CHRISTOPHER - I heard some mess up info about the book of leviticus,
I'm sure I spelled that wrong, talking about how
homesexuals should die or be put to death in some way. I thought we are suppose to hate
the sin not the sinner.
JOEL - Here are a few of the Leviticus scriptures that
mention the sin and consequences of homosexuality:
"Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it
is abomination." (Lev 18:22)
"If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a
woman, both of them have committed an abomination:
they shall surely be put to death—.
And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put
to death: and ye shall slay the beast.
And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down
thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast:
they shall surely be put to death—." (Lev. 20:13,
15-16.)
These are harsh punishments. It must be remembered
however, that these penalties were according to the
Law of Moses, which was done away with at the coming
of Christ. The penalties for such sins now are less
severe, with the opportunity for repentence, and we
are to have the attitude as you say to hate the sin
and not the sinner. As Jesus said, "He that is without
sin among you, let him first cast a
stone..." (John 8:7)
CHRISTOPHER - Can you give me some
scriptures that talk about the bible and the book of
mormon as a team. I hate having
people believe that the book of mormon is here to
replace the bible when it's not.
JOEL - The most often quoted scripture in the Bible speaking
of the importance of both the Bible and Book of Mormon
is found in Ezekiel:
"The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying,
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:
And join them one to another into one stick; and they
shall become one in thine hand.
And when the children of thy people shall speak unto
thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest
by these?
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." (Ezek 37: 15-19)
In ancient times, in addition to keeping records on
metal plates, it was the custom to write upon
parchment, which was then rolled upon sticks for
preservation. Thus when Ezekiel was commanded by the
Lord to "take thee one stick and write upon it, For
Judah . . . then take another stick and write upon it,
For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim," in our present day
language it was the equivalent of commanding the
prophet to write one record for Judah(the Bible) and a
separate one for Joseph (the Book of Mormon).
Becoming "one in thine hand", obviously refers to the
inseparability of the two witnesses of Christ; you
can't have one without the other.
In the Book of Mormon we read:
"And they must come according to the words which shall
be established by the mouth of the Lamb; and the words
of the Lamb shall be made known in the records of thy
seed (Book of Mormon), as well as in the records of
the twelve apostles of the Lamb(Bible); wherefore they
both shall be established in one; for there is one God
and one Shepherd over all the earth." (1 Ne. 13: 41)
And Jesus told us:
"But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one
or two more, that in the mouth of two or three
witnesses every word may be established." (Matt 18:16)
If every word is to be established by two or three
witnesses, we cannot have the Book of Mormon by
itself; it requires the Bible and the Book of Mormon
together to provide the required number of witnesses
for the words of Christ.