Salvation
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The blood of Jesus alone can’t cleanse a Christian from certain sins |
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Mormons
teach that in the case of grievous sins, a Christian must add his own blood
to the blood of Christ to atone for his transgressions. Joseph Fielding Smith
said: ‘Joseph Smith taught that there were certain sins so grievous that man
may commit, that they will place the transgressors beyond the power of the atonement
of Christ. If these offenses are committed, then the blood of Christ will not
cleanse them from their sins even though they repent. Therefore their only
hope is to have their own blood shed to atone, as far as possible, in their
behalf. …. Man may commit certain grievous sins – according to his light and
knowledge – that will place him beyond the reach of the atoning blood of
Christ. If then he would be saved he must make sacrifice of his own life to
atone – so far as in his power lies – for that sin, for the blood of Christ
alone under certain circumstances will not avail’ (Doctrines of Salvation, I, 135,134). Bruce McConkie wrote in Mormon Doctrine: ‘… under certain
circumstances there are some serious sins for which the cleansing of Christ
does not operate, and the law of God is that men must have their own blood
shed to atone for theirs sins …’ (Mormon
Doctrine, 1958, page 87). The Encyclopedia
of Mormonism confirms this doctrine somehow; listen to what it affirms:
‘However, if a person thereafter commits a grievous sin such as the shedding
of innocent blood, the Saviour’s sacrifice alone will not absolve the person
of the consequences of the sin. Only by voluntarily submitting to whatever
penalty the Lord may require can that person benefit from the atonement of
Christ’ (Encyclopedia of Mormonism,
New York-Toronto 1992, vol. 1, page 131). As you can see, the penalty is not
specified but it is very easy to suppose it in the light of what Joseph Smith
affirmed, as he said: ‘And now, behold, I speak unto the church. Thou shalt
not kill; and he that kills shall not have forgiveness in this world, nor in the world to come. And again I say, thou shalt not
kill; but he that killeth shall die’ (Doctrine
and Covenants 42:18-19). |
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This
doctrine called ‘blood atonement’ was practiced in the past by Mormons
(according to John D. Lee ‘the most deadly sin among the people was adultery,
and many men were killed in |
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Confutation |
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The Holy
Scripture says: “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship
one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all
sin” (1 John 1:7) and also: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just
to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John
1:9). Christ atoned for all our sins, there are no sins for which we must
shed our own blood, Jesus Christ “is the propitiation for our sins” (1 John
2:1), in Him we have redemption through His blood,
the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace (cf. Ephesians
1:7). |
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The
doctrine of blood atonement was absolutely foreign to the early Church, for
James, the Lord’s brother, in his epistle wrote to those saints who had
become enemies of God through their sins and among the sins they committed
there was even murder (as it is written: “You murder and covet and cannot
obtain” James 4:2 – NKJV), the following words: “Submit yourselves therefore
to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he
will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your
hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your
laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves
in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up” (James 4:7-10). |
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All those
who teach and advocate the doctrine of blood of atonement are of the devil,
because they advocate murder and we know that the devil “was a murderer from
the beginning” (John |