EXAMINING
The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints
Part 1
Mormonism
vs.
The Book of
Mormon
DID YOU KNOW?
Did you know
that many of the peculiar beliefs of Mormonism are
contradicted in the Book of Mormon?
GOD OF FLESH AND BONES
For example,
Mormons are known for their belief that
God has a solid body of, flesh and
bones.
Yet the Book
of Mormon says,
" ... Behold,
is not this the GREAT SPIRIT who doth send such great
punishments upon this people, because of their murders?
And they answered the king and said ... O king, we do not
believe that a man has such great power, for we know HE
CANNOT BE SLAIN." (Alma
18:2-3)
"And the king
said: Is God that GREAT SPIRIT that brought our fathers
out of the land of Jerusalem? And Aaron said lli1to him:
Yea, he is that GREAT SPIRIT, and he created all things
both in heaven and in earth ... “(Alma
22:9-10)
GOD WAS ONCE MORTAL
They claim
that God himself is an
exalted man who has progressed to eternal deity.
Yet, the
Book of Mormon says,
"And now if ye
have imagined up lli1to yourselves a god who doth vary,
and in whom there is shadow of changing, then ye have
imagined up unto yourselves a god WHO IS NOT A GOD of
miracles ... And behold, I say lli1to you HE CHANGETH NOT;
if so he would cease to be God ... " (Mormon
9: 10, 19)
"For I know
that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being;
but HE IS UNCHANGEABLE FROM ALL ETERNITY TO ALL ETERNITY"
(Moroni
8: 18)
The above
text clearly stands against the doctrine of "eternal
progression" as taught by Latter-Day Saints.
MANY GODS
Mormons
believe there are multitudes
of gods
beside the
Lord God of this world. However, the Book of Mormon
states,
"And
Amulek said: Yea, there is a
true and living God. Now Zeezrom
said: Is there more than one God? And he answered,
No." (Alma
11:27-29)
If there is
only one true and living God, and he is "unchangeable from
all eternity to all eternity," there is no way that any
mortal man could have ever become God.
If there was
a way for a mortal man to progress to Godhood, wouldn't
this require at least one other God with the authority to
promote him?
THERE IS NO TRINITY
Mormons claim
that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit are
three completely separate
beings
merely
working toward the same goals.
There is no Trinity of the Godhead
The Book of Mormon states however,
"And now,
behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and
true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost, WHICH IS ONE GOD, without end. Amen"
(2
Nephi
31:21)
" ... but every
thing shall ... be arraigned before the bar of Christ the
Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, WHICH IS ONE
ETERNAL GOD, to be judged ... " (Alma
11:44)
"And thus will
the Father bear record of me, and the Holy Ghost will bear
record unto him ... for THE FATHER, AND I, AND THE HOLY
GHOST ARE ONE."(3 Nephi 11:36)
“...unto the
Father, and unto the Son, and unto the Holy Ghost, WHICH
ARE ONE GOD ... “(Mormon 7:7)
SECOND CHANCE AFTER DEATH
Mormons
believe that, by proxy, they can be
baptized for the dead
in order for
those who never heard about the Restored Gospel to have
a second chance to be saved
Sorry
folks,
"If they be
good, to the resurrection of endless life and happiness;
and if they be evil, to the resurrection of ENDLESS
damnation ...” (Mosiah
16: 11)
"For behold,
THIS LIFE IS THE TIME for men to prepare to meet God; yea,
behold the day of THIS LIFE IS THE DAY for men to perform
their labors .. .I beseech of
you that ye DO NOT PROCRASTINATE the day of your
repentance ... For behold, IF YE HAVE PROCRASTINATED the
day of your repentance even until death, behold ye have
become SUBJECTED TO THE SPIRIT OF THE DEVIL ... and THIS
IS THE FINAL STATE of the wicked." (Alma
34:32-35)
GOD APPROVES OF POLYGAMY
Probably the
most well known of the Mormon teachings is that it
is alright for men to have many
wives.
God allegedly
called it "a new and an everlasting covenant" which, "if
ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned."
(Doctrine &
Covenants
132:4)
And once
again the Book of Mormon is found to teach just the
opposite. Notice,
"Behold, David
and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, WHICH
THING WAS ABOMINABLE BEFORE ME, saith
the Lord ... Wherefore, I the Lord God will NOT
SUFFER that
this people SHALL DO LIKE UNTO THEM of old." (Jacob
2:24-26)
"And it came to
pass that Riplakish did not do
that which was right in the sight of the Lord, for he DID
HAVE MANY WIVES AND CONCUBINES ... " (Ether 10:5)
When the Book
of Mormon was published by Joseph Smith in 1830, most
Americans had some basic understanding of Christian
doctrines. Smith was no exception. In order to avoid being
tarred and feathered, his new book had to at least
appear
to agree with
the Holy Bible.
In time
however, Joseph Smith would boast,
"I told the
brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of
any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a
man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts,
than by any other book." (Preface, Book of Mormon)
The Book of
Mormon says God is an "unchangeable being from all
eternity." Yet He sure does
change his mind
an awful lot!
You would think that if HE doesn't change, neither should
his attitudes on important matters.
The Holy Bible
declares,
"God is not a
man, that he should lie;
neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he
said, and shall he not do it? or
hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" (Numbers
23: 19)
"The grass
withereth, and the flower
fadeth: but the word of our
God shall stand for ever." (Isaiah 40:8)
The basic
premise of Mormonism, that an angel brought to Joseph·
Smith a new "Restored Gospel" that Christians had never
known before, is unbiblical by its own definition.
The Apostle
Paul wrote nearly 2000 years ago,
"But though we,
or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you
than that which we have preached unto you, let him be
accursed." (Galatians 1:8)
Although most
Mormons are decent people, they are still lost sinners for
whom Jesus Christ died and wants to save from Hell. They
need to see the inconsistent nature of their faith and
turn to the simple saving grace of Jesus Christ to wash
away their sins.
"For by grace
are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it
is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should
boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Michael Schreib
2004
