The Confutation of Mormonism - Part 5

 One of the definitional differences between Mormonism & Christianity is the epistemic basis thereof.    Whereas the Bible says “Sola Scriptura” (The OT & NT are theopneustos through & through & can be clearly & correctly understood via the application of the principles of sound reasoning & the rules of biblical hermeneutics, Mormonism looks to the OT & NT & must, generally, be understood via an interpretive grid that runs through the Doctrines & Covenants, Pearl Of Great Price, & The Book of Commandments. 

One of the tell-tale signs that the extra-biblical literature the LDS is not to be regarded as Scripture, aside from literary content that varies/diverges from the Bible correctly exegeted, exposited, understood, & applied is the style in which works like The Book af Commandments are written.  

This is Chapter 1 of The Book af Commandments: 

HEARKEN, O ye people of my church, saith the voice of Him who dwells on high, and whose eyes are upon all men; yea, verily I say, hearken ye people from afar, and ye that are upon the islands of the sea, listen together; for verily the voice of the Lord is unto all men, and there is none to escape, and there is no eye that shall not see, neither ear that shall not hear, neither heart that shall not be penetrated; and the rebellious shall be pierced with much sorrow, for their iniquities shall be spoken upon the housetops, and their secret acts shall be revealed; and the voice of warning shall be unto all people, by the mouths of my disciples, whom I have chosen in these last days, and they shall go forth and none shall stay them, for I the Lord have commanded them.

2 Behold, this is mine authority, and the authority of my servants, and my Preface unto the Book of my Commandments, which I have given them to publish unto you, O inhabitants of the earth:— Wherefore fear and tremble, O ye people for what I the Lord have decreed, in them, shall be fulfilled. [p. [3]] And verily, I say unto you, that they who go forth, bearing these tidings unto the inhabitants of the earth, to them is power given, to seal both on earth and in heaven, the unbelieving and rebellious; yea, verily, to seal them up unto the day when the wrath of God shall be poured out upon the wicked, without measure, unto the day when the Lord shall come to recompence unto every man according to his work, and measure to every man according to the measure which he has measured to his fellow man.

3 Wherefore the voice of the Lord is unto the ends of the earth, that all that will hear may hear: Prepare ye, prepare ye for that which is to come, for the Lord is nigh; and the anger of the Lord is kindled, and his sword is bathed in heaven, and it shall fall upon the inhabitants of the earth; and the arm of the Lord shall be revealed; and the day cometh, that they who will not hear the voice of the Lord, neither the voice of his servants, neither give heed to the words of the prophets, and apostles, shall be cut off from among the people: For they have strayed from mine ordinances, and have broken mine everlasting covenant; they seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth old and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the great, which shall fall:

4 Wherefore I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph, and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments; and also gave commandments to others, that they [p. 4] should proclaim these things unto the world, and all this that it might be fulfilled, which was written by the prophets: The weak things of the world should come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones: that man should not counsel his fellow man, neither trust in the arm of flesh, but that every man might speak in the name of God, the Lord, even the Savior of the world; that faith also might increase in the earth; that mine everlasting covenant might be established; that the fulness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple, unto the ends of the world; and before kings and rulers.

5 Behold I am God and have spoken it: these commandments are of me, and were given unto my servants in their weakness, after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding; and inasmuch as they erred, it might be made known: and inasmuch as they sought wisdom, they might be instructed; and inasmuch as they sinned, they might be chastened, that they might repent; and inasmuch as they were humble, they might be made strong, and blessed from on high, and receive knowledge from time to time: after they, having received the record of the Nephites; yea, even my servant Joseph might have power to translate through the mercy of God, by the power of God, the book of Mormon: And also, those to whom these commandments were given, might have power to lay the foundation of this church, and to bring it forth out of obscurity, and out of darkness, the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which I the Lord am well pleased, speaking unto the church collectively and not individually, for I the Lord can not look upon sin [p. 5] with the least degree of allowance: Nevertheless he that repenteth and doeth the commandments of the Lord, shall be forgiven, and he that repenteth not from him shall be taken even the light which he hath received, for my Spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the Lord of hosts.

6 And again, verily I say unto you, O inhabitants of the earth, for I the Lord am willing to make these things known unto all flesh, for I am no respecter to persons, and willeth that all men shall know that the day speedily cometh, the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand, when peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his own dominion; and also, the Lord shall have power over his saints and shall reign in their midst, and shall come down in judgment upon Idumea, or the world.

7 Search these commandments, for they are true and faithful, and the prophecies and promises which are in them, shall all be fulfilled. What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself, and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice, or by the voice of my servants, it is the same: For behold, and lo, the Lord is God, and the Spirit beareth record, and the record is true, and the truth abideth forever and ever: Amen. [p. 6]

The text reads like a speech that a stereotypical 19th Century snake oil salesman might write & deliver.  The text is verbose & reads like God & the human writer thinks He needs to threaten people into submission.  It’s also full of “Yay Verily” and “High & Mighty,” that, to be honest, comes across as needless rhetoric meant to establish his authority & that of Joseph Smith as the people’s overlords.  

Compare this text how God introduces Himself in the Bible in connection with the proclamation of His Law & Gospel.  

1And God spoke all these words:

2“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

Exodus 20

3You shall have no other gods before Me.a

4You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath. 5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6but showing loving devotion to a thousand generationsbof those who love Me and keep My commandments.

7You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.

8Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God, on which you must not do any work—neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant or livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates. 11For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, but on the seventh day He rested. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.

12Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.c

13You shall not murder.d

14You shall not commit adultery.e

15You shall not steal.f

16You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.g

17You shall not coveth your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

Deuteronomy 5

At that time I was standing between the LORD and you to declare to you the word of the LORD, because you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain. And He said: 6“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

7You shall have no other gods before Me.c

8You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath. 9You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 10but showing loving devotion to a thousand generationsdof those who love Me and keep My commandments.

11You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.

12Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. 13Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God, on which you must not do any work—neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox or donkey or any of your livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest as you do. 15Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. That is why the LORD your God has commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

16Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.e

17You shall not murder.f

18You shall not commit adultery.g

19You shall not steal.h

20You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.i

21You shall not covetj your neighbor’s wife. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house or field, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”  

Matthew 5

1When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain and sat down. His disciples came to Him, 2and He began to teach them, saying:

The Beatitudes
(Psalm 1:1–6; Luke 6:20–23)

3“Blessed are the poor in spirit, 

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4Blessed are those who mourn, 

for they will be comforted.

5Blessed are the meek, 

for they will inherit the earth.a

6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, 

for they will be filled.

7Blessed are the merciful, 

for they will be shown mercy.

8Blessed are the pure in heart, 

for they will see God.

9Blessed are the peacemakers, 

for they will be called sons of God.

10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, 

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.

John 1

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.2He was with God in the beginning.3Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made. 4In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcomea it.

In terms of the words the LORD deploys when He commands people, the LORD just commands & doesn’t do the “Yay Verily,” “High & Mighty” routine.   The Bible simply announces that the LORD alone is our Creator & Deliverer & does feel the need to justify himself.   Nor does the Bible do much with respect to the identity of prophets.    They sometimes receive a vision or see strange & wonderful things, but they really don’t drone on about themselves unless they (& the LORD) feel it is absolutely necessary to do so.   For example, the New Testament depicts that as the sort of thing a (so-called) “Superapostle,” might do.   

It should be painfully obvious that The Book af Commandments

O LORD, Hear our prayer(s)!