Written by John Carson
On February 9, 1831, Joseph Smith claimed that God had given him a revelation regarding forgiveness. In Doctrine and Covenants 42:18 God supposedly gave a revelation through Joseph that:
“. . . he that kills shall not have forgiveness in this world, nor in the world to come.”
And verse 79:
“. . . for remember that he (the killer) hath no forgiveness.”
Yet the Book of Mormon tells us something completely different. In Alma 24:10, it shows God forgiving murderers:
“. . . he hath forgiven us of those our many sins and murders which we have committed.”
When you place the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants side by side on this issue, it equates to contradiction.
After King David confessed that he had sinned against God when he committed adultery and murder, it says in 2 Samuel 12:13:
“The Lord also hath put away thy sin that thou shalt not die.”
To keep to his theology, Joseph Smith changed it to read:
"The Lord also hath not put away thy sin that thou shalt not die." [JST]
That seems to be clearly saying that David shall not die because his sin is not forgiven. If unforgiven sin results in God's blessings, why would anyone seek forgiveness?
The Bible tells us that David was indeed forgiven. The Bible teaches:
“Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” [John 1:30]
”. . . the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sins. . . If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” [1 John 1:7, 9]
“. . . And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” [1 John 2:2]
There is not one sin excluded from God's power to forgive. Jesus Christ's shed blood on the cross was sufficient to pay for all sin. Hebrews 10:10 reads:
“. . . we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
What a contrast that is to what Mormon Doctrine says. On page 93, it reads:
“. . . Joseph Smith taught that there were sins so grievous that men may commit, that they will place the transgressors beyond the power of the atonement of Christ. If these are committed, then the blood of Christ will not cleanse them from their sins even though they repent.”
God says Christ's atonement is sufficient to pay for all sin, including murder; Mormonism says Christ's atonement is not sufficient to pay for all sin. Who are you going to believe?
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Latest comments
14.09 | 00:17
Is it your intent to share your faith with me? I'm a devout Latter-day Saint.
30.06 | 17:21
Let's add, the keys to Death and Hades (Revelation 1:18) the key of David (Rev. 3:7) the key of knowledge (Luke 11:52) and the keys of the kingdom of heaven (Matt.16:19) only given to Simon/Peter.
24.05 | 06:04
Intuitive
10.02 | 23:31
Checked out the great video. 👍 Thumbs up!
The Mormon Religion was officially founded by Joseph Smith Jr. on April 6. 1830 after the Book of Mormon (BOM) was published in that same year.
Joseph Smith Jr. was born in Vermont on December 23, 1805. He claimed that when he was 14, he received a vision from God the Father and Jesus Christ in a grove of trees near his home where he received instructions not to join any of the Christian churches because they were all wrong.
Three years later, Smith claimed that an angel named Moroni (a character found in the BOM) appeared to him in his bedroom whom he said revealed to him that he was selected to translate "Reformed Egyptian" (a language that does not exist) from gold plates into old English. These plates were supposedly hidden near Palmyra, New York and are said to be written around the 4th century. The BOM was named after Moroni’s father, Mormon. Mormons view the BOM as sacred. No one is able to study the original plates because Joseph Smith claimed the angel took them back on May 2, 1838 (History of the Church 1:60).
Smith had a scribe named Cowdery. Smith did not actually translate directly from any plates. Rather, in his writings, he said he placed a "seer stone" in a hat and covered any light from entering it as he placed his face in the hat. According to Martin Harris, “By aid of the seer stone, sentences would appear and were read by the Prophet . . . , and when finished he would say, ‘Written,’ and if correctly written, that sentence would disappear and another appear in its place, but if not written correctly it remained until corrected,” Smith said, “By the power of God I translated the Book of Mormon from hieroglyphics".
Despite such methods of translation, there have been at least 3,913 changes made in the BOM from the time it was first published. Joseph Smith stated, “I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.” Smith also claimed that John the Baptist appeared to him on May 15, 1829 while he was translating the BOM, and instructed him to restore the church by preaching the only true gospel.
Mormons regard the BOM as sacred writings, and view it in higher standing than that of the Holy Bible. Mormon Missionaries will ask you to pray that it is true. (See our page Pray to Know)