Beliefs > Question & Answer > Modern Day Revelation

Question

I am amazed at your knowledge of your religion. Did you have some sort of Biblical Training? My question is in regard to the Articles of Faith 3. How does one know if they have done enough, or are obedient enough? Also, who are the people who decide ones "Authority" to baptize, attend a marriage and such. I have met many people in my life who appeared to be righteous but were not. In fact, the Bible refers to people who "have a form of godliness". My last question is about the Book of Mormon. There are verses in the Bible that state that we should not add to the word of God for example, Deut. 4:2 and Prov. 30: 5-6. Isn't Joseph Smith and all current day prophets adding to the Word of God?

Response

You are kind to suggest that my knowledge of religion is anything special. While I have had no Biblical (formal school of theology) training, it has been my good fortune to have been raised in a household where the study of the scriptures and family discussion about them was commonplace. Additionally, I continue the same practice with my own children and spend time daily studying the scriptures, which I love dearly. Having said that, I thank you for the compliment. Your question was in regard to the third article of faith, which states, "We believe that through the atonement of Christ all mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel." You then asked how one knows if they have done enough or are obedient enough. That is a great question. I will try and answer this as best as I can, even though there’s not a lot of space here to do so. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ instituted all the laws and ordinances of the gospel when He was upon the earth. He organized His church and gave His apostles the authority to administer the ordinances of it. All of the teachings of the apostles found in the scriptures testify of that. In these modern days, we are still blessed with prophets and apostles on the earth who lead and guide us in these matters. One knows that they have done enough, or are obedient enough, as they simply review what the laws of the gospel are. It is my personal belief that when we take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ, it means that we strive as much as possible to take upon ourselves the burdens of others that they might be light, to help those in need as far as we are able, to be Christ-centered and charitable towards all men and women, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all places that we may be in. In other words, if our lives are Christ-centered, we will come to feel peaceful about the quality of our lives. You also asked who the people are who decide who has the authority to baptize and attend temple marriages and such. That is the great blessing of the way that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is organized. Not only is it the same organization that existed in Christ’s church when He was originally upon the earth, but its leaders have the same priesthood authority as was given to Peter, James, and John when the church was organized originally. The ordinances of the gospel (baptism, marriage, healing of the sick, etc.) are performed under the direction of those who hold that priesthood. Your last question was about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith and all current-day prophets are adding to the word of God. You sited Deuteronomy chapter 4 verse 2 and Proverbs chapter 30 verses 5 and 6 as the reason for such concern. If it were true that anybody writing after Moses wrote in the book of Deuteronomy was somehow violating the directive given in the 2nd verse of the 4th chapter of Deuteronomy, then all the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament apostles who wrote all of the rest of the Bible would be "adding" to the book. The actuality is that when Moses wrote Deuteronomy, there was no Bible. The Bible, as we know it, was not compiled until 900 AD. The writings of prophets and apostles were bound up in scrolls of papyrus and kept by the prophets and their associates down through the ages. The compilation into book form did not happen until the Catholic Church had those scriptures formally written and bound into book form. The Book of Mormon does not contradict the Bible in any way. Conversely, it enhances and clarifies many points and is a record of a people who left Jerusalem at 600 BC and lived in the Americas until 400 AD. The Lord’s dealings with them through 15 of their prophets is recorded in the Book of Mormon. It is a second witness for Jesus Christ and contains the fullness of Christ’s gospel. If you haven’t had a chance to read it, I would certainly do that. The Savior said, "By their fruits ye shall know them." If the Book of Mormon is what we claim it to be, and if you read it with a sincere heart, with real intent, and ask the Lord to bless you to know whether those things are true or not, He will provide you with the answers you seek. I hope this is helpful to you. Sincerely, Donny Osmond See related multimedia presentations

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