Testing the words of LDS leaders with Biblical Truth:
February 2012
Preparing for Exaltation Teacher’s Manual
* What happens when we die (pages 35-36):
Note to teacher: …People who were not able to hear the gospel on earth will receive an opportunity to hear it in the spirit world.
• Where do we go when we die? …Taken home to God,’ simply means that their mortal existence has come to an end, and they have returned to the world of spirits, where they are assigned to a place according to their works with the just or with the unjust, there to await the resurrection…” Our Righteousness on Earth Determines Our Place in the Spirit World… Have class members read… Alma 40:12–14. Explain that people who have accepted the gospel of Jesus Christ and lived righteously are assigned to a state of happiness known as paradise. People who have rejected the gospel and people who have died without a knowledge of the truth are assigned to a state of darkness called spirit prison, sometimes called hell.
Test these LDS Words with Biblical Truth:
These words are false! The moment an unbeliever dies, so does their hope. All who reject God in this world are without excuse:
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:18-20)
Just because LDS leaders claim that we will be given more time to work out our salvation after we die; that does not make it truth. Truth becomes reality at the moment of death.
God’s truth, the truth of the Bible, is this: At the moment of death, your fate is sealed. If you are found to be righteous, you will dwell forever with God in the highest degree of glory. If you are not righteous, you will be sent to Hell, the same domain as Satan. You will remain in Hell for eternity.
“When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish: and the hope of unjust men perisheth.” Proverbs 11:7
“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Hebrews 9:27-28
“Praise ye the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul. 2 While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being. 3 Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. 4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish. 5 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God: 6 Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever” Psalm 146:1-6
“Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” Ecclesiastes 12:7-14
There is no better picture showing the finality of death than the story Jesus told, recorded in the 16th Chapter of Luke. Here, Christ teaches the truth! When a person dies, they cannot pass between the world of Hell and the world of Paradise, as the Mormons call it. Jesus told this story and it clearly shows that once you die, your fate is sealed:
“And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” Luke 16:22-31
To read more about God’s truth about death, go to this blog Post: “Are You Afraid of Death?” written May 20, 2009; or, Click here:
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* Preaching to the Spirits in Prison (hell) (page 36-37):
Explain that during the three days after he was crucified, Jesus Christ visited the righteous in paradise. Have class members read… 1 Peter 3:18–20 [For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.]
• What did Christ do among the spirits in paradise? Have class members read and mark Doctrine and Covenants 138:29–34. [29 And as I wondered, my eyes were opened, and my understanding quickened, and I perceived that the Lord went not in person among the wicked and the disobedient who had rejected the truth, to teach them; 30 But behold, from among the righteous, he organized his forces and appointed messengers, clothed with power and authority, and commissioned them to go forth and carry the light of the gospel to them that were in darkness, even to fall the spirits of men; and thus was the gospel preached to the dead. 31 And the chosen messengers went forth to declare the acceptable day of the Lord and proclaim liberty to the captives who were bound, even unto all who would repent of their sins and receive the gospel. 32 Thus was the gospel preached to those who had died in their sins, without a knowledge of the truth, or in transgression, having rejected the prophets.]
“Now that the righteous spirits in paradise have been commissioned to carry the message of salvation to the wicked spirits in hell, there is a certain amount of mingling together of the good and bad spirits. Repentance opens the prison doors to the spirits in hell; it enables those bound with the chains of hell to free themselves from darkness, unbelief, ignorance, and sin. As rapidly as they can overcome these obstacles—gain light, believe truth, acquire intelligence, cast off sin, and break the chains of hell—they can leave the hell that imprisons them and dwell with the righteous in the peace of paradise.”
Test these LDS Words with Biblical Truth:
The Apostle Peter tells us that after Christ was crucified, He went to Spirit Prison to preach to those who were disobedient from the time of Noah. Why would Jesus preach to the spirits in prison if a person’s hope truly perishes once they die? Do these passages contradict the passages that I listed above which say that when a wicked person dies they don’t receive another chance?
Reading the Peter passages in context shows that they certainly don’t support LDS doctrine. The Doctrine and Covenants claims that these words are false–that Jesus did not go to Spirit Prison, but went to Spirit Paradise instead.
Also, LDS doctrine teaches that missionary work is done in spirit prison to reach those who never had a chance to hear the LDS gospel. We see in verse 20 that the people Jesus preached to were from Noah’s time. For over 100 years Noah had already preached to these people and they had refused to believe him. God was so angry with these people that he destroyed them all with a flood:
“And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” (Genesis 6:12-13)
Doing a study of the passages from Peter in their original language helps immensely to understand. Translating from one language to another can cause issues because sometimes words just don’t translate well. I used my computer Bible study program and focused on the word “preached” in chapter 3 verse 19 and then compared that to the word “preached” in chapter 4 verse 6. It’s interesting what I found.
The word “preached” in the passage telling us that Jesus went to prison to preach to the people of Noah’s time means to proclaim like a herald. It means that Jesus went to hell to publicly proclaim his victory by dying on the cross! Preaching to those in hell was not to bring them the good news of salvation through Christ. They had already been given that chance and had rejected the gospel message.
1 Peter 3:19 Greek word for preached:
2784 κηρύσσω [kerusso /kay•roos•so/] 61 occurrences; translates as “preach” 51 times, “publish” five times, “proclaim” twice, “preached + 2258” twice, and “preacher” once. 1 to be a herald, to officiate as a herald. 1A to proclaim after the manner of a herald. 1B always with the suggestion of formality, gravity and an authority which must be listened to and obeyed. 2 to publish, proclaim openly: something which has been done.
Here is 1 Peter 4:6
“For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.”
The word “preached” used in this verse, just nine verses later to state that the gospel WAS preached to those who are now dead means to bring the good news and the message of salvation through Christ!
1 Peter 4:6 Greek word for preach:
2097 εὐαγγελίζω [euaggelizo /yoo•ang•ghel•id•zo/] 55 occurrences; translates as “preach” 23 times, “preach the Gospel” 22 times, “bring good tidings” twice, “show glad tidings” twice, “bring glad tidings” once, “declare” once, “declare glad tidings” once, and translated miscellaneously three times. 1 to bring good news, to announce glad tidings. used in the OT of any kind of good news. of the joyful tidings of God’s kindness, in particular, of the Messianic blessings. in the NT used especially of the glad tidings of the coming kingdom of God, and of the salvation to be obtained in it through Christ, and of what relates to this salvation.
The dead who are being referenced in this passage are not those who are physically dead, but those who are dead spiritually. Comparing this passage to ones from John 5:24-25 explains:
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. 25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.”
Notice that Jesus said “the hour is coming and now is” when the dead shall hear His voice. Jesus said that right now the dead shall hear His voice. Notice in verse 24 that a person who hears His word and believes in God, “is passed from death unto life”. At the very moment a person comes to faith, they are born again. They were spiritually dead, but through faith, they are brought to spiritual and eternal life.
To read more about what happens the moment you die, go to this blog Post: “How Long Will Eternity Last?” written June 3, 2009; or, Click here:
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