The Bible Archive
After Jesus Christ died, the church had a challenging time. Persecution was intense, and the apostles did all they could to keep the church operating and to spread the gospel message to as many people as possible. However, given the limitations of technology, and the limitations of a small group of people to do the work, progress was slow and persecution increased. All the apostles but John the Beloved were murdered.
Prior to His death, Jesus Christ had given His apostles all the authority necessary to operate the church when He was gone. This authority is known today as “keys.” They had the official priesthood handed down through the ages, and this gave them the proper authority. It is understood that Peter became the president of the Church after Jesus was resurrected and returned to His Father.
The apostles began to warn the people of a forthcoming apostasy. When Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, he explained to them that although they were... Read the rest of this entry »
Angels are messengers from God and serve as ministering spirits. They’re spoken of often in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon, and play a critical role in the restoration of the gospel in modern times. There are two types of angels. The most common are resurrected beings—those who lived on earth, and then, after their deaths or translations (going to Heaven without dying), became angels. Some were those who lived exemplary lives on earth and will live with God. These often minister to those on earth, participating in critical events in the Earth’s spiritual history. Others are those who lived on earth, but did not keep the commandments well enough to return to God. These are spoken of in Matthew 22:29-30:
29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.
30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.
In these verses,... Read the rest of this entry »
The family of Jesus Christ consists of both an earthly and a heavenly component. His father, of course, is God. Jesus is literally God’s son. God is the creator of our spirits, making us all God’s children, but we all have earthly parents. Only Jesus is the literal child of an earthly mother and a Heavenly Father.
Jesus also had siblings. According to Dr. Robert J. Matthews, who, in 1974, was an associate professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University, we can estimate the number of siblings he had.
“We don’t know how many other children there were in the family, but the New Testament names four boys and lists some sisters. The Greek manuscripts are helpful here. Matthew speaks of “all” (Greek: pantai) his sisters (Matt. 13:56), suggesting more than two. The Greek term hai adelphia (the sisters) is used in the manuscripts, signifying a plurality-that is, three or more sisters. If the record had intended to... Read the rest of this entry »
Personal Response by Lance
I served for two years as a Mormon missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormon Church) in Mississippi and Louisiana. It was the greatest experience of my life. I loved sharing the gospel with the people of the South because so many of them have deep faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. They were very kind to us missionaries coming to their door. I cannot count the number of people who let me into their home, as a complete stranger, to share what I believe. I learned that “southern hospitality” is very real and I believe it is because the people have good Christian values. There were also many people who turned us away but even this was usually done politely. Read the rest of this entry »
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Personal Response by Richard Neitzel Holzapfel
Like Jews, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons or Latter-day Saints) accept the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) as the word of God. Like other Christians, Mormons also accept the New Testament as the word of God (see Article of Faith 8.)
However, just as Christians do not believe that the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) is God’s final scripture, Latter-day Saints also do not believe the Bible (Old and New Testaments) is God’s final scripture. Nevertheless, Latter-day Saints carefully and prayerfully study, read, and draw inspiration from the Bible. The Bible is an important part of their regular course of Sunday School curriculum and is a required course of study at the Mormon Church‘s universities and in their weekday religious education programs. Most Latter-day Saints will own several Bibles in their lifetime, having worn copies out through their regular use.... Read the rest of this entry »
