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Personally, I think that is well said.
You went on to say "We can turn to scripture to see what it says about the qualifications of a prophet." Then begin to take the list and match it
against those who are held up as prophets. If the prophets don't meet the qualifications then they are false prophets and anything they teach
contrary to scripture is also false. Again, I agree.
You went on to say if Joseph Smith, of the Mormons, or any other self proclaimed prophet failed the biblical test, then their so called revelations
are a lie and you referred me to the book of Deuteronomy, specifically chapter 13: 1-5 and chapter 18: 20-22.
Joseph Smith does not fail this test because he speaks for God, just as Moses did. You will know this is true by reading his story and by reading
the Book of Mormon and praying with real intent about it's content. To do less indicates to me that you seek only "intellectual understanding" but
not the real truth. This is just my assumption, so please don't get defensive.
In an effort to discredit Joseph as a prophet you cited a scripture found in D&C, section 84: 1-5 & 31, I presume that you use this as an illustration
of unfulfilled prophecy since there has not yet been any temple built at that location. The thing that you must remember is:
1.The Lord's timetable is not always clear to mortal men.
2.This is the generation of the fullness of times and has been so designated by the Lord through his prophets. The word generation as used
in that scripture, does not mean a generation in twenty years, but refers to these last days. The generation of the fullness of times will end
at the Second Coming of the Savior. Before His coming that temple will absolutely be built, for the Lord said that it would be when He
spoke the words to the Prophet Joseph Smith. I firmly believe that.
Further on in your letter you asked me "If I know that Joseph Smith used a divining stone and carried an occult Jupiter talisman around his neck."
You further told me that "it's in the history of Joseph Smith, I read it and researched it as well. It's not made up or in any hate-mongers book. It's
in the history books."
I would be grateful if you would send me the name of the book, author and the date of publishing and the name of the publishing company. In all
my study of the history of the church and the history of the Prophet of Joseph Smith, I have never read that.
You said further "If their test for "Prophethood" revolves around the biblical injunction, not to add or take away from scripture. You then cited
Deuteronomy chapter 4:2 and Revelations 22:18 &19 and lay source to so prove. To clarify, the book of Deuteronomy which was not a book in the
Old Testament when it was written, neither was the book of Revelations a book in the New Testament when it was written, these prophetic
utterances by Moses and John the apostle where written on the Papyrus scrolls and handed down over the centuries until the Bible was finally
printed in book form in approximately 900 AD. The "books" spoken of here are the specific books of Deuteronomy and Revelations, they are not
the Bible itself since the Bible was not existent at the time these books were written.
Your following sentence was "The Bible is God's complete and final revelation so any other religious writing claiming to have the same or greater
authority of scripture is a false revelation, not from God."
Since you have a Book of Mormon will you please turn to 2nd Nephi chapter 29 and read versus 1 - 14 because the answer to your question is
found there. The word of God to you, regarding that question, is stated explicitly. If I were you I would not only study that chapter, but I would pray
and ask God if it were true, and if you do so with a sincere heart, with real intent, sincerely wanting to know the answer, I repeat, SINCERELY
wanting to know the answer, he will manifest the truth of it unto you by the power of the Holy spirit.
You state a final test to determine if a prophet is from God, is to "Compare his revelation of Jesus with the Jesus described in the Bible. I can live
with that statement because we teach from the Bible the very same Jesus Christ as you have identified. He came to the earth as God's son in the
meridian of time, two thousand years ago. He taught His doctrine and established His church during His brief three-year ministry. He was falsely
accused and crucified. He was laid to rest in a garden tomb, and came forth a resurrected being on the morning of the third day. He is our Savior
and our Redeemer. He is our advocate with the Father and He atoned for our sins by His willingness to suffer for us. He truly is the Only Begotten
Son of God in the flesh and it is to Him whom we look to learn the truth of all things.
In a following sentence you said, "If God inspired other prophets to write about Jesus, He certainly would not contradict His revelation of Christ in
the New Testament. This is the case in scripture. The Jesus of the New Testament fits perfectly with the Jesus prophesied by various Old
Testament prophets. In a similar way, if Jesus revealed Himself in other writings He would be the same Jesus that we find in the Bible."
Absolutely true, and He would also reveal any misstatements about Himself, if any, caused by errors of those who translated the original writings
of prophets and apostles.
You then said "However, from learning more and more about LDS and reading the Book of Mormon myself the case is that it does not bear
witness to the Jesus of scripture. It rejects Him as part of the triune Godhead."
First of all, I need to ask a question. Where does it say anywhere in scriptures the words "triune Godhead"? That is a Protestant saying which
does not come from the Bible, but I am aware that you believe that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one individual essence and that
through some mysterious way God manifests Himself as one or the other as suits the occasion.
Your last statement was followed by "The Apostle John warns in 1st John chapter 4: 1-2 that many false prophets will go into the world but he
assures us that we can know if they come from God because they will confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh."
Your quotation from 1st John was given specifically by John in his epistle to the Jews who in spite of all they have heard and seen from Jesus
Christ, were still looking for the Messiah to come after having rejected Him when He did come. They of course would not believe or recognize Him
and John bore testimony that He had already come to them in the flesh.
You then said "In other words, Jesus is God incarnate (in bodily form)."
I can understand why you believe that since much of the Christian world does. But to respond I would simply go to the scriptures of the Bible and
examine Matthew chapter 3: 16-17 (the baptism of Christ where Jesus is standing in the River Jordan and the Father speaks from the heavens
"This is my beloved Son whom I am well pleased"). John 17: 9-11 (Christ praying to His Father in the garden of Gethsemane and asking that the
apostles be made "one" even as He and His Father are one." We can see that what was being asked here was not that the apostles be made one
person in essence but that they be made one in their purpose and in their direction and in their focus to spread the word and build the kingdom.
John 17: 20-23 (Christ is praying for all of us who will ever hear the words of the apostles. As you can see, He is also asking that we all be made
"one". There could not be a stretch of imagination for anyone to believe that He meant one in body, but rather one in purpose, one in focus, and
one in faith. Acts chapter 7:55-56 where the great missionary Stephen was being stoned to death for preaching Jesus Christ as he testifies that
he "sees the heavens open and sees the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God." If they were the same person, he would of said: I see the
heavens and God himself standing there. The scripture tells us that when he looked into heaven he saw them both as separate and distinct
individuals. Paul testifies about that in Hebrews chapter 1:1-3 which states clearly that when Christ finished His earthly mission He took His place
on the right hand of the Majesty on high. If Jesus and God our Heavenly Father where the same being, Paul would have said when He finished His
work on the earth that He himself became the majesty on high. He did not say that. It clearly identifies that Jesus has His royal place at the right
hand of God our Heavenly Father. The scriptures are replete with countless references to the fact that Jesus Christ is the "Only Begotten Son of
God in the flesh".
For clarification sake I referenced your quote that "the author of Hebrews put himself in apostolic company when he said that the gospel was
confirmed to us by those who heard." Just to clarify, the author of the book of Hebrew is the apostle Paul, according to the King James version of
the Bible, and was written about 60 AD.
You went on to say that "An apostle or a companion of an apostle (writing from an apostles personal account) could write a book and have it
accepted as canonical. I must say that no writings could gain such acceptance if they were composed after the death of the twelve apostles."
All of Paul's epistles, which are recorded in the Bible, were written between 50 and 65 AD according to the Bible dictionary. The major biblical
scholars are in agreement of that, since we know that all of the apostles, including Paul, met violent deaths and all were killed one by one over the
years after they went out in to the world to preach the gospel. What should we think about all that Paul has written, or even half of what he has
written? What scholar or intellectual philosopher can guide us on that? When you read the Book of Mormon, you either missed all together Moroni
10:4-5 or you chose to dismiss it as irrelevant based on your own preconceived notions the answer about authenticity can not be determined by
any set of intellectual pursuits. It can only be determined as stated in Moroni chapter 10:4-5. Additionally I would say your supposition that the
cannon of scripture came only from the apostles and prophets of the Old and New Testament. The Old and New Testament geography, limits the
power and authority and revealability of God (again, see 2nd Nephi chapter 29 for clarification).
Further on in your letter, you said "Is it dynamic? The book was not accepted as scripture if it lacked the power to change peoples lives." You
referred to 2nd Timothy and Hebrews chapter 4:12. You went on to say "God's words move people away from sin and towards lives of holiness."
And concluded by saying "Throughout that past two thousand years these promises have been born out in the experiences of millions of
Christians, no other book in the world can or has effected so many lives in such a positive and dramatic and positive fashion as the Bible.
I absolutely agree, and agreeing with your own statement, I add that the Book of Mormon has done the same thing. Since the restoration of the
church in 1830, there are more than eleven million members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the earth today who bear
witness of that dynamic change in their own lives. As a matter of interest, at the rate that the church is growing today, by the year 2050 there will
be more than 250 million people on the earth who will bear that same solemn testimony of the truthfulness and dynamic change it has brought
into their own lives.
You concluding paragraph said; "Therefore it's virtually inconceivable that an alleged lost book would be discovered that belongs in the Bible, nor is
there any reason to suspect that any new revelation will come for inclusion in scripture. God would not inspire written revelation to guide His
church by His mandates for nearly two thousand years and suddenly reveal additional truths that expand on or contradict His previous
revelations."
We have not said that this "lost book" belongs in the Bible. In fact, it absolutely does not belong in the Bible. It is a second witness that
Jesus is the Christ. It is the "stick of Joseph" spoken of in Ezekiel 37:15-19. The Bible is the "stick of Judah". The words of the prophets where
written on papyrus which were then rolled up on "sticks". Those papyrus rolls where handed down until 900 AD when the Bible was first printed in
book form. There is no contradiction of the Bible by the Book of Mormon. There is some clarification, which blesses and guides our lives. Again, I
would refer you to *2nd Nephi 29 for the whole and entire rationale and word of the Lord on this subject, and again I repeat that if you do not believe
after studying this, ask in humble prayer for its truthfulness. If you are unwilling to do that you do not seek truth, you only seek agreement. The
scriptures are also replete with the experience of those that do not seek truth but only agreement, and to their great disappointment, where unable
to find truth as a result.
* 2nd Nephi 29 http://scriptures.lds.org/2_ne/29
The essential necessity is found in James 1:5-6. Read that with Moroni 10:4-5 and you will know how to learn the truth of all things.
Sincerely,
Donny Osmond
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