Mormonism – Understanding World Religions

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