Mormonism and the Family Part 3

One is examines the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from a biblical perspective viewpoint when warming is sponsored by Mormonism research ministry since 1979 Mormonism research ministry has been dedicated to equipping the body of Christ with answers regarding the Christian faith in a manner that expresses gentleness and respect. And now, your host for today's viewpoint on Mormonism does participation in a Mormon temple.

Give an individual the assurance of being connected with their loved ones in eternity. Welcome to this addition of viewpoint on Mormonism on your host, Bill McKeever, founder and director Mormonism research ministry and with me today is Eric Johnson. My colleague at MRM we been looking at the importance of family within the context of Mormonism and Eric, I think you very appropriately brought out in yesterday show that we as New Testament Christians certainly consider the family to be a very important part of our mortal existence here on earth. And we also hope that family members will be with us in the presence of our God and Savior after we die. Now we readily admit that the only way our family members are going to be with us in heaven as if they too have recognized that they are sinful people unworthy of God's grace unworthy of God's mercy but have placed their complete trust in what Jesus did for them on the cross and are thereby justified or made right by their faith in what Jesus did on their behalf as we demonstrated so far this week. That is not how it is understood in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. So when you hear your Mormon acquaintance say hey will work Christians just like you might want to ask some more questions and have them explain to you what they mean by that we were looking at some statements from Mormon church manuals as well as church leaders regarding this hope of being together with their families for eternity. One of the citations that we read yesterday came from a church manual titled introduction to family history student manual religion 261, page 3 where it says that it is possible to be with your family, and an eternal bond and it is possible for you to become like heavenly father. It's not guaranteed. There is no guarantee it's only possible that you can achieve both being like heavenly father and being with your family in an eternal bond if it's only possible then we have to assume that there are some conditions that have been set down in the LDS church for the membership and I think that can be easily demonstrated and that's what we're doing in this series began on Monday there was a statement that we cited yesterday by a Mormon apostle by the name of Delray. No Christiansen. It was given a talk titled three important questions and you can find this talk in the inside magazine for May 1974, page 25 in the talk he states very clearly and I want to say it again because it's a very important and what were trying to present here, Christiansen said, but an eternal relationship of families does not come about automatically as some suppose. It's only possible. He said it must not only be planned for. It must be earned. We must realize that only when we have lived in complete harmony with all the laws and ordinances of the priesthood, including those received in holy temples, should we expect to find ourselves prepared to dwell in what I sometimes referred to as the kingdom of families.

The celestial world. I don't think any modern LDS leader would disagree with what Delray Christiansen said back in 1974. The statement he made. In general conference at that time is still binding on modern members of the LDS church today. This is why I have a real problem with the statement that was made.

In general conference in April 2020, 21, and recorded in the May 2021 Leah Hoda magazine and that was a speech given by second counselor in the first presidency, Henry the Irene.

It was titled I love to see the temple and the pull quote below the title is what Eric is in the temple that we can receive the assurance of loving family connections that will continue after death amassed for eternity. That word assurance we can receive the assurance of loving family connections that will continue after death and last for eternity. This is why have a problem with the statement.

How can you have the assurance of being with your family when you ask many Latter Day Saints.

Do you even have the assurance of getting to the celestial kingdom, and most of the time they will tell you. I hope so. I think so. Or maybe, or as I have heard many times from Latter Day Saints. A flat out no if you're Christian listening to this, you may not realize that most of the work, the vast majority of the work that's done in the LDS Temple is done on behalf of the dead. They do ordinance work for the dead, they do baptisms for the dead, the Latter Day Saints do genealogical work to find out who their ancestors are. The idea is that by doing this work. They then release spirit missionaries from Paradise to go down to spirit prison and to present the gospel to those particular relatives.

The idea is that now they're going to have agency to make a choice as to whether or not to receive that gospel. That's what I think most Latter Day Saints to understand, but if you read that pull quote that you mention it sounds like you would know for sure that if you did that work for them that you definitely will be together in the celestial kingdom.

And as your point being made build that most Latter Day Saints.

We know do not even know if they're going to go there so how do they even know that this gospel is going to be accepted by the relatives and that's a great point and that's were going to talk about today because this assurance that Irene is talking about. Well I'm sure within the context of his message.

He's talking about.

You can have the assurance if you do everything you're supposed to do and we learn from other statements that we talked about yesterday that there certainly is a high bar that the average member must meet if they have any hope of being with her family in the next life. But it's not just about you personally. It's also about the individual that you're hoping to be with. If they are going to be qualified only by a vicarious baptism in the Mormon Temple and this is what Irene is referring to doing your work in the temple on behalf of the dead. When we look at the statements from Mormon leaders regarding what they are required to do, meaning the dead. Again I have to ask if this is what's required of the dead. How in the world can the living have an assurance that they're going to be with that dead person because they have no guarantee as to how the dead are going to react to the work that they are doing on their behalf in a Mormon Temple. Let's take for instance James Talmage, James Talmage was a Mormon apostle. He wrote the book, articles of faith, which by the way, was a job given to James E. Talmage by commission from the first presidency. So we assume that this book that was commissioned by the first presidency for James he Talmage to write reflects the doctrines and beliefs of the first presidency. What is it say in the 1984 edition on page 138, he writes, it is not to be supposed that by these ordinances. The departed are in any way compelled to accept the obligation, nor that they are in the least tendered in the exercise of their free agency.

They will accept or reject. According to their condition of humility or hostility in respect to the gospel, but the works are done for them on earth will be avail when wholesome teaching and real penitents have shown them their true position. Let's look carefully at what Talmage says here the dead will accept or reject. According to their condition of humility or hostility in respect to the gospel that tells us that the dead can have either a positive view of LDS teaching or negative view of LDS teaching they can have a positive view. Let's say the church at large or negative view of the LDS church at large, a positive view of Joseph Smith, a negative view of Joseph Smith. Depending on what position they hold.

At the time the spirit missionaries quote "come and present to them the restored gospel of Mormonism that's going to have a big influence in how they respond to that and that is their attitude there humility or hostility in respect to the restored gospel. If that's the case, how can Henry be Irene offered this promise that somehow by going to the temple and doing your part that you can receive an assurance of loving family connections that will continue after death and last for eternity.

There can be no truth in that statement, but here we have a leader in the church. One of the top three leaders in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, offering what I view Eric is nothing but a false assurance because this assurance is dependent not only on your personal behavior and belief. It also involves the personal behavior and belief of the deceased that you hope to be with in the next life, and this is why you're going to the temple in the first place. But Talmage also wrote in a book called the house of the Lord on page 68.

Let it not be assumed that this doctrine of vicarious labor for the dead implies even remotely that the administration of ordinances in behalf of departed spirits operates in any manner to interfere with the right of choice in the exercise of free agency on their part. He continues they are at liberty to accept or reject the ministrations in their behalf and so they will accept or reject, in accordance with their converted or unregenerate state even as is the case with mortals, to whom the gospel message may come if I was a member of the LDS church. I would not be comforted by that statement, the dead are at liberty to accept or reject the ministrations in their behalf and so they will accept or reject, in accordance with their converted or unregenerate state even as is the case with mortals, to whom the gospel message may come bill. How many Latter Day Saints you think do work for somebody who rejected Mormonism all their lives, but when they died. All of a sudden they thought well I'm going to get this work done have to wait a year, they go and get the work done and they think somehow something magical is going to happen, but according to James Talmage. It sounds like the way you were when you were here is the way you're going to be in the next life. It also gives me the impression I said this many times that if you want to game the system and you understand how Mormonism operates. If you are one of the deceased, who is having a living person you work on your behalf in a Mormon Temple. Then when the spirit missionaries present the restored gospel to you.

Knowing how the system operates. You would be better inclined to embrace the message because at least by doing that even though you rejected it during your mortality by embracing it in the spirit world. You will go to the terrestrial kingdom if you don't embrace it.

You go to the TOS shall kingdom will obviously the terrestrial is a better place to be for eternity. So what you do, if not by any faith in what Jesus may have done or not done on your behalf. It's all about.

How can I benefit my self. Once again it's all about what you want as an individual has nothing to do with faith. At this point in time and has everything to do with your own personal desires and that's why this message isn't really the New Testament gospel. Thank you for listening you would like more information we guarding his research ministry. We encourage you to visit our website at www.mrm.org you can request a free newsletter Mormonism research.

We hope you will join us again as we look at another viewpoint is