That’s one of the things confirmed to me while reading. “ Gregory Smith supports his view with section 76 of the Doctrine and Covenants, but I think he is confused, as the sections he quotes refers to sons of perdition.īut as for me, I believe there are other kingdoms, of no glory, perfect for those who want to live whatever life that affords. Smith, who remarked that this is false doctrine, stating, “This claim directly contradicts Latter-day Scriptures.
In fact, I read a review of Visions of Glory on Fair LDS, by Gregory L. Now some people are not going to believe Spencer’s account. These were of every type, of every description, and were created in response to their desires.”(80) These were wonderful places without glory where beings who had not qualified for a reward of glory during their lifetimes were ultimately sent. There were other types, which were not types of glory.
“All of the glorified universes I perceived were one of three glories - celestial, terrestrial, or telestial. Spencer, the narrator of Visions of Glory has a near death experience and says he saw other kingdoms of no glory. (D&C 88:24)Īfter I read that and thought about it, I came to a spot in my reading of Visions of Glory, where the narrator describes just such a thing - other kingdoms, not just the three: celestial, terrestrial, and telestial. Therefore he must abide a kingdom which is not a kingdom of glory. I read that some people are not “meet” for a kingdom of glory - and they must “abide a kingdom which is not a kingdom of glory.”Īnd he who cannot abide the law of a telestial kingdom cannot abide a telestial glory therefore he is not meet for a kingdom of glory. Jesus’ Resurrection and Joseph’s Visions should encourage readers to consider additional works by Bowman, such as Putting Jesus in His Place (a defense of Christ’s deity) and Sense & Nonsense About Angels & Demons.I recently thought about the possibility of many kingdoms, in addition to the typical three kingdoms of glory of which we Mormons are so familiar. Bowman shows there is serious reason to believe the alleged 1820 vision is a later – and dubious - addition to the LDS canon. If this is the case, then there should be abundant and consistent evidence supporting that claim. We fact check their claims about the seer stone, and look at what they're leaving out of the video to keep members from knowing.
The LDS Church teaches that the First Vision – when God the Father and Jesus allegedly appeared together to a 14-year-old Smith in 1820 – is the foundational event of the restoration of the true church and thus the greatest event in history since the resurrection of Christ. FAIR Mormon's New Video War on the CES Letter: LOL Seer Stones Are Awesome - A review of the new FAIR Mormon video series called This Is The Show (TITS), where they declare war on the CES Letter. Even so, Bowman lays out his case in a way that is respectful to the sincerely held beliefs of all Latter-day Saints and thus invites them – and everyone else – to take a closer look.
And he is careful to include the most recent arguments from LDS scholars. When the book transitions to an examination of Joseph Smith’s claims, Bowman applies the same principles of evidence and reason to show the LDS documents lacking. The first half of Bowman’s work is a rich and readable summary of biblical and non-biblical evidence for the person and work of Christ. The book is a helpful resource, not just for those interested in comparing the beliefs of historic Christianity with the claims of the LDS Church, but for those curious about the evidence for the physical resurrection of Jesus. In the end, Bowman shows that Paul’s claims to have seen the resurrected Jesus are well-grounded in evidence and reason Smith’s claims of seeing Jesus are not. It holds both the Bible and the Latter-day Saints’ additional scriptures (The Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, and Doctrine and Covenants) open to the same levels of scrutiny. This is a fair-minded approach upon which skeptics and true believers may agree. It’s a question worth exploring across the pages of this well-written and carefully documented new book.īowman, widely regarded as the leading evangelical scholar addressing Mormon and Jehovah’s Witness interpretations of the Bible, is well qualified to examine the evidence – both the claims of the apostle Paul and of Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.īowman approaches his study using evidence and reason – evidence meaning factual information that provides objective support for a particular conclusion, and reason meaning the use of methods of drawing conclusions from available information. addresses in Jesus’ Resurrection and Joseph’s Visions: Examining the Foundations of Christianity and Mormonism. If Christians believe the risen Jesus appeared to the apostle Paul on the road to Damascus, why shouldn’t they accept Joseph Smith’s claim that this same Jesus appeared to him in New England in 1820?