No Disputations

[ClayBarber]

I was going to talk about this topic during today's early morning worship at church but church was cancelled due to bad weather. So, I wrote down the thoughts for your consideration on the forum. I hope they are beneficial to you; they are for me.


When Jesus came to the Nephites, there are three specific instances where he admonished the 12 disciples he called about the manner in which certain things must be done so that there would be no disputations among the priesthood and the members of the church. Has the Restoration considered these admonitions and adhered to them?

In 3 Nephi 5:22-29, Jesus gives a commandment and specific instructions about the manner of performing a baptism including the words that should be said:

22 And again the Lord called others, and said unto them likewise; and he gave unto them power to baptize.
23 And he said unto them, On this wise shall ye baptize; and there shall be no disputations among you.
24 Verily I say unto you, that whoso repenteth of his sins through your words, and desireth to be baptized in my name, on this wise shall ye baptize them: Behold, ye shall go down and stand in the water, and in my name shall ye baptize them.
25 And now behold, these are the words which ye shall say, calling them by name, saying: Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
26 And then shall ye immerse them in the water, and come forth again out of the water.
27 And after this manner shall ye baptize in my name, for behold, verily I say unto you, that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one; and I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one.
28 And according as I have commanded you, thus shall ye baptize.
29 And there shall be no disputations among you, as there hath hitherto been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the points of my doctrine, as there hath hitherto been;

Notice in verse 28 that Jesus says this is a commandment and that twice, verses 23 and 29, Jesus says that he gave the commandment so that there would be no disputations about it. So, has all Restoration priesthood adhered to this commandment? In short: No. But you might ask: How have they not adhered to this commandment?

Compare the words in Doctrine & Covenants 17:21c (RLDS):

21c. Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen.

with those in 3 Nephi 5:25:

25 And now behold, these are the words which ye shall say, calling them by name, saying: Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Notice the difference? So, why doesn’t all Restoration priesthood use the words from 3 Nephi that were divinely translated by the power of God? When challenged on this point, rather than humbling themselves, repenting, and changing, many will dispute about the words in 3 Nephi, which is precisely what Jesus warned the disciples against.

In 3 Nephi 8:60-62, Jesus gives another commandment and specific instructions that those who have not been baptized by one having authority (3 Nephi 5:25) should not receive the sacrament until they have repented and been baptized:

60 And now behold, this is the commandment which I give unto you, that ye shall not suffer any one knowingly, to partake of my flesh and blood unworthily, when ye shall minister it, for whoso eateth and drinketh my flesh and blood unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to his soul;
61 Therefore if ye know that a man is unworthy to eat and drink of my flesh and blood, ye shall forbid him; nevertheless ye shall not cast him out from among you, but ye shall minister unto him, and shall pray for him unto the Father, in my name,
62 And if it so be that he repenteth, and is baptized in my name, then shall ye receive him, and shall minister unto him of my flesh and blood;

Jesus then provides the reason for this commandment in 3 Nephi 8:66-68:

66 Therefore keep these sayings which I have commanded you, that ye come not under condemnation, for wo unto him whom the Father condemneth.
67 And I give you these commandments, because of the disputations which have been among you.
68 And blessed are ye if ye have no disputations among you.

So, has all Restoration priesthood adhered to this commandment? Again: No. There are a number of organizations with roots in the Restoration that allow “open communion” where people who are known to have been “baptized” by organizations and priesthood without authority or known to not be baptized at all are allowed to partake of the sacrament. Jesus indicates this brings damnation to the soul of those that partake in such manner (v 60) and condemnation to the priesthood that allow it (v 66). The Restoration priesthood has an obligation to protect the souls of those that they shepherd and their own soul. But again, when challenged on this point, those that practice “open communion” will dispute about the words in 3 Nephi despite the warning Jesus gave the disciples.

In 3 Nephi 12, the disciples have gathered together, fasting and praying in the name of Jesus. When Jesus appears to them, the following conversation is recorded:

15 And Jesus again shewed himself unto them, for they were praying unto the Father, in his name; and Jesus came and stood in the midst of them, and said unto them, What will ye that I shall give unto you?
16 And they said unto him, Lord, we will that thou wouldst tell us the name whereby we shall call this church; for there are disputations among the people concerning this matter.
17 And the Lord said unto them, Verily, verily I say unto you, Why is it that the people should murmur and dispute because of this thing?
18 Have they not read the scriptures, which say, Ye must take upon you the name of Christ, which is my name? for by this name shall ye be called at the last day; and whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth to the end, the same shall be saved at the last day;
19 Therefore, whatsoever ye shall do, ye shall do it in my name; therefore ye shall call the church in my name; and ye shall call upon the Father in my name, that he will bless the church for my sake; and how be it my church, save it be called in my name?
20 For if a church be called in Moses’ name, then it be Moses’ church; or if it be called in the name of a man, then it be the church of a man; but if it be called in my name, then it is my church, if it so be that they are built upon my gospel.

So, do all Restoration organizations include the name of Christ, which is Jesus, in the name of the church? Do all in the Restoration pray to God the Father in Jesus’ name? Sadly, despite the warnings from Jesus against such disputations, there are a number of organizations with roots in the Restoration that do not include “Jesus” in the name of the church and several Restoration organizations do not teach the members to pray to the Father in Jesus’ name; instead such organizations use the term “Christ”. But notice that in the commandment regarding the words for baptism it says: “Having authority given me of Jesus Christ”. Since the priesthood authority comes from Jesus Christ, and the baptism is performed in this name, it seems obvious that the name of the church should include “Jesus Christ” otherwise it cannot be his church; yet priesthood and members alike within these organizations will dispute about the words in 3 Nephi.

But even if the church name includes “Jesus”, Jesus indicates that it is only his church if it is built on his gospel (3 Nephi 12:20). So, even if a Restoration organization does include the name of “Jesus”, if it disputes about the baptism commandment, or the commandment about serving the sacrament only to those that are baptized, or any other commandment Jesus gave, then it is not his church.

II Nephi 11:59 states that the Nephites and Lamanites were to consider every word that Jesus Christ spoke to them "shall be the law which ye shall do." When we diminish the importance of Jesus’ words, we also diminish the importance of one of the standards of the gospel (Genesis 50:31 IV, Ezekiel 37:15-19, 2 Nephi 2:19-23, BofC 44:13-14 – D&C 42:5a-b) and thereby we diminish the importance of keeping Jesus’ commandments.

Genesis 7:23 (IV) indicates that the “Lord called his people, Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness”. Is it any wonder that Zion isn’t here when there isn’t even agreement within the Restoration on keeping the commandments of Jesus himself?