You present another false and skewed analysis. Jesus expected the religious leadership during His first advent to recognize who He was because the Tanakh was full of prophecies and references to what would be expected when the promised Messiah arrived. The Jews used a micvah or or mikvah, which was a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve ritual purity at the conversion of gentile believers or for Jews who repented of their sins. The Qumran area had numerous micvahs for frequent ritual cleansings. You display a decided lack of knowledge of both Jewish and early church customs and practices, and you continue to take the scripture out of context, simply because you don't understand the cultural practices that were being referred to in them.
What one believes about the Jewish cultural practices does not preclude the fact there is nothing in the OT about repentance and water baptism for the remission of sins, the gift of the Holy Ghost, etc.--or even any mention of the name Jesus Christ.
The cultural practices of the Jews also have nothing to do with the fact these are truthful testimonies:
Acts 5:31-32---King James Version
31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the
Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
Acts 16:4-5---King James Version
4 And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.
5 And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.
Revelation 7:14-15---King James Version
14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
Those scriptures are only "out of context"--when one attempts to apply them to the theology preached here by the critics. They are just truth to the LDS.
The reason that Rev 7:14-15 can't refer to mormonism is because those spoken of there are in heaven and mormon temples are not in the heavens; no, not even close.
If it's the way of God in heaven--then it's His way on this earth. And the description given in Rev7:14-15 is a very close match to what one will find in the LDS temple.
The people spoken of in those verses were martyrs whose robes were made white in the blood of the Lamb,
Where do we find that here?
Revelation 7:14-15---King James Version
14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
not by some special 'secret and sacred' ordinances,
Is that a reference to this?
Revelation 2:17---King James Version
17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
The white stone with a new name written on it is not symbolic of the names given in the mormon temples, because a white stone was symbolic of being declared not guilty after a Roman trial.
Yitoz--when you can produce something other than straw men constructions--you let me know.
Believers are declared not guilty by the blood of Christ alone, and not for having participated in any temple ritual. People will be judged by their works, because true justice needs to weigh the actions of believers in contrast to the actions of non-believers. That means that people like Hitler, atheists and agnostics will have the same justice and accountability as a godly person like Abraham, Noah, Paul, Mary, Joseph or John would. Why else could one be judged? What is the deciding factor? Faith in God for OT saints, and faith in Christ for NT saints.
That only connects works and faith as integral to one another. Anathema to the theology preached here by the critics.
The Book of Mormon relates that those who add to the Gospel of Jesus are of evil.
That's the same claim the traditional Jews were making against the NT apostles--and their newly created scriptures, called the New Testament--to this very day.
Mormonism is an example of a religion that adds to the simplicity of the gospel of Jesus Christ and declares that faith in Christ is not enough to enter into the presence of the Father.
So--when you use the term "faith" there--is that a reference to a faith with works--or a faith without works?
