Bridge of Reason

  The Book of Mormon and The Land of Jerusalem The Book of Mormon describes a ‘land of Jerusalem.’ The land of Jerusalem appears about 40 times in the book. It is not found once in the Bible, and that is important. Perhaps the most controversial reference to the land of Jerusalem is in Alma 7 where Alma seeming to foreshadow the role of John the Baptist, saying: ‘Repent ye, and prepare the way of the Lord, and walk in his paths, which are straight; for behold, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and the Son of God cometh upon the face of the earth. And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers…’ Alma 7:9,10 Of course, Jesus was born in Bethlehem and not ‘at Jerusalem.’ Where is the land of Jerusalem? Mormons say Alma was written 500 years after Nephi left Jerusalem, that this is entirely consistent with how the Book of Mormon describes places “being in the land” of cities. However, t he people of the Book of Mormon are supposed to ...

  For Jehovah’s Witnesses Easter is a special time of year. It affords them the opportunity to point out to just about everyone that we’re getting just about everything wrong...again. The cross is pagan; sacraments are out of order; once-a-week, once-a-month? Pshaw! Local bakery bread? Not on their table; grape juice? Not in their cups. All who believe invited? Well yes, but just to look on. Friday 15th April 2022 saw us invited once again to observe a special commemoration. Did you go? The JW website carried the invitation, explaining: ‘ Once each year, Jehovah’s Witnesses commemorate the death of Jesus just as he commanded when he said: “Keep doing this in remembrance of me.”—Luke 22:19.’ My wife and I, many years ago, attended one such occasion and it seemed to me the strangest non-event I have ever seen. There was a solemn atmosphere of anticipation, everyone had dressed up especially for the occasion , a prepared talk was delivered, and a ceremony took place in which n...