The Book of Ether Chapter 4 Critique
Setting: Moroni is commanded to
seal up the writings of the brother of Jared—They will not be revealed
until men have faith even as the brother of Jared—Christ commands men
to believe His words and those of His disciples—Men are commanded to
repent, believe the gospel, and be saved.
Verses 1-2: And the Lord
commanded the brother of Jared to go down out of the mount from the
presence of the Lord, and write the things which he had seen; and they
were forbidden to come unto the children of men until after that he
should be lifted up upon the cross; and for this cause did king Mosiah
keep them, that they should not come unto the world until after Christ
should show himself unto his people. And after Christ truly had showed
himself unto his people he commanded that they should be made manifest.
Note: Jesus Christ never showed Himself to pagan Chinese.
After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom
the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.
After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of
all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. 1
Corinthians 15:6-8.
Verses 3-5: And now, after
that, they have all dwindled in unbelief; and there is none save it be
the Lamanites, and they have rejected the gospel of Christ; therefore I
am commanded that I should hide them up again in the earth. Behold, I
have written upon these plates the very things which the brother of
Jared saw; and there never were greater things made manifest than those
which were made manifest unto the brother of Jared. Wherefore the Lord
hath commanded me to write them; and I have written them. And he
commanded me that I should seal them up; and he also hath commanded
that I should seal up the interpretation thereof; wherefore I have
sealed up the interpreters, according to the commandment of the Lord.
Note: Writing in the Far East never occured on plates.
The earliest form of Chinese writing is called the oracle bone script,
used from 1500 to 1000 BCE. This script was etched onto turtle shells
and animals bones, which were then heated until cracks would appear. By
interpretating the pattern of the cracks, Shang court officials would
make divinations of future events, hence giving the name "oracle bones"
to these animal bones. ancientscripts.com
Verses 6-7: For the Lord said
unto me: They shall not go forth unto the Gentiles until the day that
they shall repent of their iniquity, and become clean before the Lord.
And in that day that they shall exercise faith in me, saith the Lord,
even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become sanctified in
me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the brother of
Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations, saith
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of the heavens and of the
earth, and all things that in them are.
Note: Jesus Christ is not both the Father and the Son.
Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said:
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may
glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He
should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is
eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus
Christ whom You have sent. I have glorified You on the earth. I have
finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father,
glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You
before the world was.” John 17:1-5.
Note: The LDS church is considered a non-Christian cult.
Verses 8-10: And he that will
contend against the word of the Lord, let him be accursed; and he that
shall deny these things, let him be accursed; for unto them will I show
no greater things, saith Jesus Christ; for I am he who speaketh. And at
my command the heavens are opened and are shut; and at my word the
earth shall shake; and at my command the inhabitants thereof shall pass
away, even so as by fire. And he that believeth not my words believeth
not my disciples; and if it so be that I do not speak, judge ye; for ye
shall know that it is I that speaketh, at the last day.
Note: Cults will use fear to control its membership.
Cult leadership is feared. To disagree with leadership is the same as
disagreeing with God. The cult leaders will claim to have direct
authority from God to control almost all aspects of your life. If the
cult is not a religious group then questioning the leaders or program
will still be seen as a sign of rebellion and stupidity. cultwatch.com
Note: The LDS church is considered a non-Christian cult.
Verse 11: But he that believeth
these things which I have spoken, him will I visit with the
manifestations of my Spirit, and he shall know and bear record. For
because of my Spirit he shall know that these things are true; for it
persuadeth men to do good.
Note: The Holy Spirit will be a witness of Jesus Christ not of a church.
“But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of
Me.” John 15:26.
Note: The LDS church is considered a non-Christian cult.
Verse 12: And whatsoever thing
persuadeth men to do good is of me; for good cometh of none save it be
of me. I am the same that leadeth men to all good; he that will not
believe my words will not believe me—that I am; and he that will not
believe me will not believe the Father who sent me. For behold, I am
the Father, I am the light, and the life, and the truth of the world.
Note: Jesus Christ is not God the Father.
Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world.
He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of
life.” The Pharisees therefore said to Him, “You bear witness of
Yourself; Your witness is not true.” Jesus answered and said to them,
“Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where
I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from
and where I am going. You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.
And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I
am with the Father who sent Me. It is also written in your law that the
testimony of two men is true. I am One who bears witness of Myself, and
the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.” John 8:12-18.
Note: The LDS church is considered a non-Christian cult.
Verse 13: Come unto me, O ye Gentiles, and I will show unto you the greater things, the knowledge which is hid up because of unbelief.
Note: Greater things is not “hidden knowledge” of a cult church.
Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only
broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making
Himself equal with God. Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most
assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He
sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like
manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He
Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you
may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them,
even so the Son gives life to whom He will. For the Father judges no
one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor
the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son
does not honor the Father who sent Him. John 5:18-23.
Note: The LDS church is considered a non-Christian cult.
Verse 14: Come unto me, O ye
house of Israel, and it shall be made manifest unto you how great
things the Father hath laid up for you, from the foundation of the
world; and it hath not come unto you, because of unbelief.
Note: Cults will proclaim salvation by your works.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed
us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just
as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we
should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined
us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the
good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by
which He made us accepted in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:3-6.
Note: The LDS church is considered a non-Christian cult.
Verse 15: Behold, when ye shall
rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful
state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind, then
shall the great and marvelous things which have been hid up from the
foundation of the world from you—yea, when ye shall call upon the
Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then
shall ye know that the Father hath remembered the covenant which he
made unto your fathers, O house of Israel.
Note: Christian salvation is based on the work of Jesus Christ.
For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are
copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the
presence of God for us; not that He should offer Himself often, as the
high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of
another— He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of
the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put
away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Hebrews 9:24-26.
Note: The LDS church is considered a non-Christian cult.
Verses 16-17: And then shall my
revelations which I have caused to be written by my servant John be
unfolded in the eyes of all the people. Remember, when ye see these
things, ye shall know that the time is at hand that they shall be made
manifest in very deed. Therefore, when ye shall receive this record ye
may know that the work of the Father has commenced upon all the face of
the land.
Note: Sidney Rigdon forgot that John’s Revelation was still future.
The bulk of traditional sources date the book to the reign of the
emperor Domitian (AD 81-96), and the evidence tends to confirm this.
Wikipedia Encyclopedia.
Note: The LDS church is considered a non-Christian cult.
Verse 18: Therefore, repent all
ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and believe in my gospel, and
be baptized in my name; for he that believeth and is baptized shall be
saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned; and signs shall
follow them that believe in my name.
Note: Sidney Rigdon plagiarized the Holy Bible.
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to
every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he
who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow
those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will
speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink
anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on
the sick, and they will recover.” Mark 16:15-18.
Note: Sidney Rigdon plagiarized of portion Scripture that is not original.
The earliest complete manuscripts of Mark – Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, and,
with gaps, Alexandrinus – date from the 4th century. These end at Mark
16:8, with the women fleeing in fear from the empty tomb: the majority
of recent scholars believe this to be the original ending, and this is
supported by statements from the early Church Fathers Eusebius and
Jerome. Wikipedia Encyclopedia.
Note: The LDS church is considered a non-Christian cult.
Verse 19: And blessed is he
that is found faithful unto my name at the last day, for he shall be
lifted up to dwell in the kingdom prepared for him from the foundation
of the world. And behold it is I that hath spoken it. Amen.
Note: Christianity is focused on Jesus Christ not a kingdom.
And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according
to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay
here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible
things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by
tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as
of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained
before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last
times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the
dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. 1
Peter 1:17-21.
Note: The LDS church is considered a non-Christian cult.
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