AboutMichael Kelley Expertise For a different viewpoint on Mormonism for your questions, try me. I am a staunch believer in the Book of Mormon and belong to another church (the Church of Christ)that is set up identically to the Biblical church. If there are things about traditional Mormonism that trouble you or you have questions about, just ask and you might find the answers from the Book of Mormon to be quite surprising. I have been studying the scriptures diligently for 16 years under the school of hard knocks... I may not have all of the answers but will sure go find them if I don`t. I`m strongest on Biblical and Book of Mormon doctrines, and am also somewhat familiar with Mormon history and archaeology.
Question You partly answered this in your last answer.
What Biblical bases is there for the the book of morman?
I understnad there is something about 2 sticks. thta is supposed to show that another book was expected. What is that and just how does it apply to the book of Morman?
Answer Hi Gordon,
The primary purpose of the Book of Mormon is the fulfill the following Biblical principle:
2 Corinthians 13:1 This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.
Every important teaching of the Bible is repeated over and over again. This applies to the Book of Mormon as well wherein the same gospel principles are repeated and verified. Most people reject the Book of Mormon because they assume it teaches "another gospel" which the Bible warns us to avoid. The Bible warns us to beware of different or strange gospels, however this does not preclude the SAME gospel being retaught again. The Bible teaches that God is an unchangeable God without even a shadow of variableness... so it stands to reason if God spoke to another group of people, say those of the New World, they would be taught the same principles, and indeed the Book of Mormon does this very well.
Unfortunately the largest Restoration faction, the Utah LDS (AKA Mormon) church has adopted many teachings that are "another gospel" such as their past practice of polygamy, Celestial Marriage, Baptism for the Dead, the 1st Presidency, a changing God etc. etc. These doctrines are not only utterly absent from the Book of Mormon, but are also even taught against, even harshly so. The Book of Mormon bitterly attacks the practice of polygamy calling it a whoredom and abomination before God, no exceptions, no excuses.
You are correct about the 2 sticks prophecy mentioned in Ezekial.
Ezekiel 37:16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:
17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become aone in thine hand.
18 ¶ And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?
19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.
20 And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.
21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
22 And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:
This passage is often misinterpreted about the sticks as being the sticks used to roll up scrolls on. A more correct interpretation is that these sticks are flag poles that the tribes of Israel wrote their names on and led their tribes by. The Bible calls this a "standard" and there are other prophecies about this.
Isaiah 49:22 Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.
These two prophecies have been literally fulfilled in that the tribe of Ephriam migrated and became the European nations... which then migrated to the Americas setting up this nation, the United States. Yet they will have the stick of Ephriam for Joseph in their hands. The Native Americans came from the seed of Joseph. So now this passage makes sense... the Gentiles or us... the seed of Ephriam, will have the stick, or standard, of Joseph in our hands... the Book of Mormon. And the tribe of Judah will have their stick, the Bible. Our nation, the USA has indeed been a nursing father and mother to Israel, and is the only nation in the world that supports Israel. In 1948 Israel became their own nation again, in fulfillment of prophecy, and has since been gathering their lost tribes back to them.
2 Nephi 29:8 Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two nations shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also.
Indeed the USA does seem to "run" together with Israel while all other nations hate her, and the two books or sticks teach the very same gospel. There is no other religion on the earth that has two separate witnesses that their god is the God. Only Christianity has two witnesses through the Bible and Book of Mormon.
