Chapter 1 (BOMC)

In the Book of Mormon, we see a copycat of Acts, chapter 2. This chapter comes from Mosiah 18, and it is very much like the verses we see on the day of Pentecost in the Bible. See for yourself, as we read different verses. It is written, "yea, concerning that which was to come, and also concerning the resurrection of the dead, and the redemption of the people, which was to be brought to pass through the power, and sufferings, and death of Christ, and his resurrection and ascension into heaven.” (Mosiah 18:2) “And he did teach them, and did preach unto them repentance, and redemption, and faith on the Lord.” (Mosiah 18:7) “Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him.” (Mosiah 18:10) “And now when the people had heard these words, they clapped their hands for joy, and exclaimed: This is the desire of our hearts.” (Mosiah 18:11) All this excitement over baptism supposedly occurred around a hundred and forty-five years before John the Baptist was born.

The story continues and says, “and after this manner he did baptize every one that went forth to the place of Mormon; and they were in number about two hundred and four souls.” (Mosiah 18:16) So we see that over two hundred people got baptized on that day. How interesting that we don’t see people doing sacrificial offerings at the tabernacle but had a church in their midst already. A very strange thing is seen in the verses as well. It talks about Jesus’s suffering, along with His death and resurrection. How we are redeemed through Jesus’s atonement for sins. Can anyone spot an issue here? Joseph Smith makes people believe that this knowledge of Jesus' sacrifice for sins was readily available before the birth of Jesus. Matthew speaks of Jesus coming into the world to take away our sins, but these specific details of Jesus being the last lamb to die for us was unknown till God came into this world. As for the church, it was not established in the Old Covenant timeframe. The talk of baptism happening in a church before John the Baptist is a big red flag, since the church began with Jesus.

The first recorded event of baptism by Immersion in the Bible is with John. This happened to be when Jesus started his ministry also. It is written, "and they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost." (John 1:25-33)

Baptism was also important in the church that Christ established. We see this on the day of Pentecost. Let's compare the events of the Book of Mormon with what the Bible says in Acts, chapter 2. It is written, “now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” (Acts 2:37-41) As we can see here, the story in Mosiah is very similar to what we see in Acts. It is like Joseph Smith took the story in Acts and rewrote it to match his story in the Book of Mormon. Unfortunately, this story in the Book of Mormon is not scripture. There is no evidence to back it up either.

As we read in Mosiah, the Book of Mormon and the Bible have conflicting information. Nobody was baptized in a church until Jesus set apart His church on earth. John the Baptist started baptizing for repentance, while baptism with the Holy Spirit started on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. In ancient times, the Israelites followed the laws of Moses and did not have a church established. We also don't learn about baptism until John the Baptist came on the scene. Only ceremonial washings and water purifications are known. Isn’t it interesting that Mosiah is supposedly recorded before Jesus's birth, in 147-145BC? This book demonstrates the need for baptism in Christ's church in the Old Testament times, where we don’t see this in the Bible. Therefore, these people would have known better than to baptize for the remission of sins, as Jesus had not been born or sacrificed yet. At that timeframe, people could not see in the future and witness the death of Christ. The same knowledge about Jesus's resurrection and ascension into heaven was not written down as a vision either in the Old Testament portion of the Bible. Adding this information to the Book of Mormon suggests that people had special knowledge of things not present in the Bible. Here we see Joseph Smith attempting to make his book appear like it is prophesying of future events. However, it is only an attempt to make his book sound Biblical on paper. When comparing it with the Bible, we see how it is far from being of God. Amen.

Let us pray:
Oh Lord, I pray that LDS people will learn about the teachings of the Bible and not only depend on their church leaders for knowledge. I am grateful to be introduced to baptism through John the Baptist. Surely, this is when we see in scripture that people were repenting of their sins and turning to You, God. In the New Covenant, You brought about something amazing with baptism that was not present in the Old Covenant. Through baptism, we die to ourselves and rise with You as a new creation. You have made us alive in this darkened world. People did not realize what they were missing out on until You came on the scene to save them. Thank You, Lord, for saving me. I pray that Your people will reach those who are lost There are millions of people in every country who are lost and in need of a Savior. Help deliver the Mormon people also from their false beliefs and to you for truth and knowledge. Then, can they come to You and be saved. Come Lord, Jesus. I love You. Amen.