Now, I believe what you meant by your statement was probably more along the lines of the priesthood acting in the name (or person) of Christ. This is very much along the same lines as LDS teaching. In addition to the biblical reference you cited, there is an example in the Book of Mormon where the people bring a bunch of confessed (but as yet unrepentant) sinners to their high priest, Alma, who didn’t want to judge them, but asked the king at the time (Mosiah) for his judgment. Mosiah also felt uncomfortable judging them and gave Alma authority to judge them instead. Alma “went and inquired of the Lord what he should do concerning this matter, for he feared that he should do wrong in the sight of God” (which is obviously never a good thing to do!). So God lays it all out for him how he’s supposed to accept people back into the church if they repent, but not if they don’t. Because God has given him authority to act in this way on His behalf, as far as the church is concerned, it is okay for Alma to judge, almost (if not exactly) the same premise as that of the Catholic church. We also believe that our modern church leaders have similar authority. Please read the scripture I mentioned; if nothing else, it’ll give you fodder with which to shoot down the “unforgivable sin” idea. The scripture is Mosiah, Chapter 26, and it can be accessed here:
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So if God says in so many places that He will forgive all who repent, where does the idea that murder is unforgivable come from? The truth is, I don’t know for sure. There is so much to read, and I have only been on the earth a short time, that I can’t claim to know LDS doctrine inside and out. The only scripture I can find that alludes to this is in the Doctrine and Covenants (the
real D&C, which we believe contains various modern revelations from God, not the book that Mom of 5 was trying to refer to earlier) section 42, which says, “And now, behold, I speak unto the church. Thou shalt not kill; and he that kills shall not have forgiveness in this world, nor in the world to come.” What does it mean? Again, I don’t know for sure. There is a lot of scripture that can seem to contradict other scripture at a glance. God commands people in one place “Thou shalt not kill,” and in another tells them “Thou shalt utterly destroy.” There seem to be higher laws at play than the ones we see. Perhaps through careful study and prayer, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, I may develop a deeper understanding of God and His ways. Until then, the meaning is clear; killing is just about (but probably not quite) the most wrong thing anybody can do, and we are expected to forgive our fellow human beings of any wrongs they may have done to us. Too many people–LDS and non-LDS alike–latch on to brief bits of scriptures like this and try to make it a fundamental point out of it.
Here I’ll give you more ammunition to use, if you so desire, to shoot down our faith. For a time, one of our prophets, Brigham Young, taught in a way that seemed to very strongly imply that Christ’s blood was not enough to atone for murder. It unfortunately appears to have been the basis for some murders; not that the murders were in any way condoned by any prophet or the church, but certain people took it to be such, much the same way that people of other faiths have used religion to commit other atrocities. The teaching, like those “ceremonial changes” that “ex-mormon” talked about, was a “teaching” and never an official doctrine, and it was later renounced. Even Brigham Young himself, later in life, apologized for taking a law-of-Mosesish stance on many issues. We never claim that any man–even a prophet–is infallible. Look at Jonah, for instance, who similarly believed that God would not forgive the people of Ninevah. But we do believe that they are important guides and have a unique calling to provide the world with revelation about God’s will. Church members are encouraged to listen to the words of prophets, read the scriptures, and pray for understanding, and ultimately to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit, which will not lie.
The fact is, if you search long and hard enough for evidence to prove to yourself that some religion is wrong, you will find the evidence you seek, because of the contentious spirit in which you seek it. The voice of truth does not speak easily to people who are not interested in listening. I have noticed that in most of the responses you have posted here, tkdnick, you have misconstrued the words of those you quote, choosing again to latch on to those small things and make mountains out of mole hills. I’m sure you don’t mean to, and I only ask that you’ll use due caution in responding to our comments.
(continued in the next post)
