Fascinatingly, Paul's "inspiration" for writing articles over the last two days seems to have been... me! I was operating under the assumption that Paul received his inspiration from God, as he has said before:
Anyway, I am led to this conclusion because I informed Paul of my first article, and he responded somewhat negatively and with an apparent challenge to write about all of his articles (which was my intent, anyway). After firing off a handful of objections toward Mormon theology, but no real objection to my blog post, Paul said he was going to write some articles talking specifically about things that Mormons deny, seemingly just so I could have the chance to respond to them! We'll run through these in the order Paul wrote them: first, "Jesus on Marriage and Becoming Like Angels"; second, "Jesus Said The Father Is Spirit".
The teaching in Christianity that says there is no marriage in heaven for believers comes from Jesus’s own mouth. The same goes for believers becoming like unto angels in the resurrection. It is written, “the same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother: Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. And last of all the woman died also. Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her. Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.” (Matthew 22:23-30) See also Mark 12:18-27, and Luke 20:27-36.
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Now, Paul has certainly offered his interpretation of the passage. However, I would argue that Paul, like the Sadducees, does "err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God." To quote a very well-read acquaintance of mine:
“Marry” and “given in marriage” are gender specific terms. Men would “marry” a woman. A woman was property of her father or male kinsman, and that would mean that she was “given in marriage”. The context on this passage is the issue of Levirate marriage, which deals with what to do with a childless woman whose husband dies. It solves this by having her marry the next closest male to the dead husband and raising up children in the his name to continue his line and inheritance. It solves the problem that death would sometimes create. The resurrection nullifies the problem of death, so a Levirate marriage has no problem to solve. That’s why Jesus answers as he did.
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Similar things happen in Mormonism, when one man’s wife passes away and he then marries another wife in the temple, like unto his last wife. This same marriage process happens continuously until that man dies also. But in the end, he could have married 3, 4, or even 5 wives, and sealed to each one of them. In Mormon doctrine, this means that he will be with all 3 to 5 wives in heaven. So, instead of holding to what Jesus said that this man won’t be with any of his earthly wives, they deny Jesus and keep to their man-made teachings of the sealing power by way of men holding the priesthood. So what has happened here? They deny the fact that Jesus said there is no marriage in heaven and that only He holds the priesthood, seeing that He is the last high priest with the old covenant laws fulfilled. Also, Mormons hate the fact that we will be like unto angels and instead teach the false doctrine of exaltation to godhood.
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The similarity ends at the shallow idea of remarrying after a spouse has passed. The example provided in Matthew discusses Levirate marriage (which is also an explicit biblical allowance of polygamy), and Paul attempts here to incorrectly conflate this with the LDS teaching on Celestial marriage. As written by one of Paul's LDS friends, Travis:
Celestial marriage occurs before the resurrection. Matthew 22:30 clearly states, "in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven." So, resurrected persons are not able to marry, but this does not preclude those marriages occurring prior to this time.
New Testament Scholar Ben Witherington III has explained:
"The case put forward by the Sadducees is particularly extreme. Not only had six brothers attempted and failed to impregnate the woman in question, but she had also outlived them all and was single when she died. It is perhaps this last fact which prompts the question: Whose spouse will she be in the resurrection?...Jesus stresses that in the age to come people will neither marry nor be given in marriage. Notice what Jesus does not say. He does not say there will be no marriage in the age to come. The use of the terms “γαμουσιν” (gamousin) and “γαμιζονται” (gamizontai) is important, for these terms refer to the gender-specific roles played in early Jewish society by the man and the woman in the process of getting married. The men, being the initiators of the process in such a strongly patriarchal culture, “marry,” while the women are “given in marriage” by their father or another older family member. Thus Mark has Jesus saying that no new marriages will be initiated in the eschatological [resurrection] state. This is surely not the same as claiming that all existing marriages will disappear in the eschatological state.”
Ben Witherington III, The Gospel of Mark: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 2001), 328.
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So do Mormons believe in Jesus? No. If they did, they would also believe and teach what He said. Amen.
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An incredulous blanket statement, here, Paul. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, surprisingly, believe in Jesus. And honestly, the vast majority of members would not only tell you that they believe in Jesus, but that they know He is their Lord and Saviour. This conviction is why Latter-Day Saints believe and teach what He has said not only to those who lived and listened to Him anciently, but also what He has said to the Saints in our day.
The link for article one is here; on to article two:
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One of the worst things for Mormons to deny is that the Father is Spirit, having no body. This is because Jesus taught this. Because their beloved prophet Joseph Smith said the Father has a body of flesh and bones like unto the son, they believe him as if his words are scripture. In doing this, they are denying Jesus, who is God, at the same time. Out of the mouth of our Lord Jesus, it is written, “but the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23,24) Jesus is speaking to the woman at the well and tells her that true worshippers worship the Father in Spirit, for He is Spirit. Jesus then helps Thomas know how this is possible when He explains how the Father dwells in Him, being Spirit. Jesus said, “believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.” (John 14:10) Why is this hard to believe what Jesus said? I believe in Jesus in so much as to also believe what He says about His Father being Spirit.
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My blogging inspiration, Robert Boylan (who Paul has coincidentally scheduled two debates with, and refused to show to either one), has written responses to others that hold this objection and has other resources linked throughout his blog, regarding the LDS theology on divine embodiment (God has a body):
Lynn Wilder vs. Latter-day Saint (and Biblical) Theology on Divine Embodiment
D. Charles Pyle on Hosea 11:9 (cf. Numbers 23:19)"
The same way the Holy Spirit dwells in us, the Father dwells in the Son being Spirit. And to top it off, Jesus explained to his disciples that there are spiritual beings that have no bodies. This is when Jesus appeared to them after his resurrection. It is written, “behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.” (Luke 24:39,40) Therefore, there are spiritual beings like the Father and the Holy Spirit, which have no body. This is necessary for the Holy Spirit to dwell in many people at once. It is also necessary for the Father to dwell in His Son also, in that He may be remote from Him. And so the Father manifests His Spirit in a remote fashion as the Holy Spirit does with us. They do not have flesh and bones but a Spirit only, which allows their Spirits to become one with us. True worshippers of God know that the Father is Spirit, and they worship Him in spirit and truth. Our own spirits in us become one with the Father in this way. Why do Mormons deny this teaching from Jesus? It is because they hate the doctrine of the Trinity, which this supports. Amen.
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Paul recently engaged in a debate with Jacob Hansen of the channel, Thoughtful Faith. Paul attempted to utilize this way of thinking in that debate as a proof for the doctrine of the Trinity, but was entirely unable to support it in the face of refutation. For that debate, see here.
Also, Paul (incorrectly) uses a lot of strong, negative words to describe the way that Latter-Day Saints think. We do not "hate" the doctrine of the Trinity. We simply do not believe in the Trinity as described by creedal Christianity. Rather, we believe in a doctrine referred to as the Godhead, a summary of which may be read here.
Paul's second article may be found here.
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