When I read the Book I understood it to say that it was a second witness to Jesus Christ; that he was the promised Messiah, the Son of God. As I read the book I did not find anything that really contradicted those truths. We may disagree with it from a historical position, but what it teaches is very Christian.
Yep. The Book of Mormon is a second witness to Jesus Christ.
3 Nephi 11
8 And it came to pass, as they understood they cast their eyes up again towards heaven; and behold, they saw a Man descending out of heaven; and he was clothed in a white robe; and he came down and stood in the midst of them; and the eyes of the whole multitude were turned upon him, and they durst not open their mouths, even one to another, and wist not what it meant, for they thought it was an angel that had appeared unto them.
10 Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world.
11 And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning.
14 Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole dearth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.
15 And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come.
That should tell people the Christ of the Book of Mormon is the Christ of the Bible.
Mormons do not believe that we are punished for the sins of our ancestors. They believe that we are only punished for our own sins. It is my understanding that they baptize for the dead because they believe that baptism is required to enter heaven. They seek to have all their ancestors baptized in order for them to be able to enter heaven. It is not a belief that is practiced by the vast majority of Christianity, but I certainly never degrade it. I equate it to me praying for the souls of those who have died. Would that all could enter heaven and dwell with God. Just as Catholics have practices that are not spelled out clearly in the Bible, so the Mormons do too. I find beauty in all things that strive to bring people to Christ.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
Except a man be born of water (baptism) and of the Spirit (receives the Holy Ghost by laying of hands), he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Think of baptism for the dead like this: if we do not baptize for the dead then that leaves for either a weak law or total damnation. What about people that never heard of Christ? Would they instantly be under damnation? Christ has neither a weak law nor teaches of total damnation.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Believing in Him includes believing the words He says which means we must be baptized by proper authority. Why do you think Christ specifically went to John the Baptist?
1 Corinthians 15:29 Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?
1 Peter 3:19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water
21The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
The spirits in prison are those in the spirit world that either denied or never heard of the gospel while alive. Look at verse 20. You have to read it carefully. The 8 that were on the ark were saved from sins by the flood, it wiping out the wicked. These verses use the flood in comparison for baptism for the dead. As the 8 were saved from sin by the water because they had listened to God, those in spirit prison would be saved by water by baptism through proxy. Here’s the best way I can explain how that works: now, the angels teach those in the spirit prison the gospel. We are baptized for them on their behalf since they’re kind of dead. Most people think that means they’ll instantly be baptized & a member of the church. Not so. If they accept the gospel taught to them then the baptism takes effect. Exactly the order of being taught the gospel & the baptism taking effect I don’t know because if I did I’d have to be an angel which would require me to be dead.
Let’s make sure we know about the beliefs of others before we begin to criticize or belittle them. When we criticize from a position of ignorance, we begin to look less than we are.
At least someone that’s not a member is rational and not attacking. The reason I put what I did on another post was because members of the Catholic church were attacking The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and I will defend the church I go to.
