Plain Talk About Christ’s Doctrine
I’m bringing my prophecies to a close. I can only write a few things I know will happen—just as I can only include a few of my brother Jacob’s words.
What I’ve written so far is enough, except I need to say something about the doctrine of Christ. So I’ll speak to you plainly, the way I always prophesy. I love plain talk. That’s how the Lord works with people. He gives light to our minds. He speaks to each person in their own language, in ways they can understand.
Why Jesus Was Baptized
Remember what I told you about the prophet the Lord showed me—the one who would baptize the Lamb of God, who would take away the sins of the world. Now think about this: if the Lamb of God, even though he was holy, needed to be baptized to fulfill all righteousness, then how much more do we need it? We’re not holy.
Let me ask you: how did the Lamb of God fulfill all righteousness by being baptized?
You know he was holy. But even though he was holy, he showed us that in his mortal body he humbled himself before the Father. He witnessed to the Father that he would obey him and keep his commandments. After he was baptized, the Holy Spirit came down on him in the form of a dove.
And it also shows us how narrow the path is, how tight the gate, that we must enter. He set the example.
He tells us: 'Follow me.' So here’s my question: can we really follow Jesus if we’re not willing to keep the Father’s commandments?
The Father and Son Speak
The Father says: 'Repent and be baptized in the name of my beloved Son.'
And the Son’s voice came to me saying: 'Whoever is baptized in my name will receive the Holy Spirit from the Father, just as I did. So follow me and do what you’ve seen me do.'
So if you follow the Son with your whole heart—no fakery, no games with God, but with true intent—repenting of your sins, showing the Father you’re willing to take Christ’s name on you through baptism, following your Lord and Savior down into the water just as he commanded, then you’ll receive the Holy Spirit. You’ll receive the baptism of fire and of the Holy Spirit. Then you’ll speak with the language of angels and praise the Holy One of Israel.
But the Son’s voice also came to me with this warning: 'After you’ve repented, after you’ve shown the Father through baptism that you’ll keep my commandments, after you’ve received the baptism of fire and the Holy Spirit and can speak this new language—the language of angels—if after all that you turn your back on me, it would have been better if you’d never known me at all.'
And I heard the Father’s voice saying: 'What my beloved Son says is true and faithful. Whoever endures to the end will be saved.'
So I know this: unless someone endures to the end, following the example of the Son of the living God, they can’t be saved.
The Gate and the Path
Do what I’ve told you I saw your Lord and Redeemer do. I was shown these things so you’d know the gate you must enter. That gate is repentance and baptism by water. Then comes the washing away of your sins by fire and by the Holy Spirit. Once you’re on this straight and narrow path that leads to eternal life—once you’ve entered through the gate—you’ve done what the Father and the Son commanded. You’ve received the Holy Spirit, who testifies of the Father and the Son, fulfilling the promise: if you enter by the way, you will receive.
But after you’ve gotten onto this straight and narrow path, let me ask: is that all? Is it done? No. You’ve only made it this far because of Christ’s word, because of your unshaken faith in him, because you’re relying completely on the one who is mighty to save. So you have to press forward with steadfast faith in Christ, with a bright burning hope, and with love for God and everyone around you. If you press forward, feeding on Christ’s word and enduring to the end, then the Father says you’ll have eternal life.
This is the way. There is no other way, no other name under heaven by which anyone can be saved in God’s kingdom. This is the doctrine of Christ—the only true doctrine of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who is one God, without end. Amen.
Influences
- 31:2 — Hebrews 6:1 (KJV)Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
- 31:3 — Revelation 22:5 (KJV)And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
- 31:4 — John 1:29 (KJV)The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
- 31:4 — John 1:29 (KJV)The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
- 31:5 — Matthew 3:14 (KJV)But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
- 31:7 — 1 Corinthians 6:16 (KJV)What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.
- 31:8 — Luke 3:22 (KJV)And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.
- 31:10 — Matthew 9:9 (KJV)And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.
- 31:11 — Acts10:48 (KJV)And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.
- 31:11 — Mark 1:11 (KJV)And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
- 31:12 — John 5:25 (KJV)Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
- 31:12 — Luke 11:13 (KJV)If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
- 31:12 — John 8:38 (KJV)I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.
- 31:13 — Acts 11:23 (KJV)Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.
- 31:13 — 1 Peter 4:14 (KJV)If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.
- 31:13 — Acts 8:19 (KJV)Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.
- 31:13 — Matthew 3:11 (KJV)I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
- 31:13 — 1 Corinthians 13:1 (KJV)Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
- 31:13 — 1 Corinthians 13:1 (KJV)Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
- 31:14 — Mark 16:17 (KJV)And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
- 31:14 — 2 Peter 2:21 (KJV)For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
- 31:15 — Revelation 21:5 (KJV)And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
- 31:16 — Matthew 16:16 (KJV)And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
- 31:16 — Acts 15:1 (KJV)And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.
- 31:17 — Mark 1:4 (KJV)John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
- 31:18 — Matthew 7:14 (KJV)Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
- 31:18 — 2 John 1:9 (KJV)Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
- 31:18 — Acts 10: 47 (KJV)Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?
- 31:19 — Colossians 3:16 (KJV)Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
- 31:20 — Matthew 10:22 (KJV)And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
- 31:20 — Matthew 19:16 (KJV)And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
- 31:21 — Acts 4:12 (KJV)Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
- 31:21 — Hebrews 6:1 (KJV)Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
- 31:21 — Matthew 28:19 (KJV)Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
- 31:21 — 1 John 5:7 (KJV)For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
Notes
- 31:2
In Ephesians 3, Paul describes the “mystery of Christ” as something hidden from all previous generations but revealed in the apostolic era. In Ephesians 3:4–6, this mystery is that Gentiles are now equal heirs, members, and partakers in God’s promises through Christ—without the former distinctions of Jewish law. Paul reinforces in Colossians 1:26 and Romans 16:25 that this truth was not known in earlier ages, meaning it was not fully understood by Old Testament figures.
This is supported in Acts 10, where Peter struggles to accept Gentile inclusion even after revelation, and in Acts 15, where early Christians debate whether Gentiles must follow Jewish law. Likewise, Hebrews 11 and First Peter indicate that earlier prophets only saw partial foreshadowings of Christ, not the full picture.
In contrast, the Book of Mormon (e.g., 1 Nephi 10; 1 Nephi 14) portrays ancient prophets as clearly teaching about the Messiah, the gospel, and Gentile inclusion with New Testament-level clarity, including ideas similar to Romans 11.
This creates a chronological and theological conflict: if Paul is correct that this mystery was only revealed in the first century, then the Book of Mormon’s depiction of earlier prophets possessing that same knowledge suggests an anachronism—projecting later doctrine into an earlier time.
"When one begins to read the Book of Mormon, if he is well-acquainted with the Bible, he will at once be impressed with the large scale use of the biblical materials in the book. Not only is there an unskilled mimicking of the style of the King James Version, but there is an artificial clarity added to that portion of the Book of Mormon that claims to date from the Old Testament period. This contrived clarity is the result of writing back into that Old Testament period New Testament words, phrases and quotations, as well as the introduction of New Testament concepts and teachings into that time-frame... The usual Mormon defense is that such knowledge was supernaturally made known to the people in America, just as God in a vision showed Ezekiel that Jerusalem was about to fall and the temple to be destroyed, or Peter given a vision of Cornelius before he met him in person. Such an explanation might be more readily accepted if the Book of Mormon had presented its material in the format of a vision. Instead it introduces its material in much the same way that a nineteenth century frontier preacher introduced biblical quotations into his sermons. The frequency with which the Book of Mormon introduces this chronologically misplaced material into its text would require that God supernaturally provided this American colony with virtually the entire New Testament text, as well as those portions of the Old Testament which postdated their departure for America.... passages from the New Testament... are sprinkled generously into the speeches and sermons of the Book of Mormon characters in the same manner as one might find them in the sermons of a Methodist or Baptist preacher of Joseph Smith's day. This type of usage implies an acquaintance with the New Testament books themselves. Only after knowing the entire work can one select from it appropriate words and phrases to employ in this sermonic manner. It is naive to suggest that in every one of those instances God made known each of those biblical phrases and quotations so that the Old Testament Book of Mormon speakers could work them into their message. It is far more reasonable to believe that the insertions of such phrases and quotes came from one who already had the New Testament in hand before him while composing the Book of Mormon... The really fatal blow to the proposal that the New Testament material in the Old Testament portion of the Book of Mormon is due to Joseph Smith's employment of such phrases in the process of translating the book is that such material goes much deeper than the mere use of words and phrases. New Testament concepts, interpretations and theology are all worked into the text itself." -Wesley P. Walters, "The Use of the Old Testament in the Book of Mormon," (Master's thesis, Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, 1981), pp. 7, 10-13.
LDS author Grant Hardy writes, "In 1831, Alexander Campbell, one of the book's first critics (and certainly the first one to read it carefully), famously observed that it seemed to weigh in on all the popular religious questions of the day, including 'infant baptism, ordination, the trinity, regeneration, repentance, justification, the fall of man, the atonement, transubstantiation, fasting, penance, church government, religious experience, the call to the ministry , the general resurrection, eternal punishment, who may baptize, and even the question of freemasonry, republican government, and the right of the man.' This is a fair list, and references to these topics-or their analogous counterparts-can be found throughout the Book of Mormon." -Hardy, Understanding the Book of Mormon, p. 184
- 31:6-10
An example of writing about future events in the past tense is found in 2 Nephi 31:6-10.
Other examples can be found in Mosiah 15:12, 24; Mosiah 16:6.
Wesley P. Walters observes, "In expounding Isaiah 53, he [Smith] again lapsed into the past tense for nearly two pages of text. Consequently he has Abinadi say a century and a half before Christ, 'For these are they whose sins he HAS borne: these are they for whom he HAS died' (Mosiah 15:12). Again in verse 24 Abinadi speaks of Old Testament believers in the past tense: 'these are they that HAVE DIED before Christ CAME' (Mos. 15:24). Still again in the next chapter Abinadi drops into the past tense and declares in his sermon, 'And now if Christ HAD NOT COME into the world...' Suddenly Joseph became aware of the anachronous situation he had created and he quickly covered his blunder by having Abinadi add, 'speaking of things to come as though they already had come" (Mos. 16:6). -Wesley P. Walters, "Use of the Old Testament in the Book of Mormon," (Master's thesis, St. Louis: Covenant Theological Seminary, April, 1981), p. 79.
It is reasonable to view references to Christ’s coming expressed in the past tense as potential evidence suggesting a modern composition of the Book of Mormon.
- 31:12-13
"The Book of Mormon presents a very unusual picture of religious life between 600 B.C. and the coming of Christ. It claims that the ancient Nephites actually worshipped Jesus Christ and established Christian churches during this long period before Christ died and the New Testament was written. Bible scholars find it very hard to accept this claim, and they are even more puzzled when they learn that the Book of Mormon claims that the ancient Nephites also kept the Law of Moses at the same time. Between 559 and 545 B.C." -Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Joseph Smith's Plagiarism of the Bible in the Book of Mormon, p. 206.
Contrast 2 Nephi 31:12-13; 2 Nephi 31:18; and 2 Nephi 25:24, 29-30; with 1 Peter 1:10-12; 1 Corinthians 2:7-8; John 7:39; and Colossians 1:26.
Wesley P. Walters writes in his Master's thesis: "The transplantation of New Testament material into the Old disrupts the dispensations that God has established in the unfolding of redemption, and confuses the Old and New Covenants and their respective ordinances. The Book of Mormon is careful to point out that the American Hebrew colony 'kept the law of Moses'... Yet Christian baptism was said to be taught among the Nephites five hundred years before Christ... Furthermore by 147 B.C. a Christian Church is depicted as flourishing, of which people become members through baptism... to introduce the New Testament practice of baptism in the name of Christ into the Old Testament period is to confuse the Old and New Covenants and the ordinances connected with each. The Book of Hebrews is very specific that while the Old Testament was in force, the New clearly was not... To introduce the features of the New Covenant into the time-period when the Old Covenant was in force is to confuse the two covenants to the extent of rendering them both meaningless... The Book of Mormon, by injecting the New Testament material into the Old Testament period, completely disrupts the biblical pattern so carefully set forth in the Old Testament itself and so faithfully guarded by the New." -Wesley P. Walters, "The Use of the Old Testament in the Book of Mormon," (Master's thesis, St. Louis: Covenant Theological Seminary, April 1981), pp. 15-17.
LDS author Grant Hardy writes, "In 1831, Alexander Campbell, one of the book's first critics (and certainly the first one to read it carefully), famously observed that it seemed to weigh in on all the popular religious questions of the day, including 'infant baptism, ordination, the trinity, regeneration, repentance, justification, the fall of man, the atonement, transubstantiation, fasting, penance, church government, religious experience, the call to the ministry , the general resurrection, eternal punishment, who may baptize, and even the question of freemasonry, republican government, and the right of the man.' This is a fair list, and references to these topics-or their analogous counterparts-can be found throughout the Book of Mormon." -Hardy, Understanding the Book of Mormon, p. 184
- 31:21
The Book of Mormon declares that there is only one Eternal God (see also Alma 11:28-29), yet the Doctrine and Covenants teaches there are many gods (D&C 121:32; 132:18-20,37). As does Abraham 4:1 in the Pearl of Great Price.
In June 16, 1844, Joseph Smith gave a public doctrinal address, historically named the "Sermon in the Grove." He is recorded as saying, "I will preach on the plurality of Gods. I have selected this text for that express purpose. I wish to declare I have always, and in all congregations, when I have preached on the subject of the Deity, it has been the plurality of Gods. It has been preached by the Elders for fifteen years."
The sermon survives through the notes of four contemporaneous recorders: Thomas Bullock, William McIntire, George Laub, and Alexander Neibaur.
It was later printed in History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. 6, pp. 473–479, and in The Words of Joseph Smith, ed. Andrew F. Ehat and Lyndon W. Cook.