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{{Resource Title|Response to claims made in "Chapter 13: Communion and Baptism"}}
{{FAIRAnalysisHeader
|title=[[../../|Mormonism 101]]
|author=Bill McKeever and Eric Johnson
|noauthor=
|section=[[../|Index]], Claims made in Chapter 13: Communion and Baptism
|previous=[[../Chapter 12|Chapter 12: Heaven and Hell]]
|next=[[../Chapter 14|Chapter 14: The Word of Wisdom]]
|notes={{AuthorsDisclaimer}}
}}
==Quick Navigation==
*[[Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Mormonism 101/Chapter 13#Response to claim: 191 - Claims made in The Seer by "Apostle Orson Pratt"|Response to claim: 191 - Claims made in The Seer by "Apostle Orson Pratt"]]
*[[Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Mormonism 101/Chapter 13#Response to claim: 191-192 - Mormons should not use water in place of wine for the Sacrament|Response to claim: 191-192 - Mormons should not use water in place of wine for the Sacrament]]
*[[Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Mormonism 101/Chapter 13#Response to claim: 193 - one must be baptized in the LDS Church to attain "true exaltation"|Response to claim: 193 - one must be baptized in the LDS Church to attain "true exaltation"]]
*[[Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Mormonism 101/Chapter 13#Response to claim: 194 - "true Christian baptism" did not commence until the time of John the Baptist, and that baptism is simply a "ceremonial cleansing"|Response to claim: 194 - "true Christian baptism" did not commence until the time of John the Baptist, and that baptism is simply a "ceremonial cleansing"]]
*[[Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Mormonism 101/Chapter 13#Response to claim; 197 - The authors proceed to quote Bible verses that they claim are "misused" by Latter-day Saints in order to show that baptism is a requirement|Response to claim; 197 - The authors proceed to quote Bible verses that they claim are "misused" by Latter-day Saints in order to show that baptism is a requirement]]
{{parabreak}}

==Response to claim: 191 - Claims made in The Seer by "Apostle Orson Pratt"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=Mormonism 101
|claim=
The authors start off Chapter 13 by citing one of the favorite anti-Mormon references of all, ''The Seer'' by "Apostle Orson Pratt." 
|authorsources=
*Pratt, ''The Seer'', 255.
}}
{{misinformation|
|mistake=The writings of Orson Pratt as published in ''The Seer'' are considered by the authors to represent Mormon doctrine. This is incorrect.
|facts=To give the reader some background, Brother Pratt was ordained an Apostle on April 26, 1835 but was subsequently excommunicated on August 20, 1842 and rebaptized and reordained an Apostle on June 20, 1943. The information in The Seer was published as a periodical in Washington D.C. and Liverpool, England between January 1853 and August 1854. This material was not reviewed by other Church leaders and reflected Orson Pratt's personal beliefs and not LDS doctrinal views. An excellent summary of LDS views regarding the information found in The Seer has been given by W. John Walsh:
<blockquote>
The Seer was a newspaper published by Elder Orson Pratt while serving a mission for the Church. In the paper, Elder Pratt gave his viewpoints on a number of gospel principles. When the Church discovered what Elder Pratt had written, he was censured and the writings were officially and publicly condemned for containing false doctrine. In a Proclamation of the First Presidency and Twelve, dated October 21, 1865, the Church said:
<br><br>
"The Seer "contain[s] doctrines which we cannot sanction, and which we have felt impressed to disown, so that the Saints who now live, and who may live hereafter, may not be misled by our silence, or be left to misinterpret it. Where these objectionable works, or parts of works, are bound in volumes, or otherwise, they should be cut out and destroyed; with proper care this can be done without much, if any, injury to the volumes.
<br><br>
"It ought to have been known, years ago, by every person in the Church-for ample teachings have been given on the point-that no member of the Church has the right to publish any doctrines, as the doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, without first submitting them for examination and approval to the First Presidency and the Twelve. There is but one man upon the earth, at one time, who holds the keys to receive commandments and revelations for the Church, and who has the authority to write doctrines by way of commandment unto the Church. And any man who so far forgets the order instituted by the Lord as to write and publish what may be termed new doctrines, without consulting with the First Presidency of the Church respecting them, places himself in a false position, and exposes himself to the power of darkness by violating his Priesthood.
<br><br>
"While upon this subject, we wish to warn all the Elders of the Church, and to have it clearly understood by the members, that, in the future, whoever publishes any new doctrines without first taking this course, will be liable to lose his Priesthood."<ref>This information was published on John Walsh's popular Web site, and until mid-2001 could be found at http://www.mormons.org/response/qa/seer_jd.htm. The Web site has since been discontinued. Additional explanations about The Seer can be found at the FAIR Web site: http://www.fairlds.org/Misc/Is_The Seer_a_Reliable_Source.html.</ref>
</blockquote>
*For the authors to quote this work as representative of LDS beliefs is representative of very poor scholarship.
{{More|The Seer|l1=Orson Pratt's ''The Seer''}}
}}

==Response to claim: 191-192 - Mormons should not use water in place of wine for the Sacrament==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=Mormonism 101
|claim=Mormons should not use water in place of wine for the Sacrament
}}
{{misinformation|
Returning to the subject of "Communion" or the Sacrament, as Latter-day Saints refer to it, the authors construct a [[Logical_fallacies/Page_4#Straw_man|straw man argument]]<Ref>A straw man argument is a polemical tactic in which a person develops a false argument that is easier to refute than the real argument at hand. Time is spent building up the false argument, which is then easily destroyed. All the while, the real argument still stands, as it has not been directly addressed.</ref> regarding LDS usage of water in place of wine. 

The authors also quote The Encyclopedia of Mormonism on the subject but fail to quote the part that explains the use of water in preference to wine:
<blockquote>
Unbaptized children, however, being without sin, are entitled and expected to partake of the Sacrament to prefigure the covenant they themselves will make at the age of accountability, age eight (see Children: Salvation of Children). In administering the Sacrament, Christ himself used emblems readily at hand at the Last Supper-bread and wine. To Joseph Smith the Lord declared "that it mattereth not what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink when ye partake of the Sacrament, if it so be that ye do it with an eye single to my glory-remembering unto the Father my body which was laid down for you, and my blood which was shed for the remission of your sins" ({{S||D&C|27|2}}). In typical LDS practice, bread and water are used.<ref>{{EoM|author=Paul B. Pixton|article=[http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Sacrament Sacrament]|vol=3|pages=1244}}</ref>.
</blockquote>
}}
{{:Question: Why does the LDS Church use water instead of wine for its sacrament services?}}

==Response to claim: 193 - one must be baptized in the LDS Church to attain "true exaltation"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=Mormonism 101
|claim=
The authors claim that one must be baptized in the LDS Church to attain "true (salvation) exaltation."
}}
{{information|
The authors describe the ordinance of baptism, noting that it was "not unique to Mormonism." They correctly note that Latter-day Saints believe that baptism must be performed by one who has the authority, and quote several LDS leaders on the subject.
}}
{{:Question: Is Mormon insistence on baptism as an essential ordinance of salvation "unChristian" or "unbiblical"?}}

==Response to claim: 194 - "true Christian baptism" did not commence until the time of John the Baptist, and that baptism is simply a "ceremonial cleansing"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=Mormonism 101
|claim=
The authors claim that "true Christian baptism" did not commence until the time of John the Baptist, and that baptism is simply a "ceremonial cleansing." The authors discount any idea that the baptismal ordinance is a requirement for salvation.
}}
{{misinformation|
If baptism is nothing more than a "ceremonial cleansing," then why did Jesus Christ consider it to be so important that He had John the Baptist perform the ordinance for Himself?
}}

==Response to claim; 197 - The authors proceed to quote Bible verses that they claim are "misused" by Latter-day Saints in order to show that baptism is a requirement==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=Mormonism 101
|claim=
The authors proceed to quote Bible verses that they claim are "misused" by Latter-day Saints in order to show that baptism is a requirement.
|authorsources=
*{{s||Mark|16|16}}
*{{s||Luke|3|3}}
*{{s||John|3|5-6}}
*{{s||Acts|2|38}}
*{{s||Acts|22|16}}
*{{s||Romans|6|3-4}}
*{{s||Colossians|2|12-13}}
*{{s|1|Peter|3|18-20}}
}}
{{propaganda|
It is incredible to see the authors dismiss ''so many'' clear and easily understood biblical verses simply on the basis that baptism, because it is a physical act, is "a work," and that it can therefore not play any part in receiving salvation.
}}

{{endnotes sources}}

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[[en:Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Mormonism 101/Chapter 13]]