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Understanding the True Origins of Mormonism
The Incredible Story of a Race of Celestial Beings that once Came to the Earth...
by Clare Gregory
Chapter 22
More Sure Word of Prophecy
“Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and
election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall.” (2 Peter
1:10.)
“We have a more sure word of prophesy; whereunto ye do well that ye take
heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and
the day star arise in your hearts: knowing this, that now prophecy of
scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in
old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by
the Holy Ghost.” (2 Peter 1:19-21)
“Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words:
and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode
with him.” (John 14:23).
Joseph Smith has perverted the interpretation of these three scriptures
perhaps more than any other scriptures in the Bible. I want to succinctly
demonstrate how the Nephilim light operated in Joseph Smith, so that it will
be undeniably clear to all how Joseph Smith as well as the LDS people are so
easily deceived. Essentially, the Nephilim take passages of scriptures here
and there and illuminate Biblical sentences out of context, then they
interpolate the concepts into broader frameworks of knowledge based on an
individual’s personal experience and not the experience of the Biblical
writer that revealed the true principles. In the case of having our
“calling and election sure” and the “more sure word of prophecy”, here is
what Joseph Smith taught:
"After a person hath faith in Christ, repents of his sins and is baptized for
the remission of his sins and received the Holy Ghost (by the laying on of
hands) which is the first comforter, then let him continue to humble himself
before God, hungering and thirsting after righteousness and living by every
word of God and the Lord will soon say unto him, 'Son, thou shalt be
exalted,' etc. When the Lord has thoroughly proved him and finds that the
man is determined to serve him at all hazard, then the man will find his
calling and election made sure. Then it will be his privilege to receive the
other Comforter which the Lord hath promised the saints.
"Now what is this other comforter? It is no more or less than the Lord Jesus
Christ himself, and this is the sum and substance of the whole matter: that
when any man obtains this last comforter he will have the personage of Jesus
Christ to attend him or appear unto him from time to time, and even he will
manifest the Father unto him, and they will take up their abode with him,
and the visions of the heavens will be opened unto him, and the Lord will
teach him face to face, and he may have a perfect knowledge of the mysteries
of the kingdom of God, and this is the state and place the ancient saints
arrived at when they had such glorious visions, Isaiah, Ezekiel, John upon
the Isle of Patmos, St. Paul in the third heavens, and all the saints who
held communion with the general assembly and Church of the Firstborn." (The
Words of Joseph Smith, 27 June 1839, p. 5.)
Oh, Peter, if they who were of like precious faith with thee were enjoined
to make their calling and election sure, how much more all we. There are two
keys: one key knowledge, the other make your calling and election sure, for
if you do these things you shall never fall, ‘for so an entrance shall be
administered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ. We made known unto you the power and coming of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, were eye witnesses of his majesty when he
received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice
to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased. This voice which came from heaven we heard when we were with him in
the holy mount. We have also a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto give
heed until the day star arise in your hearts.’ It is one thing to receive
knowledge by the voice of God (this is my beloved Son, etc.) and another to
know that you, yourself, will be saved. To have a positive promise of your
own salvation is making your calling and election sure, viz. the voice of
Jesus saying 'My beloved, thou shalt have eternal life.' Brethren, never
cease struggling until you get this evidence. Take heed both before and
after obtaining this more sure word of prophecy." (The Words of Joseph
Smith, 21 May 1843, pp. 207-08.)
“John 14:23—The appearing of the Father and Son, in that verse, is a
personal appearance; and the idea that the Father and the Son dwell in a
man’s heart is an old sectarian notion and is false.” (D&C 130:3.)
Someone reading Peter and John and then Joseph Smith might feel puzzled at
the extreme view Joseph had about the interpretation of the Bible.
Certainly, of the millions of Christians who have read the Bible over the
past few centuries, this view is unique to Joseph Smith. So how did Joseph
decide on this understanding of the Word of God? It was by HIS EXPERIENCE.
He interjecting his own experience over the Word of God, thus twisting the
Word to force-fit his own false experiences to justify the course of light
he chose to follow. For example, Joseph Smith experienced false Nephilim
angels on many occasions. He sacrificed everything to follow them, and they
appeared as a counterfeit Father and Son, promising that he had eternal
life, and instructing him in the “mysteries” of heaven. But they were not
the true mysteries of God, but counterfeit light that was full of glory and
power, but is founded on half-true principles that either contradict the
Bible or are completely missing from its pages.
Let us just examine what Joseph Smith believed. He taught that receiving 1)
the Second Comforter, 2) making our calling and election sure, and 3) the
more sure word of prophesy were interrelated in a grand doctrinal theme that
guaranteed salvation. After receiving the priesthood ordinances, let a
believer “continue to humble himself before God, hungering and thirsting
after righteousness and living by every word of God and the Lord will soon
say unto him, 'Son, thou shalt be exalted'.” Joseph Smith had experienced
this promise, for he certainly sacrificed his soul by following his god unto
death. His god surely appeared to him in tangible form, showing him the
temple signs and tokens, and teaching him the LDS mysteries. Thus, Joseph
Smith had a “knowledge” that went beyond personal belief. The tangible
promise of being “exalted” was “evidence” even greater than the gold
plates. He saw beings of light representing the Father and Son, who
appeared to him, and they chatted about eternal principles as if they were
best friends having a backyard Bar-B-Q. Joseph Smith believed these
experiences were genuinely from the Holy Spirit, and as such, he
superimposed his experience over the Bible. And thus, we see Joseph Smith
used the Bible to justify his personal experiences that they were from God.
This put him in a very unique position, for rather than standing on the Word
in the Bible, he stood on what he saw and heard in the flesh—with his eyes
and ears, what he felt with his skin, or what his feelings dictated. To
him, Christ’s physical appearance to him was the “perfect knowledge” a
person needed to bring comfort, peace, and strength in their testimony of
the gospel and belief in Jesus. Indeed, it was his own experience in these
matters that gave him so much internal power, for he believed what he
experienced was true—or rather, HE KNEW! He trusted that knowledge more so
than the Words in the Bible, or rather, he placed his experience over the
Bible. Then he brilliantly discovered many patterns that fit nicely into
Biblical sentences or verses and proclaimed he was a prophet. He did
multiple “verse hopping”, connecting multiple Biblical sentences out of
context, thus creating a convoluted gospel that appears to be Biblical, but
is not.
The Bible Is True
>From his writings, it is clear what Joseph thought the Bible meant, but
let’s examine the Bible in context and see what mature Christian prophets
really wrote by the power of the Holy Spirit. Peter, immediately following
his explanation of a “more sure word of prophecy” that Joseph Smith preached
was the appearance of Jesus Christ in the flesh, clearly warns us about
private interpretations:
“Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private
interpretation. For the prophecy came not by the will of man: but holy men
of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” (2 Peter
2:21.)
Peter, knowing that many would misunderstand the Holy Spirit, qualified his
writing by teaching that we must not use our “private experiences” to view
the scriptures through. They are biased lenses. They influence our
perceptions and understanding. Thus, you will not see Joseph Smith build
his theological position from the Bible. Rather it is always: “Look what
God showed me personally by revelation. See. It fits right here in this
verse in the Bible. Therefore, the Bible supports my personal experience
and revelation.” From very obscure words or sentences in the Bible that
appear convincing, we swallow Joseph Smith’s entire experience as being from
God, when it was not. He did this with the Book of Mormon, the temple, the
First Vision, the purpose of life, baptism for the dead, the Mount of
Transfiguration, and most all of the other visions and spiritual experiences
he encountered. He promoted his revelations into the limelight of
Mormonism, eventually changing the Bible in the verses that contradicted the
false spirit he was under, and thus, the LDS quote Joseph’s Inspired Version
of the Bible, proving the Bible is full of supposed errors.
I’m not claiming we don’t have spiritual experiences similar to the Bible.
The Holy Spirit works on all Christians and produces Biblical fruits.
However, we should use our experience to prove the Bible is true and not to
prove we are prophets or righteous human beings.
Calling and Election Made Sure
Now, lets look at the Bible in context and examine whether Peter and John
were operating under the same assumptions and spirit of Joseph Smith. Let’s
look closely at 2 Peter 1:1-21. I will cover a few verses at a time and
interject comments:
"Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have
obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and
our Savior Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the
knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, according as his divine power hath
given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the
knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue" (2 Peter 1:1-3)
As a foundation, Peter introduces faith and knowledge. We can presume that
Peter had received both the more sure word of prophecy and had made his
calling election sure. If Joseph Smith is correct, then Peter should be
thinking of the “knowledge” he has of exaltation in the Celestial world.
But notice that he begins his writing with the principle of faith in verse
one, and not “perfect knowledge”. The gospel foundation according to Peter
is faith, which came not by knowledge, but by the righteousness of God and
Jesus Christ—or by God’s grace and love. And thus in verse 2, Peter
follows the train of thought that “grace and peace” be multiplied through
the knowledge of God and Jesus. Please note that “knowledge of God” is not
what Joseph Smith taught. To believe something, we must know what to
believe. That is just basic common sense. We need to have thoughts to
believe in, and that requires knowledge. So, we read God’s Word. It is the
truth. And that is the knowledge of God! The mind is the intellect that
stores knowledge and information, and thus, the foundation of God is not of
the heart or feelings, but it is of the MIND. We believe in thoughts.
In these three verses alone, God exposes the lie of Mormonism. We do not
see Peter writing of spiritual experiences and feelings as the foundation of
our testimony. Rather we see faith and grace multiplied through the Word of
Truth, or knowledge of God. This is extremely vital in understanding our
Christian faith. For if we follow Joseph Smith, he will lead us to believe
that perfect knowledge of God relates to the experiences outside of our
intellect--our feelings, personal visions, revelations, and so forth.
Spiritual experiences are part of the total religious realm, but they are
NOT the foundation. And Peter’s masterfully builds the correct foundation
for us, then shows us very clearly the principles that rest on top of faith
and knowledge in the remainder of chapter 1. He explains that God by his
divine power gives us “all things the pertain to eternal life and godliness”
through the “knowledge of Him” [through His Word of Truth] who has called us
to glory and virtue.
Thus we also see the truth of John’s writings:
“In the beginning was the Word [knowledge of truth], and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All
things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was
made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And light
[knowledge of truth] shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it
not [because of deceived feelings]". (John 1:1-5.)
This is not what Joseph Smith taught about the Word, or the knowledge of
God. He taught the end goal of “knowing God” was seeing him personally
either in the flesh or in visions. He saw God’s outside form and not His
substance of Love, Light, Truth, Spirit, and Word, which truth and knowledge
of God “multiplies His grace and peace” throughout the world. So, Joseph
Smith was half-right about the knowledge of God was seeing Him, but his
DEFINITION of God was twisted, defining him as a bodily form he could see in
the flesh, and not His internal substance—His MIND.
Look what Joseph believed:
“In the beginning was the gospel preached through the Son. And the gospel
was the word, and the word was with the Son, and the Son was with God, and
the Son was of God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were
made by him; and without him was not anything made which was made. In him
was the gospel, and the gospel was the life, and the life was the light of
men. And the light shineth in the world, and the world perceiveth it not.”
(Joseph Smith Translation, John 1:1-5.)
This passage clearly demonstrates the mind of Joseph Smith being influenced
by false light. He saw God’s image or form, but not the God of Truth.
Therefore, he needed to alter these verses to keep in harmony his belief
that God and Jesus were two resurrected personages, and not one God—OR THE
WORD OF TRUTH. Thus, Jesus is not defined as “the Word”, but rather the
gospel is the word, and this word “or message” was with Jesus, and Jesus was
with God.
Now, a little reasoning here can make the absurdity of the LDS understanding
jump out like bats in the daylight. All we need to do is think a little.
If Joseph is correct, then this means that originally John 1:1 said the
gospel was the word--not Jesus and not God. Supposedly, the passage was then
deliberated corrupted and changed to say that Jesus and the Father was the
Word as it stands today in the King James Bible. Why would anyone make that
kind of change? If I’m a wicked priest and want to control others, would I
do this? If I change the scripture to claim that God is the Word, then what
happens to my authority? I lose power. The Word is not just a gospel
message anymore, IT IS GOD. So would I tamper with this verse? No! The KJV
is correct as it stands today.
Let’s continue with 2 Peter:
“Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by
these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the
corruption that is in the world through lust.” (2 Peter 1:4.)
Through the knowledge of God, or the Word, we receive grace, peace, and
faith and become born again, partakers of the Holy Spirit and divine nature
of God.
“And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to
virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience;
and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to
brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they
make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of
our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:5-8)
Once born of the Holy Spirit, we mature through a process of Christian
discipleship. We GROW in spiritual capability and talents. We mature.
This process is a step ladder of principles that we climb:
- Eight: Charity
- Seven: Brotherly Kindness
- Six: Godliness
- Five: Patience
- Four: Temperance
- Three: Knowledge
- Two: Virtue
- One: Faith
Our foundation is faith. The final destination of our faith is charity, or
the pure love of Jesus Christ, which is pure moral will. It is the ability
we develop to keep the commandment of God in serving others without thought
of return. We develop this love by receiving God’s Word by faith and
disciplining our carnal sexual appetites through virtuous thoughts. Once
our sexual life is under control, our mind is much more ready to receive
intelligence and knowledge—both of God’s world and man’s. With knowledge,
comes the requirement to balance and prioritize our time and work to get the
proper balance of life, without which, intemperance leads to extreme
behaviors and blindness. Temperance leads to patience, as we prioritize and
practice organizational skills and trade-offs between competing
objectives—we learn to choose between multiple good projects, and patiently
wait for the hand of God to open doors and confirm directions for us.
Having patience is a great virtue, for it brings peace to our world and
allows us to serve with contentment, for the mind is freed up to relax and
“see others” as people in need, without our “rushing” about impatiently out
of control. We learn to meet the needs of others. This is intelligent
application of truth is godliness. It is quiet activity that blesses
everyone. We become a godly light to our friends and family, and we
demonstrate “brotherly kindness” to our closest associates by love. Then,
as we love our closest friends, we also learn that others who are not born
again may revile us and return “evil for good”. We can show brotherly
kindness to enemies we get slapped in the face. Ouch! Hence, the final
need is charity, or God’s love, in which we give expecting no reward from
others. Therefore, as we get emotionally slapped, then we can still love
others anyway. With the strength of God, we are capable of venturing
outside our comfort zones. We reach out to everyone, not just our personal
friends. We even love our vilest enemies, and pray for them. We are no
respecters of persons, just like Jesus Christ.
“But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and
hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins” (2 Peter 1:9).
The gospel is more than receiving Jesus into our hearts. It’s about growing
in Christian maturity, and if we do not have these principles in our lives,
then we will not see very far in front of us, and we will be blind. For
example, if we receive Jesus Christ but don’t add virtue to our faith, then
we will continue to view life through carnal appetites. We will not be
pure, and our mind will skew the Word of God with inaccurate meanings. We
will see no further than the impulses of the flesh. We will be spiritually
near-sighted. We will see the food in front of us, but the road signs in
the distance will be a blur.
"Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and
election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an
entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting
kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:10-11)
God calls us into His Kingdom by His Word. We respond to that calling.
The elect are those chosen by God to do his will, and they do it. They are
“chosen” to be his Holy Temples, based on their responding to God’s call.
God calls everyone to his grace. But not all are chosen to do his will,
for many who are called DO NOT do the things Peter instructs, but rather,
after being called, they refuse to mature in the Holy Spirit. After
conception, they abort themselves before being fully born into the light
through self-discipline.
Having our calling and election made sure means we simply mature in
Christian character and do God’s will. That is all. It’s not a big mystery
or celebrated with the fireworks of Jesus appearing in the flesh. Such LDS
doctrine is meaningless to building our character. We are promised eternal
life or exaltation? So what! Is that going to build our patience and
love? I don’t believe so. All it does is stroke our ego. We are “special”
according to our spiritual experience.
We are to look for CHARITY and the FRUITS listed by Peter to make our
calling and election sure. For example, if we examine our life, and we are
loving, patient, and virtuous, will this not give as an assurance that we
are God’s temple, called and elected to do God’s will? But if we are
suppose to look for Jesus in the flesh saying, “Thou shalt be exalted”, as
Joseph Smith taught, then why didn’t Peter write it? It’s not there, is
it? This is always the problem with Mormonism. Joseph tells us all these
neat doctrines, then we look for it in the Bible, and it’s just not there!
It’s just like Peter 16:19 referring to the “keys of the kingdom” that
Mormons claim come by the laying on of hands. Why doesn’t the Bible say
Jesus ordain Peter on the spot when he spoke of keys? And then there is
baptism. Why didn’t Jesus just say: “You must be baptized by proper
authority to be saved.” Thus, we do NOT find the Biblical support for these
private interpretations, and we question and wonder about Joseph Smith and
what the truth really is.
Thank God, having our calling and election made sure is crystal clear in the
Bible. Peter means we look for the fruit of CHARACTER in our lives that
comes by adding to our faith virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience,
godliness, brotherly kindness, and Charity. For he says clearly:
“….for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall” (2 Peter 1:10).
Even a child can understand Peter. If we obey God’s word and apply the
principles of truth, they become a part of our character and nature. It is
called the divine nature. It is who we are. And if we change into a
different person in Christ, then we can’t fall, can we?
The more we change, the more we are doing the will of God, and therefore, we
are the elect by definition. God has chosen to live in us. Our calling and
election is sure. And our minds rejoice in Jesus making us new creatures,
dedicated to serve God. We will enter the Kingdom of God and be saved for
sure!
"For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the
everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:11)
How much more clear can Peter be? It makes perfect sense. Now, where is
the doctrine of Joseph Smith?:
"After a person hath faith in Christ, repents of his sins and is baptized for
the remission of his sins and received the Holy Ghost (by the laying on of
hands) which is the first comforter, then let him continue to humble himself
before God, hungering and thirsting after righteousness and living by every
word of God and the Lord will soon say unto him, 'Son, thou shalt be
exalted,' etc. When the Lord has thoroughly proved him and finds that the
man is determined to serve him at all hazard, then the man will find his
calling and election made sure. Then it will be his privilege to receive the
other Comforter which the Lord hath promised the saints." (The Words of
Joseph Smith, 27 June 1839, p. 5.)
It this bizarre twist really taught by Peter? Judge for yourself. I’ve
quoted all of the words of Peter and explained them. The fact is Joseph
Smith superimposed his private experience over this chapter, corrupting the
Word of God.
"Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these
things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. Yea, I
think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting
you in remembrance; Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle,
even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me. Moreover I will endeavor that
ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance."
(1 Peter 1:12-15.)
Peter is aware of his imminent death that Jesus showed him, and he is
writing to the Christians about those principles that will ground them in
Christ. He understands that we can fall from grace if we are not diligent
in implement and establishing the present truth in our hearts. Thus, he
writes to them how to ensure their salvation in the Kingdom of God, to keep
these principles before their remembrance, because he cares about them.
This page was first created on 23 January 1999 Last Updated on 16 April 1999
Created and Maintained by The New Covenant Assemblies of Yahweh
Not all the views expressed in this book are necessarily those of NCAY
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