Radio Free Mormon and his faithful sidekick, The Backyard Professor, complete their dismemberment of Elder Bednar’s recent two-part talk titled, “That Ye May Believe.”
Nothing about Elder Bednar has ever been this much fun!
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RFM and BYP together is the definition of synergy. Good stuff.
The last Bednar quote I actually think is one of the best things I’ve heard him say. He’s telling people to quit worrying about trying to hear subtle spiritual answers to every little question. He’s basically saying, “Quit worrying about it. Just live a good life and when you look back later, you’ll see that God was guiding things all along.”
RFM, I’d love to get your input on another topic. This came to mind when Bednar said that baptism represents death and resurrection.
John 3:4 is generally used to show that baptism is a necessary saving ordinance, and/or that baptism and confirmation are both necessary.
“Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? 5Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”
Taken in context, I am convinced that this passage has nothing to do with water baptism. It is contrasting human infant birth with the rebirth of the spirit. The water is, literally, amniotic fluid.
Any thoughts?
(cross posting from FB because I have no idea which place gets the most traffic…)
The thing that struck me about all of Bednar’s points was how the entire list was an exercise in circular reasoning. His list of 10 things is ONLY evidence of Joseph Smith as a prophet IF those 10 things are in fact true. However, he presents no evidence at all that those 10 things are true or correct. RFM and BYP correctly point out that pretty much all of the 10 things were present in Joseph’s immediate environment and experience, which is a good point. But I maintain that the entire thing has no foundation at all. This appears to be the logic –> JS revealed these things therefore they are true –> because JS revealed these things he is a prophet. There is no independent test at all.
The only thing he discussed at all that could be verified was the bit in the intermission about stars and “how could Joseph had known”. Which, as it was pointed out, maybe he could… look up at night? 🙂
I would love to listen to you guys review GA 70 Kevin Hamilton’s talk 24 Jan 2023 at a BYU devotional titled, “Why a Church?” It’s an alarming address that equates the church with Jesus (and by extension, God).