The following is a letter to my son Chase in 2008 who was serving as a missionary in Chiapas, Mexico. I am still amazed how the Creator of Heaven and Earth can so effectively use 19-23 year old young men and women as missionaries to bring such important eternal truths to the masses. Humbled that our Chase was counted among such an incredible force for good, I prayed daily that those he contacted would open their hearts and homes to his message. If they only knew? And then it came to me...Really. Follow me for a minute:
Jesus told Nicodemus that you must be baptized to enter into the kingdom of heaven. So- baptism doesn't guarantee a place in heaven,but it is clearly a prerequisite. Then what percentage of Gods children have actually met this minimum requirement?
There are 6.7 billion people on the earth today.
Experts estimate that is equal to 5.8% of all those who have ever lived.
That means 115 billion souls have lived on the earth since Adam & Eve.
Studies claim that 33% of the worlds population today considers themselves Christian.
Now we know this number is higher than it has ever been, in fact 2,000 years ago only a fraction of 1% were Christian. Furthermore, most experts think that the 2 billion Christians living today represent about half the Christians who have ever lived.
So- if experts are correct, there has been a total of about 4 billion Christians in history.
We know not all of them were baptized. But for the sake of this argument, let's assume they all were, every single one of them.
So now we are left with a mere 3.5 % of the 115 billion of God's sons and daughters who have met just one of the requirements to enter heaven.
Would a loving Father in Heaven who numbers the hairs on each of our heads, would such a God go through all this trouble to save and be reunited with only 3 or 4 out of every 100 of his children? Would God devise a plan and set forth a law that has a 96 % failure rate? Would he?
Christianity has a huge problem! Without the restored doctrine of baptism for the dead which is uniquely Mormon, the rest of Christianity is left with only two possible scenarios.
Either the Bible lies when it says that God is no respecter of persons and that he loves us all. No, he must have favorites because he has allowed 96 % of his children to be lost forever without ever being baptized.
Or- Jesus is a liar. He really didn't mean what he said to Nicodemus. You really don't have to be baptized to go to heaven. Sadly over half of current Christians believe this now. Non denominational Christian churches are growing by leaps and bounds. Why? Because they have no rules, no doctrine, no minimum requirement other than accepting Jesus Christ. Hmmm- But doesn't the Bible teach that even Satan and his demons know that Jesus is the Christ!
And if Jesus really didn't mean what he clearly said, why was he baptized? Not for the remission of sins, because he didn't have any. No- he was baptized to fulfill all righteousness, to obey the commandment, to complete the minimum requirement he himself taught Nicodemus. Don't tell me He was a liar!
Do the math! I dare you!
Christianity does not make sense, unless one accepts the doctrine of baptism for the dead that the Bible teaches was originally practiced in the New Testament per 1 Corinthians 15 and now found exclusively in the doctrines and practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!
It is the only acceptable explanation. It is the only response that makes sense.
We are sons and daughters of a Heavenly Father who loves us and who wants us to return to our heavenly home. All warm & fuzzy feelings aside, the gospel that is being taught by Elder Rockwood in southern Mexico is the only thing that makes sense of Christianity!
This I bare testimony of in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen
I Love you!
Dad
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