Chapter 1—"If Thou Canst Believe"
Many miracles were wrought during Jesus’s ministry because
people believed in Him. When a concerned parent asked Jesus to cast a
demon from his child, He offered powerful words of eternal significance.
“Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness” (Romans 4:3, ESV). Righteousness and godliness are the rewards of faithful believing, but unbelief brings condemnation. And so beliefs become a pivotal point in mortality—distinguishing the righteous from the wicked, the saved from the damned.
The meaning of belief has evolved over time. Deriving from the Latin ‘I give my heart,’ belief originally reflected “loyalty to a person to whom one is bound.” Today, belief reflects the propositions, alleged facts, or tenets that we consider to be truth. It can take the form of an opinion, creed, or idea. We can accept that a belief is true even if it is error or we are without certainty or knowledge. Our beliefs support a perceived truth, or at least encourage us to accept that someone is telling the truth, but saving faith cannot exist unless the belief is truth to God. Being “taught to believe” truth permitted all 2,060 stripling warriors to miraculously be spared in battle in spite of extreme disadvantage.
Their preservation was astonishing to our whole army, yea, that they should be spared while there was a thousand of our brethren who were slain. And we do justly ascribe it to the miraculous power of God, because of their exceeding faith in that which they had been taught to believe— that there was a just God, and whosoever did not doubt, that they should be preserved by his marvelous power. (Alma 57:26)
Christians may ask, “Do you believe?” or “Are you a believer?” To believe in Christ’s existence is often considered sufficient to be called a believer, but knowing of or about Him is not knowing Him. Knowledge requires “the Spirit of God” and studying “the revelations which He has given to us” (Lectures on Faith 3:7, hereafter LF). Because beliefs can be incomplete, ineffective, or inaccurate, the question God asks is different from the one we tend to ask. He seeks to know more than just what we believe, but whom we believe and give our heart—man or God?
If we choose to believe that which does not align with His word, we are in unbelief and cannot have faith in the Lord. Martin Luther questioned why anyone would listen to man over God as he said, “A man’s word is a little sound which flieth into the air and soon vanisheth; but the word of God is greater than heaven and earth, yea, it is everlastingly. Therefore, we ought diligently to learn God’s word, and we must know certainly and believe that God himself speaketh with us.”
Only few successfully navigate through the thick deception because of many prevalent but erroneous beliefs and traditions.
We are repeatedly warned not to trust in the arm of flesh, including those who claim authority of God but preach their doctrines mingled with scripture. The more we depend on or cling to the counsel, interpretations, or ways of men, the more difficult it is to unravel ourselves from error. Error is the enemy of truth, so if we believe we can trust what leaders or authorities tell us without asking God, we will be disappointed. Only His sure word cannot fail.
Doctrines or policies given by those who claim authority to speak in God’s name are not necessarily revelation from God. Divine revelation results when our beliefs are correct and we put faith in Him. If we are built upon this rock, we will not fall. But we must believe His true doctrine, not what others profess it to be with their reforms and interpretations. A modified gospel is a sign of unbelief, an unstable and sandy foundation, so we must observe His word with exactness.
While many believe they follow God, trusting in councils or men’s counsel distances us from the Lord. “Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord” (Jeremiah 17:5). Failing to embrace Christ’s gospel as He revealed it leaves us without light, truth, and eternal life. A great promise is given those who seek Him “with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God” (2 Nephi 31:13):
We cannot expect an answer if we are not willing to accept truth. “Ask the Father in my name, in faith believing that you shall receive, and you shall have the Holy Ghost, which manifesteth all things which are expedient” (D&C 18:18). It cannot be “made known from on high, even by the Comforter” (D&C 75:27) if we do not ask Him in faith. The Lord told Enos, “Whatsoever thing ye shall ask in faith, believing that ye shall receive in the name of Christ, ye shall receive it” (Enos 1:15).
“Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me” (D&C 88:63). “Ask, and it shall be given you. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Matthew 7:7–8). “Ask of God; ask, and it shall be given unto you” (JST Matthew 7:12). Joseph taught, “The best way to obtain truth and wisdom is not to ask it from books, but to go to God in prayer and obtain divine teaching.”
If we sincerely seek truth and are willing to believe it, truth will be manifest in power to all who ask in faith. But asking alone is not enough. We must also have understanding. “You have not understood. You have supposed that I would give it unto you when you took no thought save it was to ask me” (D&C 9:7).
Not all who speak in God’s name err, although we are warned that almost all do. Holy prophets truly “prophesy” and have “not fallen into transgression” by believing error (Mosiah 15:13). They exhort a return to what God revealed, encouraging revelation and gifts of the Spirit that further testify of truth.
God’s servants do not please men by delivering words people want to hear. They are called by His own voice to preach what the people need to hear. True messengers relentlessly encourage us to “come and see,” to ascend the mountain to receive sure knowledge for ourselves. All true prophets must preach a return to God’s word, ways, and presence. That we must return implies we have strayed, and this is the crux of belief.
Do we believe God or man? Do we believe what God has said or do we believe man has the right to change it?
Whom we believe determines what we believe, and what we believe determines whom we believe. God declares there is only one way to find Him. Do we believe Him or do we believe we can modify ordinances and still be saved? If we believe God, His gospel and its rites would never be diminished or perverted in any degree. The righteous remember the Lord, preserve truth, and keep ordinances in the very manner He revealed without tolerance for reforms or social demands. Those who believe men will accept or embrace variation, justifying it as necessary for a church that is growing or a society that is evolving. God says there can be no deviation from what He decreed, but do we believe Him or do we believe men who declare God approves their reforms?
Do we believe God that all are at risk of falling in this life, or do we believe men who declare that a covenant people or restored church can never stray? If we believe God, we know that every person, church, or nation is susceptible to failing and falling. Scripture is written for us and about us, a testament that alarmingly prophesies our own destruction if we refuse to repent, but do we believe His words?
Do we believe God that we must not trust the arm of flesh, or do we believe leaders who assure us we cannot stray if we follow them? God says we must ask Him for the truth of all things, but do we believe Him or do we believe leaders will get revelation for us? We demonstrate faith by turning to God to learn what is correct and true. If we do not turn to Him for answers and light, we dwell in darkness and unbelief, even if we are not aware of it.
Whom we believe determines if we are on the narrow path to eternal life or the wide road to damnation. There is no easy way, for His path is strait or difficult and narrow because no variance is tolerated.
In the Garden of Eden, Adam was charged “to dress it and to keep it” (Genesis 2:15). The literal Hebrew meaning is “to serve and preserve it,” as opposed to destroying, despoiling, or corrupting what was given. Because free agency exists, corruption is possible. Preserving truth must have utmost priority to honor this commandment. If we “build upon my rock, which is my gospel,” we are promised to “know of a surety my doctrine” (D&C 11:24, 16). A church is His only if it fully embraces His gospel. Otherwise, we only belong to a church that has His name in its title, but it is not His.
“Abraham believed God” (Galatians 3:6) and became a “father of the faithful” (D&C 138:41). This is the key! Abraham sought truth from God and believed Him. He waded through society’s philosophies, erring traditions, men’s counsel, and powerful priests and leaders who claimed to speak for their god. He rejected men’s ways and relied on the true God. Abraham sought the living God and found Him.
After Christ’s death, His doctrine received “rough treatment, soon falling into the hands of worldly men who would ‘pervert the gospel of Christ’ from a thing the world found highly obnoxious to something it was willing to embrace, for such has always been the fate of God’s revelations to men.” Reforms in doctrine and ordinances made them insufficient to bring people back into His presence. Paul was astounded how quickly Christ’s gospel was reformed in his day.
Though priests perceive their reforms as progress, variance distances us from God. In essence, variations say that what He revealed is not correct, applicable, sufficient, necessary, or the best way. We counsel God if we modify His word, putting our way above His way. Such temptations confronted Jews and Gentiles throughout history.
Christ is a “precious cornerstone whose foundation shall neither rock nor sway . . . It shall be a house of perfection and truth in Israel that they may establish a Covenant according to the everlasting precepts.” Christ is the rock of salvation, but to those in unbelief He becomes “the rock that makes them fall.” It was not God’s design that people should fall because of Him, but they fall because they choose not to believe Him. Of Jesus it was said,
Greek roots of stumbling block, skladalon (G4625) are shared with the word scandal, or shameful acts. We are forbidden to put stumbling blocks in others’ paths because they lure us from truth, entice us to sin, encourage pride and unbelief. Aristophanes describes them as verbal traps. Snares are carefully laid by “workers of iniquity” who preach but have “no knowledge” of Him (Psalm 14:4). Their deviant worship has “become a snare before them; and that which should have been for their welfare” ensnares them (Psalm 69:22).
“Watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them” (Romans 16:17, ESV). They destroy “people’s faith by teaching things contrary to” truth (NLT). There are “false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord . . . [They] have forsaken the right way and are gone astray” (2 Peter 2:1, 15).
Heresies are ‘unsound doctrine,’ or ‘fundamental errors in religion.’ The dictionary notes, “where there is an established church, an opinion is deemed heresy when it differs from that of the church. The scriptures, being the standard of faith, any opinion that is repugnant to its doctrines is [the true] heresy” and “an offense against Christianity.”
Having some “knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” these deniers become “entangled therein and [are] overcome . . . for it had been better for them to not have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them” (2 Peter 2:20–21). In contrast, the faithful who “love [His] instructions have great peace and do not stumble” (Psalm 119:165, NLT). Christ
Although Israel awaited the Messiah, they failed to understand the very teachings that would have revealed Him. The institution could not be trusted. Jesus asked, “Whom do men say that I, the son of Man, am?” The disciples replied, “Some say that thou art John the Baptist; some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets” (Matthew 16:13–14). He then asked, “But what about you? Who do you say I am?” (Matthew 16:15, NIV).
Jesus shows that a disparity exists between what men say and what is truth. To say is lego (G3004), to move to a conclusion or bring to closure. In this sense, saying requires conviction and testimony. Jesus warned to beware “of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees” (Matthew 16:12). Traditions of men can blind or mislead us, but truth enlightens our understanding.
All who desire higher things must do what is required to answer the Lord’s question—‘but whom say ye that I am?’—and boldly testified in truth as Peter, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Matthew 16:16).
The Lord’s church is built on “this rock,” a sure testimony revealed from the Father. Having a divine testimony of Christ, “the keys of the kingdom of heaven” can be given.
For footnotes and references, click HERE.
Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. (Mark 9:23–24)“Help thou mine unbelief” may be the most important prayer the unredeemed can utter. Acknowledging our unbelief opens the door to faith, salvation, and eternal life. Scripture is “written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name” (John 20:31). With belief, “all things are possible” (Mark 9:23). Belief was a major theme of Christ’s ministry. After Jesus preached to crowds from a boat, He instructed Simon to “let down your nets for a catch” (Luke 5:4, ESV).
Simon answering, said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night and have taken nothing; nevertheless, at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had done this, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, who were in the other ship that they should come and help them. And they came and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.
When Simon Peter saw the multitude of fishes, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was astonished, and all who were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken. And so were also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not from henceforth, for thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all and followed him. (JST Luke 5:5–11)Scripture offers many accounts of disciples like Simon Peter who rent the veil of unbelief to know God. Jesus declared, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” (John 11:40, ESV). “To all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12, ESV).
“Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness” (Romans 4:3, ESV). Righteousness and godliness are the rewards of faithful believing, but unbelief brings condemnation. And so beliefs become a pivotal point in mortality—distinguishing the righteous from the wicked, the saved from the damned.
The meaning of belief has evolved over time. Deriving from the Latin ‘I give my heart,’ belief originally reflected “loyalty to a person to whom one is bound.” Today, belief reflects the propositions, alleged facts, or tenets that we consider to be truth. It can take the form of an opinion, creed, or idea. We can accept that a belief is true even if it is error or we are without certainty or knowledge. Our beliefs support a perceived truth, or at least encourage us to accept that someone is telling the truth, but saving faith cannot exist unless the belief is truth to God. Being “taught to believe” truth permitted all 2,060 stripling warriors to miraculously be spared in battle in spite of extreme disadvantage.
Their preservation was astonishing to our whole army, yea, that they should be spared while there was a thousand of our brethren who were slain. And we do justly ascribe it to the miraculous power of God, because of their exceeding faith in that which they had been taught to believe— that there was a just God, and whosoever did not doubt, that they should be preserved by his marvelous power. (Alma 57:26)
Christians may ask, “Do you believe?” or “Are you a believer?” To believe in Christ’s existence is often considered sufficient to be called a believer, but knowing of or about Him is not knowing Him. Knowledge requires “the Spirit of God” and studying “the revelations which He has given to us” (Lectures on Faith 3:7, hereafter LF). Because beliefs can be incomplete, ineffective, or inaccurate, the question God asks is different from the one we tend to ask. He seeks to know more than just what we believe, but whom we believe and give our heart—man or God?
If we choose to believe that which does not align with His word, we are in unbelief and cannot have faith in the Lord. Martin Luther questioned why anyone would listen to man over God as he said, “A man’s word is a little sound which flieth into the air and soon vanisheth; but the word of God is greater than heaven and earth, yea, it is everlastingly. Therefore, we ought diligently to learn God’s word, and we must know certainly and believe that God himself speaketh with us.”
Only few successfully navigate through the thick deception because of many prevalent but erroneous beliefs and traditions.
They have all gone astray save it be a few, who are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err because they are taught by the precepts of men. (2 Nephi 28:14)“Precepts of men” include any process, law, policy, program, or belief that is partly or wholly untrue. Firm and steadfast faith has no reliance on the arm of flesh or its armies, weapons, remedies, policies, or faulty promises of protection. Joseph attempted “to persuade the Saints to trust in God when sick, and not in the arm of flesh, and live by faith and not by medicine or poison.” The faithful know “a horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength” (Psalm 33:17). “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God” (Psalm 20:7). Others rely on a church for security but only Christ encircles us “in the arms of safety” (Alma 36:16).
We are repeatedly warned not to trust in the arm of flesh, including those who claim authority of God but preach their doctrines mingled with scripture. The more we depend on or cling to the counsel, interpretations, or ways of men, the more difficult it is to unravel ourselves from error. Error is the enemy of truth, so if we believe we can trust what leaders or authorities tell us without asking God, we will be disappointed. Only His sure word cannot fail.
Doctrines or policies given by those who claim authority to speak in God’s name are not necessarily revelation from God. Divine revelation results when our beliefs are correct and we put faith in Him. If we are built upon this rock, we will not fall. But we must believe His true doctrine, not what others profess it to be with their reforms and interpretations. A modified gospel is a sign of unbelief, an unstable and sandy foundation, so we must observe His word with exactness.
This is my doctrine and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them. And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock; but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand open to receive such when the floods come and the winds beat upon them. (3 Nephi 11:39–40)Jesus defines evil as that which varies from His gospel. There are “two churches only”—one of God, one of the devil. If we do not worship in the precise manner He revealed, we are in Satan’s power.
Remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation . . . which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall. (Helaman 5:12)A sure foundation must be built on revelation. Heaven will open to the faithful but damning consequences come from neglecting our responsibility to find God. Leaning on the arm of flesh cannot be justified. Trusting others instead of going to God for direction manifests unbelief. His gospel becomes perverted when we do not directly seek Him for guidance.
While many believe they follow God, trusting in councils or men’s counsel distances us from the Lord. “Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord” (Jeremiah 17:5). Failing to embrace Christ’s gospel as He revealed it leaves us without light, truth, and eternal life. A great promise is given those who seek Him “with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God” (2 Nephi 31:13):
When ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost, ye may know the truth of all things. (Moroni 10:4–5)The formula works only if we sincerely ask for truth in faith. Moroni’s verses are often cited only to encourage people to gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon as the word of God. Once we have this testimony, we must continue to ask God to discern what is true from what man proclaims as truth. He never rescinded the requirement to ask Him “the truth of all things” once we are baptized into a church or know parts of His gospel are true.
Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?—If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you. (1 Nephi 15:11)Failing to inquire of the Lord is a characteristic of wickedness according to the Dead Sea Scrolls and other scripture.
We cannot expect an answer if we are not willing to accept truth. “Ask the Father in my name, in faith believing that you shall receive, and you shall have the Holy Ghost, which manifesteth all things which are expedient” (D&C 18:18). It cannot be “made known from on high, even by the Comforter” (D&C 75:27) if we do not ask Him in faith. The Lord told Enos, “Whatsoever thing ye shall ask in faith, believing that ye shall receive in the name of Christ, ye shall receive it” (Enos 1:15).
“Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me” (D&C 88:63). “Ask, and it shall be given you. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Matthew 7:7–8). “Ask of God; ask, and it shall be given unto you” (JST Matthew 7:12). Joseph taught, “The best way to obtain truth and wisdom is not to ask it from books, but to go to God in prayer and obtain divine teaching.”
If we sincerely seek truth and are willing to believe it, truth will be manifest in power to all who ask in faith. But asking alone is not enough. We must also have understanding. “You have not understood. You have supposed that I would give it unto you when you took no thought save it was to ask me” (D&C 9:7).
Feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do. Wherefore, now after I have spoken these words, if ye cannot understand them it will be because ye ask not, neither do ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought into the light, but must perish in the dark. (2 Nephi 32:3–4)Apostasy exists when beliefs diverge from truth or we reform sacred things. God then commissions true prophets to preach repentance to a lost generation that fails to find Him. The ones He sends to proclaim repentance do not typically fall within the organizational hierarchy, because typically corruption comes from the organization itself. Because of prevailing beliefs to unquestioningly trust leaders, most will reject the divine message. False prophets and teachers justify deviance as a better way to Him. Although they profess His name and authority, they only “teach with their learning and deny the Holy Ghost . . . They say unto the people, Hearken unto us, and hear ye our precept . . . for God hath given his power unto men” (2 Nephi 28:4–5). Thus they are “ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7).
Not all who speak in God’s name err, although we are warned that almost all do. Holy prophets truly “prophesy” and have “not fallen into transgression” by believing error (Mosiah 15:13). They exhort a return to what God revealed, encouraging revelation and gifts of the Spirit that further testify of truth.
God’s servants do not please men by delivering words people want to hear. They are called by His own voice to preach what the people need to hear. True messengers relentlessly encourage us to “come and see,” to ascend the mountain to receive sure knowledge for ourselves. All true prophets must preach a return to God’s word, ways, and presence. That we must return implies we have strayed, and this is the crux of belief.
Do we believe God or man? Do we believe what God has said or do we believe man has the right to change it?
Whom we believe determines what we believe, and what we believe determines whom we believe. God declares there is only one way to find Him. Do we believe Him or do we believe we can modify ordinances and still be saved? If we believe God, His gospel and its rites would never be diminished or perverted in any degree. The righteous remember the Lord, preserve truth, and keep ordinances in the very manner He revealed without tolerance for reforms or social demands. Those who believe men will accept or embrace variation, justifying it as necessary for a church that is growing or a society that is evolving. God says there can be no deviation from what He decreed, but do we believe Him or do we believe men who declare God approves their reforms?
Do we believe God that all are at risk of falling in this life, or do we believe men who declare that a covenant people or restored church can never stray? If we believe God, we know that every person, church, or nation is susceptible to failing and falling. Scripture is written for us and about us, a testament that alarmingly prophesies our own destruction if we refuse to repent, but do we believe His words?
Do we believe God that we must not trust the arm of flesh, or do we believe leaders who assure us we cannot stray if we follow them? God says we must ask Him for the truth of all things, but do we believe Him or do we believe leaders will get revelation for us? We demonstrate faith by turning to God to learn what is correct and true. If we do not turn to Him for answers and light, we dwell in darkness and unbelief, even if we are not aware of it.
Whom we believe determines if we are on the narrow path to eternal life or the wide road to damnation. There is no easy way, for His path is strait or difficult and narrow because no variance is tolerated.
In the Garden of Eden, Adam was charged “to dress it and to keep it” (Genesis 2:15). The literal Hebrew meaning is “to serve and preserve it,” as opposed to destroying, despoiling, or corrupting what was given. Because free agency exists, corruption is possible. Preserving truth must have utmost priority to honor this commandment. If we “build upon my rock, which is my gospel,” we are promised to “know of a surety my doctrine” (D&C 11:24, 16). A church is His only if it fully embraces His gospel. Otherwise, we only belong to a church that has His name in its title, but it is not His.
Behold, this is my doctrine—whosoever repenteth and cometh unto me, the same is my church. Whosoever declareth more or less than this, the same is not of me, but is against me; therefore he is not of my church. (D&C 10:67–68)Men are free to choose if they will believe His gospel or not. “It is not as though God’s word had failed, for not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children . . . It is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring” (Romans 9:6–8, NIV). Heirs of the promise “do the works of Abraham” (D&C 132:32).
“Abraham believed God” (Galatians 3:6) and became a “father of the faithful” (D&C 138:41). This is the key! Abraham sought truth from God and believed Him. He waded through society’s philosophies, erring traditions, men’s counsel, and powerful priests and leaders who claimed to speak for their god. He rejected men’s ways and relied on the true God. Abraham sought the living God and found Him.
After Christ’s death, His doctrine received “rough treatment, soon falling into the hands of worldly men who would ‘pervert the gospel of Christ’ from a thing the world found highly obnoxious to something it was willing to embrace, for such has always been the fate of God’s revelations to men.” Reforms in doctrine and ordinances made them insufficient to bring people back into His presence. Paul was astounded how quickly Christ’s gospel was reformed in his day.
I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel . . . [to] pervert the gospel of Christ . . . If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:6–7, 9–10)When misguided men taught precepts that compromised Christ’s gospel, Jude said, “It was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 1:3) or “entrusted to God’s holy people” (NIV).
Though priests perceive their reforms as progress, variance distances us from God. In essence, variations say that what He revealed is not correct, applicable, sufficient, necessary, or the best way. We counsel God if we modify His word, putting our way above His way. Such temptations confronted Jews and Gentiles throughout history.
The Gentiles . . . attained to righteousness by faith. Not by becoming proselyted to the Jewish religion and submitting to the ceremonial law, but by embracing Christ and believing in him, and submitting to the gospel . . .
The Jews talked much of justification and holiness, and seemed very ambitious of being the people of God and the favorites of heaven, but they did not attain to it, that is, the greatest part of them did not . . . These fell short of the acceptance with God.
How they mistook their way was the cause of their missing the end. They sought it, but not in the right way, not in the humbling way, not in the appointed way. Not by faith, not by embracing Christ, depending upon Christ, and submitting to the terms of the gospel. They sought it by the works of the law, as if they were to expect justification by observing the precepts and ceremonies of the law of Moses. This was the stumbling stone at which they stumbled.What originally hindered Israel is the same thing that thwarts the Gentiles today. LDS leadership forsook their covenant responsibilities by allowing doctrine and ordinances to change. His restored church must retain what He revealed to remain His. The promise is that His church will not be overcome by hellish influences if people remain true and faithful to what He revealed, but there is no guarantee they will.
If you know [scriptures] are true, behold, I give unto you a commandment that you rely upon the things which are written; for in them are all things written concerning the foundation of my church, my gospel, and my rock. Wherefore, if you shall build up my church upon the foundation of my gospel and my rock, the gates of hell shall not prevail against you. (D&C 18:3–5)In 1829, when His gospel was restored, the Lord declared, “You have my gospel before you, and my rock, and my salvation” (D&C 18:17). Only if “things which are written” are obeyed with exactness, we “shall never fall” (D&C 50:44). Because this is conditional, the reverse must also be true. If teachings and ordinances vary from what God revealed, we will fall. “I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall” (Romans 9:33, NIV). Peter also spoke of this:
As the scriptures say, I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced. Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him.
But for those who reject him, ‘The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’ And, ‘He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall.’ They stumble because they do not obey God’s word. (1 Peter 2:6–8, NLT)Or, “those who stumble at the word [are] not obeying that for which they were ordained” (Jubilee Bible 2000). Christ becomes “a stone that people trip over, a large rock that people find offensive. The people tripped over the word because they refused to believe it” (God’s Word).
Christ is a “precious cornerstone whose foundation shall neither rock nor sway . . . It shall be a house of perfection and truth in Israel that they may establish a Covenant according to the everlasting precepts.” Christ is the rock of salvation, but to those in unbelief He becomes “the rock that makes them fall.” It was not God’s design that people should fall because of Him, but they fall because they choose not to believe Him. Of Jesus it was said,
This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, but he will be a joy to many others. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. (Luke 2:34, NLT)The rock of offense that causes many to stumble is a perverse form of the gospel that offends God. Christ’s gospel is meant to be an immovable foundation or rock on which eternal life and truth rest. Although counterfeits are rampant, many trust the delusion that they cannot fall even as they chisel away the foundation of His gospel.
Greek roots of stumbling block, skladalon (G4625) are shared with the word scandal, or shameful acts. We are forbidden to put stumbling blocks in others’ paths because they lure us from truth, entice us to sin, encourage pride and unbelief. Aristophanes describes them as verbal traps. Snares are carefully laid by “workers of iniquity” who preach but have “no knowledge” of Him (Psalm 14:4). Their deviant worship has “become a snare before them; and that which should have been for their welfare” ensnares them (Psalm 69:22).
“Watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them” (Romans 16:17, ESV). They destroy “people’s faith by teaching things contrary to” truth (NLT). There are “false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord . . . [They] have forsaken the right way and are gone astray” (2 Peter 2:1, 15).
Heresies are ‘unsound doctrine,’ or ‘fundamental errors in religion.’ The dictionary notes, “where there is an established church, an opinion is deemed heresy when it differs from that of the church. The scriptures, being the standard of faith, any opinion that is repugnant to its doctrines is [the true] heresy” and “an offense against Christianity.”
Having some “knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” these deniers become “entangled therein and [are] overcome . . . for it had been better for them to not have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them” (2 Peter 2:20–21). In contrast, the faithful who “love [His] instructions have great peace and do not stumble” (Psalm 119:165, NLT). Christ
is to multitudes as he was to the unbelieving Jews, who rejected him because he put an end to the ceremonial law. But still, a remnant will believe on him; and they shall not be ashamed, that is, their hopes and expectations of justification by him shall not be disappointed . . . Unbeliev[ers] have no reason to quarrel with God for rejecting them. They had a fair offer of righteousness, and life, and salvation, made to them upon gospel terms, which they did not like and would not come up to.We are to cast off any work or belief that causes us to stumble. “Destroy all perversity from the face of the earth, and let every wicked deed be gone” (1 Enoch 10:16). “The Son of Man will send his angels and they will remove from his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil” (Matthew 13:41, NLT).
Although Israel awaited the Messiah, they failed to understand the very teachings that would have revealed Him. The institution could not be trusted. Jesus asked, “Whom do men say that I, the son of Man, am?” The disciples replied, “Some say that thou art John the Baptist; some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets” (Matthew 16:13–14). He then asked, “But what about you? Who do you say I am?” (Matthew 16:15, NIV).
Jesus shows that a disparity exists between what men say and what is truth. To say is lego (G3004), to move to a conclusion or bring to closure. In this sense, saying requires conviction and testimony. Jesus warned to beware “of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees” (Matthew 16:12). Traditions of men can blind or mislead us, but truth enlightens our understanding.
All who desire higher things must do what is required to answer the Lord’s question—‘but whom say ye that I am?’—and boldly testified in truth as Peter, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Matthew 16:16).
Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. (JST Matthew 16:18–20)Peter did not rely on appointed teachers, priestly leaders, or others for this knowledge—for “flesh and blood hath not revealed this” to him. Jesus too declared, “I receive not testimony from man” (John 5:34).
The Lord’s church is built on “this rock,” a sure testimony revealed from the Father. Having a divine testimony of Christ, “the keys of the kingdom of heaven” can be given.
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