FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Question: How could Lehi and his family, being Israelites, be allowed to offer sacrifices "according to the Law of Moses," since only Levites were authorized to perform sacrificial rites in Israel?
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Contents
Criticism
- Critics claim that Lehi and his family, being Israelites, would not have offered sacrifices "according to the Law of Moses" because only Levites were authorized to perform sacrificial rites in Israel.
- A related claim insists that Israelites would not have constructed a temple outside of Jerusalem, since this was forbidden by Jewish law and practice.
Source(s) of the criticism
To see citations to the critical sources for these claims, [[../CriticalSources|click here]]
Response
The Book of Mormon makes it clear that Lehi (a descendant of Manasseh) offered ritual sacrifice to God (1 Nephi 2꞉7, 1 Nephi 5꞉9) and later Nephites do likewise (Mosiah 2꞉3.
Conclusion
Endnotes
None