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Old 05-13-2006, 12:27 AM
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prisonchaplain prisonchaplain is offline
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Are those the only conclusions or suppositions you can make from all of those scriptures? Or in other words, could you possibly make any other assumptions than the ones you already made? Or in other words, do you think it's at least possible that other people learn things from the scriptures that you do not "suppose"? Or in other words, do you think it's at least possible that God could help other people to understand and interpret the scriptures in some way you can't even imagine right now, which is at variance with your beliefs?[/b]
Yes, Ray, I do. I sought God's direction as I went through the verses, and just looked at them in their context. Like me, no other Bible scholars outside of the LDS tradition (that I'm aware of) have taken those passages, and put them together to suggest that human spirits are existed eternally in premortality. Is it "at least possible" that Joseph Smith stumbled upon a hidden truth? "All things are possible." However, outside of an assurance about Joseph Smith and his revelations, the LDS interpretation does not seem plausible.

Professor Robinson (BYU) is generally quite frank about admitting than many LDS distinctives cannot be strongly supported, if only relying on biblical texts. His normal recourse, when engaging evangelicals, is to counter that we cannot prove the LDS interpretation is impossible or clearly contradictory to the Holy Bible.

So, as I suggested, if you presuppose Mormon doctrine, the passages could lend understanding to that interpretation. But, without the presupposition, they would not likely lead a nuetral reader conclude that humans have an eternal premortal existence.
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