1 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:05,960 Welcome to the Liberty Baptist Sermon Archives. 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:09,040 The message you're about to hear was preached at Liberty Baptist 3 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:13,040 Church in Easton, MA. You can find out more about us 4 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:17,280 or contact us at my libertybaptist.org or just look 5 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:19,760 us up on Facebook. And now we hope that this 6 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:22,040 message from God's Word will be a blessing to you. 7 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:27,320 Bibles, please, a Second Timothy chapter 3 this morning. 8 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:29,560 Welcome to those of you who are watching online. 9 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:32,960 Second Timothy chapter #3 We're getting close to the end of our 10 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:36,240 miniseries looking at the cult called the Church of Jesus 11 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:39,280 Christ of Latter Day Saints, also called the Mormons. 12 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:42,400 And we'll be looking at the Mormon scriptures here this 13 00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:44,800 morning. And so we'll be looking at the 14 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:47,440 scriptures for us to be able to understand a little bit more 15 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:51,240 about their scriptures. They have 4 different scriptures 16 00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:53,320 of which they hold in high regard. 17 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:56,520 They hold the Holy Bible, of course, which we would as well 18 00:00:56,520 --> 00:00:58,680 in high regard. Although I would argue that they 19 00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:01,360 actually do hold it in high regard because they hold it 20 00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:05,360 lower than the other three books that they truly regard. 21 00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:07,760 And that would be the Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great 22 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:10,040 Price, and the Doctrines and covenants. 23 00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:12,920 And so we're going to give you a little bit of an overview of 24 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:15,880 each of those here this morning, again, as we have for the last 25 00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:18,640 several months now, by using their own videos and their own 26 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:22,040 words, but also by most importantly using the word of 27 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:24,720 God. So we saw a couple weeks ago, of 28 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:26,960 course, we weren't in our series last week because of missions 29 00:01:26,960 --> 00:01:30,360 conference, but we saw a couple weeks ago that the doctrines of 30 00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:31,760 the Mormons are confusing, aren't they? 31 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:34,040 Do you remember the chart that we had up there about how one 32 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:37,440 was to achieve eternal life? And it was a flow chart that 33 00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:40,920 would make someone who worked at a factory or something like 34 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:42,760 that, their heads spin, you know, they have all kinds of 35 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:44,120 flow charts and things like that. 36 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:46,480 But we looked at that, that there was three different 37 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:47,960 kingdoms. There were those who went to 38 00:01:47,960 --> 00:01:50,120 hell, There were those who were evangelized in hell, and then 39 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:51,520 they were able to go to a different Kingdom. 40 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:54,840 Eventually, those of the celestial Kingdom were possibly 41 00:01:54,840 --> 00:01:58,200 able to become gods themselves and then populate their own 42 00:01:58,200 --> 00:01:59,680 world. And then everything else started 43 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:02,240 all over again in the cycle to goodness. 44 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:06,240 We saw that if God is not the author of confusion, then we 45 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:08,000 recognize who is, and that was Satan. 46 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:09,960 So that doctrine is inspired by Satan. 47 00:02:10,199 --> 00:02:12,400 But we also ask ourselves this question, where that doctrine 48 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:14,240 come from? We know it originated from 49 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:17,640 Satan, but where is it found? Well, it's found in those three 50 00:02:17,640 --> 00:02:19,880 books. It is found in the Book of 51 00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:22,720 Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price, and the Doctrines and 52 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:24,360 Covenants. So as we look at this this 53 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:26,360 morning, I want us to go through and look at that. 54 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:28,720 Is there we go. That's the right one right 55 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:31,640 there. I kind of messed up my, my slide 56 00:02:31,640 --> 00:02:33,640 right there. So put the 1st 2 on there just 57 00:02:33,640 --> 00:02:35,520 because. But the first I want us to look 58 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:38,560 at is the Bible. The Bible and we're in second 59 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:41,000 Timothy chapter 3. I want us to begin reading in 60 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:44,600 verse #10 So if you follow along with me, because the Mormons 61 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:47,240 would say they have a great regard for the Bible. 62 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:50,440 I would argue that while they may say that in practice, their 63 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:52,960 belief about the Bible is much, much different. 64 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:55,400 So let's look at it, Second Timothy chapter 3, beginning 65 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:58,240 verse 10, where it says, but that has fully known my 66 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:01,560 doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long-suffering, 67 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:03,640 charity, patience. And of course this is Paul who's 68 00:03:03,640 --> 00:03:06,400 speaking here. Persecutions, afflictions which 69 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:09,880 came unto me at Antioch, at Iconia, at Lystra, What 70 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:13,280 persecutions I endured, but out of them all the Lord delivered 71 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:14,120 me. Yeah. 72 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:17,320 And all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer 73 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:22,240 persecution, but evil men and seducers shall wax worse and 74 00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:24,200 worse, deceiving and being deceived. 75 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:26,640 Paul says this, Even though I've gone through some great 76 00:03:26,640 --> 00:03:28,280 difficulties, I hold to the truth. 77 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:31,360 Even though I've gone through some hardships, I will follow 78 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:33,000 what the Lord has for me, he says. 79 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:35,840 But not everyone feels that way. There are evil men. 80 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:39,880 They're seducers, those who speak lies, and they wax worse 81 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:42,160 and worse. Not only do they deceive 82 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:44,720 themselves, but they deceive others as well. 83 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:48,640 And it continues that Timothy, he says, Continue thou in the 84 00:03:48,640 --> 00:03:52,600 things which thou has to learn, and assured of knowing of whom 85 00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:56,200 thou hast learned them, and that from a child thou hast known the 86 00:03:56,480 --> 00:04:00,360 Holy Scriptures which are able to make the wise unto salvation 87 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:02,360 through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 88 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:06,520 So what do we need to have to be able to understand salvation? 89 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:09,720 We need the Holy Scriptures. Now does it say we need the Holy 90 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:12,160 Scriptures and another book? It does not. 91 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:15,240 Does it say we need the Holy Scriptures and prophecy coming 92 00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:17,399 from another person in modern day? 93 00:04:17,399 --> 00:04:20,120 It does not. It says this, that you can be 94 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:24,800 wise unto salvation by simply understanding the word of God. 95 00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:28,560 And it says all scriptures given by inspiration of God is 96 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:32,200 profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for 97 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:35,480 instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be 98 00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:38,760 perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works, meaning 99 00:04:38,760 --> 00:04:42,240 this perfect complete that we would be entire, thoroughly 100 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:45,640 furnished unto all good works. Everything you need to know 101 00:04:45,840 --> 00:04:49,040 about living this life is here in the Word of God. 102 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:51,120 And I think I need to say that again to make sure that we 103 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:52,640 understand where we are this morning. 104 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:57,400 Everything you need to know about this life is found here in 105 00:04:57,400 --> 00:04:59,440 the word of God. You say, well pastor, there's 106 00:04:59,440 --> 00:05:01,800 other things that like nature, there's other things like 107 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:05,120 history and things like science and mathematics, and those 108 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:07,120 aren't in the word of God. I'm not saying those aren't 109 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:10,440 important, but listen, the things that answer the deepest 110 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:13,000 issues of life, the things that the mathematicians and the 111 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:16,280 scientists and the historians that they can't answer through 112 00:05:16,280 --> 00:05:20,040 their own pursuits, the answers to the deepest issues of the 113 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:23,360 heart, including the very issue of salvation, is found in the 114 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:26,240 Word of God and not in any other book. 115 00:05:26,520 --> 00:05:29,400 We believe as Bible believing Baptists. 116 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:32,240 We believe in the sufficiency of Scripture. 117 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:35,200 What do I mean by that? The Scripture is enough. 118 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:39,200 If you have the word of God, you have what you need to be able to 119 00:05:39,200 --> 00:05:41,680 live the Christian life. Let me give you a few examples. 120 00:05:41,920 --> 00:05:45,960 Second Peter 1 verses 3 and 4. According as his divine power 121 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:49,920 hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and 122 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:53,160 godliness, through the knowledge of him that have called us to 123 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:56,880 glory and virtue, whereby are given unto us great and precious 124 00:05:56,880 --> 00:06:00,280 promises, that by these you might be partakers of the divine 125 00:06:00,280 --> 00:06:03,560 nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world 126 00:06:03,560 --> 00:06:06,040 through lust. Everything that pertains to life 127 00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:09,760 and godliness has been given to us by God through the 128 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:12,160 Scriptures. Proverbs chapter 30, verses 5:00 129 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:15,720 and 6:00. Every word of God is pure. 130 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:18,400 He is a shield unto them that put their trust to them. 131 00:06:18,680 --> 00:06:22,960 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou 132 00:06:22,960 --> 00:06:25,280 be found a liar. You know what God says. 133 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:28,800 He says this in His Word. I've said what I said and don't 134 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:30,360 add to it. And we can go to the Book of 135 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:31,840 Revelation. We're not going to because we've 136 00:06:31,840 --> 00:06:34,240 looked at it several times in the series where the very 137 00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:37,520 closing of the word of God. God, we are reminded, don't add 138 00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:40,040 to the word of God. Don't take away from the word of 139 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:41,960 God. If God has said it, He has 140 00:06:41,960 --> 00:06:44,240 spoken. We don't have the right to add 141 00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:47,560 to it or subtract from it. Proverbs 19, verses 7 and 8. 142 00:06:47,720 --> 00:06:50,520 The law of the Lord is perfect. Converting the soul. 143 00:06:50,640 --> 00:06:54,040 The testimony of the Lord is sure making wise the simple the 144 00:06:54,040 --> 00:06:57,320 statutes of the Lord are right rejoicing the heart. 145 00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:00,400 The commandment of the Lord is pure enlightening the eyes. 146 00:07:00,520 --> 00:07:04,640 We believe in the sufficiency of Scripture because the Bible 147 00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:06,680 teaches the efficiency of Scripture. 148 00:07:06,880 --> 00:07:10,480 Listen, if the Bible is not enough, then God isn't enough. 149 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:13,920 Think about that. If this is His word and the 150 00:07:13,920 --> 00:07:16,480 Bible is not enough, then God is not enough. 151 00:07:16,760 --> 00:07:19,440 Now the Mormons are going to give lip servants to the fact 152 00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:22,800 that they feel about the Word of God the way we feel about the 153 00:07:22,800 --> 00:07:25,280 word of God. And they can say it, they can 154 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:29,000 speak it, they can proclaim it, but in their actions, they say 155 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:32,120 exactly the opposite. Because when they say, yes, we 156 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:35,320 have the word of God, but also there's this other book that you 157 00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:37,720 need as well. Oh, and there's a third book 158 00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:39,800 that you need as well. Oh, we forgot, there's a fourth 159 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:42,320 book that you need as well. Oh, and the prophets can 160 00:07:42,320 --> 00:07:45,440 literally speak the word of God into existence today as well. 161 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:49,560 You never truly know what God is saying because listen, they 162 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:51,600 don't truly know what the God is saying. 163 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:55,120 Isn't it so much easier to just, well, believe the Bible and to 164 00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:58,840 believe it for what it is? And while they say they do, they 165 00:07:58,840 --> 00:08:01,520 do not in practice. So I believe we're all on the 166 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:02,840 same page with that here this morning. 167 00:08:02,840 --> 00:08:05,200 There's not a lot of explanations as needed, but I do 168 00:08:05,200 --> 00:08:08,080 want to remind you that we believe as Bible believing 169 00:08:08,080 --> 00:08:11,120 Baptist in the sufficiency of the scripture. 170 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:14,720 But secondly, you see that second text that the Mormons 171 00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:16,920 will hold to, and the second is the Book of Mormon. 172 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:19,880 Now, we've heard a lot over the years about the Book of Mormon. 173 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:23,200 If you see one of those Mormon missionaries coming to your 174 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:26,280 door, often times under their arm, they'll have tucked a Book 175 00:08:26,280 --> 00:08:28,720 of Mormon. What is the Book of Mormon? 176 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:31,240 What does it speak about? What does it teach about? 177 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:34,360 Well, I have a video that I want to introduce to you, and then I 178 00:08:34,360 --> 00:08:37,440 want to give you the part of the Book of Mormon that they won't 179 00:08:37,440 --> 00:08:40,360 tell you from their own website. So let's go ahead and run that 180 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:44,159 first video, please, gentlemen. The Book of Mormon. 181 00:08:44,600 --> 00:08:47,440 What is it and why do members of the Church of Jesus Christ of 182 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:49,280 Latter Day Saints care so much about it? 183 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:52,920 Mormons properly referred to as Latter Day Saints. 184 00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:56,200 Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints read 185 00:08:56,200 --> 00:08:58,520 and Revere the Bible, as all Christians do. 186 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:02,320 But they read and believe in an additional book called the Book 187 00:09:02,320 --> 00:09:04,840 of Mormon, another testament of Jesus Christ. 188 00:09:05,600 --> 00:09:07,840 For them, it's not a replacement for the Bible. 189 00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:10,440 It's not a substitute. It's a companion. 190 00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:13,840 Just as the Bible is scripture, the Book of Mormon is also 191 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:17,080 scripture. Let's talk a little about what 192 00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:18,840 scriptures are and how they come about. 193 00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:22,080 The word scripture means sacred or religious writings. 194 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:26,200 Scriptures are written by God's spokesman, called prophets, His 195 00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:29,360 representatives. Although God often teaches and 196 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:32,240 communicates with His children individually, something Latter 197 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:35,320 Day Saints call personal revelation, when God interacts 198 00:09:35,320 --> 00:09:38,680 with or teaches His children as a people, His prophets record 199 00:09:38,680 --> 00:09:40,800 those events and teachings for the benefit of all. 200 00:09:41,640 --> 00:09:43,800 The Holy Bible is one example of Scripture. 201 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:46,600 It is an account of God's interactions and teachings with 202 00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:49,280 the people in and around the Eastern Mediterranean region 203 00:09:49,280 --> 00:09:52,280 before, during, and after the ministry of Jesus Christ. 204 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:56,040 It is a collection of writings, both spiritual and historical, 205 00:09:56,040 --> 00:09:58,920 written by prophets. In the Holy Bible there are 206 00:09:58,920 --> 00:10:02,560 miraculous stories of faith, sacrifice, trial, and love. 207 00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:05,560 You might have heard of Noah and the Ark, or Moses and the 208 00:10:05,560 --> 00:10:08,640 children of Israel, and of course, the birth, ministry, 209 00:10:08,760 --> 00:10:10,800 death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 210 00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:14,240 These stories and events were written down, collected and 211 00:10:14,240 --> 00:10:16,040 shared from generation to generation. 212 00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:19,480 They were eventually compiled into a collection of scripture, 213 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:22,880 a book called the Holy Bible. Originally written in both 214 00:10:22,880 --> 00:10:25,920 Hebrew and Greek, the Bible has since been translated into 215 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:28,840 English and hundreds of other languages available throughout 216 00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:31,080 the world. What about the people that lived 217 00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:33,960 beyond the geographical setting of the Bible outside the 218 00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:36,560 Mediterranean area? What kind of interaction did God 219 00:10:36,560 --> 00:10:39,600 have with them? Well, in the Bible from the book 220 00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:42,800 of John, Jesus revealed to his disciples in Jerusalem. 221 00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:46,320 And other sheep I have which are not of this fold, them also I 222 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:48,320 must bring, and they shall hear my voice. 223 00:10:48,400 --> 00:10:50,840 And there shall be one fold and 1 shepherd. 224 00:10:51,160 --> 00:10:53,680 Some of these other sheep to which Jesus refers are the 225 00:10:53,680 --> 00:10:56,360 inhabitants of the ancient Americas who lived at that time. 226 00:10:57,040 --> 00:10:59,120 The Book of Mormon is a compilation of the sacred 227 00:10:59,120 --> 00:11:01,960 writings of many generations of the people that lived there and 228 00:11:01,960 --> 00:11:04,200 received instruction and teachings from God. 229 00:11:04,880 --> 00:11:07,600 They had prophets who, just like the Bible, recorded spiritual 230 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:09,920 and historical events over thousands of years. 231 00:11:10,560 --> 00:11:13,600 And similarly to the Bible, these stories and events were 232 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:16,240 written down, collected, and shared from generation to 233 00:11:16,240 --> 00:11:18,600 generation. They too were eventually 234 00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:22,000 compiled into a book. It is called the Book of Mormon, 235 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:25,680 another testament of Jesus Christ, and like the Bible, the 236 00:11:25,680 --> 00:11:28,280 Book of Mormon is a collection of writings, both spiritual and 237 00:11:28,280 --> 00:11:30,400 historical, written by God's prophets. 238 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:33,360 In the Book of Mormon, there are also miraculous stories of 239 00:11:33,360 --> 00:11:36,200 faith, sacrifice, trial, and love. 240 00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:39,480 The crowning event in the Book of Mormon is the account of 241 00:11:39,560 --> 00:11:42,720 Jesus Christ ministering to the other sheep as he said he would. 242 00:11:43,560 --> 00:11:45,960 Shortly after his death, the Savior appeared to the 243 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:48,680 inhabitants of the ancient Americas as the resurrected Lord 244 00:11:48,680 --> 00:11:52,000 with a body of flesh and bones. As he did in his earthly 245 00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:54,760 ministry in Jerusalem, Jesus taught the inhabitants his 246 00:11:54,760 --> 00:11:57,920 gospel and they recorded it. They handed it down to future 247 00:11:57,920 --> 00:12:01,280 generations through prophets, leaders, and other inspired 248 00:12:01,280 --> 00:12:03,800 individuals. So how did the Book of Mormon 249 00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:06,520 get its name? Who is Mormon and what does he 250 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:08,080 have to do with this book of scripture? 251 00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:11,880 In the 4th century AD, again in the Americas, there lived a 252 00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:13,800 prophet and historian named Mormon. 253 00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:17,360 He was charged by God to abridge all of the scriptural records 254 00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:20,080 that have been kept and passed down from past prophets in that 255 00:12:20,080 --> 00:12:23,160 part of the world. Mormon engraved the abridgement 256 00:12:23,160 --> 00:12:27,120 on gold plates in a language his people called Reformed Egyptian. 257 00:12:27,680 --> 00:12:30,200 As Mormon was the prophet whom God called to compile the 258 00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:33,120 centuries of records. The book carries his name, the 259 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:35,600 Book of Mormon. At the end of his life, he 260 00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:38,760 passed these engraved plates to his son Moroni, also a prophet 261 00:12:38,760 --> 00:12:42,200 of God, who was last to add to the book before he died. 262 00:12:42,200 --> 00:12:45,520 Moroni buried the gold plates in a stone box on a hillside in 263 00:12:45,520 --> 00:12:51,080 what is now upstate New York. 1400 years later, in 1823, this 264 00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:54,200 same Prophet Moroni, now a resurrected being, appeared to 265 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:57,080 the Prophet Joseph Smith. He told Joseph about the gold 266 00:12:57,080 --> 00:13:00,040 plates, showed him where to find them, and commanded him to 267 00:13:00,040 --> 00:13:02,680 translate the record into English, which Joseph did under 268 00:13:02,680 --> 00:13:04,320 the power and inspiration of God. 269 00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:07,680 And since then, the Book of Mormon has been translated into 270 00:13:07,680 --> 00:13:11,760 over 100 languages and is, like the Holy Bible, also available 271 00:13:11,760 --> 00:13:13,920 throughout the world as an additional book of sacred 272 00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:16,000 writings written by God's prophets. 273 00:13:16,240 --> 00:13:19,240 Scripture. So what's in the Book of Mormon? 274 00:13:19,840 --> 00:13:22,440 As stated on its introduction page, the Book of Mormon puts 275 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:25,200 forth the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ, outlines 276 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:27,960 God's plan of happiness for his children, and tells them what 277 00:13:27,960 --> 00:13:30,760 they must do to gain peace in this life and obtain salvation 278 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:34,480 and eternal life with God. Nephi, an early prophet found in 279 00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:37,560 the Book of Mormon, preached. And we talk of Christ, we 280 00:13:37,560 --> 00:13:41,320 rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophecy of Christ, 281 00:13:41,320 --> 00:13:44,040 and we write according to our prophecies that our children may 282 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:46,440 know to what source they may look for a remission of their 283 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:49,240 sins. In fact, the Book of Mormon has 284 00:13:49,240 --> 00:13:53,440 over 500 pages containing nearly 3500 references to the Savior 285 00:13:53,440 --> 00:13:56,160 Jesus Christ. It testifies of Jesus Christ. 286 00:13:56,400 --> 00:13:57,960 It declares the mission of the Savior. 287 00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:01,240 It reveals the gospel of Jesus Christ and clarifies doctrine. 288 00:14:03,560 --> 00:14:06,440 As the Bible contains the Old Testament and the New Testament, 289 00:14:06,560 --> 00:14:09,280 the Book of Mormon is yet another testament of Jesus 290 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:11,560 Christ. It is another witness of God's 291 00:14:11,560 --> 00:14:14,000 dealings with His children in a different part of the world. 292 00:14:15,040 --> 00:14:18,000 The Bible and the Book of Mormon work together to teach and 293 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:20,800 testify of the Lord Jesus Christ and God's dealings with His 294 00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:23,480 children. Today, millions of Latter Day 295 00:14:23,480 --> 00:14:25,880 Saints believe the Book of Mormon, another testament of 296 00:14:25,880 --> 00:14:29,120 Jesus Christ, to be scripture. They believe it is the word of 297 00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:32,320 God to His children and stands as a companion to the Holy 298 00:14:32,320 --> 00:14:35,200 Bible. God loves His children and wants 299 00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:38,440 them to know about Him, learn of Him and His Son Jesus Christ. 300 00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:41,600 He has provided Holy scripture to show His children the way. 301 00:14:42,280 --> 00:14:44,520 Through living the teachings found in the Book of Mormon and 302 00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:47,640 the Holy Bible, they can find peace in this life and salvation 303 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:51,600 in the life to come. The Book of Mormon, what it is, 304 00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:54,960 where it came from, and what it teaches, now you know. 305 00:14:57,400 --> 00:14:59,920 It's interesting they say they talk of pride Christ, they 306 00:14:59,920 --> 00:15:02,400 preach of Christ, all those different things, but the Christ 307 00:15:02,400 --> 00:15:05,640 they speak of and teach of is not the Christ of the Bible. 308 00:15:05,640 --> 00:15:08,680 In fact, quite the opposite. There's so many issues that we 309 00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:11,120 could take from there. But the one word that I want to 310 00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:13,640 point out to you that may have stuck out, that was said several 311 00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:15,800 different times is this word companion. 312 00:15:16,120 --> 00:15:18,720 It is a companion to the word of God. 313 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:20,920 And when I was watching this video for the first time, 314 00:15:20,920 --> 00:15:24,760 immediately Amos chapter 3 verse 3 came to mind where it says 315 00:15:24,760 --> 00:15:28,800 this can two walk together except they be agree for it to 316 00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:32,200 be a companion to the word of God, the Book of Mormon must 317 00:15:32,200 --> 00:15:36,840 well agree with the word of God. It cannot be contrary to it in 318 00:15:36,840 --> 00:15:40,240 any singular way. But we find that the Book of 319 00:15:40,240 --> 00:15:44,240 Mormon is contradictory to the Bible in almost every single 320 00:15:44,240 --> 00:15:46,160 way. You could even see the twisting 321 00:15:46,160 --> 00:15:49,920 of the word of God saying that Jesus spoke of the other sheep. 322 00:15:49,920 --> 00:15:52,040 Now he was Speaking of the Gentiles at that time. 323 00:15:52,040 --> 00:15:55,640 He wasn't Speaking of a mission that he was going to take to the 324 00:15:55,640 --> 00:15:59,280 Americas, to North and South America after his resurrection 325 00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:02,040 to go and preach and teach to those people there. 326 00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:04,960 But let me just give you 8 contradictions between the Book 327 00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:07,120 of Mormon and the Bible. There's a, can I put it this 328 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:08,400 way? There's a very short list. 329 00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:11,200 If I'm just giving you 8 here, it's only for the sake of time. 330 00:16:11,320 --> 00:16:13,760 It's not because there are only 8 contradictions. 331 00:16:13,920 --> 00:16:16,160 But in saying that if there was 1 contradiction, the word of 332 00:16:16,160 --> 00:16:18,280 God, that would be enough to invalidate it, wouldn't it? 333 00:16:18,680 --> 00:16:21,960 We don't get to the sliding scale where eventually, well now 334 00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:25,160 there's enough contradictions where it is not the word of God. 335 00:16:25,160 --> 00:16:28,040 Listen, if there was one mistake in our Bible would not be the 336 00:16:28,040 --> 00:16:31,720 word of God because our God is perfect, but yet we find our 337 00:16:31,720 --> 00:16:34,520 word of God is perfect. That's why we use it, that's why 338 00:16:34,520 --> 00:16:37,320 we believe it. The Book of Mormon is not and 339 00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:40,880 has never been the word of God #1 The Book of Mormon teaches 340 00:16:40,880 --> 00:16:44,480 that little children are not capable of sin because they do 341 00:16:44,480 --> 00:16:47,440 not have a sinful nature. Moroni 88. 342 00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:51,600 In contrast, the Bible says in Psalms 51 verse five that we 343 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:55,280 have a sinful nature from birth #2 The Book of Mormon teaches 344 00:16:55,280 --> 00:16:58,600 that the disobedience of Adam and Eve in eating the forbidden 345 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:02,480 fruit was necessary so that they could have children and bring 346 00:17:02,480 --> 00:17:05,960 joy to mankind. Second Nephi chapter 2 verses 23 347 00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:08,280 through 25. In contrast, the Bible 348 00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:11,079 specifically declares Adam's transgression was a sinful act 349 00:17:11,079 --> 00:17:14,240 of rebellion that unleashed the power of sin and death in the 350 00:17:14,240 --> 00:17:17,560 human heart #3 The Book of Mormon teaches that black skin 351 00:17:17,560 --> 00:17:21,160 is a sign of God's curse so that white skinned people are 352 00:17:21,160 --> 00:17:24,599 considered morally and spiritually superior to black 353 00:17:24,599 --> 00:17:26,440 skinned people. Remember, we talked about this a 354 00:17:26,440 --> 00:17:29,240 couple weeks ago, Second Nephi 521. 355 00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:31,320 They could try to wave their hand and make it go away. 356 00:17:31,320 --> 00:17:35,400 But that is in their scriptures #4 the Book of Mormon teaches 357 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:37,800 that it is by grace that we're saved. 358 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:41,880 Listen to this. After all we can do is by grace 359 00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:43,560 that you're saved. You hear that part like, all 360 00:17:43,560 --> 00:17:47,400 right, that's at least good after all you can do, which is 361 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:51,600 second Nephi chapter 25 verse #23 We know the Bible teaches 362 00:17:51,760 --> 00:17:54,280 quite opposite of that. According to the Book of Mormon, 363 00:17:54,280 --> 00:17:58,320 about 600 years before Christ, a Nephite prophet predicted that 364 00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:01,560 many plain and precious parts would be removed from the Bible. 365 00:18:01,880 --> 00:18:05,560 In contrast, it's clear from Jesus earthly ministry that he 366 00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:08,240 had great confidence in the scriptures, including the Old 367 00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:10,640 Testament, which would have been their scriptures they had at 368 00:18:10,640 --> 00:18:11,440 that time. Why? 369 00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:15,280 Because he constantly referred to the scriptures and even read 370 00:18:15,280 --> 00:18:18,640 the scriptures in the synagogue. Jesus had no problem with the 371 00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:21,600 scriptures, even though the Mormons said that they had been 372 00:18:21,600 --> 00:18:25,640 corrupted even at Jesus's time. Number six, according to a Book 373 00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:28,880 of Mormon prophecy, at the time of Christ's crucifixion, 374 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:32,400 darkness covered the face of the earth for the space of three 375 00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:34,120 days. But yet, what does the Word of 376 00:18:34,120 --> 00:18:35,880 God say? That darkness covered the earth 377 00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:43,320 for three hours, not 3 days #7 According the Book of Mormon, 378 00:18:43,320 --> 00:18:45,680 there are many high priests serving at the same time. 379 00:18:46,120 --> 00:18:48,760 There's four different references that I have here of 380 00:18:48,760 --> 00:18:51,320 many different high priests serving at the same time in the 381 00:18:51,320 --> 00:18:55,160 New World, but yet the Bible is clear that there's only ever one 382 00:18:55,160 --> 00:18:59,040 individual at a time to occupy the office of high priest under 383 00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:01,160 the Old Testament Testament dispensation. 384 00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:05,400 The Book of Mormon describes operation of multiple temples, 385 00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:08,400 but yet this violates the dictates of the Old Testament 386 00:19:08,400 --> 00:19:11,280 scriptures on two counts. First, God commanded Israel to 387 00:19:11,280 --> 00:19:14,920 build only one temple to reflect that there is only one true God. 388 00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:19,760 But secondly, the one legitimate temple was built in Jerusalem, 389 00:19:19,880 --> 00:19:22,520 the location designated by God Himself. 390 00:19:22,720 --> 00:19:26,960 This is a very, very short list of what could be a very, very 391 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:31,760 long list of the contradictions between the Word of God and the 392 00:19:31,760 --> 00:19:34,480 Book of Mormon, which just arrived on the scene about 200 393 00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:37,000 years ago. Can two walk together? 394 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:40,200 Unless they be agreed? Could they truly be a companion? 395 00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:43,320 Could it the Book of Mormon truly be a companion to the word 396 00:19:43,320 --> 00:19:45,160 of God? No, it doesn't add to it. 397 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:49,240 It tries to discredit and take away from the word of God. 398 00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:52,400 Now there were many, many problems with this so-called 399 00:19:52,400 --> 00:19:54,760 translation of the Book of Mormon. 400 00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:57,560 You remember those golden tablets that have been mentioned 401 00:19:57,560 --> 00:19:59,960 several times? Here is a recreation of what 402 00:19:59,960 --> 00:20:02,080 those golden tablets might look like. 403 00:20:02,080 --> 00:20:05,080 There have been recreations that have been made over the years. 404 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:08,200 These tablets do not exist today. 405 00:20:08,520 --> 00:20:10,560 Now. Of the 11 witnesses other than 406 00:20:10,560 --> 00:20:14,080 Joseph Smith that supposedly saw the tablets, there are several 407 00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:16,000 of these witnesses that say that. 408 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:18,640 Remember it said that those tablets were buried on a 409 00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:23,080 hillside in upstate New York. That is in columna. 410 00:20:23,160 --> 00:20:25,400 I believe New York is is how it's pronounced. 411 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:30,000 I've never been there, but they are on a hillside there today. 412 00:20:30,280 --> 00:20:33,680 Supposedly they're still there. And if that was the case, if I 413 00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:36,240 was a Mormon and I was the Mormon church, I'd be digging 414 00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:38,560 that hill up until I found those golden tablets. 415 00:20:38,560 --> 00:20:41,680 But for some reason, they've left that area pretty pristine. 416 00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:43,960 It doesn't seem like they're that interested in finding the 417 00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:46,400 golden tablets, which would seem to be something they would 418 00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:47,800 really want. Well, why is that? 419 00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:50,720 Well, perhaps they have an understanding that those golden 420 00:20:50,720 --> 00:20:53,920 tablets are not there. The Book of Mormon talks of 421 00:20:53,920 --> 00:20:58,320 these generations and these groups of people that were found 422 00:20:58,320 --> 00:21:02,040 in the Americas around the time of Christ, but yet history does 423 00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:05,880 not show that any of those people groups even existed in 424 00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:09,080 the Americas during that time. In fact, there's no record of 425 00:21:09,080 --> 00:21:12,480 these peoples from historical or archaeological studies. 426 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:15,720 The cities, the temples, the armies, and the weapons found in 427 00:21:15,720 --> 00:21:19,840 the Book of Mormon are non existent to archaeology and non 428 00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:22,400 existent to history. Now hold on a second. 429 00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:24,040 Some of you might say, well, pastor, there's things that are 430 00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:26,640 mentioned in the Bible, isn't there things that are mentioned 431 00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:28,480 in the Bible that that haven't been found? 432 00:21:28,720 --> 00:21:31,320 You know, and that is true that that can be true to a certain 433 00:21:31,320 --> 00:21:34,040 extent. But every time archaeological 434 00:21:34,520 --> 00:21:40,200 digs are done in the Holy Land, over and over again, they always 435 00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:42,080 confirm what is found in the Word of God. 436 00:21:42,280 --> 00:21:44,400 There has been no contradictions that have been found. 437 00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:47,800 And when there's digs, when there are researches that are 438 00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:50,640 done, they always prove the word of God to be true. 439 00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:53,360 Even at times when people have mocked that the word of God 440 00:21:53,360 --> 00:21:57,840 mentioned a certain event or a certain time period or a certain 441 00:21:58,360 --> 00:22:00,840 city, they have been found over and over again. 442 00:22:00,840 --> 00:22:03,560 This has never been true for the Book of Mormon. 443 00:22:04,080 --> 00:22:07,400 Interestingly enough, Joseph Smith did not look at the plates 444 00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:10,120 while he was translating. You would think he would look at 445 00:22:10,120 --> 00:22:13,960 that reformed Egyptian, which by the way, Reformed Egyptian is 446 00:22:13,960 --> 00:22:17,040 not a language that has never been found upon the face of the 447 00:22:17,040 --> 00:22:19,040 earth. There is never been found 448 00:22:19,040 --> 00:22:22,360 anything that resembles a so-called Reformed Egyptian. 449 00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:26,680 But how did he translate this book if he did not know Reformed 450 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:29,280 Egyptian? Well, according to a man named 451 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:34,800 David Whitner, and David Whitner was a one of the three witnesses 452 00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:36,800 to the gold plates is a smaller group. 453 00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:39,080 There's a larger group and a smaller group, the way that they 454 00:22:39,840 --> 00:22:42,480 categorize them. Interestingly enough, this man 455 00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:45,360 later distanced himself from Joseph Smith and then was 456 00:22:45,640 --> 00:22:48,040 excommunicated from the Mormons completely. 457 00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:50,760 But this is what he said about this process. 458 00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:54,800 Joseph Smith would put the seer stone into a hat, put his face 459 00:22:54,800 --> 00:22:57,640 into the hat, drawing it close around his face to exude the 460 00:22:57,640 --> 00:23:00,520 light, and in the darkness the spiritual light would shine. 461 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:04,360 A piece of something resembling parchment would appear, and on 462 00:23:04,360 --> 00:23:07,080 that appeared the writing. One character at a time would 463 00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:09,280 appear. Under it was the interpretation 464 00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:12,000 in English. Brother Joseph would read off 465 00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:15,880 the English to Oliver Cowdry, who was his principal scribe. 466 00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:18,600 When it was written down and repeated to Brother Joseph to 467 00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:21,440 see if it was correct, then it would disappear at a another 468 00:23:21,440 --> 00:23:23,360 character with the interpretation would appear. 469 00:23:23,720 --> 00:23:27,120 Thus the Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power 470 00:23:27,120 --> 00:23:29,880 of God, and not by any power of man. 471 00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:34,560 Now I will say this, and I say this to be very clear about 472 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:36,240 this. If there was, this was the 473 00:23:36,240 --> 00:23:39,840 method of which the Book of Mormon was translated. 474 00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:43,240 This is no more than a practice and work of the occult. 475 00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:48,400 To take a seer stone, to take a stone, a divining stone, to put 476 00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:50,960 it in a hat, and then all of a sudden to see things. 477 00:23:51,440 --> 00:23:54,760 I would not be surprised if Joseph Smith very much did see 478 00:23:54,760 --> 00:23:56,720 things. I would not be survived 479 00:23:56,720 --> 00:23:59,520 surprised if Joseph Smith very well saw at parchment. 480 00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:01,600 But it was not because he was hearing from God. 481 00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:04,040 Listen, it was because he was hearing straight from the devil. 482 00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:06,280 I have no doubt of that whatsoever. 483 00:24:06,280 --> 00:24:08,000 You say. Well, Joseph Smith was making 484 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:09,840 this up. It may not been that he was 485 00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:11,760 making it up. It may have been that he saw it, 486 00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:15,160 but it was not hearing from God. And if he knew his Bible, he 487 00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:18,560 would understand that that is not the method to be able to 488 00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:21,320 hear from God. And that the Word of God was 489 00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:24,840 closed and that there was going to be no new revelation of the 490 00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:28,000 Word of God because the Word of God, as we saw at the end of the 491 00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:29,600 Book of Revelation, has been shut. 492 00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:33,360 Boy, we could take a whole day just to talk about the Book of 493 00:24:33,360 --> 00:24:35,360 Mormon and it's many, many mistakes. 494 00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:38,520 But I want to remind you this, stay away from the Book of 495 00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:39,560 Mormon. You can own 1. 496 00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:40,880 You can have one in your home to use. 497 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:44,720 Like like I have a borrowed one at this point, Like I have the 498 00:24:44,720 --> 00:24:47,080 New World translation just to be able to look at different 499 00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:50,400 things. But I would say this to stay 500 00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:54,080 away from it in your life because there is nothing in it 501 00:24:54,080 --> 00:24:56,560 that is a companion of the word of God. 502 00:24:57,120 --> 00:25:01,360 The third book that the Mormons have is the Pearl of Great 503 00:25:01,360 --> 00:25:03,720 Price, The Pearl of Great Price. And we have a video to show 504 00:25:03,720 --> 00:25:06,600 about that here in just a moment's the cartoon here to be 505 00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:09,720 able to show the Mormon kiddos about the Pearl of Great Price. 506 00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:11,000 And so we're going to watch that. 507 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:12,480 He would say you don't get cartoons at church. 508 00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:14,720 All right, So we're going to watch that and then I'll give 509 00:25:14,720 --> 00:25:16,720 you a little more explanation about the Pearl of Great Price. 510 00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:22,720 The Pearl of great price. More scripture from the Lord. 511 00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:28,200 One day a man came to Kirtland with mummies from Egypt. 512 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:33,040 With the mummies were some scrolls or very old rolls of 513 00:25:33,040 --> 00:25:37,080 paper. The scrolls had Egyptian writing 514 00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:40,080 on them. The man showed them to the 515 00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:44,920 Prophet Joseph Smith. Joseph was very interested in 516 00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:50,880 the writing. Some friends helped Joseph buy 517 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:55,920 the mummies and the scrolls. As Joseph studied the writing, 518 00:25:56,120 --> 00:26:00,280 the Lord revealed to him ancient writings from Abraham, a prophet 519 00:26:00,280 --> 00:26:03,760 in the Bible. With help from friends like 520 00:26:03,760 --> 00:26:07,640 Oliver Cowdery, Joseph wrote with the Lord taught him about 521 00:26:07,640 --> 00:26:14,360 Abraham's teachings. Abraham had seen a vision of our 522 00:26:14,360 --> 00:26:17,240 life with Heavenly Father before we were born. 523 00:26:18,400 --> 00:26:21,880 He saw that Jesus was chosen to be our Savior. 524 00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:26,360 Abraham also learned about the creation of the world. 525 00:26:27,760 --> 00:26:31,680 The Saints were excited to have these teachings from Abraham. 526 00:26:32,720 --> 00:26:36,440 They were happy the Lord wanted to teach them more. 527 00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:43,200 Abraham's writings became part of a book of scripture called 528 00:26:43,200 --> 00:26:48,920 The Pearl of Great Price. This book also has writing from 529 00:26:48,920 --> 00:26:51,360 Moses, another prophet in the Bible. 530 00:26:52,760 --> 00:26:55,480 It teaches truths that are missing from the Bible. 531 00:26:56,840 --> 00:27:01,000 The Lord wanted people to know these truths, so He shared them 532 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:07,600 with Joseph Smith. The Pearl of Great Price also 533 00:27:07,600 --> 00:27:12,120 has Joseph Smith's testimony and the 13 articles of faith. 534 00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:17,240 Joseph Smith wrote these things to tell the world what Latter 535 00:27:17,240 --> 00:27:21,680 Day Saints believe. The Pearl of Great Price is A 536 00:27:21,680 --> 00:27:27,080 small book like a Pearl is small, but it is very precious. 537 00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:38,200 Interesting to me that when the Bible is not enough and the Book 538 00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:39,960 of Mormon is not enough, well, what do you need? 539 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:41,400 Well, we need another book, don't we? 540 00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:43,600 And that book would be the Pearl of Great Price. 541 00:27:43,840 --> 00:27:47,760 Now, there's some very clever sleight of hand that takes place 542 00:27:47,800 --> 00:27:50,800 in that video and with the history of the Pearl of Great 543 00:27:50,800 --> 00:27:54,520 Price. Originally it was said by Joseph 544 00:27:54,520 --> 00:27:57,920 Smith that he had these parchments on these parchments 545 00:27:57,920 --> 00:28:01,800 of which he had acquired, that he translated them into the 546 00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:04,920 Pearl of Great Price. Now, interestingly enough, over 547 00:28:04,920 --> 00:28:08,240 time and over history, including during the 1800s and 548 00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:13,800 specifically in 1967, it was found that those parchments of 549 00:28:13,800 --> 00:28:17,720 which he had said nothing of the words that were in the Pearl of 550 00:28:17,720 --> 00:28:19,960 Great Price that he just showed people. 551 00:28:19,960 --> 00:28:21,920 They said, well, I don't know that I understand in this. 552 00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:25,120 It was Egyptian, not reformed Egyptian, by the way, just 553 00:28:25,120 --> 00:28:28,200 Egyptian and such that people would say, well, I guess we 554 00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:30,480 believe him. Well, linguists later looked at 555 00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:34,000 that and said, you know, these parchments have nothing to do 556 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:35,840 with what you say is the Pearl of great price. 557 00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:40,360 It actually deals with Egyptian burial rites, which is where the 558 00:28:40,360 --> 00:28:43,840 story of the mummy comes in and all of those things. 559 00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:46,680 But did you notice? They said that he looked at the 560 00:28:46,680 --> 00:28:50,600 parchments and that from that he was inspired to write the Pearl 561 00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:53,040 of Great Price. The story has changed over the 562 00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:56,440 years because originally they said that he read these 563 00:28:56,440 --> 00:28:59,240 parchments and that's where they got the Pearl of Great Price. 564 00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:01,240 Well, obviously that's incorrect now. 565 00:29:01,240 --> 00:29:04,680 And so now they teach that he got the parchments, and as he 566 00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:08,320 was reading them, he was inspired to write the Pearl of 567 00:29:08,320 --> 00:29:10,200 Great Price, which was on the parchments. 568 00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:11,920 But it was something that the Lord gave him. 569 00:29:12,320 --> 00:29:15,160 And again you see the moving target over and over again that 570 00:29:15,160 --> 00:29:16,400 it says, well, here's what it is. 571 00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:19,360 No, actually, here's what it is. No, actually, here's what it is. 572 00:29:19,640 --> 00:29:22,920 And the Pearl of great Price is as fraudulent as the Book of 573 00:29:22,920 --> 00:29:25,120 Mormon. It includes the book of Moses, 574 00:29:25,320 --> 00:29:29,320 the Book of Abraham. It includes a part of the Gospel 575 00:29:29,320 --> 00:29:32,240 of Matthew. It includes the testimony of 576 00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:34,520 Joseph Smith. And then it does include the 577 00:29:34,520 --> 00:29:38,320 final section which was called the and is called the articles 578 00:29:38,320 --> 00:29:40,400 of faith. And these thirteen articles of 579 00:29:40,400 --> 00:29:45,440 faith are typically memorized by young Mormons as a type of 580 00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:49,040 catechism to be able to understand more about the Mormon 581 00:29:49,040 --> 00:29:51,880 faith. Even though it has been proven 582 00:29:52,040 --> 00:29:56,160 that this is a fabrication, not a translation of the scrolls 583 00:29:56,160 --> 00:30:00,480 that were found, the Mormons still hold very much to the 584 00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:03,760 Pearl of Great Price and believe that just like it's a small 585 00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:07,120 book, the Pearl is small, but it is of great value. 586 00:30:07,120 --> 00:30:10,520 But yet we would look at the Pearl of Great Price as just 587 00:30:10,560 --> 00:30:15,240 another corruption of a group that is trying to discredit the 588 00:30:15,240 --> 00:30:17,960 word of God. And interestingly enough, if you 589 00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:20,880 were to take the very methods of which we look at the Word of 590 00:30:20,880 --> 00:30:24,320 God, and that these methods prove that the Word of God is 591 00:30:24,320 --> 00:30:26,960 true, you apply those same methods to the Pearl of Great 592 00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:30,320 Price and to the Book of Mormon, you will find out that it 593 00:30:30,480 --> 00:30:34,480 crumbles under the weight of those who give it scrutiny. 594 00:30:34,760 --> 00:30:36,520 So that is the Pearl of Great Price. 595 00:30:36,520 --> 00:30:40,520 But there's also the 4th as well, and that is the doctrines 596 00:30:40,520 --> 00:30:42,360 and covenants. But they would say that the 597 00:30:42,360 --> 00:30:44,800 doctrines and covenants is the capstone. 598 00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:46,240 That was the term that they would use. 599 00:30:46,440 --> 00:30:50,080 The doctrine of covenants is the capstone of that which the 600 00:30:50,080 --> 00:30:52,080 Mormons believe. But once again, the moving 601 00:30:52,080 --> 00:30:55,160 target, the scriptures, we need a little bit more. 602 00:30:55,400 --> 00:30:57,960 Well, the Book of Mormon, we need a little bit more. 603 00:30:58,080 --> 00:31:00,840 The Pearl of Great Price, we need a little bit more. 604 00:31:00,840 --> 00:31:04,720 Now we have the Doctrine of Covenants, and now you have the 605 00:31:04,720 --> 00:31:08,040 completed record of what it means to be a Mormon. 606 00:31:08,280 --> 00:31:12,080 They would say that each book builds upon the previous one, 607 00:31:12,280 --> 00:31:15,760 but yet we would see that each book actually contradicts the 608 00:31:15,760 --> 00:31:17,760 previous one instead of building upon it. 609 00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:20,960 The introduction to this work reads as the following. 610 00:31:21,120 --> 00:31:24,640 The Doctrine and Covenants is a collection of divine revelations 611 00:31:24,920 --> 00:31:28,800 and inspired declarations given for the establishment and 612 00:31:28,800 --> 00:31:33,200 regulation of the Kingdom of God on earth in the last days. 613 00:31:33,440 --> 00:31:37,120 The Doctrines and Covenants primarily includes revelations 614 00:31:37,120 --> 00:31:40,800 noted in sections not in chapters given to Joseph Smith 615 00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:44,960 about specific points of doctrine as well as explanations 616 00:31:44,960 --> 00:31:47,600 of other passages that were written in the past. 617 00:31:47,880 --> 00:31:52,080 There are also a few revelations of modern prophets near the end 618 00:31:52,080 --> 00:31:54,520 as well. Remember, every president is 619 00:31:54,520 --> 00:31:58,000 considered to be a prophet of the Mormon, and we have the 620 00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:00,840 current president who's been seated for only about the last 621 00:32:00,840 --> 00:32:03,240 month since the previous president passed away. 622 00:32:03,760 --> 00:32:07,760 But they speak, and when they speak, they speak literally in 623 00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:10,960 revelatory fashion, and they can speak, according to the Mormons, 624 00:32:11,160 --> 00:32:14,800 the word of God as well. Earlier sections are 625 00:32:14,800 --> 00:32:19,640 contradictory to later sections as Smith receives new guidance 626 00:32:19,640 --> 00:32:21,000 for the dispensation of the church. 627 00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:24,800 For instance, early parts of Doctrine and Covenants says that 628 00:32:24,800 --> 00:32:29,840 polygamy is condemned, but yet later on it is commanded and of 629 00:32:29,840 --> 00:32:32,840 course we know since then it is been condemned again. 630 00:32:32,840 --> 00:32:36,080 So according to Mormon Church, polygamy was condemned, then 631 00:32:36,080 --> 00:32:38,480 commanded, and now condemned again. 632 00:32:39,160 --> 00:32:42,440 Each of the sections includes headings that describe the time 633 00:32:42,440 --> 00:32:47,360 and setting of the revelations and a brief note of explanation. 634 00:32:47,360 --> 00:32:51,000 And so the doctrine of covenants once again is just adding to the 635 00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:55,520 revelations of Joseph Smith as well as revelations of the more 636 00:32:55,560 --> 00:33:00,840 common, or rather more contemporary prophets of today. 637 00:33:01,360 --> 00:33:04,840 And this is where it gets very, very confusing. 638 00:33:04,840 --> 00:33:07,040 And I know it's already been confusing as it is what we've 639 00:33:07,040 --> 00:33:10,560 looked at the last couple weeks. Again, the book, the Bible's not 640 00:33:10,560 --> 00:33:12,040 enough. So we go to the Book of Mormon. 641 00:33:12,240 --> 00:33:13,240 The Book of Mormon is not enough. 642 00:33:13,240 --> 00:33:14,360 We go to the Pearl of great price. 643 00:33:14,360 --> 00:33:15,680 The Pearl of great Price is not enough. 644 00:33:15,920 --> 00:33:17,120 We go to the doctor, the covenant. 645 00:33:17,200 --> 00:33:20,720 And once again, if the current president was to speak in a 646 00:33:20,720 --> 00:33:24,920 revelatory fashion against any of those four books, what the 647 00:33:24,920 --> 00:33:29,800 current president says stands. What the current president says 648 00:33:30,080 --> 00:33:34,680 overrides everything else that has been found in all those 649 00:33:34,680 --> 00:33:37,720 other books. How could this be anything else 650 00:33:37,760 --> 00:33:41,200 other than confusion? How could this be anything other 651 00:33:41,200 --> 00:33:44,920 than being a a Mormon and coming to the place of saying, I don't 652 00:33:44,920 --> 00:33:47,200 even know what we believe is a group. 653 00:33:47,840 --> 00:33:49,200 I don't know what we believe is a church. 654 00:33:49,200 --> 00:33:52,120 Could you imagine coming to church on Sunday and finding out 655 00:33:52,120 --> 00:33:55,160 something that you held dearly as a doctrine for many years, 656 00:33:55,320 --> 00:33:58,480 perhaps your whole life has just been cancelled out because of a 657 00:33:58,480 --> 00:34:01,160 press release put out from Salt Lake City. 658 00:34:02,040 --> 00:34:04,480 You say, well, that's that's you're being a little bit 659 00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:06,920 facetious there. No, I'm being very serious. 660 00:34:07,520 --> 00:34:10,239 So you're exaggerating. There's not an exaggeration that 661 00:34:10,239 --> 00:34:13,520 I'm giving to you. That is exactly what could and 662 00:34:13,520 --> 00:34:16,520 what has happened in the past, including when it talked about 663 00:34:16,520 --> 00:34:20,360 those black brethren that they had in the Mormon church back in 664 00:34:20,360 --> 00:34:23,520 the 1970s. And the public scrutiny upon 665 00:34:23,520 --> 00:34:26,600 them was so heavy that all of a sudden they said, oh, they they 666 00:34:26,600 --> 00:34:28,320 aren't actually the brethren of Satan. 667 00:34:28,920 --> 00:34:32,760 We were confused about that, that when they said that the 668 00:34:32,760 --> 00:34:36,239 Native Americans who came to trust Christ would have their 669 00:34:36,239 --> 00:34:40,400 skin lightened as they believed more and became more righteous, 670 00:34:40,520 --> 00:34:42,159 they had a revelation. No, we were. 671 00:34:42,400 --> 00:34:45,600 We were really confused about that because it wasn't palatable 672 00:34:45,840 --> 00:34:50,560 to modern ears. Listen, when anyone can override 673 00:34:50,560 --> 00:34:52,920 the Word of God, there is no word of God. 674 00:34:53,760 --> 00:34:57,880 When anyone can say the word of God is mistaken, then there is 675 00:34:57,880 --> 00:35:00,120 no word of God. Listen, the Bible makes it 676 00:35:00,120 --> 00:35:02,560 clear, let God be true and every man a liar. 677 00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:05,560 What does that mean? When God speaks then we are the 678 00:35:05,560 --> 00:35:08,360 ones to fall in line. We don't make the word of God 679 00:35:08,360 --> 00:35:11,720 fall in line with us. What does it say In second Peter 680 00:35:11,720 --> 00:35:16,040 chapter one verse 19 we have a more sure word of prophecy. 681 00:35:16,280 --> 00:35:20,360 Whereunto you do well, that you take heed as unto a light that 682 00:35:20,360 --> 00:35:24,360 shineth in a dark place until the day dawn and the day star 683 00:35:24,360 --> 00:35:27,120 ariseth in your hearts. What do we have? 684 00:35:27,240 --> 00:35:29,720 We have a more sure word of prophecy. 685 00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:33,160 Even in the Old Testament when the prophet spoke, they spoke 686 00:35:33,200 --> 00:35:36,200 and it could have been forgotten over time, unless that it was 687 00:35:36,280 --> 00:35:37,880 recorded for us in the Word of God. 688 00:35:38,080 --> 00:35:40,440 But what do we have as a more sure word of prophecy? 689 00:35:40,600 --> 00:35:43,040 We have all 66 books of the Bible. 690 00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:45,600 You realize we have something that Moses didn't have. 691 00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:48,440 We have something that the disciples didn't have, that we 692 00:35:48,440 --> 00:35:51,000 have all of these books recorded for us. 693 00:35:51,200 --> 00:35:53,360 And if you have a question, you don't have to go back in your 694 00:35:53,360 --> 00:35:56,040 memory thanks to try to remember what the prophet said. 695 00:35:56,160 --> 00:35:59,760 We can see the word of God. We believe the word of God, we 696 00:35:59,760 --> 00:36:02,440 trust the word of God. Listen, we don't question the 697 00:36:02,440 --> 00:36:05,640 word of God, you say, But doesn't that make the Christian 698 00:36:05,640 --> 00:36:09,600 Church a cult if we just have this unwavering loyalty to the 699 00:36:09,600 --> 00:36:12,600 word of God? And the answer is no, because 700 00:36:12,800 --> 00:36:16,560 the the difference with us is compared to the cults is that we 701 00:36:16,560 --> 00:36:20,480 are allowed to think on our own. We're allowed to believe on our 702 00:36:20,480 --> 00:36:22,520 own. But as we do, we realize this, 703 00:36:22,520 --> 00:36:25,480 the Word of God is true. The more we get into the Word of 704 00:36:25,480 --> 00:36:27,880 God, the more our mind is open, the more we look at the Word of 705 00:36:27,880 --> 00:36:31,520 God for what it is. The more you dig deeper into the 706 00:36:31,520 --> 00:36:34,000 Mormons or the Jehovah Witnesses, the more you dig into 707 00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:36,920 it, you realize, wow, there's so many contradictions here. 708 00:36:37,080 --> 00:36:40,360 There's so many people speaking. We can't even know if God is 709 00:36:40,360 --> 00:36:43,280 speaking or not. And so as we look at these 710 00:36:43,280 --> 00:36:46,120 things here this morning, I want to encourage you be 711 00:36:46,120 --> 00:36:48,760 knowledgeable about these. I didn't even give you the last 712 00:36:48,760 --> 00:36:49,720 one there. That's the last one. 713 00:36:50,520 --> 00:36:54,760 But being knowledgeable of these books, to witness to a Mormon, 714 00:36:54,880 --> 00:36:57,280 you do not need to know all of these books. 715 00:36:57,960 --> 00:37:00,960 Don't think that you need to buy all three of these to have on 716 00:37:00,960 --> 00:37:03,640 your bookshelf to read so that you could ever witness to a 717 00:37:03,640 --> 00:37:05,280 Mormon. That is not the case. 718 00:37:05,280 --> 00:37:08,800 You can know some very key, some very basic doctrines, even some 719 00:37:08,800 --> 00:37:11,920 of the ones that we have seen over the last few weeks, and you 720 00:37:11,920 --> 00:37:15,360 can know them and use them in a conversation to be able to help 721 00:37:15,360 --> 00:37:19,440 a Mormon understand truly who Jesus Christ is, not the 722 00:37:19,440 --> 00:37:23,360 fabrication of what these books would proclaim about Jesus 723 00:37:23,360 --> 00:37:25,000 Christ. So in saying that, the next time 724 00:37:25,000 --> 00:37:27,400 that we're at our series, we're going to be looking at in a very 725 00:37:27,400 --> 00:37:31,560 concise way, how can we share the gospel with a Mormon? 726 00:37:31,760 --> 00:37:34,840 If someone knocks on your door, if you see him ride on a bicycle 727 00:37:34,840 --> 00:37:38,440 down your street, how are you able to show them the love of 728 00:37:38,560 --> 00:37:41,120 Jesus Christ? How are you able to breakthrough 729 00:37:41,120 --> 00:37:44,920 the noise ways of which they have been programmed over the 730 00:37:44,920 --> 00:37:47,720 many years, of which are the Book of Mormon, the Pearl of 731 00:37:47,720 --> 00:37:49,800 Great Price, and the doctrines and covenants? 732 00:37:49,800 --> 00:37:52,720 We're going to look at those questions coming up here over 733 00:37:52,720 --> 00:37:55,760 the next couple weeks. Thank you for listening to the 734 00:37:55,760 --> 00:37:58,360 sermon from the pulpit of Liberty Baptist Church. 735 00:37:58,800 --> 00:38:01,960 If this message was a blessing to you, or if there's any way we 736 00:38:01,960 --> 00:38:05,120 can serve you, please let us know by contacting us at 737 00:38:05,240 --> 00:38:10,000 info@mylibertybaptist.org. Or you can visit us this Sunday 738 00:38:10,200 --> 00:38:13,880 at 800 Washington St. in Easton, MA. 739 00:38:14,160 --> 00:38:16,960 May the Lord bless you as you grow in His Word.