It is, to
me, perhaps one of the greatest ironies that all the extra scripture Mormons
have added to their cannon is one of the principal arguments against their status as Christians,
when, in fact, the content of those scriptures is one of the very best
evidences for their Christian status.
Scripture Testifies
of Christ
At the
beginning of His mortal ministry, Jesus read a passage from Isaiah in the
synagogue of His home town. Upon finishing His reading, He closed the book and
declared, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” (Luke 4:21)
Later, as He contended with some Pharisees, He told them to “Search the
scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which
testify of me.” (John 5:39). He promised others that “He that believeth on me,
as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living
water.” (John 7:38) After His resurrection, He walked the road to Emmaus with
two disciples and “expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things
concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27)
Philip
taught others of Jesus through the scriptures (see Acts 8:32-35), and Apollos
convinced some Jews that Jesus was the Christ using scripture (see Acts 18:28).
Paul taught that Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection were all according to
the scriptures (see 1 Cor. 15:3-4), and he told Timothy that the scriptures
could make him “wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” (2
Tim. 3:15)
What we learn from these passages is
that Jesus taught – and His disciples truly believed – that the ultimate
purpose of scripture was to testify of Himself (Jesus Christ). Thus, for
Christians, all scripture testifies of Jesus Christ and leads others towards
Him. All of the additional volumes
of Latter-day Saint scripture are saturated with testimony of Jesus Christ.
The Book of Mormon: Another Testament
of Jesus Christ
In the
title page to the Book of Mormon, it states that one of its central purposes is
for “the convincing of
the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God.” Of the
book’s 6,607 verses, 3,925 (more than half) make direct reference to Jesus
Christ. That makes it an average of one reference to Christ every 1.7 verses.[1] I will only cite two examples here for brevities sake:
And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins. (2 Nephi 25:26)
And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall. (Helaman 5:12)
These are just a small sampling of
the many, many powerful testimonies of Christ given throughout the pages of the
Book of Mormon. There are several full chapter length (and multi-chapter
length) sermons, discourses, prophecies, miraculous conversion stories, and
other powerful experiences which all focus on faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement
as their central theme (see, for example, 1 Nephi 10-11; 19, ; 2 Nephi 2; 6;
9-11; 25-26; 31-33; Jacob 4; Enos 1; Mosiah 2-5; 15-16; 18; 27; Alma 5; 7; 8;
11-12; 18-22; 24-25; 30; 33-34; 36-38; 40-42; Helaman 5; 8; 16; 3 Nephi 1; 7; Mormon
9; Ether 3; 12; Moroni 7-8; 10). And of course, one mustn’t forget the books “crowning
event,” Christ’s personal ministry to the Book of Mormon peoples (see 3 Nephi
9-28)
I cannot overstate, nor over
emphasize just how powerfully the Book of Mormon testifies of Jesus Christ. One
cannot fully understand, nor fully appreciate, the Book of Mormon’s witness of
Christ until they have read it themselves, cover to cover, focusing on its
message of redemption through Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon is a truly
“Christian” volume of scripture.
Doctrine and Covenants
While the primary purpose of the Doctrine and Covenants is
not to testify of Jesus Christ, but rather “for the establishment and
regulation of the kingdom of God on the earth in the last days” (Explanatory
Introduction to the Doctrine and Covenants), it still, as scripture, testifies
of Christ and helps point the way to Him. It lacks the full Christ-centered
chapters, as many of its sections focus more on Church organization, policies,
procedures, and the roles of the priesthoods. Despite this fact, though, there
is much in the Doctrine and Covenants which teaches and testifies of Jesus
Christ, and calls men to come unto Him.
Scattered throughout the Doctrine
and Covenants are references to many attributes, roles, and characteristics of
Jesus Christ. It identifies Him as the Creator (see D&C 29:30-31; 38:1-3;
45:1; 76:24), as our Advocate with the Father (see D&C 29:5; 32:3; 45:3-5;
62:1; 110:4; 38:4), as the Mediator of the new covenant (see D&C 76:69; 107:19),
as Jehovah (see D&C 110:1-3) the Great I AM (see D&C 29:1; 38:1; 39:1),
as the Head of the Church (see D&C 5:14; 39:13; 133:4, 16), as the light
which shines in darkness (see D&C 6:21; 10:58; 11:11), the light and life
of the world (see D&C 45:7; 84:45; 93:9), as the Alpha and Omega – the
beginning and the end (see D&C19:1; 35:1; 38:1; 45:7), the Lamb of God (see
D&C 88:106; 109:79; 133:18; 133:55-56),
the Only Begotten of the Father (see D&C 49:5; 76:13, 23, 25-26, 35,
57), the Son of God (see D&C 35:2; 36:8; 38:1), the Lord (see D&C
10:70; 15:1; 17:9; 18:33, 47), and God (see D&C 18:33, 47; 19:16-18;), our
Savior (see D&C 20:1, 4, 30-31; 43:34; 138:60), and Redeemer (see D&C
10:70; 15:1; 16:1; 19:1; 27:1; 18:47).
It describes His power (see D&C
19:1-3; 76:10, 24; 88:7, 13; 93:17), His humble submission to the will of His
Father (see D&C 19:2, 19, 24; 76:43, 107), His oneness with the Father (see
D&C 35:2; 50:43) His great love for the world (see D&C 34:3; 138:3),
and the terrible suffering He endured on our behalf (see D&C 19:16-18), and
how we are justified and sanctified through His grace (see D&C 20:30-31).
It declares that He overcame the world (see D&C 50:41; 76:107; 88:106), and
ascended to His Father (see D&C 20:24) to rule and reign forever and ever
(see D&C 20:24; 60:4; 76:108).
These powerful Christian concepts
are often given as first person descriptions from Christ Himself. While given
as modern scripture, dealing with contemporary issues, the message of hope and
salvation through Jesus Christ permeates throughout the Doctrine and Covenants’
many revelations.
Pearl of Great Price
The Pearl of Great Price contains a
few selections of different materials. As such, it does not exactly flow like a
single volume of scripture. It contains some excerpts from Joseph Smith’s translation
work on the Bible, his translation of some Egyptian papyri, and some excerpts
from his personal and Church history.
The largest portion of the volume
deals with the Old Testament, so it would seem to naturally follow that Jesus
Christ is not nearly as explicit here as He is in the other volumes just
examined. However, such a conclusion would not be completely accurate.
It must be remembered that the
“scriptures” which Jesus and His apostles referred to (which they believed
testified of Christ) was the Old Testament writings available to them in their
day. What we have in the Pearl of Great Price are stories of four Old Testament
patriarchs – Adam, Enoch, Abraham, and Moses – which have been heavily infused
with Christian concepts.
Adam: According to the Book of
Moses, Adam was taught to make sacrifices as type for the atoning sacrifice of
Christ, and was taught to do everything in the name of the Son (see Moses
5:1-9), he was baptized in the name of Christ (see Moses 6:52, 64-65) and
taught those precepts to his children (see Moses 5:10-15; Moses 6:54-62). As
you can see, the story of Adam as it is found in the Pearl of Great Price has
strong and prominent Christian concepts. These concepts are not even subtle – but
very direct and straightforward, which is not what you would expect to find in
a non-Christian retelling of the biblical account of Adam and Eve.
Enoch: The bible gives us seven
verses on Enoch (see Gen. 5: 18-24), but his story in the Book of Moses is much
more detailed and includes several Christian themes. Some of the afore
mentioned information on Adam and his Christianized story is given to us in a
sermon from Enoch (see Moses 6:43-68). Enoch is also told by God to perform Christian
baptisms (Moses 7:11), given a vision where he sees angels bearing testimony of
the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost (see Moses 7:27), Christ performing the
atonement (see Moses 7:47-56), and the second coming of Jesus Christ (see Moses
7:59-62). Here in the Pearl of Great Price, that little seven verse narrative
is expanded into a touching and strongly Christian themed story of God’s love
for his creations.
Abraham: The story of Abraham in the
Pearl of Great Price is the one which has been least influenced by Christian
ideas, yet there are a few traces of Christian influence which testify of
Christ. When Abraham is given the Abrahamic covenant (see Abraham 2:8-11),
Jehovah identifies the covenant as the “Gospel” (Abraham 2:10), and says that
through Abraham “shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the
blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life
eternal.” (Abraham 2:11) After which, Abraham speaks of “our rock and our
salvation” (Abraham 2:16). Abraham also sees a vision of the pre-mortal life,
wherein the Son of Man (Jesus Christ) volunteers to be sent as our Savior and
Redeemer (see Abraham 3:23-28).[2]
Although the Book of Abraham does not testify of Christ nearly so boldly as
what we see in the stories of Adam and Enoch (and, as we will see, Moses), we
still find that reference to Christ and His Gospel are made in the Book of
Abraham. Again, this is not what one would expect to find if this were a
non-Christian version of the Abrahamic tradition.
Moses: The stories of Adam and Enoch are provided to
us through the account of Moses’ vision (see Moses 5-7), so their teachings of
Christ can also be attributed to Moses. In the opening chapter of the Book of
Moses, he is told to pray in Christ’s name (Moses 1:19) and does just that to
combat the powers of Satan (see Moses 1:21), he is told he is in the image of
Christ (see Moses 1:6), and that it was through Christ that the world was
created (see Moses 1:32-33). The Genesis creation account is then recounted
(Moses 2-3; cf Gen. 1-2), but with frequent and explicit reference to Christ’s
role in the creation process (see Moses 2:1, 26-27; 3:18). Moses then sees, as
did Abraham, the pre-motal Christ volunteer to be our redeemer (see Moses
4:1-3). Once again, then, we see that the classical biblical account has had
major Christian teachings added to it in the Pearl of Great Price.
Whether or not one
actually believes that these kinds of Christian doctrines were known by Adam,
Enoch, Abraham, or Moses, the point is that non-Christians would almost
certainly not have added them to the
stories of these prominent Jewish patriarchs. These are clearly Christian versions of their stories.
Other than the Old
Testament era works of the Book of Moses and Book of Abraham, the Pearl of
Great Price includes Joseph Smith – Matthew, which is Matthew 24 with some
additional insights from Smith (extracted from the Joseph Smith Translation of
the Bible). Just like the standard King James Version of Matthew 24, this
prophesies of the second coming of Christ. Then there is Joseph Smith –
History, wherein Smith records his testimony of his First Vision, in which he
sees the Father and the Son (see Joseph Smith – History 1:16-19). The final
section is called the Articles of Faith, which are thirteen tenets of LDS belief
which Joseph Smith wrote, several of which mention Christ (see Articles of
Faith 1: 1, 3, 4, and 10).
Conclusion of Part 3
As the biblical
passages cited above demonstrate, the New Testament Christians believed that
scripture was meant to testify of Christ. As the LDS unique passages cited
above demonstrate, LDS scripture is absolutely saturated with testimonies and
teachings of Jesus Christ. Hence, I submit that Mormons are Christians.
Other Reasons
Christian Covenants
LDS Prophets and Apostles Testify of Christ
Jesus Christ as the Only Means of Salvation
LDS Prophets and Apostles Testify of Christ
Jesus Christ as the Only Means of Salvation
[1] Susan Easton Black, Finding
Christ through the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book
Company, 1987), pg. 16-18.
[2] Certainly it could be argued that
such a vision demonstrates that Abrahams story has been “Mormonized” rather
than “Christianized,” however, the point to remember is that we are only
interested in seeing that these stories testify of Christ – for that is the
standard for scripture found in the New Testament – not that they conform to
modern Christian theology.
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