|
Editor's note:
Document was originally a booklet
Critique
of 1st Nephi
Introduction
The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), commonly known as the Mormons,
is a religious group that claims to be the only true restored church
of Christianity. In
addition, the LDS teaches unbiblical doctrines and also have three
additional religious scriptures besides the Bible: the Pearl of
Great Price, Doctrines and Covenant, and the most well known one
of all, the Book of Mormon.
It is supposedly, "another testament of Jesus Christ".
Often, a favorite tactic
of the LDS, especially among missionaries, is to give a potential
convert the Book of Mormon (we shall abbreviate it as BoM) and ask
them to pray for a "burning bosom" to confirm that it's
true. They would use
the BoM at Mormoni 10:3-5 and James1:5 in the Bible to support the
legitimacy of this act. But
is this the right thing to do, and does the Bible really
teaches us to pray for "burning bosoms" to confirm
truth?
Certainly, no.
Looking at James 1:5 again, we find that the passage is actually
talking about wisdom, and the context deals with perseverance, not
regarding confirmation of truth. The LDS considers the "burning bosom" as the testimony
of their church. Personal
and subjective testimony in itself isn't a bad thing; but there
must be elements of objective facts too.
In this little booklet, we are not denying that God can have
the power to penetrate lives and become very personal.
We are concerned with evaluating the objective testimony
of the LDS.
Let us look at Jesus'
testimony as an example in John 5:31-37.
In this passage, we find Jesus giving three testimonies,
or witnesses, to his claim of being the Christ:
-
Verse 34: Testimony
of John the Baptist and the purpose of that is so that some
may believe
-
Verse 36: Jesus'
very works and ministry
-
Verse 37and 39:
God the Father, through His scriptures, testify of Jesus as
savior
Thus, we will examine
the claim of Mormonism objectively too, and welcome any LDS members
to examine the claims of Jesus Christ.
Given the limit of this
booklet, we will evaluate only the first book to appear in the BoM.
The Book of 1st Nephi is a critical book, since this is where
allegedly the Mormon story all began in 600 BC.
If it falls under examination, since this is the foundation
of the Mormon story, then everything else in Mormonism falls too.
Often, the writer is accused
of being unloving and unfair. What is the goal of having a booklet like this? The Bible in
Jude1:3 commands that we should "earnestly contend for the
faith which was once delivered to the saints."
From this verse, we can see that the faith in which people
can be saved has ALREADY been delivered to the saints, and "another
testament of Jesus Christ" must surely be rejected.
Sometimes, LDS members do not realize that the BoM attacks
Christianity too. A
look at 1Nephi 14 would clearly be an example of this.
We realize that LDS members are sincere people, and we love
them and we will present them the truth in a loving manner.
Attention was paid to the sensitivity of LDS members.
In addition, we recommend
all would examine the verses referred to in this book in their proper
context. Quotes from
the Bible are from the NIV.
It is the prayer of this writer that this booklet would lead
some to the true Jesus.
Critique of 1st Nephi
Summary of 1Nephi
In order to critique
1Nephi, we must understand the story of 1Nephi.
It is a story of how one family, having a dad as a prophet
name Lehi, tries to leave Jerusalem to escape the upcoming wrath
of God and enter into a new promise land.
The book is recorded by Nephi, Lehi's youngest son.
Throughout the book, Nephi records visions received by his
dad and himself. They
leave everything behind to enter the wilderness, but then Nephi
and his brothers come back to get their property and some brass
plates. After a short
adventure and convincing the family of Ishmael to come along also,
the party enter into the wilderness.
Nephi along with his brother Laman, Lemuel and Sam, married
the daughters of Ishmael.
Much hardship took place.
Two brothers, Laman and Lemuel was especially rebellious
and harden hearted. Problems
occur often. Finally,
they got near the sea and God instructed Nephi to make a ship.
When they took off, Nephi got bounded by his brothers but
God was able to release him.
Nephi makes more prophecy.
Eventually, they will find the promise land (and this is
suppose to be the American continent).
Under examination,
the book of 1Nephi contain some problems that is too hard to ignore:
- Christ
is the Same Forever
- Which
Location?
- Filthiness
is Not Clear
- Saved
Forever, Not Temporary
- Lord's
True Gospel
- Disarming
the Counter-Attack
- Engraved
in Brass or Stone?
- Prophecy
Unfulfilled
- A False
Prophet
- Hell
Yes, Hell No
- Water Baptism
- Compass
- The
Steel Connection
- Where
Was Jesus Born?
|
|
Back to Problems
in 1Nephi |
| 1Nephi
10:18 states concerning Christ, "For he is the same
yesterday, to-day, and forever; and the way is prepared
for all men from the foundation of the world, if it so be
that they repent and come unto him." So from this BoM
verse, we see that the way to come to him is the same forever,
and never changing.
In the Bible, Hebrew 13:8 states the same thing.
Now, using the principle of progressive revelation,
the second revelation is suppose to agree in it's teachings
with that of the first revelation.
Progressive revelation means additional information
revealed and not contradicting information. So, if the BoM
(second revelation) contradict the Bible (first revelation),
it's the BoM that is in trouble! Remember this principle
as you are reading this booklet.
We will use this principle to refute 1Nephi and the
BoM. |
|
|
Back to Problems
in 1Nephi |
| If
some don't believe that the Bible according to Mormonism
is a divine revelation, one just needs to look at the footnotes
in the BoM. Bible
verses appear everywhere! One such footnotes is for 1Nephi
8:9-10. In
these 1Nephi verses, it describes a place that is footnoted
supposedly to be the same place as the Bible's description
in Matt. 13:38, Gen. 2:9 & Rev. 2:7.
It's interesting to note that, in the vain attempt
of the LDS to make Mormonism appear "Christian",
errors appear. The
applied verse of Matt. 13:38 is
actually describing a different place than Gen. 2:9
or Rev. 2:7! Matt. 13:38 has the world as it's location,
while the two other verses describes the garden of paradise.
Though such mistake doesn't put LDS in total jeopardy,
it does raise concern about possible verse abuse of the
Bible... |
|
|
Back to Problems
in 1Nephi |
| But then
the problem with the place described in 1Nephi as some kind
of garden of paradise does not just end there.
Picking up the vision in 1Nephi 15:27, Nephi said, "the
water which my father saw was filthiness...?Since there are
footnotes trying to establish this river as being in the garden
of paradise as that of the Bible's, we would expect it to have
the same and not opposite description of the same place.
How could the water in 1Nephi be filthy then, when in
the Bible at Rev. 22:1 it describes the river as clear?! |
|
|
Back to Problems
in 1Nephi |
| Continuing
with the issue of 1Nephi's "garden of paradise", it's
realized that the fruits on the tree are the fruit of eternal
life (cf. Gen.3:22;Rev. 2:7 in the Bible and intro to 1Nephi
Chapter 8 in the BoM). Only those who were saved were allowed
to eat this fruit. Yet,
in 1Nephi, unsaved people ate the fruit of life, and were no
longer saved, but fell away! Christianity teaches once saved, always saved, but not 1Nephi.
Because there's a difference between the two revelations,
Mormonism is the one in trouble due to the principle of progressive
revelation. |
|
|
Back to Problems
in 1Nephi |
| Concerning
the Lamb's seed, 1Nephi13:36 states, "in them shall be
written my gospel, saith the Lamb, and my rock and my salvation."
The Bible also states that if anyone preaches another
gospel, it isn't really any gospel at all (cf. Gal.1:6-7).
Does the BoM have the right gospel?
Their gospel is a gospel of works AND grace (cf. 2Nephi
25:23) The Biblical
gospel is one of grace alone (cf. Eph 2:8-9).
The LDS gospel is thus, a false gospel.
It fails to recognize grace alone for man's redemption
from sin. Works
come as a fruit of grace (cf. Eph. 2:10), not a co-factor with
grace. We must
thus come to God's grace alone, through faith alone in Christ
alone. |
|
|
Back to Problems
in 1Nephi |
| It happens
often that an attack upon the Bible is made around this point.
"The Bible is accurate only as it is translated
correctly" the LDS would charge.
Since the Bible is used to undermine the BoM, an attack
on the Bible seems tempting.
It seems theoretical that in attacking the Bible
as inaccurate from the original manuscripts, the BoM
is spared. But
we must realized that the Bible has one of the most reliable
and accurate ancient manuscripts in history, which gave us many
manuscripts in the original language for us to translate.
Many scholars in this field, whether Christians or not,
would agree that the Bible is translated correctly.
There is original language Bible text to check verses
that might not make much sense in English.
But the real issue here is actually whether the Bible
is considered inspired in the views of the LDS and the BoM.
Since there are Bible verses in the footnotes of the
BoM concerning truths in terms of God, doctrines and history,
this legitimizes the Bible
enough as authoritative.
Thus a Biblical refutation of 1Nephi is indeed, very
powerful in critiquing the BoM. |
|
|
Back to Problems
in 1Nephi |
| 1Nephi
4:16 states, "And I also knew that the law was engraven
upon the plates of brass."
The BoM gives the impression that the law mentioned in
this verse is the law of the Bible since the footnote linked
the law to Joshua 1:8, which referred to the Book of the Law
(the Torah). Other
verses from 1Nephi also mentioned the Law as engraved in brass
(1Nephi 4:24, 5:10-11,etc).
But here's another problem in 1Nephi with the Bible;
turning to the Bible in 2Cor. 3:7, it states concerning the
Law, or "the ministry that brought death", as being
"engraved in letters on stone"!(italics are the author)
Hence, another difficulty with the BoM. |
|
|
Back to Problems
in 1Nephi |
| 1Nephi
5:18 prophesied (cf. 1Nephi 5:17) "that these plates of
brass should go forth unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and
people who were of his seed."
However, this prophecy would never be fulfilled since
these plates no longer exist!
The Bible mentions that presumptuous predictions that
failed to be fulfilled come from man, not God!
Thus, 1Nephi is a product of man's imagination.
Of course, some would say that 1Nephi 5:17 refers to
the BoM going out to all the nations today.
But there's still one more prophetic problem in 1Nephi. |
|
|
Back to Problems
in 1Nephi |
| If we
look at 1Nephi 5:19, Lehi (cf. 5:16-17) prophesied and "said
that these plates of brass should never perish" and "neither
should they be dimmed any more by time."
The brass plates no longer exist though!
We find Lehi prophecy unfulfilled.
The Bible says that "if what a prophet proclaims
in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that
is a message the LORD has not spoken.
That prophet has spoken presumptuously.
Do not be afraid of him." (Deut. 18:22)
Since Lehi was a false prophet, we must reject him, and
since he was the prophet that begins everything in 1Nephi, we
must also reject 1Nephi and consequently, the BoM too. |
|
|
Back to Problems
in 1Nephi |
| Not only
does the LDS teachings have a problem with the Bible, but it's
own BoM as well! LDS
missionaries sometimes teach that there is no hell. Strangely, in 1Nephi 12:16 an angel interpreted a vision of
the depths of a river as "the depths of hell". Hell here, isn't a symbolism since it was an interpretation
of a symbolic vision.
In addition, 1Nephi described hell as "hath no end"
(1Nephi 14:3) and awful (15:35). |
|
|
Back to Problems
in 1Nephi |
| 1Nephi
20:1 mentions "the water of baptism".
It's interesting to note that baptism didn't exist between
588 through 570 BC, when this verse was written in!
Supposedly, 1Nephi 20 is the BoM version of Isaiah 48.
There is not mention of water baptism in it whatsoever. |
|
|
Back to Problems
in 1Nephi |
| 1Nephi
16:10 describes "a round ball of curious workmanship"
which is footnoted as being the same object referred to in 1Nephi16:16
and another part of the BoM, Alma 37:38. Alma 37:38 mentions that this ball is called Liahona, or interpreted
as compass. In
addition, 1Nephi 18:12 and 18:21 mentioned about this compass. But compass weren't in existence yet! Compass was invented in the 1000 AD. Yet, these events in 1Nephi took place over 1, 500 years before!
For some reason unknown to the author, the BoM footnoted
a verse in the Bible to support this Liahona object at Exodus
13:21. Exodus 13:21
states, "By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar
of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar
offer to give them light, so that they could travel by day or
night." Nowhere
is there a description of anything similar to a "two spindles"
inside a ball, or namely, a compass!
Another thing that usually raises up with LDS defenders
is the fact that the King James Version has the word "compass".
In context, this doesn't present us any problems since
the word "compass" is used to describe a turning around
direction. Note: In Acts 28:13, the "fetched a compass" translated
from the greek means to turn around, not to fetch a round metal
ball object. This
author had the opportunity to look up this verse in a Greek
interlinear translation to confirm this. |
|
|
Back to Problems
in 1Nephi |
|
If we turn
to 1Nephi16:18, we find Nephi in a situation in which he has
to kill a man name
Laban, who
had stolen his family's property.
1Nephi 4:9 records Nephi stating, "And I beheld
his sword, and I drew it forth from the sheath thereof; and
the hilt thereof was of pure gold, and the workmanship thereof
was exceedingly fine, and I saw that the blade thereof was
of the most precious steel."
Steel is also mentioned in 1Nephi 16:18.
These passages all took place between 600-592 B.C,
as the BoM state. But
steel as we know it ("exceedingly fine" workmanship),
wasn't invented until the mid-1800s!
Is the BoM then, a product of modern myth?
|
|
|
Back to Problems
in 1Nephi |
|
Another reason
why we should reject the BoM is because of another contradicting
problem with the first revelation (the Bible).
In Alma 7:10 it states, "And behold, he shall
be born of Mary, at Jerusalem, which is the land of our forefathers,
she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel..."
Whereas the BoM teaches that Jesus was born at Jerusalem,
the Bible teaches that Jesus is born at Bethlehem.
Matthew 2:4-5 states,"When he had called together
all the people's chief
priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where
the Christ was to be born.
'In Bethlehem in Judea,' they replied, 'for this is
what the prophet has written'.
|
Conclusion
After a critique
of the first book appearing in the Book of Mormon, the book of 1Nephi,
we have to reject it upon these grounds:
-
It contradicts
the Bible, and since the Bible is the first revelation, 1Nephi
is the one in trouble due to principle of progressive revelation.
-
Two prophecy
unfulfilled made by a major prophet in 1Nephi.
-
It does not represent
the true teachings and doctrines of the Bible nor the LDS itself!
-
The mentioning
of things that didn't exist until far beyond it's time.
What then, shall
we do now? We must
reject the Book of 1st Nephi.
And since 1st Nephi lay the foundation for the rest of the
Book of Mormon, the Book of Mormon must be rejected also. Thus, the LDS system must be abandoned altogether.
Repent, and come to the true Jesus Christ as revealed in
His Holy Word, the Holy Bible.
Hold onto His Word as the standard of truth. Confess your sins to Him, and you shall be saved...He is waiting
for you.
"Take my yoke
upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest in your souls."-Matthew 11:29
COMPASS TOWARD TRUTH
(A personal heart
to heart message from the writer)
It might sound very hard
to believe, but I tried so hard to write this as inoffensive to
the individuals as much as possible. It's my prayer that those who read this would know my heart
and more importantly, the truth.
I didn't write this booklet just to wreck havoc and cause
pain. No.
I wrote this, believe it or not, out of love that those who
are in the LDS would have the opportunity to come to the truth and
be saved!
When I started reading
and critiquing 1Nephi, I saw a theme repeated throughout it- there
was much message of repentance, and coming to God.
Hopefully, through this booklet, God would use this somewhat
as a "compass" to lead many to repentance and to a saving
knowledge of God. So,
as I write this from my heart to yours, I want to introduce you
to someone you might have heard of before: Jesus Christ, our Lord
and Savior.
Because of the fact that
men are sinners, we are without any hope of true life whatsoever.
The evils of man and it's grotesque sins can be seen in the
last century alone-the world wars, terrorism, genocides, rising
crimes, etc. Our transgression
separated us from the righteous God who created us-hence, in our
sins, we have become orphans.
His righteousness presented a situation that He would not
be able to tolerate sin forever-for ultimately, there would be justice
and judgment on us. But
God, in His love, and His great wisdom had a plan to save us.
Jesus Christ, the second person of the Godhead, came down
two thousand years ago, and died on the cross for us.
He died on the cross, so that the ultimate punishment would
fall on Him, rather than on us.
His death paved a way to come to the true God, with the barriers
of sins removed.
Serving as a compass towards
truth, I would want to point to what Jesus said the night before
He died, "I am way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me." (John14:6)
As a compass towards truth, I testify, and the Father through
His Word prophetically testify
along with Jesus Christ own death and resurrection as a testimony
that Jesus Christ is the WAY to God and salvation, and He is the
TRUTH that sets us free and be accepted, and the LIFE to live for,
for all eternally!
I recognize that the actual
decision in coming to accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Lord
and Savior would be difficult.
That is why I'm giving my
e-mail(crazycyf@hotmail.com), my AIM screen name(Pulpitpastor)
and my website (angelfire.com/rock2/team) to help any way I can,
be it questions, emotional support, prayers or the desire to accept
Him, but don't know how.
May God bless all of you.
If you could, xerox this booklet and distribute it on, and
do so with gentleness and respect.
That would be greatly appreciated.
If possible, e-mail me to let me know about it.
"For
God so love the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever
believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life."-John3:16
--JIMMY LI
|
