I found the above video in which Leighton Flowers and James White haggle over Moses 1:39 in the Pearl of Great Price (part of the scriptural canon of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), as if it somehow teaches an incorrect doctrine. (Start watching at about 7:09 minutes into the video.) The verse in question is as follows:
Moses 1:
39 For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
That doctrine, however, is in perfect agreement with what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches that Jesus glorified God by saving and redeeming us—or putting it another way, that God glorified himself by sending his Son into the world to die for and atone for our sins, so that we might be redeemed, saved, and gain eternal life. Here are the references:
John 12:
23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
• • •
27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
28 Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.
John 13:
31 Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
32 If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him.
John 17:
4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
So how did Jesus “glorify” God? He glorified God by saving and redeeming us. He glorified God by dying for and atoning for our sins, so that we can be redeemed and saved through faith and repentance. If that is so, that means that God’s glory is promoted by saving and redeeming us. He is glorified by the salvation and redemption of us. His “work and glory” is to bring about the salvation and redemption of man. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). That is what the Bible teaches—which also is what Moses 1:39 teaches. It is Calvinism that is heretical, unbiblical, and false. It is diametrically opposed to the teaching of the Bible. It is a Satanic perversion of the gospel; and a recipe for damnation rather than salvation. Avoid at all cost!
And notice that Leighton Flowers effectively agrees with James White that Moses 1:39 is incorrect. In other words, both of them have a heretical and false theology—but from the opposite ends of the spectrum from each other. Both have an unbiblical theology; but one of them from the Calvinistic end of the spectrum, and the other from the anti-Calvinist end—although it must be admitted that Calvinism is a far bigger heresy than any kind of anti-Calvinism can be.
And as far as the general meaning of “glorifying God” is concerned, which is how man can glorify God, Leighton Flowers hasn’t got that bit quite right either. His objections to Calvinism’s idea of glorifying God is right, but he hasn’t got the biblical meaning quite right. According to the Bible, we glorify God by doing good works. God’s glory is promoted when we do good deeds for the benefit of our fellow man:
Matthew 5:
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Jesus did the ultimate “good work” for man, by dying for and atoning for their sins, thus making possible their salvation and redemption through faith and repentance. “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). That is how Jesus “glorified God,” by taking upon himself our sins, so that we can be forgiven and redeemed from them through faith and repentance. No human being can match that degree of love for another man. But every man in his own limited capacity can glorify God by following the example of the Savior in loving and doing good for the benefit of his fellowman. “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35) “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you” (John 15:12). See further Matthew 25:31–46, in which Jesus basically teaches the same thing, but in a different context. That is the biblical definition of “glorifying God”. That is what the Bible teaches about what it means for man to glorify God—by loving God above all else, and loving our neighbour as ourselves (Matthew 22:36-39).
Another interesting observation to make with respect to that video is that both James White and Leighton Flowers seem to have read the Latter-day Saint scriptures, and therefore are able to correctly quote from them; and therefore they must have gained some inkling of its truth. I do not believe it is possible for someone acquainted with biblical studies (and believing in its truth), to make a serious study of modern scriptures of the Church without obtaining at least an inkling of its truth—if not a strong witness. That is because the same Spirit inspired both, and therefore bears the same witness to both. I think that these folks know that Latter-day Saint scriptures are true—or at least, they have a strong inkling that it might be. But they don’t want to admit it because it would put them out of business if they did!
