Explorations Class #18
The "Virgin Birth"
The Mormon Plan of Salvation: Part II
In our previous session we discussed the Mormon
teaching that Jesus is the physical son of God the Father in the
spirit world. We also discussed how Mormons believe that Jesus
and Lucifer are brothers. Now we proceed to explore the LDS doctrine
of the physical birth of Christ.
"God the Father is a perfected, glorified,
holy Man, and immortal Personage. And Christ was born into the
world as the literal son of this Holy Being; he was born in the
same personal, real, and literal sense that any mortal son is born
to a mortal father. There is nothing figurative about his paternity;
he was begotten, conceived and born in the normal and natural course
of events, for he is the son of God, and that designation means
what it says . . . Christ is the Son of Man, meaning that his Father
(the Eternal God!) is a Holy Man." (Bruce R. McConkie, LDS
Apostle, Mormon Doctrine, p. 742)
"Christ was begotten by an Immortal Father
in the same way that mortal men are begotten by mortal fathers." (Bruce
R. McConkie, LDS Apostle, Mormon Doctrine, p. 547)
"The fleshly body of Jesus required a
Mother as well as a Father. Therefore, the Father and Mother of
Jesus, according to the flesh, must have been associated together
in the capacity of Husband and Wife; hence the Virgin Mary must
have been, for the time being, the lawful wife of God the Father:
we us the term lawful Wife, because it would be blasphemous in
the highest degree to say that He overshadowed her or begat the
Saviour unlawfully. It would have been unlawful for any man to
have interfered with Mary, who was already espoused to Joseph;
for such heinous crime would have subjected both the guilty parties
to death, according to the law of Moses. But God, having created
all men and women, had the most perfect right to do with his own
creation, according to His holy will and pleasure: He had a lawful
right to overshadow the Virgin Mary in the capacity of a husband,
and beget a Son, although she was espoused to another; for the
law which He gave to govern men and women was not intended to govern
Himself, or to prescribe rules for his own conduct." (Brigham
Young, 2nd Prophet of the LDS Church, The Seer, p. 158)
1. According to the LDS Church, who was the father
of the incarnate Jesus, and in what manner was this achieved?
2. Who does the Bible say is the father of the incarnate
Jesus, and how was it accomplished? (Matt 1:18, Luke 1:35)
3. Notice Brigham Young's statement above. What
limitations does the LDS Church place on God, who, according to them,
is all-powerful? Is God required to follow the law or not?
4. How does the Bible describe the law? (Psalm 19:7-8,
James 1:25, Rom 7:12) Would a perfect and holy God not observe the
law?
"And behold, he shall be born of Mary,
at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers, she being a
virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed
and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a
son, yea, even the Son of God." Alma 7:10
5. Is Jesus the son of a virgin? (Matt 1:23, 25,
Luke 1:34) What does this LDS doctrine do to the Bible and the BOM
(Remember Article of Faith #8!)?
"The atonement of Jesus Christ is of a
twofold nature. Because of it, all men are redeemed from mortal
death and the grave, and will rise in the resurrection to immortality
of the soul. Then again, by obedience to the laws and ordinances
of the gospel, man will receive remission of individual sins, through
the blood of Christ, and will inherit exaltation in the kingdom
of God, which is eternal life." (Joseph Fielding Smith, Prophet
of the LDS Church, Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. 1, p. 123)
"Unconditional or general salvation, that
which comes by grace alone without obedience to gospel law, consists
in the mere fact of being resurrected. In this sense salvation
is synonymous with immortality; . . . Conditional or individual
salvation, that which comes by grace coupled with gospel obedience,
consists of receiving an inheritance in the celestial kingdom of
God . . .
"Salvation in its true and full meaning
is synonymous with exaltation or eternal life and consists in gaining
an inheritance in the highest of the three heavens within the celestial
kingdom. With few exceptions, this is the salvation of which the
scriptures speak. . . This full salvation is obtained in and through
the continuation of the family unit in eternity, and those who
obtain it are gods. (D&C 131:1-4; 132) . . .
"Immortality is a free gift and comes
without works or righteousness of any sort; all men will come forth
in the resurrection because of the atoning sacrifice of Christ
(1 Cor 15:22)
"In and of itself the resurrection is
a form of salvation meaning that men are thereby saved from death,
hell, the devil, and endless torment . . . In this sense, the mere
fact of resurrection is called salvation by grace alone. . . Salvation
in the celestial kingdom of God, however, is not salvation by grace
alone. Rather, it is salvation by grace coupled with obedience
to the laws and ordinances of the gospel." (Bruce R. McConkie,
LDS Apostle, Mormon Doctrine, pp. 669-671)
6. Are any excluded from immortality in the LDS
scheme of things? Describe the three levels of salvation.
"But if it be not built upon my gospel,
and is built upon the works of men, or upon the works of the devil,
verily I say unto you they have joy in their works for a season,
and by and by the end cometh, and they are hewn down and cast into
the fire, from whence there is no return.
"For their works do follow them, for it
is because of their works that they are hewn down; therefore remember
the things that I have told you.
"Behold I have given unto you my gospel,
and this is the gospel which I have given unto you -- that I came
into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent
me.
"And my Father sent me that I might be
lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon
the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been
lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father,
to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be
good or whether they be evil -
"And for this cause have I been lifted
up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw
all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their works.
"And it shall come to pass, that whoso
repenteth and is baptized in my name shall be filled; and if he
endureth to the end, behold, him will I hold guiltless before my
Father at that day when I shall stand to judge the world.
"And he that endureth not unto the end,
the same is he that is also hewn down and cast into the fire, from
whence they can no more return, because of the justice of the Father." 3
Nephi 27:11-17 (see also Mosiah 3:24-27, 2 Nephi 28:22-23, Alma
34:32-35)
7. Does the LDS view of the afterlife match with
the teaching of the BOM (remember AoF #8)?
8. Will all men receive immortality? (Matt 10:28,
1 Thess 4:13-17, Rev 20:6, 14-15) Does the Bible teach anything about
different levels of salvation?
"Full salvation is attained by virtue
of knowledge, truth, righteousness, and all true principles. .
. Without the atonement, the gospel, the priesthood, and the sealing
power, there would be no salvation. . . Salvation in the celestial
kingdom of God, however, is not salvation by grace alone. Rather,
it is salvation by grace coupled with obedience to the laws and
ordinances of the gospel." (Bruce R. McConkie, LDS Apostle,
Mormon Doctrine, pp. 669-671)
"For we labor diligently to write,
to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in
Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by
grace that we are saved, after all we can do." 2 Nephi 25:23
9. Is there anything that we can do to "promote" our
standing in heaven? (Matt 20:16, Mark 9:35)
"If you would become a son or a daughter
of God and an heir of the kingdom, then you must go to the house
of the Lord and receive blessings which there can be obtained and
which cannot be obtained elsewhere; and you must keep those commandments
and those covenants to the end. . . you must receive certain key
words as well as make covenants by which you are able to enter.
"Another thing that we must not forget
in this great plan of redemption and exaltation, is that a man
must have a wife, and a woman a husband, to receive the fullness
of exaltation. They must be sealed for time and for all eternity
in a temple; then their union will last forever. . .
"No man shall receive the fulness of eternity,
of exaltation, alone; no woman shall receive that blessing alone;
. . . No man can obtain that exaltation without receiving the covenants
that belong to the priesthood." (Joseph Fielding Smith, Prophet
of the LDS Church, Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. 2, pp. 40-44)
"Baptism is the gate to the celestial
kingdom, . . . hosts of people live and die without ever entering
in at the gate of baptism, so as to be on the path leading to eternal
life. For them a just God has ordained baptism for the dead, a
vicarious proxy labor. (D&C 124:28-36; 127; 128, 1 Cor 15:29)
(Bruce R. McConkie, LDS Apostle, Mormon Doctrine, p. 73)
"The greatest responsibility in
this world that God has laid upon us is to seek after our dead." (Joseph
Smith, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, p. 7)
10. What are the essential elements of the LDS gospel
which must be completed for a Mormon to achieve glorification?
11. Jesus satisfied the first element of the LDS
gospel by being baptized. What does the Bible indicate about our
need for baptism? (Mark 10:38-39, Acts 1:5; 11:16, 1 Cor 12:13, 1
Sam 16:7)
12. In the quote above, we see that the LDS Church
promotes vicarious baptism for the dead. Joseph Smith stated that
the most important thing good Mormons could do was to seek after
their dead. 1 Cor 15:29 is the only text which mentions baptism for
the dead. Does this text support the practice? (1 Cor 15:12-29)
"Paul himself was married. Of this there
is no question. He had the sure promise of eternal life; his calling
and election had been made sure - which, according to God's eternal
laws, could not have been unless he had first entered into the
order of celestial marriage." (D&C 131, 132) (Bruce R.
McConkie, LDS Apostle, Mormon Doctrine, p. 119)
"It will be borne in mind that once on
a time, there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and on careful
reading of that transaction, it will be discovered that no less
a person than Jesus Christ was married on that occasion. If he
was never married, his intimacy with Mary and Martha, and the other
Mary also whom Jesus loved, must have been highly unbecoming and
improper to say the best of it." (LDS Apostle Orson Prat,
The Seer, p. 172)
"Gentlemen, that is as plain as the translators,
of different councils over this Scripture, are allow it to go to
the world, but the thing is there; it is told; Jesus was the bridegroom
at the marriage of Cana of Galilee, and he told them what to do
. . . Now there was actually a marriage; and if Jesus was not the
bridegroom on that occasion, please tell me who was. If any man
can show this, and prove that it was not the Savior of the world,
then I will acknowledge that I am in error. We say that it was
Jesus Christ who was married, to be brought into the relation whereby
he could see his seed, before he was crucified." (Jedediah
M. Grant, Apostle of the LDS Church, October 6, 1854, Journal of
Discourses, Vol. 2, p. 82)
13. It is clear that the LDS Church preaches that
Paul and Jesus were married men and had children. This step, required
for exaltation, is read into the scriptures for LDS consistency.
What does Paul say about his marital status? (1 Cor 7:7-9)
14. Is Jedediah Grant in error? (John 2:1-2) Who
is the bride of Christ? (Rev 19:7-8)
"In the early days of this dispensation
(The Dispensation of the Fullness of Times), as part of the promised
restitution of all things, the Lord revealed the principle of plural
marriage to the Prophet. Later the Prophet [Joseph Smith] and leading
brethren were commanded to enter into the practice, which they
did in all virtue and purity of heart despite the consequent animosity
and prejudices of worldly people. After Brigham Young led the saints
to the Salt Lake valley, plural marriage was openly taught and
practiced until the year 1890. At that time conditions were such
that the Lord by revelation withdrew the command to continue the
practice. . . Obviously the holy practice will commence again after
the Second Coming of the Son of Man and the ushering in of the
millennium. (Bruce R. McConkie, LDS Apostle, Mormon Doctrine, p.
578)
The historical fact is that Joseph Smith was quite
a ladies' man, and found his way into many beds with women other
than his wife. (One serious estimate is a total of 50. Others limit
the count to 30.) This was initially done on the sly, and was the
cause of considerable scandal. Eventually he used his position as
charismatic leader of the Mormon community to propound a revelation
that plural marriage was from God. His lieutenants initially were
repulsed by the doctrine, but later came to accept it. The timing
of the suspension of plural marriage (D&C Declaration 1) is suspect,
since at that time Utah was applying for admission as a state, and
polygamy was a serious obstacle to its acceptance.
15. What is the biblical ideal of marriage?
(Gen 2:24, 1 Tim 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6)
"Every person married in the temple for
time and all eternity has sealed upon him, conditioned upon his
faithfulness, all of the blessings of the ancient patriarchs, including
the crowning promise and assurance of eternal increase, which means,
literally, a posterity as numerous as the dust articles of the
earth." (LDS Apostle Bruce R. McConkie, The Millenial Messiah,
p. 264)
"As soon as each God has begotten many
millions of male and female spirits, and his Heavenly inheritance
becomes too small to comfortably accommodate his great family,
he, in connection with his sons, organizes a new world, after a
similar order to the one which we now inhabit, where he sends both
the male and female spirits to inhabit tabernacles of flesh and
bones." (LDS Apostle Orson Prat, The Seer, p. 37)
"What do we mean by endless or eternal
increase? We mean that through the righteousness and faithfulness
of men and women who keep the commandments of God they will come
forth with celestial bodies, fitted and prepared to enter into
their great, high, and eternal glory in the celestial kingdom of
God; and unto them, through their preparation, there will come
children, who will be spirit children. I don't think that is very
difficult to comprehend and understand." (LDS Apostle Melvin
J. Ballard, Three Degrees of Glory, p. 10)
16. What is the nature of the destiny of glorified
man in the LDS scheme of things? Is there any Biblical hint of procreation
in eternity? (Matt 22:23-33, Mark 12:18-27, Luke 20:27-38)
"Now in the nature of things, the law
of sacrifice will have to be restored, or all things which were
decreed by the Lord would not be restored. It will be necessary,
therefore, for the sons of Levi, who offered the blood sacrifices
anciently in Israel, to offer such a sacrifice again to round out
and complete this ordinance in the dispensation. Sacrifice by the
shedding of blood was instituted in the days of Adam and of necessity
will have to be restored." (Joseph Fielding Smith, Prophet
of the LDS Church, Doctrines of Salvation, p. 94)
17. What does the Bible say about future sacrifices?
(Heb 7:22; 9:11-12, 24-28, 2 Cor 5:21)
Think it over: What is the point of Jesus' sacrifice
on the cross if it is necessary to re-institute animal sacrifices?
 
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