Mittens wrote:Where in the Book of Mormon does it teach man, animals and plants are as eternal as GOD
Well, mittens, I don't think anyone claimed that the Book of Mormon touches specifically on this subject. On the other hand, the Book of Mormon doesn't teach that God created everything "out of nothing" either. (Neither does the Bible.)
Mittens wrote:
Melchizedek was the reincarnate Jesus since he was self-existent also
Not true. That is a minority opinion even among Christians. That old theory simply does not hold up.
Melchizedek was a "man", just as Paul said he was.
Paul was using "the man" Melchizedek as an archetype, because the "Hebrews" believed that priests could only be from the line of Aaron (the Levitical priesthood). Paul explained that priesthood prior to Moses did not require lineage. Paul was saying that we do not have a record of Melchizedek's lineage (mother or father). Melchizedek certainly was not from the lineage of Aaron, because this "man", a high priest, was from BEFORE Aaron was born. Christ DID have a lineage, through Mary (and in a certain sense through Joseph), however, more importantly, Christ had a priesthood from before Aaron which did not depend on mortal lineage. In fact, Christ had the priesthood from before the foundation of the world.
Paul never said that Christ and Melchizedek were the same person. In fact, the very fact that Paul says that Jesus was "like" Melchizedek indicates otherwise. Not to mention that this high priest, Melchizedek, was receiving 10 percent tithes of the goods taken from the slaughter of the kings. It doesn't make sense to think that a pre-mortal Christ was actually there to take the gold, silver, and other goods from Abraham as tithes.
-7up