Mormonism Exposed (Hancock)/Chapter 14

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Chapter Fourteen.

3. The third fact to which we call attention, which demonstrates the falsity of the Book of Mormon is Repentance and the remission of sins were never preached in the name of Christ till the first Pentecost after His crucifixion. It is claimed by the Book of Mormon that those Nephite preachers understood and preached repentance and remission of sins in the name of Christ, centuries before Christ was born. To show the utter falsity of such we call attention to the following Scriptures: "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."—Isa. 2: 2, 3. "But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."—Micah 4: 1, 2. That the word which was to go forth from Jerusalem was the word that embodied repentance and remission of sins in the name of Christ is affirmed in the following: "Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day; And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations beginning ​at Jerusalem."—Luke 24: 46, 47. Previous to that time no petition was offered in the name of Christ. "Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full."—John 16: 24. By the authority of Christ and the prophets we pronounce the Book of Mormon a miserable falsehood, and as a consequence, a miserable fraud.

4. The fourth fact to which we call attention, as a demonstration of the falsity of the Book of Mormon is, The Holy Spirit was not given; and hence not enjoyed by the people of God till after Christ's ascension and glorification. "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart I will send Him unto you."—John 16: 7. "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth."—Acts 1: 8. "But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive; for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified."—John 7; 39. It is claimed by the Book of Mormon that the Nephite churches received and enjoyed the Holy Spirit long before Christ was born, just the same as the disciples of Christ received and enjoyed it on and after the day of Pentecost.

It is plainly to be seen that the two books cannot be reconciled. If the Book of Mormon be true the Bible is false. But the Bible is true. Therefore the Book of Mormon is false.

5. The fifth fact to which we call attention, as a demonstration of the falsity of the Book of Mormon is the modern style of the sermons put into the mouths of those Nephite preachers. Those Nephites be it remembered, claimed to be genuine Jews. Till the time of the beginning of John's ministry, however, Moses was preached. The apostle James said; "For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day." Acts 15: 21. It mattered not whether the pious teacher in the ​synagogue read the lesson from the writings of Moses or from some one of the prophets, the necessity and importance of observing the law was strictly enjoined. Such was not the manner of those Nephite preachers. Their style was very modern, and the Ashdodish language used shows their author to be an ignoramus. One that knew little about either the law or the gospel.

6. The sixth fact that we cite, as a demonstration of the falsity of the Book of Mormon is, Those Nephite preachers claimed to understand the nature and design of the incarnation, the nature and extent of the atonement. Something that neither angel nor man knew till after Christ was glorified.

"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness; God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory."—I. Tim. 3: 16. A mystery is a secret. Here is something that was a great secret. When unfolded it confounded the wise of earth. Of it Paul says, "Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints. is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God."—Eph. 3: 8, 9. "Now to him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith."—Rom. 16: 25, 26.

These statements of Paul are as positive a contradiction of the claims of those Nephite preachers as it would be possible to give in language. As to men or angels possessing the knowledge that those Nephites claimed, Peter testifies as follows: "Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto ​you; Searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into."—I. Peter 1: 10–12.

Other quotations might be given that embody the same affirmation. These, however, are sufficient. These show the utter impossibility of reconciling the two books. If the New Testament be true the Book of Mormon is false.

7. The seventh item to which we call attention, which demonstrates the falsity of the Book of Mormon, is the record concerning the churches, said to be established by those Nephite preachers. That record says, "And he fastened on his head plate, and his breast-plate and his shields and girded on his armor about his loins; and he took the pole, which had on the end thereof his rent coat (and he called it the title of liberty) and he bowed himself to the earth, and he prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his brethren so long as there should be a band of Christians remain to possess the land; for thus were all the true believers of Christ, who belonged to the church of God, by those who did not belong to the church, and those who did belong to the church, were faithful; yea, all those who were true believers in Christ, took upon them, gladly, the name of Christ, or Christians, as they were called, because of their belief in Christ, who should come; and therefore, at this time, Moroni prayed that the cause of the Christians, and the freedom of the land might be favored."—P. 288: 31. In order to believe this record in the Book of Mormon we would be forced to pronounce the Bible record false. Long before Jesus of Nazareth was born, if we are to credit this Nephite record, churches of Christ were established, and the members thereof were called Christians! Christ said to His disciples: "Upon ​this rock I will build my church."—Matt. 16: 18. Evidently Christ did not know that those Nephite preachers had established that institution long before He was born! Surely, the Lord did not know anything about those plates that were "hid up" for Joseph Smith's use?! We had been wont to credit the testimony of Luke, "The beloved physician." This Nephite record, however, being true, Luke is altogether unreliable. He says: "And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch."—Acts 11: 26. This record is either true or false. If true, however the Book of Mormon is false, from beginning to end. Gabriel, Raphael, Michael, nor any of the angelic hosts that ministered to God's ancient worthies could know what was embodied in the Hebrew term Messiah. The holy seers searched and diligently inquired, but it was not for them to know. Cherubim and seraphim gazed with wondering admiration and longed to penetrate the great secret represented by the mercy seat around which the golden bells of Israel's high priests jingle, as they ministered in the holiest of holies, and sprinkled the blood of atonement. But the great secret was hid in God through the former ages. Truly, it does seem, had the Book of Mormon been written purposely to prove the Bible to be a huge lie its claims would have been more honorable than what they are!

We had been wont to believe, from the New Testament record, that When the church of Christ was established the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb were in its foundations. Rev. 21: 14. From the Book of Mormon, however, we learn that those Nephites established that institution long before those apostles were born; and that regardless of any foundation!

What arrangement was there in the divine economy for those Nephite institutions? Remember, the Nephites claimed to be strict observers of the law of Moses. Are there provisions in that law for such institutions? No. They, though the center of their religious interests, were a violation of the command of God. "Ye shall not add unto the word which I ​command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you."—Deut. 4: 2. "What thing sover I command you, observe to do it; thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it." ib. 12: 32. "And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us."—ib. 6: 25. To be righteous under the law they had to do just what was commanded, and just as commanded. Measured by this standard those religious Nephites were an unrighteous people; for they claimed to observe the law, but their religious interests were in institutions unauthorized by the law. These institutions that are so highly commended by the Book of Mormon being without any covenanted provisions of God, were without any authority from God; and as a consequence were entirely outside of the arrangements of God. We submit the following:

  1. All religious arrangements and institutions outside of the covenanted provisions of God are of the devil.
  2. But those Nephite arrangements and institutions were outside of the covenanted provisions of God.
  3. Therefore, those Nephite arrangements and institutions were of the devil.

Again:

  1. All books written for the specific purpose of upholding religious institutions and arrangements outside of the covenanted provisions of God are of the devil.
  2. But the Book of Mormon was written for the purpose of upholding religious institutions and arrangements outside of the covenanted provisions of God.
  3. Therefore the Book of Mormon is of the devil.

The record in the Book of Mormon regarding these Nephite churches gives the lie to the word of God in every particular. When one attained to the position of a Christian he attained to the liberty of a son that has reached his maturity. To this no Jew could attain under the law. Upon this point Paul says: ​"Now I say, that the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though (prospectively) he be lord of all; but is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the Father; (Of course those Nephites just let the Father know that they would pay no attention to his appointment, as to time.) Even so, we when we were children, were in bondage under the elements (rudiments or first principles) of the world; But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law that we might receive the adoption of sons."—Gal. 4: 1–5. If we admit the existence of churches among those Nephites, there being no provisions in the divine arrangement for them, they would be human founded in human wisdom, and governed by human authority.

We submit the following:

  1. All worship in religious institutions being governed by human wisdom is will worship.
  2. But those Nephite churches, having no divine authority for their existence were human and governed by human wisdom.
  3. Therefore, all worship in the Nephite churches was will worship.

Again:

  1. In human institutions, there being a substitution of human wisdom for the divine, the worship therein is idolatrous.
  2. But those Nephite churches were human, and in them there was a substitution of human wisdom for the divine.
  3. Therefore the worship in the Nephite churches was idolatrous.

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