Shiz. And it came to pass that after he had smote off the head of Shiz, that Shiz raised upon his hands and fell; and after that he had struggled for breath, he died. And it came to pass that Coriantumr fell to the earth, and became as if he had no life. And the Lord spake unto Ether, and said unto him, go forth. And he went forth, and beheld that the words of the Lord had all been fulfilled; and he finished his record; and the hundredth part I have not written.
It seems a pity he did not finish, for after all his dreary former chapters of commonplace, he stopped just as he was in danger of becoming interesting.
The Mormon Bible is rather stupid and tiresome to read, but there is nothing vicious in its teachings. Its code of morals is unobjectionable- -it is "smouched" [Milton] from the New Testament and no credit given.
The following comes from Alvin R. Dyer's book, "Who Am I?"
INTELLIGENCE—THE LIGHT OF TRUTHFrom the writings of President Penrose, we have additional information concerning the creation or organizing of the spirit body of man.
God showed to Abraham the spirits who lived as individual personalities before they were placed in temporal bodies. They were different as to their degree of intelligence, but they were all called "intelligences" because they were capable of understanding, having the power of agency. [Abraham 3:22, 23] They are referred to as "the intelligences that were organized."
So, in the pre-mortal existence, sons and daughters were born of God the Eternal Father, becoming organized beings of individual personality and intelligence. The elements of their personalities have always existed, they "had no beginning." [Charles W. Penrose, Ensign Stake Priesthood Meeting, June 24, 1918.]
The Essential Element of Man Had No Beginning
Continuing, President Penrose says:
... the material, so to speak, the spiritual substance of which they were organized, never had a beginning, but the being, the personality, had a beginning, and so we read that, "man was in the beginning with God." [Ibid., Penrose.] ... don't confound the expression "intelligences," referring to individual spirits, and that of intelligence that is an attribute of these spirits, that "never was created, neither indeed can be."
What is that uncreated intelligence? Why it is "the light of truth." The Lord declared: "Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be." [D&C 93:29.] It always existed and always will persist, and it is the life and light of all things that have life; but intelligences are individual spirits born of God. [Ibid., Penrose.]
Jesus the Christ, as we have come to know him in mortality, was the birthright son of all of the spiritually born sons and daughters of God, being the Firstborn. [D&C 93:21.]
Of course, as interesting as all of this might be, I'm not sure that my salvation is dependent on whether I have a truly deep understanding of this stuff.
Some say "spiritual image", some say "moral image", but they do not believe that we are created in the image of God, as the Bible says, for that would mean we look like Him, that our physical bodies look like His because He made us that way.
The image of God we bear is an aspect of our "rational" soul that separates us from animals (the function that the image plays in Genesis 1 is to separate humans from the animals God has just created).
Second, talk in the Bible about God’s strong right arm, his eyes, and such is metaphorical language concerning God’s power and knowledge.
The Bible also speaks of God as having feathers and wings, but you would not call him a bird.. Ps. 91:4—"He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge").
You maintain your doctrine inspite of verses, such as John 4:24, where Jesus teaches us: "God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." This means God has no body, because a spirit is, by nature, an incorporeal being. As Jesus tells us elsewhere, "a spirit has not flesh and bones" (Luke 24:39).
I've always considered this a sort of piece of the bigger puzzle. This gets really deep, and is hard to write out, so stick with me here.
We teach that what we are right now is a combination of our body and spirit. Our body was "created" by our earthly parents, and our spirit was "created" by our Heavenly Parents.
What if our spirits are really a composite, also? That they contain our spirit that was "created" by our Heavenly Parents, and our intelligence "created" by some, I don't know, Extra-Heavenly Parents.
I sometimes think of how we grow up here on earth. We have parents that slowly introduce us to right and wrong, and punish us when we do wrong. Eventually we learn more truth (God and our relationship to Him), and un-learn other things (like Santa and the easter bunny).
Then I relate that to our Heavenly experience. Maybe God teaches us slowly right from wrong, and after this life some of us will learn about and understand the idea of intelligences. Maybe we also learn about this Extra-Heavenly Father, to whom we owe similar things.
And maybe intelligences are just a composite, also, and our Extra-Heavenly Father has an Extra-Extra-Heavenly Father, too, and so on, and so on.
Maybe this also explains more about exaltation. Maybe when we become Gods we start with a pool of intelligences given to us by our Heavenly Father.
Hmmm, maybe this explains Utah's obsession with multi-level marketing...
First off. I do understand that some is speculation:>)
On intelligences
If as the reading of Cubical's quote reads...intelligences have no beginning that means IMHO they are already God..It is rather like those that believe in evolution..that things just "happen"
My human mind can not grasp that something other than God could exist with no begining
Now PT on your theory that intelligences also must be composits assembled by layers of Heavenly Fathers, how does that "fit " into the belief that the Heavenly Father had a Heavenly Father that had a Heavenly Father ( for the assembling of the spirit)
Would this have preceeded the beginning of a time when spirits were the creation..Are you saying that some Heavenly Fathers functioned in a way to "birth" not spirits but intelligences?
thanks
That's cute:)
I hear Spirits are eternal, always were and always will be. It’s just where they land in the scheme of things.
1- We can become subjects of Satan forever, if we are very wicket or like the Sons of perdition.
2- Jesus rescused us from the fall and taught us how to keep clean by repenting often and taking sacrament often. And keeping the Lord's Commandments.
3- Our Heavenly Father is eternal and always was and always well be God.
4- We are members of our immediate family as well as present day representative from those that have gone before us for in our DNA is a code of all each ancestor.
LOL. Very good. ;-)
You just need 6 children to reach exaltation, and each of them just needs 6 children to reach exaltation, and so on, for about four levels, and pretty soon, you reach Diamond level.
OK, as long as we're speculating:
I have a Dalmation, and I can tell, believe me, that this dog wants to be human someday. She probably deserves it, too. Why shouldn't a plan of salvation -- one that gets referred to as "one eternal round" in the Book of Mormon -- why shouldn't dogs and cats and other intelligent animals be included in the scope of "eternal progression"? Why do we think that eternal progression is reserved only for humans? Shouldn't dogs and cats and elephants (as sure as you're born!) be allowed some measure of progression? My dog is smart; it seems to me that forcing her to remain a dog for the rest of eternity is simply condemning her to hell.
I mean, let's look an Down's Syndrome humans. We don't believe that they're going to be eternally limited or handicapped, do we?
This sounds very familiar doctrine that I have read here on FR:)Seriously don't we read about the Lion and Lamp will lie down together?
I mean, let's look an Down's Syndrome humans. We don't believe that they're going to be eternally limited or handicapped, do we?
I have heard reports that those who have had NDE said that in the Spirit World you are made whole, like if you had a missing leg, baled, over weight etc. You do not have these affliction for you are given rest. So limitation is only experienced on earth. Now as far as animals and your pets they are another species and they don't cross over as far as we know?
If not where did they come from?
I mean species crossing over to another spicies. Your pet are recurrected and are waiting for you on the other side if they get there before you!
Did you read or hear the tape "I Saw Heaven" that was super!
To: restornu
Now as far as animals and your pets they are another species and they don't cross over as far as we know?
I mean species don't crossing over to another spicies. Your pets are recurrected and are waiting for you on the other side if they get there before you!
Did you read or hear the tape "I Saw Heaven" that was super!
336 posted on 7/13/02 2:43 PM Mountain by restornu
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 334 | View Replies | Report Abuse ]
I would say yes, but I'm just speculating.
Personally I expect to see all my dead pets tails wagging in heaven ( that is not a commonly held belief :>)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.