Ishmael & Isaac

I received a series of questions from an old acquaintance. Here are the responses:

Dear Friend,

It’s good to hear from you again. I’ll do my best to answer your questions.

Q:        Ishmael was the first son, why doesn’t he have the birthright?

A:         Ishmael was born to Abraham through his handmaiden Hagar, a servant. As such, he had no right to the birthright. Isaac was born to Sarah, Abraham’s first wife and thus inherited the birthright of his father.

The same story is replayed with Israel (Jacob) two generations later. Joseph was the first born of Israel’s first wife Rachel. However, Joseph had older brothers from different mothers. Nevertheless, Rachel was the first wife and Joseph had the birthright.  Remember, years later the older brothers wanted to kill him because of this (and his dreams) so they threw him in a pit and he was eventually sold into Egypt.

The Arabs have been making this case for millennia but the law and traditions of the Hebrews haven’t changed. Their argument is political and not factual, hence the emotions surrounding the topic can become quite heated, sufficient to kill and attempt to eliminate a complete nation over it, hence the hatred toward Israel by the Arabs (descendants of Ishmael). They must have a reason for their actions, so they fabricate a story that violates a known tradition and law and justify their actions based on their anger.

Q:        How can Abraham be a prophet if he slept with Hagar?

A:         Hagar was given to Abraham by Sarah to be his wife. It was a legal process and sanctioned by God.

Q:        If the Jewish religion is perfect, why are you not Jewish?

A:         The Jewish religion is apostate and has been since at least 400 BC. It was apostate when Jesus was on the earth and nothing has changed since then. Malachi was the last prophet before John the Baptist. Amos, Micah, and others all prophesied that there would be an apostasy after the resurrection of Jesus Christ; therefore the Jewish religion could not be perfect at this time.

Q:        Is Jesus God?

A:         Yes, he is a God but he is not the supreme God. That is his Father.

Q:        Does that mean you believe in two Gods?

A:         Yes, but I worship only the Father.

Q:        Would that make God a jealous God?

A:         Only if I worship another god, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3)

Q:        Does God have a wife, our Mother in Heaven? Does that make her a Goddess?

A:         Yes we have a Mother in Heaven and she is a Goddess. We don’t worship her either, so no violation of the first commandment and no jealousy.

Q:        The Bible has been translated by men with no straightforward message, how can you believe in it?

A:         We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly. It has flaws, omissions, and additions that were not sanctioned by God, but we have clarifying scripture that removes the confusion. The Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price and modern-day prophets eliminate the mass of confusion that conspiring men and scribes have caused by tampering with Holy Scripture (Bible).

Q:        Why did we not know about a Mother in Heaven before the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?

A:         Scholars have known about a Mother in Heaven for years. She’s been taught from the time of Adam until the Temple of Herod. If this topic is of value, there are sufficient resources that you can verify this issue on your own.

I hope this helps.