Prop 8

Recently the Church has been question about exercising its constitutional rights to express its political views on the issue of same-sex marriage. As the church indicated on its website, it is well within its constitutional rights to express its view. The following websites have some great info for those who are wondering what the Church's official stance on this issue is.

http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/same-sex-marriage-and-proposition-8

http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/church-issues-statement-on-proposition-8-protest

http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/church-responds-to-same-sex-marriage-votes

Is the Book of Mormon and addition to the Bible?

No, it is not. Many times we see this argument made based on scriptures found in the Book of Revelation.

1. Rev. 22: 18
   18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall ^aadd unto these things, God shall add unto him the ^bplagues that are written in this book: (http://scriptures.lds.org/en/search?type=references&last=Rev.+22&help=&ro=checked&search =Rev.+22%3A18%0D%0A&do=Search&show=%0D%0A%0D%0A)

I believe that this scripture is true. I believe that no man can endeavor to add to or take away from the word of God through his own decision. This would desecrate the scriptural text. I will make my argument using two approaches. 1. God calls good men to act as prophets, and these prophets receive revelation from God and write it down. This is the source of scripture. 2. There are other places where God commanded men to not add to his word, he did not only do so in the last chapter of the New Testament.

1. According to Christians, God is unchanging. He is the same from eternity to eternity. Mormons (or members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) take this literally. We truly believe that God does not change. He has a pattern by which he teaches his children on earth. He calls a prophet, reveals truth to this prophet, and the prophet teaches the truth to the people. We believe that God has not stopped this process. Given that he is constant and unchanging, he still calls prophets today who receive revelation and write it down.

The Book of Mormon is the ancient record of prophets that lived in the Americas (http://mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/basic-beliefs/the-restoration-of-truth/the-book-of-mormon). This book was written in the same way the Bible was written. God gave revelation to prophets, and these prophets wrote down what God gave to them. It is not an addition to the Bible, but another testament of Christ that does the same thing as the Bible: testify of Christ.

In modern times, God called another prophet, and commanded him to translate this ancient record in to English. This prophet was Joseph Smith (http://mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/basic-beliefs/the-restoration-of-truth/the-restoration-of-the-gospel). Just as in ancient times, God called Joseph as a prophet to do His work on earth. Joseph translated the Book of Mormon, and also received other revelations. These he wrote down, just as prophets have always done since the beginning of time (http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/contents). Thus we see that men can't add to God's word, but God can. It is his word, he can do whatever he pleases with His own word. The Bible does not put constraints on God, rather it is a glimpse into the works of the Almighty. To say that God has changed and no longer reveals his word to prophets, or to say that God cannot add to his own word by way of continued revelation is false doctrine.

2. Many of those who use Revelations 22:18 as an argument against God revealing any further scripture take the verse to mean that any scripture revealed after that particular statement would be invalid. To take this position in a literaly, we might then say that verses 19-21 of the same chapter can have no place in the Bible, given that they were added on after this verse was written.

This argument seems silly. Let us look at a more extreme case. Buried in the Old Testament we find this interesting verse:

1. Deut. 4: 2
   2 Ye shall not ^aadd unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. (http://scriptures.lds.org/en/search?type=words&last=Deut+%3A2&help=&wo=checked& search=Deut+4%3A2&do=Search&iw=scriptures&tx=checked&af=checked&hw=checked&sw=checked
   

If we apply the same logic as we applied with the Rev. 22:18 argument, we must reject any scripture that follows this verse as well. This means that we must reject the majority of the Old Testament, and the entire New Testament. According to this argument, what follows this verse cannot be God's word because it was "added" to scripture after God had explicitly commanded that the people not add to his word.

As far as I understand, the New Testament as we have it today is the compilation of many of the letters and writings of the Apostles. It was written down on many different scrolls, and copied several times over the centuries. It wasn't until hundreds of years after the resurrection of Christ and after much of the Christian persecutions that the writings that had survived were put together into a book form. This would support the fact that John was indicating that no man should add to the specific revelation that he was receiving at the time, given that the New Testament was compiled years after he had received this revelation on the Isle of Potmos. This argument intrigues me, and I intend to do more research on the subject.

Then why do we have more scripture? Again... because God calls prophets and reveals his will to them, and hey obey. They write down what he tells them to write down. God is unchanging and constant. The Book of Mormon is not a man made addition to the Bible, rather it is evidence that God continues to reveal his word to prophets, just as he did after Deut. 4:2, and just as he always will.

Jesus and satan

Recently there have been many people who have been concerned with the fact that some Mormons hold that Jesus and satan are brothers. In response to this I will do my best to hold to what most Christians in general believe... or at least to what they say to believe. I refer to the Bible, and to the fact that God is the almighty creator of all things.

As far as I understand, God created all things, including every individual who has ever existed. In what we refer to as the premortal existance (http://scriptures.lds.org/en/tg/m/25) God gave every individual that he created agency, or the ability to choose for themselves. God's creations included Jesus, me, you, and even lucifer, or who we now refer to as satan (http://scriptures.lds.org/en/bd/d/35). Lucifer used his agency to choose to not follow God's plan. He rebelled against God, and was cast out of Heaven. Let me provide some scriptural references to this event.

1. Isa. 14: 12-15
   12 How art thou ^afallen from ^bheaven, O ^cLucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the ^dnations!
   13 For thou hast said in thine ^aheart, ^bI will ascend into heaven, I will ^cexalt my ^dthrone above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the ^enorth:
   14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the ^amost High.
   15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to ^ahell, to the sides of the pit. (http://scriptures.lds.org/en/search?search=Isaiah+14%3A12-15&do=Search)
2. Rev. 12: 7-9
   7 And there was ^awar in heaven: ^bMichael and his ^cangels fought against the dragon; and the ^ddragon fought and his angels,
   8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in ^aheaven.
   9 And the great dragon was ^acast out, that old serpent, called the ^bDevil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (http://scriptures.lds.org/en/search?search=Rev+12%3A7-9&do=Search)

The word brothers is taken to mean many different things to different people. When individuals proceed to dismiss the church as false because some members hold that Jesus and satan are brothers, it appears that they are using the word "brothers" to mean "one in purpose and desire." Obviously Jesus and satan are complete opposites when it comes to their purposes and desires. Jesus wants us to live with God again, he loves us so much that he gave his life for us, in order that we might have the opportunity to live with God again. On the other hand, satan wants us to suffer and to be eternally miserable like he is. Mormons do not believe that Jesus and satan have the same purpose.

Jesus and satan are brothers if you use the word "brothers" to signify "having been created by the same source." They are brothers the same way that Eskimos and Englishmen are brothers... they were both created by God, and they were both given agency to choose to do as they desired.

My question to those who dismiss both this fact and what the bible teaches in regards to this subject is: Where did satan come from? Isn't God the creator of ALL things? Could satan have spontaneously come into existence?