Tag: baptism

This post comes directly from something I read on my favorite Book of Mormon commentary website. He received it from a book I would like to read at some point by Anthony E. Bentley: 1000 Evidences for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Part Two-A Voice from the Dust: 500 Evidences in Support of the Book of Mormon. The portion I’m taking from the book is from pages 16-17.

In the book, Brother Bentley points out how critics like to ask for specific examples of any “plain and precious things” found in the Book of Mormon that are not also found in the Bible. He then provides this list:

• The Lord prepares a way for us to keep all of His commandments (1 Nephi 3:7):
  • 7 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I ^awill go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no ^bcommandments unto the children of men, save he shall ^cprepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.
• How mysteries are made known unto man (1 Nephi 10:19; Mosiah 2:9; Alma 12:10; 26:22)
  • 19 For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the ^bmysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the ^cHoly Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the ^dcourse of the Lord is one eternal round.
  • 9 And these are the words which he ^aspake and caused to be written, saying: My brethren, all ye that have assembled yourselves together, you that can hear my words which I shall speak unto you this day; for I have not commanded you to come up hither to ^btrifle with the words which I shall speak, but that you should ^chearken unto me, and open your ears that ye may hear, and your ^dhearts that ye may understand, and your ^eminds that the ^fmysteries of God may be unfolded to your view.
  • 10 And therefore, he that will ^aharden his heart, the same receiveth the ^blesser portion of the word; and he that will ^cnot harden his heart, to him is ^dgiven the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full.
  • 22 Yea, he that ^arepenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good ^bworks, and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the ^cmysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be ^dgiven to ^ereveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance.
• The process for receiving revelation and inspiration (1 Nephi 17:45; Enos 1:10)
  • 45 Ye are ^aswift to do iniquity but slow to remember the Lord your God. Ye have seen an ^bangel, and he spake unto you; yea, ye have heard his voice from time to time; and he hath spoken unto you in a still small voice, but ye were ^cpast feeling, that ye could not feel his words; wherefore, he has spoken unto you like unto the voice of thunder, which did cause the earth to shake as if it were to divide asunder.
  • 10 And while I was thus struggling in the spirit, behold, the voice of the Lord came into my ^amind again, saying: I will visit thy brethren according to their diligence in keeping my commandments. I have ^bgiven unto them this land, and it is a holy land; and I ^ccurse it not save it be for the cause of iniquity; wherefore, I will visit thy brethren according as I have said; and their ^dtransgressions will I bring down with sorrow upon their own heads.
• The gentiles to assist the house of Israel (1 Nephi 22:8-11; 2 Nephi 10:18)
  • 8 And after our seed is scattered the Lord God will proceed to do a ^amarvelous work among the ^bGentiles, which shall be of great ^cworth unto our seed; wherefore, it is likened unto their being nourished by the ^dGentiles and being carried in their arms and upon their shoulders.
  • 9 And it shall also be of ^aworth unto the Gentiles; and not only unto the Gentiles but ^bunto all the ^chouse of Israel, unto the making known of the ^dcovenants of the Father of heaven unto Abraham, saying: In thy ^eseed shall all the kindreds of the earth be ^fblessed.
  • 10 And I would, my brethren, that ye should know that all the kindreds of the earth cannot be blessed unless he shall make ^abare his arm in the eyes of the nations.
  • 11 Wherefore, the Lord God will proceed to make bare his arm in the eyes of all the ^anations, in bringing about his covenants and his gospel unto those who are of the house of Israel.
  • 18 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, thus saith our God: I will afflict thy seed by the hand of the Gentiles; nevertheless, I will ^asoften the hearts of the ^bGentiles, that they shall be like unto a father to them; wherefore, the Gentiles shall be ^cblessed and ^dnumbered among the house of Israel.
• The law of consecration (2 Nephi 2:2)
  • 2 Nevertheless, Jacob, my firstborn in the wilderness, thou knowest the greatness of God; and he shall consecrate thine ^aafflictions for thy gain.
• The reason God allows evil and opposition to continue in the world and the importance of moral agency (2 Nephi 2:2, 10:16)
  • 2 (See above).
  • 16 Wherefore, he that ^afighteth against ^bZion, both Jew and Gentile, both bond and free, both male and female, ^cshall perish; for ^dthey are they who are the ^ewhore of all the earth; for ^fthey who are ^gnot for me are ^hagainst me, saith our God.
• The purpose of Adam’s fall & man’s existence (2 Nephi 2:22-25)
  • 22 And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end.
  • 23 And they would have had no ^achildren; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no ^bjoy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no ^csin.
  • 24 But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who ^aknoweth all things.
  • 25 ^aAdam ^bfell that men might be; and men ^care, that they might have ^djoy.
• The lost prophecy of the latter-day Joseph (2 Nephi 3:6-16)
• God’s word is not limited to the Bible (2 Nephi 29:3-13)
• The lost teachings of Zenos (Jacob 5:1-77)
• A description of the natural man, and how to overcome (Mosiah 3:19; Alma 5:6-45)
  • 19 For the ^anatural ^bman is an ^cenemy to God, and has been from the ^dfall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he ^eyields to the enticings of the ^fHoly Spirit, and ^gputteth off the ^hnatural man and becometh a ⁱsaint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a ^jchild, ^ksubmissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.
• How to retain the remission of sins (Mosiah 4:11-16)
• The true process of being born again (Mosiah 5:2-9; Alma 5:6-45)
• The office and calling of a seer (Mosiah 8:13-17):
  • 13 Now Ammon said unto him: I can assuredly tell thee, O king, of a man that can ^atranslate the records; for he has wherewith that he can look, and translate all records that are of ancient date; and it is a gift from God. And the things are called ^binterpreters, and no man can look in them except he be commanded, lest he should look for that he ought not and he should perish. And whosoever is commanded to look in them, the same is called ^cseer.
  • 14 And behold, the king of the people who are in the land of Zarahemla is the man that is commanded to do these things, and who has this high gift from God.
  • 15 And the king said that a ^aseer is greater than a prophet.
  • 16 And Ammon said that a seer is a revelator and a prophet also; and a gift which is greater can no man have, except he should possess the power of God, which no man can; yet a man may have great power given him from God.
  • 17 But a seer can know of things which are past, and also of things which are to come, and by them shall all things be revealed, or, rather, shall secret things be made manifest, and hidden things shall come to light, and things which are not known shall be made known by them, and also things shall be made known by them which otherwise could not be known.
• The manner in which faith is developed and maintained (Alma 32:26-34)
• The relationship between justice and mercy (Alma 34:15-16)
  • 15 And thus he shall bring ^asalvation to all those who shall believe on his name; this being the intent of this last sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, and bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance.
  • 16 And thus ^amercy can satisfy the demands of ^bjustice, and encircles them in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of ^cjustice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal ^dplan of ^eredemption.
• The state of the soul between death and the resurrection (Alma 40:11-14):
  • 11 Now, concerning the ^astate of the soul between ^bdeath and the resurrection—Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are ^ctaken ^dhome to that God who gave them life.
  • 12 And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of ^ahappiness, which is called ^bparadise, a state of rest, a state of ^cpeace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow.
  • 13 And then shall it come to pass, that the ^aspirits of the wicked, yea, who are evil—for behold, they have no part nor portion of the Spirit of the Lord; for behold, they chose evil works rather than good; therefore the spirit of the ^bdevil did enter into them, and take possession of their house—and these shall be cast out into ^couter darkness; there shall be ^dweeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, and this because of their own iniquity, being led captive by the will of the devil.
  • 14 Now this is the state of the ^asouls of the ^bwicked, yea, in darkness, and a state of awful, ^cfearful looking for the fiery ^dindignation of the wrath of God upon them; thus they remain in this ^estate, as well as the righteous in paradise, until the time of their resurrection.
• Christians and Christianity flourished before the time of Christ (Alma 46:13-16):
  • 13 And he fastened on his head-plate, and his ^abreastplate, 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 ^btitle of liberty) and he ^cbowed 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 a band of ^dChristians remain to possess the land—
  • 14 For thus were all the true believers of Christ, who belonged to the church of God, called by those who did not belong to the church.
  • 15 And those who did belong to the church were ^afaithful; yea, all those who were true believers in Christ ^btook upon them, gladly, the name of Christ, or ^cChristians as they were called, because of their belief in Christ who should come.
  • 16 And therefore, at this time, Moroni prayed that the cause of the Christians, and the ^afreedom of the land might be favored.
• The symbolisms of the remnant of Joseph’s coat (Alma 46:23)
  • 23 Moroni said unto them: Behold, we are a ^aremnant of the seed of Jacob; yea, we are a remnant of the seed of ^bJoseph, whose ^ccoat was rent by his brethren into many pieces; yea, and now behold, let us remember to keep the commandments of God, or our garments shall be rent by our brethren, and we be cast into prison, or be sold, or be slain.
• The perpetual cycle of the human experience (pride cycle): obedience–>blessings–>prosperity–>pride–>sin–punishment–>humility–>repentance–>obedience . . . (Helaman 12:1-3):
  • 1 And thus we can behold how false, and also the unsteadiness of the hearts of the children of men; yea, we can see that the Lord in his great infinite goodness doth bless and ^aprosper those who put their ^btrust in him.
  • 2 Yea, and we may see at the very ^atime when he doth ^bprosper his people, yea, in the increase of their fields, their flocks and their herds, and in gold, and in silver, and in all manner of ^cprecious things of every kind and art; sparing their lives, and delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; softening the hearts of their enemies that they should not declare wars against them; yea, and in fine, doing all things for the welfare and happiness of his people; yea, then is the time that they do ^dharden their hearts, and do ^eforget the Lord their God, and do ^ftrample under their feet the Holy One—yea, and this because of their ease, and their exceedingly great prosperity.
  • 3 And thus we see that except the Lord doth ^achasten his people with many afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with ^bdeath and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not ^cremember him.
• The “other sheep” spoken of in John 10:16 are identified (3 Nephi 15:16-24)
• The powers of translated beings (3 Nephi 28:36-40)
  • 36 And now behold, as I spake concerning those whom the Lord hath chosen, yea, even three who were caught up into the heavens, that I knew not whether they were ^acleansed from ^bmortality to immortality—
  • 37 But behold, since I wrote, I have inquired of the Lord, and he hath made it manifest unto me that there must needs be a change wrought upon their bodies, or else it needs be that they must taste of death;
  • 38 Therefore, that they might not taste of death there was a ^achange wrought upon their bodies, that they might not ^bsuffer pain nor sorrow save it were for the sins of the world.
  • 39 Now this change was not equal to that which shall take place at the last day; but there was a change wrought upon them, insomuch that Satan could have no power over them, that he could not ^atempt them; and they were ^bsanctified in the flesh, that they were ^choly, and that the powers of the earth could not hold them.
  • 40 And in this state they were to remain until the judgment day of Christ; and at that day they were to receive a greater change, and to be received into the kingdom of the Father to go no more out, but to dwell with God eternally in the heavens.
• Baptism is only for those who are accountable (Moroni 8:5-23)
• The manner in which all truth may be verified (Moroni 10:4-5)   
  • 4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ^aask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not ^btrue; and if ye shall ask with a ^csincere heart, with ^dreal intent, having ^efaith in Christ, he will ^fmanifest the ^gtruth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
  • 5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may ^aknow the ^btruth of all things.

And lastly, one of my own:

Order of baptism 3 Nephi 11:24-27
24 And now behold, these are the words which ye shall say, calling them by name, saying:
25 Having ^aauthority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the ^bFather, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
26 And then shall ye ^aimmerse them in the water, and come forth again out of the water.
27 And after this manner shall ye ^abaptize in my name; for behold, verily I say unto you, that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost are ^bone; and I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one.

I haven’t personally checked the Bible for all of these truths. If anyone knows of places in the Bible that speaks of any of these truths I would gladly review them. Ultimately, it is not a competition between the Bible and the Book of Mormon. The primary purpose of the Book of Mormon is to testify of Christ, and part of that purpose is accomplished by supporting the Bible in every way. The Bible and the Book of Mormon together leave indisputable evidence of Christ’s divine mission as our Savior.