Question
Dear Gramps,
I am finding it hard to believe that Christ is our Redeemer. I am an inactive LDS member and only believe in the Old Testament. Why do we have to pray to God in the name of Jesus Christ? If I were of another religion would he not hear my prayers? Where in the Old Testament does it say that God would send someone to die for our sins? I know about the Messiah, but that was to free them from the Romans…Thank you.
Richard
Answer
Richard,
The Old Testament has many prophets that testified of the Messiah who would be sent to redeem His people.
I heard an old cassette tape on the “Conversion of a Jew” with David Cohen (I think). He was raised an Orthodox Jew and was introduced to The Book of Mormon during his military service. It’s a great tape if you can find it.
Now, you may recall that in the Jewish religion, they have rote prayers – specific prayers for specific things. As you can imagine, there is no Jewish prayer about The Book of Mormon!
But before he can pray about The Book of Mormon, he needed to know if Jesus was the Messiah.
In the talk, David was asked to read Isaiah chapter 53, but in a different way. Where ever it said “we” or “us”, insert “the Jews”. Where ever it said “He” or “Him”, insert “the Messiah”.
Isaiah 53
1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
2 For he [the Messiah] shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he [the Messiah] hath no form nor comeliness; and when we [the Jews] shall see him, there is no beauty that we [the Jews] should desire him.
3 He [the Messiah] is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we [the Jews] hid as it were our faces from him; he [the Messiah] was despised, and we [the Jews] esteemed him not.
4 Surely he [the Messiah] hath borne our [the Jews] griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him [the Messiah] stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he [the Messiah] was wounded for our [the Jews] transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his [the Messiah] stripes we [the Jews] are healed.
6 All we [the Jews] like sheep have gone astray; we [the Jews] have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He [the Messiah] was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he [the Messiah] is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
8 He [the Messiah] was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people [the Jews] was he stricken.
9 And he [the Messiah] made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he [the Messiah] had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
I encourage you to read more in Isaiah and the Old Testament. Read about the animal sacrifices made that were in similitude of The Atonement of the Savior.
Gramps
