Bible Study for Mormons
What does the Bible teach regarding the nature of man, where did he come from, why is he here, and where is he going? Mormonism teaches that man was created first a spirit being before the creation of the world, then these spirit beings had to take on flesh and bone bodies on earth to live a mortal existence here where they could learn the difference between good and evil. At death, the spirit is separated from the body and goes on as a conscious, intelligent entity to a spirit prison where another step in eternal progression can take place. So it is necessary to have as many children as possible to give bodies to these spirit beings that are pre-existing. See Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 2, pp. 1-2, 57-58, 88.
Having this understanding of Mormon belief helps one to see the reason behind certain activities in the church programs. When I was younger I was invited to learn dancing as part of the youth function at the church. Being shocked that this is what the youth were learning in their "classes", and having hated dancing in the first place, I declined. Not only dancing was taught in the church, but also among my own relatives and other church members families, dating and early marriages were encouraged or allowed so that the young people could start having their families. To my young mind, Mormonism was equated with having boyfriends, and getting married, more than it was about getting a college education and learning how to be a good spouse and how to raise up children who would be useful members of society, to God's glory. There is nothing wrong with marriage and family, these things need to be encouraged and in their proper order, and I believe many Mormons do that to some degree. But if you do not have a large family, is it because God must not be blessing you or you are not fulfilling the obligation for which you must live for?
What does the Bible say regarding the nature of man: where did he come from, why is he here, and where is he going?
1. What steps does the first book in the Bible, Genesis, state
that God took in creating man so that he became a living soul?
Genesis 1:26, 27 and Genesis 2:7
Answer:
a. "And God said, Let us make man in our _____________,
after our ____________________....So God created man in his own
image, in the image of God created he him; male and female
created he them." Genesis 1:26, 27.
b. "The Lord God formed the man of the __________ of the ___________, and breathed into his nostrils the _____________ of __________; and man became a living soul." Genesis 2:7.
Is any mention here made of a living spirit being given a body to dwell in? No....it merely says, "dust" + "breath of life" = "living soul" or a person who at the time he receives the breath of life, begins to live.
2. What is the breath of life also called in the book of Job,
and would this not be a pre-existent spirit?
Job 27:3
Answer:
"All the while my _______________ is in me, and the
________________ of God is in my nostrils." Job 27:3
This text equates "breath" with "spirit" of God, both of which describes what is in the nostrils. It is the breath from God that gives life to the body. The breath is the "wind" which God breathes into us and starts us breathing because God is also the Lifegiver. Have you ever fallen hard on the ground and had the "wind" knocked out of you, and you started gasping for air? That is the "spirit" or breath that comes from God! If you didn't get your breath back, you would die, plain and simple.
3. What happens to the body and breath when you die?
Ecclesiastes 12:7
Answer:
"Then shall the dust _____________ to the earth as it was:
and the spirit shall ____________ unto God who gave it."
Ecclesiastes 12:7
4. When did God create everything?
Exodus 20:11
Answer:
"For in ___________ ________________ the Lord made heaven
and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the
____________ day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and
hallowed it." Exodus 20:11.
There is no record of anything being created on this earth before the first day of Creation.
5. Did God make man out of a pre-existing spirit or matter?
Hebrews 11:3.
Answer:
"Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by
the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of
things which ______ _____________________." Hebrews 11:3
Truly, only God can create something from nothing, which destroys the concept of evolution. Even the dust man was created with was made out of nothing during Creation week!
6. Does Jeremiah 1:5 give evidence that the human spirit
existed before being united with human bodies as a result of
creation?
Jeremiah 1:5 and Isaiah 46:9, 10
Answer:
a. "Before I formed thee in the belly _____ ____________
thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified
thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations."
Jeremiah 1:5
b. "Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the __________ from the ___________________, and from ancient times the things that are not ________ ______________, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure." Isaiah 46:9, 10.
Jeremiah 1:5 is simply stating that God knew all about Jeremiah before He was born. The text in Isaiah 46:9, 10, tells us that God knows the end from the beginning, He knows the future and can predict what we are going to do even before we do it! That doesn't mean we don't have a choice in the matter, He just knows what choice we are going to make, and He tries to direct us in the right path, like a Father leading a child along the way. Just as long as the child doesn't resist being led, the Father pretty much knows the outcome. Well, the heavenly Father knows everything past, present and future, there is nothing hid from Him!
7. Doesn't the apostle Paul say that the spiritual existed
first before the natural?
1 Corinthians 15:46
Answer:
"Howbeit that was not first which is _____________, but that
which is ______________; and afterward that which is
_______________." 1 Corinthians 15:46
Now, did you copy that down right? Isn't it amazing that Paul
says that the natural body comes first, and then the spiritual?
He means that human beings came into existence first when they
were made or born on this earth in a natural body of flesh and
blood. Afterwards, at the resurrection, those who are saved will
receive "spiritual bodies" that will be unaffected by
disease and death. Read about this resurrection of the dead
sleeping saints who then put on immortality and incorruption when
Christ raises them!
1 Corinthians 15:51-54.
So far from this study, we have learned where man came from. What does the Bible teach? Man came from the dust of the ground, God breathed into him the breath of life, and then, and only then, man became a living soul. That is very simple and straight-forward! I like the way the Lord keeps things simple!
This study will continue in our next lesson: The Nature of Man -- Part 2.