The Book of Mormon refutes notions that…
— Revelation ended
with the Bible.
“And the day cometh that the words of the book
which were sealed shall be read upon the house tops; and they shall be read by
the power of Christ; and all things shall be revealed unto the children of men which
ever have been among the children of men, and which ever will be even unto the
end of the earth” (emphasis mine) (2 Nephi 27:11).
“For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of
men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little;
and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my
counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give
more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away
even that which they have” (emphasis mine) (2 Nephi 28:30).
“Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth
forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the
mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never
have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring
thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these
our brethren to repentance” (emphasis mine) (Alma 26:22).
“And again I speak unto you who deny the revelations of
God, and say that they are done away, that there are no revelations,
nor prophecies, nor gifts, nor healing, nor speaking with tongues, and the
interpretation of tongues;
“Behold I say unto you, he that denieth these things knoweth not the
gospel of Christ; yea, he has not read the scriptures; if so, he does not
understand them” (emphasis mine) (Mormon 9:7-8).
— Infants need to be
baptized.
“Listen to the words of Christ, your Redeemer, your Lord and
your God. Behold, I came into the world not to call the righteous but sinners
to repentance; the whole need no physician, but they that are sick; wherefore, little
children are whole, for they are not capable of committing sin;
wherefore the curse of Adam is taken from them in me, that it hath no power
over them; and the law of circumcision is done away in me.
“And after this manner did the Holy Ghost manifest the word
of God unto me; wherefore, my beloved son, I know that it is solemn mockery before God,
that ye should baptize little children” (emphasis mine). (Moroni
8:8-9).
“And their little children need no repentance, neither
baptism. Behold, baptism is unto repentance to the fulfilling the commandments
unto the remission of sins.
“But little children are alive in Christ, even from the
foundation of the world; if not so, God is a partial God, and also a
changeable God, and a respecter to persons; for how many little children have
died without baptism” (emphasis mine) (Moroni 8:11-12).
“Behold I say unto you, that he that supposeth that little
children need baptism is in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of
iniquity; for he hath neither faith, hope, nor charity; wherefore,
should he be cut off while in the thought, he must go down to hell” (emphasis
mine) (Moroni 8:14).
— Happiness can be
found in wickedness.
“And notwithstanding he hath done all this, and greater
also, there is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked” (emphasis
mine) (1 Nephi 20:22) (see also Isaiah 48:22).
“Wherefore, the wicked are rejected from the righteous,
and also from that tree of life, whose fruit is most precious and most
desirable above all other fruits; yea, and it is the greatest of all
the gifts of God. And thus I spake unto my brethren. Amen” (emphasis mine) (1
Nephi 15:36).
“Wo unto the mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle
strong drink;
“Who justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of
the righteous from him” (emphasis mine) (2 Nephi 15:22-23) see also
Isaiah 15:22-23).
“And now I say unto you, all you that are desirous to follow
the voice of the good shepherd, come ye out from the wicked, and be ye
separate, and touch not their unclean things; and behold, their names shall be
blotted out, that the names of the wicked shall not be numbered among the names
of the righteous, that the word of God may be fulfilled, which saith: The
names of the wicked shall not be mingled with the names of my people”
(emphasis mine) (Alma 5:57).
“Do not suppose, because it has been spoken concerning
restoration, that ye shall be restored from sin to happiness. Behold, I say
unto you, wickedness never was happiness” (emphasis mine) (Alma 41:10).
— Individual goodness
is adequate for exaltation. Ordinances & covenants are needed.
“And he commandeth all men that they must repent,
and be baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel, or
they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God” (emphasis mine) (2 Nephi
9:23).
“And now, if the Lamb of God, he being holy, should
have need to be baptized by water, to fulfil all righteousness, O then, how
much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water!
“And now, I would ask of you, my beloved brethren, wherein
the Lamb of God did fulfil all righteousness in being baptized by water?
“Know ye not that he was holy? But notwithstanding he being
holy, he showeth unto the children of men that, according to the flesh he
humbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he
would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments.
“Wherefore, after he was baptized with water the Holy Ghost
descended upon him in the form of a dove.
“And again, it showeth unto the children of men the
straitness of the path, and the narrowness of the gate, by which they should
enter, he having set the example before them” (emphasis mine) (2 Nephi
31:5-9).
“And the Father said: Repent ye, repent ye, and be
baptized in the name of my Beloved Son”
“And also, the voice of the Son came unto me, saying: He
that is baptized in my name, to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like
unto me; wherefore, follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do.
“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall
follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no
deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing
unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by
baptism—yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water,
according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost;
yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye
speak with the tongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel”
(emphasis mine) (2 Nephi 31:11-13).
“And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here
are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are
desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are
willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;
“Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea,
and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of
God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even
until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the
first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—
“Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what
have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before
him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve
him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly
upon you” (emphasis mine) (Mosiah 18:8-10).
(Editorial note – This
is the definition of what it means
to be a Christian.)
“Now they were ordained after this manner—being
called with a holy calling, and ordained with a holy ordinance, and
taking upon them the high priesthood of the holy order, which calling, and
ordinance, and high priesthood, is without beginning or end” (emphasis mine)
(Alma 13:8).
“Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine
ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me and I will return unto
you, saith the Lord of Hosts” (emphasis mine) (3 Nephi 24:7).
“Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord. Yet
ye say: What have we spoken against thee?
“Ye have said: It is vain to serve God, and what doth it
profit that we have kept his ordinances and that we have walked mournfully
before the Lord of Hosts” (emphasis mine) (3 Nephi 24:13-14).
— The Fall of Adam
tainted mankind with “original sin.”
“Ye say that this people is a guilty and a fallen people,
because of the transgression of a parent. Behold, I say that a child is not guilty
because of its parents” (emphasis mine) (Alma 30:15).
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