A common false belief found in Mormonism is found in Ezekiel, chapter 37. They teach their church members from a young age that the Bible is the stick of Judah and the Book of Mormon is the stick of Joseph. These are not sticks but scrolls containing the writings of Judah, hence the people of Israel, and the writings of Joseph, hence the people in America. Any person you talk to in the LDS church will tell you the same things as what I just described. They get this with these verses and three more in this chapter. It reads, “the word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and for all the house of Israel his companions: And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.” (Ezekiel 37:15-17)
Mormon missionaries will tell you that they hold in their hands these two sticks. The Book of Mormon and the Bible. How Ezekiel foretold about the restoration of God’s church and additional scripture for mankind. Mormons have even made a quad, which contains the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price. They claim these books are now one in their hands, as we will read from the next verses. “And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these? Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand. And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.” (Ezekiel 37:18-20) Isn’t this interesting?
What Mormons don’t like to do is read further on in the Bible. They stop at a verse and start making doctrines from it. This is why they failed with their teaching that the Book of Mormon is the stick of Joseph and the Bible, being the stick of Judah. This is because the true meaning of these sticks comes in the following verses. How there were two nations divided. The Kingdom of Judah and the Kingdom of Joseph. It is written, “and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all.” (Ezekiel 37:21,22) These two nations would become one. Israel would no longer be divided because of sin and disbelief.
How come these kingdoms were divided? It was because of idolatry. It divided the land of Israel into two kingdoms. This ended under King David’s rule. At this time, the nations came together as one once again. It is written, “neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.” (Ezekiel 37:23,24) So the true meaning of the two sticks is Israel becoming one nation again and no longer divided under the rule of David, not the Bible and Book of Mormon. Now, to continue to believe that Ezekiel, chapter 37, is about the Bible and Book of Mormon is to believe in a lie. Amen.
Let us pray:
Oh Lord, I pray that the hearts of Mormons will be open to Your truth. I can say a lot but what I ask for them is to allow Your Spirit to influence them. Not simply to believe in what they have been taught by their prophets and church leaders, but to allow the Bible to be their authority on what is true and what is false. Recently I was in a debate and I was praying that Arthur would see the error in his ways, but all he could do was try to refute what Your Words in the Bible says. He could not understand that the stick of Joseph was one nation and the stick of Judah was another, and how they would come together as one nation in the times of King David. I read these verses verbatim but still, he refused to acknowledge what the Bible says. Help him, Lord. This man, along with other Mormons, are lost and need Your guidance and direction. I pray that one day more people in this cult will know what is true and resign for Your sake. I love You, Jesus. Amen.
