On Mormonism

What Mormons believe

Main texts: 

• The Book of Mormon 

• Doctrine & Covenants - written by Joseph Smith in 1840s

• Pearl of Great Price - written by Joseph Smith in 1840s

• King James Bible - None of the other translations

The president of the Mormon Church is believed to be a Prophet, and Mormons are encouraged to seek “personal revelation” 

• “Latter Day Saints believe in an open Scriptural canon, which means that there are other books of Scripture besides the Bible and that God continues to reveal His word through living prophets.”

Mormons believe in: Continued Revelation - an “open canon”.

History:

 Sept. 21, 1823, when Joseph Smith was 17 years old, he said that an angel called Moroni, whose father was named “Mormon”  and was the leader of a group of people called the Nephites who had lived in the Ancient Americas, appeared to him and told him that he had been chosen to translate the Book of Mormon which was compiled by his father, around the 4th century. The book was written on golden plates hidden near where Joseph was living. Palmyra, New York. Joseph Smith said that on Sept. 22, 1827, he received the plates; and the angel Moroni instructed him to begin the translation process. 

Instead of translating from the text to another language, the angel gave him a pair of “seer stones” set in a frame, like a pair of glasses, and they were called the “Urim” and “Thummim”. He put the plates into a large hat, in which he put his face in, looked through the glasses, and the english translation appeared to him, which he read aloud to a man named Oliver Cowdery.

The translation was finally published in 1830 as the Book of Mormon. Joseph claimed that during this translation process, John the Baptist appeared to him and ordained him to accomplish the divine work of restoring the true church by preaching the true gospel which, allegedly, had been lost from the earth.

The Book of Mormon is supposed to be the account of people who came from the Middle East to the Americas. It covers a period of about 600 B.C. to A.D. 400. It tells of the Jaredites, people from the Tower of Babel who came to Central America but perished because of their own immorality. It also describes some Jews who fled persecution in Jerusalem and came to America led by a man called Nephi. The Jews divided into two groups known as the Nephites and Lamanites who fought each other, there on the hill in Palmyra. The Nephites were defeated in A.D. 428. The Lamanites continued and are what we acknowledge are the Native Americans. According to Mormon Doctrine, Native Americans are Jews. 

The Book of Mormon is the account of the Nephite leader, Mormon, concerning their culture, civilization. And they believe that Jesus Christ, after His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension to the right hand of The Father, returned back to Earth, in America, and had an entire other ministry here with the Nephites. 

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After the publication of the Book of Mormon, Mormonism began to grow. Because their religion was so deviant from Christianity, i.e., plurality of gods, polygamy (Joseph is said to have had 27 wives), etc., persecution soon forced them to move from New York to Ohio, then to Missouri, and finally to Nauvoo, Illinois. After being accused of breaking some laws in Nauvoo (for destroying a printing press that was publishing harmful information on Mormonism), Joseph and his brother Hyrum ended up in jail. A mob later broke into the jail and killed Joseph and his brother.

After the shooting, the church divided into two groups: One led by his widow who went back to Independence Missouri, where they believe the Garden of Eden was. They are known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They claim to be the true Church and lay claim to the legal succession of the church presidency which was bestowed upon Joseph’s son by Joseph Smith himself. The other group was led by Brigham Young; and they went to Utah, where polygamy was legal, in 1847, they ended up in Salt Lake and founded Salt Lake City. Brigham had 25 wives.

Doctrines:

• Multiple gODS

They believe there are multiple gods, because…according to them….The God of the Bible used to be a man on another planet. According to Mormon Doctrine, humans have the potential of becoming gods. One of their past presidents, Lorenzo Snow, who was considered a Prophet, remember, said: “As god once was, man is. As God is, man may become.”  In order to reach this exalted state of godhood, a person must first become a good Mormon, pay a full ten percent tithe to the Mormon church, follow various laws and ordinances of the church, and be found worthy.  At this point, they receive a temple recommendation, whereupon the Mormon is allowed to enter the sacred temples in order to go through a set of secret rituals: baptism for the dead, celestial marriage, and various oaths of secrecy and commitment.  Additionally, four secret handshakes are taught so the believing Mormon, upon entering the third level of Mormon heaven, can shake hands with god in a certain pattern.  This celestial ritual is for the purpose of permitting entrance into the highest level of heaven. For those who achieve this highest of heavens, exaltation to godhood awaits them.  Then he or she will be permitted to have his or her own planet and be the god of his own world, and the Mormon system will be expanded to other planets.

• God (of the Bible) resides near a star called Kolob, (Pearl of Great Price, p. 34-35; Mormon Doctrine, p. 428)

• When a human attains godhood, they retain their physical body, get married, have relations with their spouse, and produce spiritual children….who then get placed inside of a body on the planet that they are a god of.

Meaning, Mormons believe that the God of the Bible who was once a human, has marital relations with his wife in heaven, and creates spirit babies, who then get placed inside of bodies here on Earth.

• And they say that Jesus was the first spirit baby of this world, and then his brother….the devil.

Jesus is a CREATED BEING

In order to create the physical body of Jesus, the Mormon will claim that

• God had sexual relations with Mary to make the body of Jesus, (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, vol. 4, 1857, p. 218; vol. 8, p. 115)

• “Therefore we know that both the Father and the Son are in form and stature perfect men; each of them possesses a tangible body of flesh and bones,” (Articles of Faith, by James Talmage, p. 38).

Salvation is by WORKS

• A plan of salvation was needed for the people of earth so Jesus offered a plan to the Father and Satan offered a plan to the father but Jesus’ plan was accepted. In effect, the Devil wanted to be the Savior of all Mankind and to “deny men their agency and to dethrone god,” (Mormon Doctrine, p. 193; Journal of Discourses, vol. 6, p. 8).

• Jesus’ sacrifice was not able to cleanse us from all our sins, (Journal of Discourses, vol. 3, 1856, p. 247).

• Which means then, --- “Good works are necessary for salvation” (Articles of Faith, by James Talmage, p. 92).

“One of the most fallacious doctrines originated by Satan and propounded by man is that man is saved alone by the grace of God; that belief in Jesus Christ alone is all that is needed for salvation,” (Miracle of Forgiveness, Spencer W. Kimball, p. 206).

• One of these good works is: There is no salvation without accepting Joseph Smith as a prophet of God (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 1, p. 188).

• “We know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do,” (2 Nephi 25:23).

Compare this to:

Ephesians 2:8-9 - “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

Romans 3:28 - “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.” 

Galatians 2:16 - “knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.”

A “burning in my bosom (heart) confirms it is true” - (subjectivism)

Mormons  are not Christians.

Mormonism is not Christianity.

They are absolute, full and complete opposites.

There is only 1 God - Mormonism is polytheistic

Salvation is through Jesus Christ alone - Mormon salvation is through behavior and works and deeds

All of their Doctrines and beliefs are fully opposite of what Scripture teaches, no matter how strongly they believe in it.