| Old Testament Signs and Wonders |
| Nineteenth-century
believers were intimately acquainted with the Bible. Consequently, seekers,
primitivists, and restorationists of all stripes expected anyone or any
sect claiming divine authority to be able to perform miracles—healings,
speaking in tongues, prophecies, and other signs and wonders. The effectiveness
of the Book of Mormon as a missionary tool must be understood in this context.
Its effectiveness as a missionary tool was due not so much to its contents
as to the fact of its existence, and the manner in which it was "revealed."
Just as convincing, in my opinion, were the healings performed by missionaries
and the speaking of tongues experienced in Mormon gatherings. Modern (and post-modern) men and women tend to view such "proofs" with more than a little skepticism, and gloss over the miraculous roots of Christianity. But converts to Mormonism in the nineteenth-century came from literalists who not only took signs and wonders seriously, but expected to see their return and actively sought them out. To assist readers get into the nineteenth-century frame of mind, this survey of New Testament passages have been compiled. Additional passages will be added here and in related pages over time. |
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| God gives Moses miracles to show to the Hebrews | 1 And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not
believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath
not appeared unto thee. 2 And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. 3 And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. 4 And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand: 5 That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee. 6 ¶ And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. 7 And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh. 8 And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. 9 And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land. |
Exodus 4:1–9 | ||
| The people are persuaded | 28 And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had
sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him. 29 ¶ And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel: 30 And Aaron spake all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. 31 And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped. |
Exodus 4:29–31 | ||
| Moses takes on Pharoah and his henchmen | The best part of the Ten Commandments. | Exodus 7, 8 | ||
| Signs are the Lord's biggest persuader | ¶ And the LORD said unto Moses, How long
will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me,
for all the signs which I have shewed among them? |
Numbers 14:11 | ||
| To be continued … | ||||
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New
Testament Signs and Wonders |
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