Original title: Baptisms for the Dead: Hell(?), Trichotomy, and the Celestials

In this episode, Brendon and Skyler discuss the thirty-seventh lesson in the LDS Come, Follow Me sunday school manual. This week (September 4-10) is titled “God Is Not the Author of Confusion, but of Peace” and covers 1 Corinthians 14-16. 

We invite you to worship with us on any Sunday - either at First Baptist Church of Provo or Christ Presbyterian Church in Magna. We welcome visitors!  

Pastor Brendon's Colossians series can be found here and/or here. 

Seminary Manual: here, here and here 

JST 1 Cor. 15; JSH 1.7-8; Abraham 3.19-25 

 D&C 19; 29; 63.50; 76; 88; 93; 101; 124; 131; 132; 133 

1 Ne 15.35; 2 Ne 28.21-23; Mosiah 3.38-39; Alma 1.3-4, 5, 34.32-35, 41; 3 Ne. 27.11-17 

Gospel Principles  

Preach My Gospel: A Guide to Missionary Service (Basically, the textbook for LDS missionaries) 

Achieving a Celestial Marriage (Student Manual); In a dialogue format underneath the headings "God became God by Obedience to Law" and then "Through Obedience to Law We can Become Like Our Father In Heaven":

• "...I can be a god only if I act like God."
• "Exactly right. Can you imagine the state of the universe if imperfect gods were allowed to spawn their imperfections throughout space, if beings who did not have law under their subjection were free to create worlds?" (p. 5)

“The Atonement” (Russell Nelson) 

“Our Mission of Saving”; “Rejoice in this Great Era of Temple Building” (Gordon Hinckley) 

“Baptisms for the Dead” (Gospel Topics); “Three Facts about Temple Baptisms” by Leah Barton 

The New Testament Made Easier by David Ridges 

Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith ; Words of Joseph Smith 

• “On 10 August 1840 Seymour Brunson, member of the Nauvoo High Council, died in Nauvoo. The Prophet took the occasion of his funeral, on 15 August 1840 to deliver the first discourse on the doctrine of baptism for the dead (See HC, 4.231)…He also said the apostle was talking to a people who understood baptism for the dead, for it was practiced among them. He went on to say that people could now act for their friends who had departed this life, and that the plan of salvation was calculated to save all who were willing to obey the requirements of the law of God.” (WJS, p. 49) 
• “When you climb up a ladder, you must begin at the bottom, and ascend step by step, until you arrive at the top; and so it is with the principles of the Gospel – you must begin with the first, and go on until you learn all the principles of exaltation. But it will be a great while after you have passed through the veil before you will have learned them. It is not all to be comprehended in this world; it will be a great work to learn our salvation and exaltation even beyond the grave.” (TPJS, p. 348) 
• “The Bible supports the doctrine [of baptism for the dead]. If there is one word of the Lord that supports the doctrine, it is enough to make it true doctrine. Again, if we baptize a man in the name of the Father, [and] of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost for the remission of sins, it is just as much our privilege to act as an agent and be baptized for the remission of sins for and in behalf of our dead kindred who have not heard the gospel or fullness of it.” (WJS, pp. 109-110) 
• “Flesh and blood cannot go there, but flesh and bones, quickened by the Spirit of God, can...Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, or the kingdom that God inherits and inhabits, but the flesh without the blood, and the Spirit of God flowing in the veins instead of the blood. For blood is the part of the body that causes corruption. Therefore, we must be changed in the twinkle of an eye, or have to lay down these tabernacles and [let] the blood vanish away. Therefore, Jesus Christ left his blood to atone for the sins of the world, that he might ascend into the presence of the Father...The blood is the corruptible part of the tabernacles. The resurrection is devised to take away corruption and make man perfect, or in the glory [in] which he was created. For the body is sown in corruption and raised in incorruption. Then we will be able to go into the presence of God.” (WJS, p. 255, 370-371) 

Joseph Smith: here and here 

 History of the Church (vol.5), quoting Joseph Smith: 

• Under the heading “Salvation Through Knowledge”: “Add to your faith knowledge, etc. The principle of knowledge is the principle of salvation. This principle can be comprehended by the faithful and diligent; and every one that does not obtain knowledge sufficient to be saved will be condemned. The principle of salvation is given us through the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Salvation is nothing more nor less than to triumph over all our enemies and put them under our feet. And when we have power to put all enemies under our feet in this world, and a knowledge to triumph over all evil spirits in the world to come, then we are saved, as in the case of Jesus, who was to reign until He had put all enemies under His feet, and the last enemy was death. Perhaps there are principles here that few men have thought of. No person can have this salvation except through a tabernacle.” (p. 387-388) 
• “Paul ascended into the third heavens, and he could understand the three principal rounds of Jacob’s ladder – the telestial, the terrestrial, and the celestial glories or kingdoms, where Paul saw and heard things which were not lawful for him to utter. I could explain a hundred fold more than I ever have of the glories of the kingdoms manifested to me in the vision, were I permitted, and were the people prepared to receive them.” (p. 402; Note that Smith, and a few of his apologists try to connect what Smith adds to the text of 1 Cor. 15 – namely, telestial – to the third heaven Paul mentions in 2 Cor. 12.2; yet Joseph Smith also stated: “Paul saw the third heaven, and I more.” TPJS, p. 301) 
• “I see no faults in the Church, and therefore let me be resurrected with the Saints, whether I ascend to heaven or descend to hell, or go to any other place. And if we go to hell, we will turn the devils out of doors and make a heaven of it. Where this people are, there is good society. What do we care where we are, if the society be good?” (p. 517) 

The LDS First Presidency has stated that: “To the Latter-day Saints, salvation itself, under the Atonement of Christ, is a process of education.” (Improvement Era, May 1907) cited on pg. 128 of Statements of the LDS First Presidency: A Topical Compendium (compiled by Gary Bergera); also: 

• “This life is part of eternity. This is one stage of our eternal lives. When we die, we will go on to purposeful, active, challenging living. The life on the other side of the veil will be somewhat like the life here. If we have been clean and decent and good here, we will go on in that same spirit. If we have been rascals, we will go in that same spirit.” (Gordon B. Hinckley. “First Presidency Message”, Ensign, Apr. 2002; p. 112) 
• “Even before the fall of Adam, which ushered death in this world, our Heavenly Father had prepared a place for the spirits who would eventually depart this mortal life. At the time of Jesus’ death, the spirit world was occupied by hosts of our Father’s children who had died – from Adam’s posterity to the death of Jesus – both the righteous and wicked. There were two grand divisions in the world of spirits. Spirits of the righteous (the just) had gone to paradise, a state of happiness, peace, and restful work. The spirits of the wicked (the unjust) had gone to prison, a state of darkness and misery (see Alma 40:12-15). Jesus went only to the righteous – paradise.” (Ezra Taft Benson, “First Presidency Message”, Ensign, Apr. 1993; p. 112) 
• “Say to brothers Hulet, and to all others, that the Lord never authorized them to say that the devil, his angels or the sons of perdition, should ever be restored; for their state of destiny was not revealed to man, is not revealed, nor ever shall be revealed, save to those who are made partakers thereof; consequently those who teach this doctrine have not received it of the Spirit of the Lord.” (Statement, June 25, 1833; p. 428) 

A Rational Theology (esp. Chapter 28: Work For the Dead); Evidences and Reconciliation by John A. Widtsoe: “President Brigham Young suggested that the ultimate punishment of the sons of perdition may be that they, having their spiritual bodies disorganized, must start over again, must begin anew the long journey of existence, repeating the steps that they took in the eternities before the Great Council was held. That would be punishment indeed!” (p. 266) 

• Another quote by LDS apostle Widtsoe worth including: “All others, who are not classed as sons of perdition, will be ‘redeemed in the due time of the Lord’, that is, the will all be saved. The meanest sinner will find some place in the heavenly realm...In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there is no hell. All will find a measure of salvation,...The gospel of Jesus Christ has no hell in the old proverbial sense.” (Joseph Smith – Seeker After Truth, pp.177-178) 

Mormon Doctrine by Bruce R. McConkie 

Understanding Paul by Richard Lloyd Anderson: “The gift is given, bringing the joy of gratitude. But what about the responsibilities of gratitude? Does one ever receive a gift without moral obligation? Does the Christian remain the polite child expressing verbal thanks only, or does he develop the maturity to show gratitude in action?” (p. 181); also see Appendix C.

Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians by Richard Draper and Michael Rhodes; even in a commentary on 1 Corinthians, you still find this kind of material when commenting on Paul’s(?) doctrine of the resurrection: “When this doctrine is properly understood and believed, death is put in its proper perspective. It is but a passage into the next phase of existence. The core belief of the Latter-day Saints was declared by President Lorenzo Snow who said, ‘As man now is, God once was: As God now is, man may be.’ Thus, the brethren place emphasis on the idea that God designed this mortal experience to be but a temporary but a necessary step into eternity and godhood.” (pp.70-71) 

“Paul Among the Prophets: Obtaining a Crown” by Michael Middleton (found in The Apostle Paul: His Life and Ministry - The 23d Annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium): “And indeed Paul addressed many subjects; he has not left those who read his writings ignorant of some of the most fundamental and glorious truths of the Restoration: the three degrees of glory (1 Corinthians 15:40-47), the teaching power of the Holy Ghost (1 Corinthians 2:10-16), the purpose and continuity of the family unit (1 Corinthians 11:11), and baptism for the dead (1 Corinthians 15:29). He taught in plainness these and a host of other essential and exalting doctrines. The lack of vibrato with which he presented these concepts suggests that they were common knowledge to the Saints of his day. Many of these precious truths were distorted after Paul’s death but have been restored to their former fulness by latter-day revelation.” (pp. 121-122) 

Mormonism and Early Christianity by Hugh Nibley (esp. Ch. 4: “Baptism for the Dead in Ancient Times”) 

A Gospel Trilogy by W. Cleon Skousen 

Brigham Young: JD 1.118; 1.275; 1.312; 2.124; 3.277; 3.375; 4.31-32; 6.293 ; 7.2-3; 7.287; 8.35;8.59-61 ; 8.154-155; 8.222; 9.149; 15.137 

John Taylor: JD 13.14 

Wilford Woodruff: JD 6.120; 23.125-126 

Orson Pratt: JD 1.56-57; 1.332-333; 7.89; 15.51-52; 16.297, 16.328; 20.70 

Heber C. Kimball: JD 1.161; 1.355-357; 3.109; 4.223; 4.329; 5.95; 6.63 

George A. Smith: JD 15.99 

“Who will be saved in the celestial kingdom of God? They that have the oracles of truth and obey them. Where will the rest go? Into kingdoms that God has and will prepare for them and there are millions of such kingdoms. There is as many degrees of glory as there are degrees of capacity and to them will be meted out according to their faith, and goodness and the truth that abides in them and according to the light God has imparted to them.” (The Essential Brigham Young, pp.139-140) 

"Do we know what hell is? And where hell is? Who can point it out? In many instances where the apostles have been speaking and likewise Jesus in his communications to the people this earth is compared to hell. Well it is in one sense. If we find out really that hell is anything more or less than this earth, this wicked world, we shall find that it is banishment from the society and presence of Holy beings." (The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, Vol. 1, pg. 1103)

Young stated in a "Discourse on Marriage" that women "are not accountable for the sins that are in the world." This is one of the places where the idea that there women cannot become "sons of perdition".

As an interesting example of a Mormon debate – David Ridges (cited above) has this to say under 15.4: “Just a quick comment about ‘rose again’ in verse 4, above. Once in a while, a student will see the word ‘again’ and start wondering if it means that Jesus had been resurrected previously on other earths and thus, was being resurrected ‘again’ here on our earth, after performing an atonement for us. Furthermore, some start wondering if Jesus gets born, crucified, and resurrected over and over on each of Father’s worlds. This is not true. The word ‘again’ simply means that Jesus became alive ‘again’ through the process of resurrection. We know from D&C 76.24, that the Atonement, which Jesus performed on our earth, works for all other worlds he has created or will create for the Father. He will never die again. Neither will we, once we have been resurrected – see Hebrews 9.27” 

• One can tell a lot about the beliefs of a community by their debates. The debate over the full divinity of Christ (leading to the Council of Nicaea) was a fundamentally monotheistic debate; and a debate over particulars within a framework doesn’t mean that the framework itself is debatable. This type of question that Ridges (who would know!) finds as enough of a “problem” to address in writing in this book helps to show the Mormon framework around both one who would take his view, and even a Mormon who would not take his view. Why Hebrews should settle the debate (in Ridges’ mind) is not stated – given how expendable the Bible is on any other Mormon doctrinal position. Also, watch for this double-standard: notice how Christian debates disprove any sort of Christian unity or any sort of truth claim within Christianity – but Mormon debates don’t do the same relative to their own unity and truth claims. 

Relevant news article

"'What Has Become of Our Fathers?' Baptism for the Dead at Nauvoo" by M. Guy Bishop

“An Ambivalent Rejection: Baptism for the Dead and the Reorganized Church Experience” by Roger Launius 

“Baptism for the Dead: Comparing RLDS and LDS Perspectives” (Grant Underwood) 

“’Complexity and Richness’: Reenvisioning the Middle Ages for Mormon Historical Narratives” by Spencer Young 

Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? by Sandra and Jerald Tanner 

The Mormon Jesus by John Turner 

An Insider’s View of Mormon Origins by Grant Palmer 

“This Is My Doctrine”: The Development of Mormon Theology by Charles Harrell 

1 Corinthians (ZECNT) by Paul Gardner  

Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes by Kenneth Bailey  

St. Paul’s Corinth: Texts and Archaeology by Jerome Murphy-O'Connor 

The Cross Before Constantine by Bruce Longenecker 

Paul’s Two-Age Construction and Apologetics by William Dennison  

Perspectives on Pentecost by Richard B. Gaffin  

The Pauline Eschatology by Geerhardus Vos  

Biblical Words and Their Meaning by Moises Silva 

Exegetical Fallacies by D.A. Carson 

“Living Rewards for Dead Apostles: ‘Baptised for the Dead’ in 1 Corinthians 15.29” by James Patrick 

“Trichotomy: A Beachhead for Gnostic Influences” by Kim Riddlebarger 

A footnote worth including by scholar Joachim Jeremias: "...much more reserve of judgment will have to exercised in ascribing an early date to Hellenistic influences on Christian baptismal doctrine and practice than is common now. Since 1 Cor. 15.29 is cited as the most striking evidence of Hellenistic influence on the baptismal practice in the Pauline churches, it may be mentioned that the interpretation of this passage as referring to vicarious baptism for persons who died unbaptized has, in my opinion, been refuted...M. Raeder...has convincingly shown that in the phrase [cites the Greek of vs. 29] (a) the [huper] has a final sense ('for the sake of so-and-so'), and (b) the the term [oy nekron] refers to dead Christians. We must accordingly translate 'What then are those people to do, who submit to baptism for the sake of the dead (i.e.) in order to be reunited in the resurrection with their dead relatives or friends who have received Christian baptism)?'...Take, for instance, a case in which a young woman belonging to the Church, and engaged to be married, died, and whose heathen bridegroom had himself baptized 'for her sake' - that is, in order to be united with her in the resurrection. This interpretation fits excellently into the context of the apologetic reflections of 1 Cor. 15.12-19, which Paul, after the digression of vv. 20-28, resumes in vv. 29-34. The apostle had said in v. 18 that if Christ were not risen 'they who are kinsmen (husbands, wives, lovers), who had themselves baptized in order to be united with them in the resurrection...If this interpretation is correct, then 'vicarious baptism' is to be deleted from the vocabulary of New Testament exegesis. The superstitious misuse of representative baptism for the dead, which was practiced in heretical circles since the end of the second century, did not arise about AD 50 in Corinth, only to be tolerated in silence by Paul, but arose from a gross misunderstanding of the (certainly very telegraphic) formulation of 1 Cor. 15.29." (IBITFFC, pp. 36-37)

Original title: Ignore the Shema, Rewrite the Scripture, and Earn More Gifts

In this episode, Brendon and Skyler discuss the thirty-sixth lesson in the LDS Come, Follow Me sunday school manual. This week (August 28-September 3) is titled “Ye Are the Body of Christ” and covers 1 Corinthians 8-13. 

We invite you to worship with us on any Sunday - either at First Baptist Church of Provo or Christ Presbyterian Church in Magna. We welcome visitors!  

Pastor Brendon's Colossians series can be found here. 

Seminary Manual: here, here, here and here 

D&C 76, 46, 131, 132; Moroni 7 

The New Testament Made Easier by David Ridges 

Understanding Paul by Richard Lloyd Anderson 

Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians by Richard Draper and Michael Rhodes  

Joseph Smith: here and here 

“The Challenge to Become” (Dallin Oaks) 

“Celestial Marriage” (Russell Nelson) 

Orson Pratt: JD 1.56, 16.295 

Brigham Young: JD 8.142, 9.267-268, 10.324 

Charles Penrose: JD 21.142-143 

George Q. Cannon: JD 22.265 

David Ridges (of CES/Institute, cited above, in a book being promoted by Deseret Book this current year: 2023) states in his commentary on 1 Cor. 8.4-6: "Before Paul continues to answer their questions about eating meat left over from pagan idol worship, he takes a minute to review the doctrine of plurality of gods with them. We know from D&C 132.19-20, that all who are worthy will become gods over their own worlds, and will send their own spirit offspring to those worlds to go through the same plan of salvation as we are going through here. Therefore, because of the success of the Father's plan, there are many gods in the universe. But there is only one Heavenly Father for us. Thus, Paul reminds these Corinthian saints that there actually are many gods out there...

The Prophet Joseph Smith tells us that the parenthesis in vserse 5, above, teach a marvelous doctrine; namely that there, indeed, are many gods. This reminds us that we can become gods. (By the way, Abraham Isaac and Jacob from our world have already become gods. See D&C 132.27. This would include their wives. See D&C 132.19-20). He taught that the word 'gods' in verse 5 does not refer to idols or, in other words, heathen gods." 

The Mormon Jesus by John Turner 

Early Mormonism and the Magic World View by D. Michael Quinn 

An Insider’s View of Mormon Origins by Grant Palmer 

Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? by Sandra and Jerald Tanner 

Jason Wallace: An Earnest Plea to Charismatics; The Vanishing Lamanites; The Bible vs. Bart Ehrman; The Magical Mormon Scriptures 

Spiritual Gifts by Thomas Schreiner 

Perspectives on Pentecost by Richard Gaffin 

Destroyer of the Gods by Larry Hurtado 

The Trinity: An Introduction by Scott Swain 

The Forgotten Trinity by James White 

Simply Trinity by Matthew Barrett 

1 Corinthians (ZECNT) by Paul Gardner  

Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes by Kenneth Bailey  

St. Paul’s Corinth: Texts and Archaeology by Jerome Murphy-O'Connor 

The Cross Before Constantine by Bruce Longenecker 

Paul’s Two-Age Construction and Apologetics by William Dennison  

“Epistemological Reflections on 1 Corinthians 2.6-16” by Richard B. Gaffin  

The Pauline Eschatology by Geerhardus Vos  

Biblical Words and Their Meaning by Moises Silva 

Exegetical Fallacies by D.A. Carson 

Original title: Unity and Epistemology; Are feelings and experience enough?

In this episode, Brendon and Skyler discuss the thirty-fifth lesson in the LDS Come, Follow Me sunday school manual. This week (Aug. 21-27) is titled “Be Perfectly Joined Together” and covers 1 Corinthians 1-7. 

We invite you to worship with us on any Sunday - either at First Baptist Church of Provo or Christ Presbyterian Church in Magna. We welcome visitors! 

Pastor Brendon's Colossians series can be found here. 

Correction: The George Albert Smith quote was from Elder George A. Smith who was an early Mormon apostle, not President George Albert Smith who was the eighth president of the church. The one quoted was a Mormon apostle and member of the LDS First Presidency from 1839 until his death in 1875. President George Albert Smith was president of the LDS church from 1945-1951. 

The mentioned and recommended article by Matthew Emadi is “What Do Mormons Believe About God?” These differences are super important, especially given some recent examples of obfuscation. 

Seminary Manual: here, here, and here  

Note the cited GA quotation in the first lesson: “If we build our foundation on Jesus Christ, we cannot fall! As we endure faithfully to the end, God will help us establish our lives upon His rock, ‘and the gates of hell shall not prevail against [us]’ (D&C 10:69).” One cannot help but notice a) the citation, not of Matthew, but of the D&C; and b) If that was not true of the very church Jesus was speaking of originally (due to the coming apostasy), is this really the best verse for assurance to the members who believe that very failed church had to be restored 1800 years later?    

“The Candle of the Lord” ; “The Mantle Is Far Far Greater Than the Intellect” (Boyd K. Packer) 

“How To Learn By the Spirit” (Richard G. Scott) 

“The Charted Course of the Church in Education” (J. Reuben Clark) 

The New Testament Made Easier by David Ridges 

Understanding Paul by Richard Lloyd Anderson 

Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians by Richard Draper and Michael Rhodes 

Joseph Smith: here and here 

George Albert Smith: JD 3.25 

Wilford Woodruff: JD 18.188 

Orson Pratt: JD 1.294 

Charles W. Penrose: JD 26.23 

John Taylor: JD 21.346; JD 8.97 

Brigham Young: JD 1.3; JD 17.155 

George Q. Cannon: JD 22.324 

By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus by Charles Larson (also: here, here, and here, here) 

Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? by Jerald and Sandra Tanner (also: here) 

Conflict in the Quorum by Gary Bergera 

Watchman on the Tower by Matthew Harris 

Lying For the Lord – The Paul H. Dunn Stories by Lynn Packer 

An Insider’s View of Mormon Origins by Grant Palmer 

The Mound Builder Myth: Fake History and the Hunt for a “Lost White Race” by Jason Colavito 

Quest for the Gold Plates by Stan Larson  

“The Secret Mormon Meetings of 1922” by Shannon Caldwell Montez 

Jason Wallace:  Temples Made With Hands?;The Magical Mormon Scriptures; Was The Burning in Your Bosom From God?; The Vanishing Lamanites; After Mormonism...Now What?; The Bible vs. Bart Ehrman 

Justification Reconsidered by Stephen Westerholm 

Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen (also here and here) 

• See also Machen’s fantastic book What Is Faith? (also here) 

The Temple and the Church’s Mission by G.K. Beale 

A Peculiar Glory by John Piper 

1 Corinthians (ZECNT) by Paul Gardner 

Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes by Kenneth Bailey 

St. Paul’s Corinth: Texts and Archaeology by Jerome Murphy-O'Connor 

The Cross Before Constantine by Bruce Longenecker 

Paul’s Two-Age Construction and Apologetics by William Dennison 

“Epistemological Reflections on 1 Corinthians 2.6-16” by Richard B. Gaffin 

The Pauline Eschatology by Geerhardus Vos 

Destroyer of the Gods by Larry Hurtado 

Return of the God Hypothesis by Stephen Meyer (also here and here) 

On the Reliability of the Old Testament by Kenneth Kitchen 

Interpreting Eden by Vern Poythress 

The Territories of Human Reason by Alister McGrath 

Jesus and the Eyewitnesses by Richard Bauckham (also here) 

Jesus and His World by Craig Evans 

The Historical Jesus of the Gospels by Craig Keener 

Christianity at the Crossroads; The Heresy of Orthodoxy by Michael Kruger (also here) 

Simply Trinity by Matthew Barrett 

Original title: New Perspective(s): Justification(s), adoption(s) - and "then shall they be gods"

In this episode, Brendon and Skyler discuss the thirty-fourth lesson in the LDS Come, Follow Me sunday school manual. This week (Aug. 14-20) is titled "Overcome Evil With Good" and covers Romans 7-16.

We invite you to worship with us on any Sunday - either at First Baptist Church of Provo or Christ Presbyterian Church in Magna. We welcome visitors!

Pastor Brendon's Colossians series can be found here.

*Correction - - at 32:04, Skyler obviously misspoke very badly and meant to say (as the context makes clear): "Nobody's saying that God was once a man" or “Nobody’s saying that God was once a man who became God.” Some disputing the full divinity of Jesus still comes out of a monotheistic assumption which all forms of Mormonism deny. 

**Correction - - George Foot Moore was a Presbyterian, and was a "Jewish scholar"...meaning to say: a scholar of Judaism. In terms of influence, his work in 1920's didn't seem to have the impact that E.P. Sanders would later in his book Paul and Palestinian Judaism (1977).

D&C 20; 50.26-28; 76.92-95; 84.38; 88.107; 132.19-21; Abraham 3 

Seminary Manual: here, here and here, here, here 

Gospel Principles: here 

“Justification and Sanctification” (D. Todd Christofferson) 

“The Challenge to Become” (Dallin Oaks) 

“Hearts Knit In Righteousness and Unity” (Quentin Cook); look for the citation The Life and Work of St. Paul by Frederic Farrar (1898); also his complete lack of quoting from the actual text of the “profound epistle” - yet, his citation of the LDS heading (which disagrees with the actual text of Romans) as if it were the actual text of Romans. 

The New Testament Made Easier by David Ridges 

Achieving A Celestial Marriage manual 

Joseph Smith: here and here; also The Words of Joseph Smith, edited by Andrew Ehat and Lyndon Cook 

Jesus the Christ by James Talmage 

Mormon Doctrine by Bruce R. McConkie 

A Rational Theology by John Widtsoe 

“Becoming Like God” (Gospel Topics Essays) 

Understanding Paul by Richard Lloyd Anderson 

Exploring Mormon Thought: The Problems with Theism and the Love of God by Blake Ostler 

“Latter-day Saint Perceptions of Jewish Apostasy in the Time of Jesus” by Matthew Grey 

Alfred Edersheim: Jewish Scholar for the Mormon Prophets by Marianna Edwards Richardson 

The Apostle Paul: His Life and His Testimony (Sidney B. Sperry Symposium on the New Testament); esp. “Hebrew Concepts of Adoption and Redemption in the Writings of Paul” by Jennifer Clark Lane 

Watchman on the Tower: Ezra Taft Benson and the Making of the Mormon Right by Matthew L. Harris 

The New Testament: A Translation for Latter-day Saints by Thomas Wayment (published by Deseret Book), pg. 266: 

• Footnote on Romans 1, vss. 26-27: “These verses have become one of the primary pieces of evidence for the discussion of homosexuality in the New Testament. In Paul’s day, pederasty and other abhorrent sexual practices were more common, particularly in accusations made by religious individuals against foreign religious cults. It is therefore unclear that Paul is condemning the practice of homosexuality but instead may be condemning what he perceives to be strange and foreign sexual practices such as pederasty. From such scant evidence, it remains unclear what actions Paul had in mind here, but it is obviously abhorrent to him.” 

Joseph Smith told Alexander Neibaur that he saw Jesus with a light complexion (white skin) and blue eyes (A.N. Journal, May 24,1844) - thus, looking a lot like...Joseph Smith. Whiteness is also true of Mary in 1 Nephi 11.13-15, who is even claimed by some LDS to actually be from England, based on legend.

Some Joseph Smith quotes on these passages: 

• “We need not doubt the wisdom and intelligence of the great Jehovah. He will award judgment or mercy to all nations according to their several deserts, their means of obtaining intelligence, the laws by which they are governed, and facilities afforded them of obtaining correct information, and his inscrutable designs in relation to the human family. And when the designs of God shall be made manifest and the curtain of futurity be withdrawn, we shall all of us eventually have to confess that the Judge of all the earth has done right...To say that the heathen would be damned because they did not believe the gospel would be preposterous. And to say that the Jews would be damned that do not believe in Jesus would be equally absurd...Consequently, neither Jew nor heathen can be culpable for rejecting the conflicting opinions of sectarianism, nor for rejecting any testimony but that which is sent of God...” 
• “No man can attain to the joint heirship with Jesus Christ without being administered to by one having the same power and authority of Melchizedek.” 
• “To become a joint heir of the heirship of the Son, [one] must put away all [one’s] traditions.” 
• “[It is] to inherit the same power [and] exaltation, until you ascend the throne of eternal power, same as those who are gone before.” 
• “What is it? To inherit the same glory, power, and exaltation, with those who are gone before.” 
• “[You will] enjoy the same rise, exaltation, and glory, until you arrive at the station of a God.” 
• “The scripture says those who will obey the commandments shall be heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ.” 

MRM (Romans): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

MRM (Becoming Like God): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross by Leon Morris 

Redemption Accomplished and Applied by John Murray 

The Letter to the Romans (NICNT) by Douglas Moo 

Father, Son, and Spirit in Romans 8: The Roman Reception of Paul’s Trinitarian Theology by Ron Fay 

Adopted into God’s Family: Exploring a Pauline Metaphor (NSBT) by Trevor Burke 

We Become What We Worship; Union with the Resurrected Christ by G.K. Beale 

Knowing God; Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by JI Packer

Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen 

Confessions by St. Augustine 

The Trinity: An Introduction by Scott Swain 

The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Text and Hermeneutics by Robert Gagnon 

Reformed Forum: here, and here

Jason Wallace: here and here ; An Earnest Plea to LDS 

The Victorian “Lives of Jesus” by Daniel L. Pals 

“Christian Writers on Judaism” by George Foot Moore 

In response to the New Perspective on Paul: Here; here; here and here 

Cracking the Foundation of the New Perspective on Paul: Covenantal Nomism versus Reformed Covenantal Theology by Robert Cara 

Perspectives Old and New on Paul: The "Lutheran" Paul and His Critics by Stephen Westerholm

Justification (2 vol.’s); Covenant and Salvation by Michael Horton 

"A Vindication of Imputation: On Fields of Discourse and Semantic Fields" by D. A. Carson

Justification and Variegated Nomism, Vol. 1: The Complexities of Second Temple Judaism and Vol. 2: The Paradoxes of Paul, edited by D.A. Carson, Peter T. O’Brien and Mark A. Seifrid 

Where Is Boasting?: Early Jewish Soteriology and Paul's Response in Romans 1-5 by Simon Gathercole

The Whole Christ by Sinclair Ferguson 

One book that is very important in regard to addressing some of the exegetical weaknesses of past commentary on the early parts of Romans, and yet demonstrates the inability of the New Perspective scholars to answer them is Uncovering the Theme of Revelation in Romans 1:16-3:26 by Marcus Mininger. Often, the New Perspective has pointed out a weakness and then used that as a springboard for their own view, without actually answering the very exegetical questions they have asked of others. Mininger's book is incredibly important work.

One scholar's concluding remark regarding the NPP is worth including: "In spite of recent challenges, I believe [the traditional, forensic] understanding of Paul's justification does better justice to the Pauline texts. It cannot be dismissed by the claim that the ancients were not concerned to find a gracious God (how could they not be, in the fact of pending divine judgment?); or that it wrongly casts first-century Jews as legalists (its target is rather the sinfulness of all human beings); or that non-Christian Jews, too, depended on divine grace (of course they did, but without Paul's need to distinguish grace from works); or that 'righteousness' means "membership in the covenant" (never did, never will) and the expression "works of the law" refers to boundary markers of the Jewish people (it refers to all the 'righteous' deeds required by the law as its path to righteousness).

Modern scholars are correct in noting that Paul first focused on language of justification in response to the question whether Gentile believers in Christ should be circumcised. They are right to emphasize the social implications of Paul's doctrine of justification (what it meant 'on the ground') in his own day, and are free to draw out its social implications for our own. But the doctrine of justification means that God declares sinners righteous, apart from righteous deeds, when they believe in Jesus Christ. Those so made righteous represent the new humanity, the people of God's new creation." (Justification Reconsidered by Stephen Westerholm)

The Aryan Jesus: Christian Theologians and the Bible in Nazi Germany by Susannah Heschel 

The Lie That Wouldn't Die: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion or (a more recent edition) The Lie That Will Not Die: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion by Hadassa Ben-Itto

The Popes Against the Jews: The Vatican’s Role in the Rise of Modern Antisemitism by David Kertzer 

Theologians Under Hitler by Robert P. Ericksen

Our Hands Are Stained with Blood; Christian Antisemitism by Michael Brown 

The Aryan Christ: The Secret Life of Carl Jung by Richard Noll 

Original title: When "grace" is natural, the Cross ignored, and exaltation is a ladder

In this episode, Brendon and Skyler discuss the thirty-third lesson in the LDS Come, Follow Me sunday school manual. This week (Aug. 7-13) is titled "The Power of God unto Salvation" and covers Romans 1-6.

We invite you to worship with us on any Sunday - either at First Baptist Church of Provo or Christ Presbyterian Church in Magna. We welcome visitors!

Pastor Brendon's Colossians series can be found here.

Seminary Manual: here and here

D&C 20; 2 Nephi 25.23; Moroni 10.32

JST Romans

Gospel Principles Manual

The New Testament Made Easier by David Ridges

"Justification and Sanctification" (D. Todd Christofferson)

Understanding Paul by Richard Lloyd Anderson

The Apostle Paul: His Life and His Testimony (The 23rd Annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium)

Exploring Mormon Thought: The Problems with Theism and the Love of God by Blake Ostler (also here, here, and here)

A Rational Theology by John A. Widtsoe

The Great and Abominable Church of the Devil by H. Verlan Andersen

Mormon Doctrine by Bruce R. McConkie

"His Grace Is Sufficient" (Brad Wilcox); also here

MRM: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Martyn Lloyd-Jones Romans series

The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross by Leon Morris

The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul

The God Who Is There by D.A. Carson

The God Who Justifies by James White

Core Christianity; Christless Christianity by Michael Horton (also here and here)

American Gospel: Christ Crucified

What is the Gospel? (Voddie Baucham)

"The Power and Message of the Cross" by Alistair Begg

40 Questions About Christians and Biblical Law by Thomas Schreiner

Union with the Resurrected Christ by G.K. Beale

The Letter to the Romans (NICNT) by Douglas Moo

Uncovering the Theme of Revelation in Romans 1:16-3:26 by Marcus Mininger

Paul: An Outline of His Theology by Herman Ridderbos

The Trinitarian Theology of Cornelius Van Til by Lane Tipton

The Defense of the Faith by Cornelius Van Til

In response to the New Perspective on Paul:

Cracking the Foundation of the New Perspective on Paul: Covenantal Nomism versus Reformed Covenantal Theology by Robert Cara

Perspectives Old and New on Paul: The "Lutheran" Paul and His Critics by Stephen Westerholm

Justification (2 vol.'s); Covenant and Salvation by Michael Horton

Justification and Variegated Nomism; Vol. 1: The Complexities of Second Temple Judaism and Vol. 2: The Paradoxes of Paul, edited by D.A. Carson, Peter T. O'Brien and Mark A. Seifrid

The Whole Christ by Sinclair Ferguson

Original title: LDS Testimony: From Prophets to Follow and Laity who Follow

In this episode, Brendon and Skyler discuss the thirty-second lesson in the LDS Come, Follow Me sunday school manual. This week (July 31-August 6) is titled "A Minister and a Witness" and covers Acts 22-28.

We invite you to worship with us on any Sunday - either at First Baptist Church of Provo or Christ Presbyterian Church in Magna. We welcome visitors!

Pastor Brendon's Colossians series can be found here.

Seminary Manual: here and here

JSH-1.24; Alma 5.45-46; D&C 90. 13,16

Joseph Smith: here and here

"Praise to the Man" (Hymn No. 27); "Follow the Prophet" (Children's Songbook, pg. 110)

Gospel Principles: Prophets of God

"The Living Prophet: The President of the Church" (manual)

"Pure Testimony" (M. Russell Ballard)

"I Testify" (Ezra Taft Benson)

"Fourteen Fundamentals In Following the Prophet" (Ezra Taft Benson)

Just as an example of what used to be clearly taught by LDS President-Prophets, here is a sermon by Brigham Young: JD 1.46-53, 7.290-291 and 9.147-150.

"Finding Answers to Gospel Questions" (Bruce R. McConkie), esp. see section no.3. - wherein he quotes Joseph Fielding Smith (who would become a president-prophet of the LDS chuch) as saying: "It makes no difference what is written or what anyone has said, if what has been said is in conflict with what the Lord has revealed, we can set it aside. My words, and the teachings of any other member of the Church, high or low, if they do not square with the revelations, we need not accept them. Let us have this matter clear. We have accepted the four standard works as the measuring yardsticks, or balances, by which we measure every man’s doctrine." Yet, how does this square with Joseph Smith, Brigham Young - and even points taught by Ezra T. Benson cited above.

"The Soil and Roots of Testimony" (John Carmack)

"The Place of the Living Prophet, Seer, and Revelator" (Harold B. Lee); one pertinent quote by Pres. Lee is: "The only one authorized to bring forth any new doctrine is the President of the Church, who, when he does, will declare it as revelation from God, and it will be so accepted by the Council of the Twelve and sustained by the body of the Church."

Heber C. Kimball: JD 9.27

Franklin D. Richards: JD 26.302

Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt wherein it states: "Lift up your head and rejoice; for behold! it is well with my servants Joseph and Hyrum. My servant Joseph still holds the keys of my kingdom in this dispensation, and he shall stand in due time on the earth, in the flesh, and fulfill that to which he is appointed..." (p. 294, 1985 ed.)

Elias by Orson F. Whitney (e.g. Canto IX)

The Inevitable Apostasy by Ted R. Callister: "If there had been significant righteousness among the Saints, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles would have continued." (p. 46)

Joseph Smith claimed: "I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam...Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran from Him; but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet..." (HC 6:408; here)

There is a quotation from Jana Reiss worth quoting in her book The Next Mormons by Jana Riess: "Even the notion that Mormons would call the president of their church 'the prophet' is a mid-twentieth century innovation; the practice can be dated to 1955, during the presidency of the exceptionally popular David O. McKay. Before 1955 the term 'prophet' was used in LDS periodicals to refer to founding leaders Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, or else to prophets from scripture." The footnote reads: "From the newspaper's beginnings until 1955, for example, no headline of the Church News ever used 'prophet' to connote the current LDS president. By the 1960's, however, such references to McKay as 'our prophet' and 'the prophet' were becoming routine...McKay's immediate successor, Harold B. Lee, expressed concern with the 'almost worshipful attitude' Mormons had begun expressing toward the president of the church and sought to stop it; during his administration only one headline referred to him as 'prophet'. However, his tenure of less than a year was 'too brief to reverse the accelerating adoration by rank-and-file". (pp. 191, 285-286; see The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn)

For a recent, albeit extreme and controversial, example of a "testimony" is found here / here.

As A Thief in the Night by Dan Erickson

Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? by Sandra and Jerald Tanner

The Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization by Anthony Esolen

Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, ed. by Daniel Treier and Walter Elwell

Christianity and Liberalism; The Person of Jesus by J. Gresham Machen

Core Christianity; Christless Christianity by Michael Horton (also here and here)

Canon Revisited: Establishing the Origins and Authority of the New Testament Books by Michael Kruger

The Gospel Code: Novel Claims about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Da Vinci by Ben Witherington III

The Structure of Biblical Authority by Meredith Kline

Note: It should be noted that in Mark 12 - Jesus, when asked what the greatest commandment is, begins with the Shema and thus, the monotheism denied in Mormon and/or LDS theology.

Contrary to what seems to be popular understanding among LDS, the Trinity is a monotheistic doctrine, and to claim that the Godhead are "three separate beings and persons" is to be polytheistic, no matter the aesthetic preference of someone like Jeffrey Holland. (also see here, and here to see how Joseph Smith spoke about the Trinity; also see The Trinity: An Introduction by Scott Swain for a short introduction to the foundational Christian doctrine.)

Moses warns against false prophets who lead people after other gods (Deut. 13.1-5); and Paul warns in Galatians that "even if we or an angel from heaven" preach a different gospel, let him/her be anathema, as well as warning against false apostles, men who preach "another Christ" - saying that "even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light." (Gal. 1.7, 2 Cor. 11.4,13-14) And of course, the apostle John warns against "false prophets" and commands we "test the spirits". (1 John 4.1-3)

Original title: "We are His Offspring": Distinguishing Universal Image-Status from Particular Adoption-Status

In this episode, Brendon and Skyler discuss the thirty-first lesson in the LDS Come, Follow Me sunday school manual. This week (July 24-30) is titled "The Lord Had Called Us for to Preach the Gospel" and covers Acts 16-21.

We invite you to worship with us on any Sunday - either at First Baptist Church of Provo or Christ Presbyterian Church in Magna. We welcome visitors!

"I Am A Child of God" LDS Hymn #301

The Family: A Proclamation To The World

Seminary Manual (*correction: only one day of the curriculum, not two)

Gospel Principles Manual

The New Testament Made Easier by David Ridges

Joseph Smith: here and here

Brigham Young: JD 1: 46-53; JD 4:218; JD 10.319-320; JD 11:268 

A Rational Theology by John Widtsoe

"Joseph Smith and the Forging of Community" by Terryl Givens

Eternal Man by Truman Madsen

Core Christianity; Christless Christianity by Michael Horton

Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen

• Reformed Forum episode- particularly Lane Tipton's commentary on the Liberal phrase "the universal fatherhood of God and brotherhood of man". (Also see his very excellent book The Trinitarian Theology of Cornelius Van Til)

The Trinity: An Introduction by Scott Swain

The Attributes of God: An Introduction by Gerald Bray

Simply Trinity; None Greater by Matthew Barrett

The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul

God In the Whirlwind by David Wells

The Incarnation of God by John Clark and Marcus Peter Johnson

Contemplating God with the Great Tradition by Craig Carter

The Bible Among the Myths by John Oswalt

Created In God's Image by Anthony Hoekema

Being God's Image by Carmen Imes

Paul: An Outline of His Theology by Herman Ridderbos

We Become What We Worship: A Biblical Theology of Idolatry; Union with the Resurrected Christ by G.K. Beale

The God Who Is There; The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God; How Long, O Lord? by D.A. Carson (also here)

Thanksgiving by David Pao

Kingdom Prologue by Meredith Kline

The Dragon, the Mountain, and the Nations by Robert Miller III

n the Beginning...We Misunderstood by Johnny Miller and John Soden

The Hope of Israel: The Resurrection of Christ in the Acts of the Apostles by Brandon Crowe

The Acts of the Apostles by Joseph Fitzmyer

The Spirit, the Church, and the World by John Stott

"The Encounter of Jerusalem with Athens" by Greg Bahnsen (see also here and here)

"Resurrection, Proof, and Presuppositionalism: Acts 17:30-31" by Lane Tipton, found in Revelation and Reason: New Essays in Reformed Aopologetics, edited by K. Scott Oliphant and Lane Tipton

The Idol of Our Age: How the Religion of Humanity Subverts Christianity by Daniel Mahoney

Destroyer of the Gods by Larry Hurtado

The Rise of Christianity by Rodney Stark

Abortion and the Early Church by Michael Gorman

Embryo: A Defense of Human Life by Robert P. George

Dominion by Tom Holland

Slavery, Abortion, and the Politics of Constitutional Meaning by Justin Dyer

American Awakening by Joshua Mitchell

The Harvest of Hellenism by F. E. Peters

Stoicism; Epicureanism

Ancient Greek Religion; Ancient Roman Religion by H.J. Rose

The Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization by Anthony Esolen

The Consequence of Ideas by R.C. Sproul

A History of Western Philosophy and Theology by John Frame

On some further issues of concern pertaining to OUR, which don't even include, to put it nicely, his books of basically straight-up fake history - see Lynn Packer. (also here) Packer's track-record includes the exposing of LDS General Authority Paul H. Dunn. For this, see his book Lying For the Lord - the Paul H. Dunn Stories.

relatedly: The QAnon Deception by James Beverley (also here)

Original title: Racism: Cultural or Doctrinal?

In this episode, Brendon and Skyler discuss the thirtieth lesson in the LDS Come, Follow Me sunday school manual. This week (July 17-23) is titled "The Word of God Grew and Multiplied" and covers Acts 10-15.

We invite you to worship with us on any Sunday - either at First Baptist Church of Provo or Christ Presbyterian Church in Magna. We welcome visitors!

Pastor Brendon's sermon on Colossians 1.9-14

Seminary Manual

2 Nephi 5.21, Alma 3. 6-9, Abraham 1. 24-27

The New Testament Made Easier by David Ridges

Brigham Young: JD 2.143; 2.268; 7.290-291; 10.110; 11.272

Official Declaration 2

"All Are Alike Unto God" (Bruce R. McConkie)

• The same General Authority who wrote: "Negroes in this life are denied the priesthood; under no circumstances can they hold this delegation of authority from the Almighty." Mormon Doctrine, p. 527

"Race and the Priesthood"

• Interview on Ancient Paths TV
• The LDS Gospel Topics Essays: A Scholarly Engagement, edited by Matthew Harris and Newell Bringhurst

First Estate; Second Estate

"Fourteen Fundamentals to Follow the Prophet" (Ezra Taft Benson)

"Let God Prevail" (Russell Nelson)

Brad Wilcox fireside: here

Joseph Smith told Alexander Neibaur that he saw Jesus with a light complexion (white skin) and blue eyes (A.N. Journal, May 24,1844) - thus, looking a lot like...Joseph Smith. Whiteness is also true of Mary in 1 Nephi 11.13-15, who is even claimed by some LDS to actually be from England, based on legend.

The First 2,000 Years by Cleon Skousen

The Church and the Negro by John L. Lund

Prophets, Principles and National Survival compiled by Jerreld Newquist

• "Given the LDS notion that Ham was the one through whom the 'Negro lineage' continued after the flood, some Mormon critics have considered it ironic that Joseph Smith, whom Brigham Young called a 'pure Ephraimite,' would not have also been cursed as to the priesthood since, according to LDS scholar Hugh Nibley, 'Joseph [of the Old Testament] married Asenath [an Egyptian], who was the daughter of the high priest of Heliopolis and a direct descendant of Ham.' This would make both Ephraim and Manasseh - from whom the majority of church members have been told they descend - half Hebrew and half Egyptian, carrying the blood of Ham." ("This Is My Doctrine": The Development of Mormon Theology by Charles R. Harrell, p. 388)

The Mound Builder Myth: Fake History and the Hunt for a "Lost White Race" by Jason Colavito

Mormonism - Shadow or Reality by Jerald and Sandra Tanner (esp.ch. 21)

"Mormonism's Negro Doctrine: An Historical Overview" by Lester Bush

Religion of a Different Color by W. Paul Reeve

The Mormon Church and Blacks; Watchman on the Tower: Ezra Taft Benson and the Making of the Mormon Right; Thunder from the Right: Ezra Taft Benson in Mormonism and Politics by Matthew L. Harris

David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism by Gregory Prince

Black Mormon: The Story of Elijah Ables by Russell Stevenson

Banishing The Cross by Michael Reed

The Doctrine of the Word of God by John Frame

The Religious Affections by Jonathan Edwards

From Every People and Nation: A Biblical Theology of Race by J. Daniel Hays

Recovering Our Sanity: How the Fear of God Conquers the Fears that Divide Us by Michael Horton (also here, and here)

Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen

• Defending the Faith by D.G. Hart
• The Presbyterian Controversy by Bradley Longfield
• Also see here, and here

Fault Lines by Voddie Baucham; also see here, here, and here

The Vanishing Lamanites; Mormonism's Changing "Revelations" on Blacks; The Atheist Illusion (Jason Wallace)

American Awakening by Joshua Mitchell

Union With Christ by J. Todd Billings

More Than A White Man's Religion by Abdu Murray

Michael Heiser; Gospel Coalition

Noah's Curse: The Biblical Justification of American Slavery; The Last Segregated Houir: The Memphis Kneel-Ins and the Campaign for Southern Church Desegregation by Stephen R. Haynes

The Curse of Ham by David Goldenberg

"Noah's Nakedness and the Curse of Canaan" by John Bergsma and Scott Hahn

Gregory of Nyssa, Fourth Homily on Ecclesiastes (here, here and here)

The First Thousand Years by Robert Louis Wilken

Granville Sharp (also here); also did some groundbreaking work in Greek grammar (see The KJV Only Controversy by James White)

The Victory of Reason by Rodney Stark

Dominion by Tom Holland

Destroyer of the Gods by Larry Hurtado

All Mankind Is One by Lewis Hanke

Columbus and the Crisis of the West by Robert Royal

Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches; Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson by S.C. Gwynne

Illiberal Reformers: Race, Eugenics, and American Economics in the Progressive Era by Thomas Leonard (also see here)

Intellectuals and Race; Black Rednecks and White Liberals; Civil Rights: Rhetoric or Reality? by Thomas Sowell (also see here)

The Guarded Gate by Daniel Okrent

Coming to Terms with John F. Kennedy by Stephen F. Knott (esp. the chapter on Civil Rights)

Ordinary Men by Christopher Browning

Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism, and the Politics of Identity by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke

On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed

Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834) is the "father of modern theology".

• "[He] found the church's confession of Jesus Christ, as articulated by the Definition of Chalcedon, to be illogical. Christ, he said, cannot be God the Son in and as man. He must be man like all others, distinguished only 'by the constant potency of His God-consciousness, which was a veritable existence of God in Him.' Christ's God-consciousness should not be confused with divine self-knowledge, for that it is not. Yet the ideal God-consciousness that Christ possessed and exhibited suffices for what Christians have called his 'divinity'. Moreover, Christ's ability to model his fully realized God-consciousness for others, and summon forth the latent God-consciousness of others, constitutes his redemptive activity. Schleiermacher's Christ signals the prospect of human ascent without the paradox of divine descent, man's coming of age without God's coming in the flesh." (The Incarnation of God by John Clark and Macus Peter Johnson, p. 108)
• see here and here for this influence today
• see Contemplating God with the Great Tradition by Craig Carter

Original title: Jesus Standing *as* the Right Hand of the One God

In this episode, Brendon and Skyler discuss the twenty-ninth lesson in the LDS Come, Follow Me sunday school manual. This week (July 10-16) is titled "What Wilt Thou Have Me Do?" and covers Acts 6-9.

We invite you to worship with us on any Sunday - either at First Baptist Church of Provo or Christ Presbyterian Church in Magna. We welcome visitors!

• Salt Lake School of Theology
• For a concise summary of what Christians would mean when we say "the real Jesus" - see, e.g., The Person of Jesus: Radio Addresses on the Deity of the Savior by J. Gresham Machen
• If the kai is epexegetical, it would read: '[Stephen] saw the glory of God, that is, Jesus standing at the right hand of God."

Seminary Manual: here, here, and here

The New Testament Made Easier by David Ridges

Guide to the Scriptures (also here); Topical Guide (also here)

Gospel Principles: here and here

"The Light of Christ" (Boyd Packer)

The Words of Joseph Smith; e.g.: "[Stephen] says that Jesus Christ sat on the right hand of God. Any person that has seen the heavens opened knows that there are three personages in the heavens holding the keys of power." (pp.214); also here, and here

"The Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom He Hath Sent" (Jeffrey Holland) - wherein he states: "We declare it is self-evident from the scriptures that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are separate persons, three divine beings, noting such unequivocal illustrations as the Savior’s great Intercessory Prayer just mentioned, His baptism at the hands of John, the experience on the Mount of Transfiguration, and the martyrdom of Stephen—to name just four."

A Rational Theology by John A. Widtsoe

"His Grace Is Sufficient" (Brad Wilcox); also here

Joseph Smith told Alexander Neibaur that he saw Jesus with a light complexion (white skin) and blue eyes (A.N. Journal, May 24,1844) - thus, looking a lot like...Joseph Smith. This is related to some racial issues in LDS history and has clearly impacted LDS art to this day, as should be obvious throughout any official sources, including the painting of the martyrdom included in the manual for this week. Whiteness is also true of Mary in 1 Nephi 11.13-15, who is even claimed by some LDS to actually be from England, based on legend. (Also see Mormonism - Shadow or Reality by Jerald and Sandra Tanner, ch. 21.)

An Insider's View of Mormon Origins by Grant Palmer; specifically, he outlines ten points that, when considered, make it clear that Paul is the "model" by which Joseph Smith wrote the story about Alma the Younger. (see An Insider's View of Mormon Origins, pp. 50-55f) The evidence is striking, especially if the verses cited are gone through point-by-point.

None Greater; Simply Trinity; God's Word Alone; and The Reformation as Renewal by Matthew Barrett

We Become What We Worship; The Temple and the Church's Mission; God Dwells Among Us by G.K. Beale

• on pp. 216-232 of The Temple and the Church's Mission, Beale has an excellent analysis of Stephen's sermon. Even the headings alone are helpful: Stephen's defence of Christ as the true temple in contrast to the old temple, Stephen's appeal to Isaiah 66 in defence of Christ as the true temple, Stephen's contention that God's eternal end-time temple cannot be 'handmade', Early Christian evidence confirming the above interpretation of Isaiah 66 in Stephen's speech, Paul's contention that a permanent temple for God's presence cannot be 'handmade'.

The Trinitarian Theology of Cornelius Van Til by Lane Tipton

All That Is In God by James Dolezal

The Bible Among the Myths by John Oswalt

Who Is God? by Richard Bauckham

The Hope of Israel by Brandon Crowe

Temple of Presence by Andrea Robinson

The Angel of the Lord by Douglas van Dorn and Matthew Foreman

The Ascension of Christ by Patrick Schreiner

Uncovering the Theme of Revelation in Romans 1.16-3.26: Discovering A New Approach to Paul's Argument by Marcus Mininger

Scholar Murray Harris makes a fascinating point when discussing "at the right hand of God": "To be or sit at someone's right hand is to be in the position of unparalleled honor and privilege (1 Ki 2.19). In the case of Christ this meant sharing God's throne (Rev. 3. 21; 22.1, 3) or occupying the second throne alluded to in Da 7.9 and Mk 14.62 (cf. Heb 1.8). When Paul speaks of Christians' spiritual identification with Christ, he can say, 'God has enthroned us with him [Jesus] in the heavenly realms' (Eph. 2.6), but significantly he does not add 'at his right hand [and greek equivalent]' a phrase that is applied to Christ in a comparable statement in Eph 1.20. Christ's exalted status cannot be shared. Angels stand or fall down in worship in God's presence (1 Ki. 22.19; Rev. 4.10); the enthroned Son sits." (Prepositions and Theology by Murray Harris, pp. 106-107)

Original title: Restoration as Surrealism; precise past-event, or vague forward-focus?

In this episode, Brendon and Skyler discuss the twenty-eighth lesson in the LDS Come, Follow Me sunday school manual. This week (July 3-9) is titled "Ye Shall Be Witnesses unto Me" and covers Acts 1-5.

We invite you to worship with us on any Sunday - either at First Baptist Church of Provo or Christ Presbyterian Church in Magna. We welcome visitors!

Sunday School: here, here, here and here

Individuals and Families

Gospel Principles: here, here, here

The New Testament Made Easier by David Ridges

History of the Church 1.297 - wherein Brigham Young speaks in tongues (twice), a little controversy ensues, and then Joseph Smith calls it "the pure Adamic language" and "of God". It also speaks of the spread of the "gift of tongues". Also see HC 1.323

The Words of Joseph Smith, compiled and edited by Andrew Ehat and Lyndon Cook - under Franklin D. Richards "Scriptural Items":

"Joseph also said that the Holy Ghost is now in a state of Probation which if he should perform in righteousness he may pass through the same or a similar course of things that the Son has." (p. 245) Footnote 26 in the cited quotation states: "George Laub's report of the 16 June 1844 discourse includes the following similar statement: 'But the Holy Ghost is yet a Spiritual body and waiting to take to himself a body, as the Savior did or as God did, or the gods before them took bodies.' Franklin D. Richards's account is less vague and represents the clearest statement on the personal identity of the Holy Ghost." (p. 305)

See here and here; also here

Lectures on Faith

"The Light of Christ" (Boyd Packer)

"Stand As True Millennials" (Russell Nelson); also here, and here

"The Constitution: A Heavenly Banner" (Ezra Taft Benson)

"Socialism and the United Order" (Marion Romney)

The Inevitable Apostasy and the Promised Restoration by Ted R. Callister

The Great Apostasy; Jesus the Christ by James Talmage

Statements of the LDS First Presidency (compiled by Gary Bergera)

• "In His birth, His ministry and glorious Resurrection, and His ascension into heaven, He symbolized the story of our own lives. He taught us that those mortal bodies of ours shall put on immortality, and that we shall rise as He rose, to inherit the glory of everlasting life. This was the purpose for which He came to earth." (Deseret News, Dec. 17, 1932) on pg. 377

Brigham Young:JD 2. 310 JD 3.247

Heber C. Kimball: JD 6.38, 125-126

Jedediah M. Grant: JD 4.49-51

The Gospel Trilogy by Cleon Skousen

"His Grace Is Sufficient" (Brad Wilcox); also here

The Great and Abominable Church of the Devil by H. Verlan Andersen

World and Prophets; Mormonism and Early Christianity; Approaching Zion by Hugh Nibley

• Nibley's teaching that the gnostic texts are a deposit of what Christ taught during the 40-days may sound intriguing to those already gnostically-inclined, like LDS. Morover, as an example, Nibley's assertion that Apocryphon of John was written by John might be usefully confronted by the treatment of Moses in (the actual) John's writings in the NT, versus this gnostic text wherein "the Savior" teaches "John" that "It is not as Moses wrote and you heard". Perhaps it may be more practical to simply invite the Nibley-disciple to publicly read aloud the pages and pages of esoteric names contained therein and see if they can keep a straight face.

Joseph Smith and World Government by Hyrum Andrus (e.g. on p.9 - he includes a quote from President George Q. Cannon stating: "We are asked, Is the Church of God, and the Kingdom of God the same organization? And we are informed that some of the brethren hold that they are separate. This is the correct view to take. The Kingdom of God is a separate organization from the Church of God.")

Conflict In the Quorum by Gary Bergera; note esp. his coverage of the disputes over the power and place of the First Presidency, and the power-move to shift the order of the Quorum of the Twelve.

The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power; The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn

In Sacred Loneliness by Todd Compton

The Mormon Jesus by John Turner; this scholar does a great job of emphasizing the dedication of the Kirtland Temple as what was seen as a kind of "new pentecost" (e.g., pp. 73-77). This was a topic not addressed in the episode.

Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? by Jerald and Sandra Tanner; they usefully note the change to the fourth Article of Faith. Originally, in the 1851 edition, it read:

• "We believe that these ordinances are: 1st, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; 2d, Repentance; 3d, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; 4th, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost."

"Later Mormon historians could see that Joseph Smith had failed to mention Temple Work (Temple Work is taught to be essential for the highest exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom), so they altered Joseph Smith's words to read that Faith, Repentance, Baptism and Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost are only the "first principles and ordinances of the gospel." (p.8) Even something as simple as this has implications for the restoration narrative, and then how that narrative is superimposed upon "past dispensations".

• You can find a transcript of even the more tame mention of "penalties" - as well as the "oath of vengeance" here.

As the Tanners, cited above (pp.470, 474-475), documented - the oaths were already softened before the penalties were removed. For example:

• "We, and each of us, covenant and promise that we will not reveal any of the secrets of this, the first token of the Aaronic priesthood, with its accompanying name, sign or penalty. Should we do so; we agree that our throats be cut from ear to ear and our tongues torn out by their roots." (Temple Mormonism, p. 18)

This was changed to, in the 1968 version:

• "I, __(think of the new name) do covenant and promise that I will never reveal the First Token of the Aaronic Priesthood, together with its accompanying name, sign and penalty. Rather than do so I would suffer that my life be taken."

the second oath:

• "We and each of us do covenant and promise that we will not reveal the secrets of this, the Second Token of the Aaronic Priesthood, with its accompanying name, sign, grip or penalty. Should we do so, we agree to have our breasts cut open and our hearts and vitals torn from our bodies and given to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field." (Temple Mormonism, p. 20)

This was changed to, in the 1968 version:

• "I, __(think of the new name) do covenant and promise that I will never reveal the second token of the Aaronic Priesthood, together with its accompanying name, sign and penalty. Rather than do so I would suffer my life to be taken."

the third oath:

• "We and each of us do covenant and promise that we will not reveal any of the secrets of this, the First Token of the Melchizedek Priesthood, with its accompanying name, sign or penalty. Should we do so, we agree that our bodies be cut asunder in the midst and all our bowels gush out." (ibid., p. 20)

This was changed to, in the 1968 version:

• "I covenant in the name of the Son that I will never reveal the first token of the Melchizedek Priesthood or sign of the nail, with its accompanying name, sign or penalty. Rather than do so I would suffer my life to be taken."

On just one page, Michael Reed summarizes well (and quickly) some of the basics of the succession crisis following the assassination of Joseph Smith: "Joseph Smith's death was unexpected and was a terrible blow. The founding prophet had left no clear successor appointed to unify and, in the words of historian Steven L. Shields, 'the church simply blew apart at the seams.' Rival claimants soon emerged, assumed the mantle, and eventually severed into distinct groups of competing organizations. For example, James J. Strang insisted that he was ordained through angelic ministry immediately at the time of Smith's death. Strang also distributed a 'Letter of Appointment' allegedly written by Joseph Smith, assigning him to gather the faithful to a new center of the church in Voree, Wisconsin.

Sidney Rigdon led a group of Mormons to Pennsylvania and Lyman Wight brought another to Texas. William Smith came forward as the last surviving brother of the fallen prophet, Alpheus Cutler claimed leadership through his membership in Joseph Smith's elite 'Council of Seven,' and David Whitmer claimed leadership based on an 1834 appointment as Smith's successor. After some successes, the movements of all of these successors effectively faltered and most of the Mormons who remained in the Midwest were eventually gathered into the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints under the leadership of the deceased prophet's eldest son, Joseph Smith III.

As president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1844, Brigham Young was also a strong candidate for succession as church president. Beyond his rank, as a polygamist, Brigham Young appealed to the core of Mormon leaders in Nauvoo, who were also engaged in the practice. As historian D. Michael Quinn noted, Brigham Young's followers naturally did not want 'a new church president who would brand polygamist wives as whores.'" (Banishing the Cross, pg.24)

Jason Wallace: here, here, and here

Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen

Grace and Glory by Geerhardus Vos

The City of God by St. Augustine; also, e.g.:

• "What was more proud than for me to have asserted - wondrous madness! - that I was something naturally that you [God] are? For although I am changeable and this was manifest to me by my very desire to be wise - so that from a worse state I could become better - I was nevertheless preferring even to suppose that you were changeable rather than that I was not what you are." (Confessions 4.15.26)

Core Christianity; Christless Christianity; Rediscovering the Holy Spirit by Michael Horton (also here, here, and here)

Redemption Accomplished and Applied by John Murray

The Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin

The Trinitarian Theology of Cornelius Van Til by Lane Tipton

The Forgotten Trinity by James White

Simply Trinity by Matthew Barrett

The Trinity: An Introduction by Scott Swain

The Triune God by Fred Sanders

The Holy Spirit by Christopher Holmes

The Ascension of Christ by Patrick Schreiner

Perspectives on Pentecost by Richard Gaffin

Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God; Concise Theology by J.I. Packer

Union with the Resurrected Christ by G.K. Beale

One with Christ by Marcus Peter Johnson

Divine Government: God's Kingship in the Gospel of Mark by R.T. France

The Kingdom of God and the Church by Geerhardus Vos

The Coming of the Kingdom by Herman Ridderbos

Kingdom Through Covenant by Peter Gentry and Stephen Wellum

Property and Riches in the Early Church by Martin Hengel

Francis of Assissi and His World by Mark Galli

Poverty in the Theology of John Calvin by Bonnie Pattison

The Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization by Anthony Esolen

The Victory of Reason by Rodney Stark

Religion and the Rise of Capitalism by Benjamin Friedman

The Bourgeois Trilogy by Deirdre McCloskey

Idols of Nations by Roland Boer

God and Mammon by Mark Noll

The Enchantment of Mammon by Eugene McCarraher