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Mormonism – Understanding World Religions

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Mormons

History and Background

-In 1820 Mormons believe that Joseph Smith (who was 14 years old) was visited by the angel Moroni, who revealed that the religions of that time were on the wrong track.  Throughout the next decade he claims to receive several more visions. He claimed to receive gold plates engraved in an ancient Egyptian language. He later translated them and they became the book of Mormon.

-Mormonism was founded by Joseph Smith on April 6, 1830 in Palmyra, New York.

-June 27, 1844, while awaiting trial, a mob stormed the jail holding Joseph Smith and his brother, and brutally murdered them.

-After moving to Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois, the church followed the second president, Brigham Young, to Utah in 1847.

-While much of the essential doctrines of the church has remained the same since the time of Joseph Smith, there have been numerous changes in its doctrines throughout the years: They were encouraged to practice polygamy – that practice was dropped in 1899; Black people were looked upon as wicked (descendants of Ham), they were not allowed to
be in the priesthood until 1978; the current president (the active leader of the Mormon Church) can change a revelation/ law of past Presidents.

-The average member is family oriented and desires to word for God’s approval. They submit to church authority.

-They are an economic power. The church owns several worldwide businesses. The list is long and changes consistently.

Beliefs

-They believe that the word of God consist of the Bible (King James version), The Book of Mormon, The pearl of Great Price and the Doctrine of the Covenants. The Book of Mormon is said to be the history of the Jews on this continent from 600 B.G to 421 A. D. There is NO historical, archaeological, or literary evidence that this civilization ever existed. This has proved to be a huge problem for the Mormon scholars. The Pearl of Great Price is a collection of Joseph Smith’s writings, including his translation of an Egyptian manuscript which Smith claimed was writing by Abraham. These writings proved to be fraudulent. The Doctrine and Covenants is a collection of revelations to Joseph Smith. Including the sanction of polygamy. However, they did change that revelation in 1899.

-They believe in many gods.

-They believe that the Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit are three distinct gods.

-They believe all gods were once men like us. We can learn to become gods ourselves. “As man now is, God once was; as God now is, man may be.” Lorenzo Snow (President/Prophet)

-They believe in the law of eternal progression. We all start as spirit children
and if we are faithful to the Mormon doctrine we can become a god.

-They believe that God the Father has f1esh and bones like us.

-Regarding the virgin birth, they believe that God as a resurrected physical man is literally Jesus’ father. God had sex with Mary.

-They divide Heaven into three kingdoms – Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial. Only those in the Celestial kingdom are in the presence of God. They believe that the earth was created so that we can gain mortal bodies and learn to keep God’s commands.

Terminology Differences

Pre-existence
LDS – Teach that everyone pre-existed – we all exist eternally
Bible – One Christ Pre~existed – not man an 8:58, Col. 1:17). We didn’t have a spiritual existence prior to earth (1 Cor. 15:46)

Fall
LDS – teach the fall brought mortality and physical death – not fallen nature – they believe Adam was given two conflicting commandments and was supposed to fall.
Bible – God tempts no one (James 1:13, 14) Man is sinful (Romans 8:5-8)

Sin
LDS – Specific acts – not man’s basic nature
Bible -we are sinful. (Rom. 3:23, 5:6)

Atonement -salvation by Grace
LDS – Christ’s death brought release from the grave and universal resurrection-salvation by grace is universal resurrection – beyond this man must earn his place in heaven.
Bible – Salvation is not universal. Saved by grace through faith in Christ’s death and resurrection (Eph. 2:8, 9)

Redeemed
LDS – From moral death only – not sinful rebellion or spiritual death.
Bible- Christ redeems from mortal and spiritual death. (Rom 6:23, Eph. 2: 1)

Gospel
LDS – Mormon church system and doctrine
Bible – Christ death and resurrection as atonement for our sins (1Cor.15:1-4; Gal. 1:8)

Born Again
LDS – Baptism into LOS church
Bible – Spiritually dead until we acknowledge our faith in Christ (1 Pet. 23; 2 Cor. 5: 17)

True Church
LDS – Only the Mormon church
Bible – As born again Christians we are part of God’s church (1 Cor. 12:12-14)

Sons of God
LDS – We are all literal spirit children of God
Bible – We become children of God at conversion (John 1:12)

Eternal life
LDS – Exaltation in Celestial Kingdom – ability to bear children in heaven- must have a temple marriage.
Bible-Given to all Christians and no marriage in heaven (1 John 5:12, 13)

Immortality
LDS -Universal gift – ability to live forever but not eternal life.
Bible – Makes no distinction between eternal life and immortality.

Heaven
LDS -Divided into three kingdoms – Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial. A place for almost everyone. (Misuse of 1 Cor. 15:40-41)
Bible-one mentions two conditions – everlasting punishment and eternal life. (Matt. 25:31-46)

Kingdom of God
LDS – Means Celestial Kingdom – only those in Celestial Kingdom are in God’s presence.
Bible – All redeemed will be in God’s presence. (Matt. 13:41-43)

Hell
LDS-Hell as an institution is eternal – inmates come and go – they have to pay their debt.
Bible – No mention of people getting out of hell. (Luke 16:26)

Godhead
LDS – Father God is a resurrected man with physical body, Christ is a separate resurrected man with a physical body, Holy Ghost is a separate man with a spiritual body – three totally separate gods.
Bible – God not a man (Num. 23: 19), Only one God (Is. 43: 10). Father is invisible and spirit (1 Tim. 1: 17).

Holy Ghost
LDS – Is a separate God from Father and Son – different from Holy Spirit. The Holy Ghost is a person. The Holy Spirit is influence from Father and not personal.
Bible – No distinction from Holy Ghost and Holy Spirit. It is the same Greek word.

How to talk with my Mormon friends
(you might want to pick and choose from these questions)
(Remember be gracious. Some of the questions that you will ask will be difficult for them to answer. They will not abandon their faith on the spot. But you will give them things to think about. Listen to them. You might follow up some of your questions with clarification questions – what do you mean by that? How did you come to that conclusion? Have you considered … ?)

1. If you are going to use the Bible here are some things to keep in mind and discuss. This might help set the table.

a. Use a King James Version (KJV).

b. How reliable is the Bible? (They might respond that the KJV is reliable insofar as it is correctly translated.) Ask them could you tell me the Bible text that is unreliable, so we can avoid them in our discussions.

c. Another problem that Christians face in using the Bible is the matter of the inner testimony a “burning in the bosom”. Ask – In your search for truth, which is more important, the Bible or your feelings? You might want to point out Proverbs 14:12 “there is a way that seems right to a man, but the ends thereof are the ways of death.” Jesus reminds us in Mark 13:31 his words would never pass away. In our search for truth we need to focus on what the Bible has to say not our feelings.

d. Keep in mind that the Mormon redefines terms in the Bible. (See the definitions in this article.)

2. Questions for your Mormon friends.

“I have been reading about Mormons and their beliefs. My studies have left me with some questions. Maybe you can answer them.”

a. Is the God of the Bible the same as the Mormon God?

–Do you believe God knows everything? Most will agree. Read Isa.44:8 “Is there a God besides me?” then answers … “there is no God. I know not any.” Isaiah continues in chapters 44-46 declaring there is no other God.
–The God of the Bible: Unchangeable (Malachi 3:6); Eternal (Psalms 106:48); Only one God (Deut. 4:34-39/ Isaiah 43:8-10); God the Father is not Flesh (John 4:24).

–The Mormon God: Flesh and Blood, eternally progressing (Doctrines and Covenants 130:22). Lorenzo Snow, 5th President and Prophet of LDS “As man now is, God once was, as God now is, man may be.”

–There seems to be some conflict in the Mormon Bible. On one hand they believe there is more than one God. Yet it also states in Alma 11:22-31 there is only one God. It states it several times.

Mormons believe that men can become Gods. Yet, in Moroni 8:18 it
asserts that God is “unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity.” If God was once a man and progressed to be a God he would have to change.

b. False Prophecies
Read Deut. 18:20-22. It states that if a prophecy doesn’t come true or can’t come true, then that prophet is not from God. The next statement may ruffle their feathers. Joseph Smith made at least 52 false prophecies. Here are a few examples:

-Doctrine and Covenants 84:2-5,31 states there was a prophecy of the building of a city called New Jerusalem and a temple. This new city and temple were to be built “in the western boundaries of the state of Missouri, and dedicated by the hand of Joseph Smith. And the sons of Moses and Aaron were to offer acceptable offering and sacrifice in the house of the Lord, which house shall be built unto the Lord in this generation.” It was never built and that generation has died.

-August 2,1833: Doctrine and Covenant 97:19 “Surely Zion is the city of our God, and surely Zion cannot fail, neither be moved out of her place; for God is there and He has sworn by the power of His might to be her salvation and her high tower.”  Zion did fall and the Mormons were driven out of Independence in the winter of 1838-39

-History of the Church Vol. 2 Pg. 182. Jesus is prophesied to return by Feb. 14, 1891. It did not happen.

c. The original copies of the book of Abraham
In the book, By his own hand upon papyrus by Charles Larson, we have copies of the original Book of Abraham papyrus. The Mormon Church allowed them to be copied so that they could be translated. (These are the documents Joseph Smith used to translate the book of Abraham.) This turned out to be embarrassment to the church. The world found
out that Joseph Smith was a fraud. Instead of being a book about Abraham, they turned out to be instructions to embalmers about mummies. They quickly removed the copies and have stored them away so that the public can’t see them anymore.

Here is an example of what Joseph Smith did:

d. Changes from the original documents

-Over 3000 changes from the original…

The Kirtland Revelation Book was the handwritten form of early “revelations” of Joseph Smith while they were in Kirtland, Ohio. The passage at the top is from Doctrine & Covenants section 104. Note the underlined portion that says, “and to prepare my people for the time when I shall dwell with them, which is nigh at hand.” However, the ORIGINAL revelation is a prediction of the soon return of the Lord, “the time of my coming which is nigh at hand.” That is a significant change in the “revelation.” They couldn’t let that stand. Further, the shaded area in the handwritten copy has been completely deleted from the D&C. (See Mormonism Against Itself…actual pictures of the documents to compare.)

-Prophet Brigham Young taught that God was Adam. Prophet Kimball refuted and changed this doctrine. According to scripture God doesn’t change. Yet here are two different leaders changing the “inspiration of God”.

e. Historical evidence
The book of Mormon is said to be the history of the Jews on this continent from 600 B.C. to 421 A.D. There is NO historical, archaeological, or literary evidence that this civilization ever existed. This has proven to be a huge problem for the Mormon scholars,  Archaeologists, and Brigham Young University professors.

IV. Resources:
Evangelizing the Cults by Ronald Enroch
Mormonism Against itself by Maurice Barnett
Encyclopedia of Cults and New Religions by John Ankerberg and John Weldon
Mormonism: Shadow or Reality by Sandra Tanner
The Changing World of Mormonism … Moody Press
By his own hand upon Papyrus by Charles M Larson
Are the Mormon Scriptures Reliable? by Harry Ropp
Where does it say that? by Bob Witte, ex Mormon for Jesus (200 pages
of photo reproductions of showing how Mormon doctrine has been modified.)

Compiled by Dave Friese

Buddhism – Understanding World Religions

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Remember Buddhism grew out of Hinduism. So you will see similar elements in both – (reincarnation, meditation, yoga, nirvana, Gurus, etc.)

You might recognize some people who practice some form of Buddhism:  Steven Seagal, Richard Gere, Martin Scorsese, Tina Turner, Adam Yauch, Oliver Stone, Courtney Love and Phil Jackson (Zen-Christian).

There are so many variations of Buddhism. Trying to narrow true Buddhism down is very difficult.

Background and History

-Who was Buddha? Buddha means “the enlightened one”. His full name is Siddhartha Gautama Sakya. (He might be referred to by anyone of those names, or just Buddha.)

-Buddha lived 563 – 476 BC He grew up in a wealthy family in India, who sheltered him from the unpleasantness and tragedies of life. He lived in a palace away from suffering. (On the outside world there were heated confrontations regarding the dominance of the priestly Brahmin class [Hindu]).

-When he came of age he was married and was content well into his late 20’s. During this time he ventured out of the palace and was shocked by what he saw – old age, disease, death, etc. It shocked him. How can life be filled with such pain and suffering!

-He was so distraught at what he saw that he renounced his wife, child, father and worldly goods to find an answer. He sought enlightenment. He sought out religious leaders, he starved himself, he did this for seven years. Frustrated with the teachings of the day he continued his search.

-It is said that he found enlightenment after 40 days of mediation under a tree. It is said that Mara, the personification of evil, came to tempt Buddha. Mara even deployed his daughters (Discontent, Delight, and Desire) to seduce the sage. But they failed and Mara withdrew.

-During this trance like state it is said that he: 1) Drew upon the knowledge of his previous lives; 2) He acquired the “Divine Eye”. Looking at the cycle of life – dying and rebirth/ reincarnation – good deeds begot good Karma and bad deeds begot bad Karma keeping one stuck in samsara (continuous suffering); 3) during this final stage he reached the peak of perception, attaining ” the extinction of samasaric existence”. During this time he grasped the Four Noble Trums and the Eightfold path to enlightenment.

-Buddhism spreads throughout Asia over the next several hundred years.

-Part of the reason why there are so many variations of Buddhism is the Buddhist scriptures were written 400 years after Buddha lived. They are known as the Tipitaka or Pali Canon. Tipitaka means “three baskets” and refers to the three sections in their scriptures. Prior to the written scriptures his teachings were passed on verbally. As a result each group held to its own oral traditions. Additionally Buddha stated, “abolish all the lesser and minor precepts” Unfortunately, he never identified what these were, leading to great confusion among his disciples and the sects.

-The three sections are called:

1) Vinaya Pitaka – the disciplines of Buddhist monks, 227 rules to live by;

2) Sutta Pitaka – teachings of Buddha on the four noble truths and eightfold path, and the stories of Buddha’s previous lives;

3) Abhidhamma Pitaka – the philosophy that underscores how Buddhists understand the meaning and purpose of life.

Beliefs of Buddhism

As I mentioned there are hundreds of sects of Buddhism. They actually have opposing ideas on theology and practices. So to try to summarize the beliefs is a difficult task.

Here are some general ideas that most Buddhists agree with.

The goal of Buddhism is to empty oneself of all suffering to reach Nirvana. For most Buddhists that means to cease to exist – the ultimate state of peace. Others would describe it as being one with the universe.

Reincarnation is not looked upon as positively as in Hinduism. The Buddhist regards being reincarnated as still being stuck in the negative cycle – still experiencing suffering.

Talking with a Buddhist

Part of the problem of reaching out to a Buddhist is knowing what type of Buddhist they are. There are hundreds and hundreds of different types of Buddhists. As we talk with them we need to give them things to think about. We need to ask a lot of questions and do a lot of reflecting on ideas. Remember they are on a path to enlightenment. We want to enter into that process.

As an Ambassador of Christ we need to build a bridge to the Buddhist. I would start with the things we have in common. (There is suffering in this world. We both desire to bring peace to mankind. We have some common moral standards.)

I know that some Buddhists try to blend the religions.  I find that difficult because of contrasting views on key issues.

-Christianity teaches there is one God. (Matt. 28:19,john 17:3, Isa. 43:10-11) Buddhism teaches both an atheistic view and polytheistic view of God.

-Christianity teaches that salvation comes through faith in Christ death & resurrection for our sins. (Romans 10:8-9, Eph. 1:7,2:8,9) Buddhism teaches “salvation/nirvana” comes through enlightenment by works. You seek to elevate ignorance and squash all desires.

-Christianity teaches there is an afterlife. John 3:16, 14:1-6; Matt. 25:31-46) Buddhism teaches a state of Nirvana – non-existence or being one with the universe.

-Christianity teaches you die once and after comes judgment. (Hebrews 9:27 -28) Buddhism teaches reincarnation.

Buddha stated, “Don’t take what I’m saying [on my own authority], just try to analyze as far as possible and see whether what I’m saying makes sense or not. If it doesn’t make sense, discard it. If it does make sense, then pick it up.” The Buddha’s perception into the Three Existences of Life,” Seikyo Times, Dec. 1978, p. 7.

I am struggling with the following ideas. Some appear to be contradictions. Maybe you can explore them with me.

-Buddhism teaches reincarnation but denies the soul, what is being reincarnated?

-Bodhisattvas (ones who seek compassion and enlightenment) vow to work for the enlightenment of all beings; fully knowing such beings never existed to begin with. Life is an illusion. So, how can one grant wisdom to those who have compassion on non-entities?

– By definition, sense perceptions do not exist in nirvana. What then exists to perceive nirvana?

-The goal of Buddhism is end the suffering cycle. Yet in Buddhism the individual is an illusion. If the individual is an illusion and there is no soul what is being ended?

-Part of process to end the cycle of suffering is to remove all desire. How do you remove desire when you desire to remove desire?

– Buddhism promises a long and arduous road toward non-existence in Nirvana. How does that bring hope and peace to you?

Share the hope that is within hope. The Bible teaches:

-God looks throughout the earth for hearts that are His. 2 Chronicles 16:9

-Mankind has sinned. They have rebelled against God. The cost of our sin is separation from God. (The pain and suffering we experience comes from sin.) Romans 3:23, Romans 8:18-22

-However, Christ paid penalty for our sins by dying on the Cross. Through His death and resurrection we have the opportunity to enter into a relationship with God both here on earth and in heaven. Romans 5:8, 6:23; Ephesians 1:7,8

-Through faith in his death and resurrection we can enter into a relationship with God. We can’t earn our salvation. Romans 10: 8,9; Eph. 4:8,9

-We express our faith and gratitude by honoring Him by the way that we live. James 2: 14-19

-Jesus communicated that there is eternal life and that He is light of the world. He has prepared a place for his followers. John 3:16, 17:3, 8:12, 14:1-6)

Compiled by Dave Friese

Resources:

Introduction to World Religions: Ways to the Center by Carmody and Brink

Evangelizing the Cults by Enroth

Encyclopedia of Cults and New Religions by Ankerberg and Weldon