THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS (MORMONISM)
For
Bro. R. Spurgeon's Cults Class
Compiled By
KL Paulson
June 4, 1994
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2. The Claims of Mormonism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 (1) Sources of Authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 (2) The Bible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 (3) The Book of Mormon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 (4) Doctrine and Covenants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 (5) The Pearl of Great Price . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 (6) The Living Prophets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 (7) The Bible Says . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3. The Mormon Doctrine of God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 4. Jesus Christ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 5. Man . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 6. Salvation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 7. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
History
The founder of Mormonism, or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was Joseph Smith, Jr.
On April 6, 1830, at Fayette, New York, 'the church of Christ' was officially organized.(_1_)
Today, the church has over 4,000,000 members worldwide.(_2_)The Claims of Mormonism The Mormons claim they are the restoration of the true church established by Jesus Christ. It claims to be the only true church.
'If Joseph Smith was verily a prophet, and if he told the truth ... then this knowledge is of the most vital importance to the entire world. No man can reject that testimony without incurring the most dreadful consequences, for he can not enter the Kingdom of God.'(_3_)
The claims of Joseph Smith and his followers are clear. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints claims it is God's true church on earth while all others are wrong. How strange for this to be presented as restored Christianity, when Jesus Christ specifically promised that "the gates of hell" would not prevail against the church! (Matthew 16:18)
The Mormons make the claim that they are the 'restored church of Jesus Christ' but the facts totally discount their claim.
Sources of Authority
The Mormon Church has 4 accepted sacred works: the Bible, the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price. The present prophet's words are also a source of authority.The Bible
The Mormon articles of faith read, 'We believe the Bible to be the Word of God in so far as it is translated correctly ....'(_4_) The Book of Mormon claims that a correct translation of the Bible is impossible since the Catholic Church has taken away from the word of God.(_5_)
Thus the Mormons put more trust in the other 3 sacred books, which have escaped pollution, than they do in the Bible. This opens the door for the Mormons to add their new non-biblical teachings by claiming they were doctrines deliberately removed by the Catholic Church. The claim that the Scriptures have been changed and corrupted throughout the centuries is totally false.The Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is also considered inspired: 'We also believe the Book of Mormon to be the Word of God.'(_6_) The Book of Mormon is supposedly an account of the original inhabitants of America to whom Christ appeared after His resurrection.Doctrine and Covenants
Doctrine and Covenants is a record of 138 revelations revealing some of Mormonism's distinctive doctrines such as baptism for the dead and celestial marriage.The Pearl of Great Price
The Pearl of Great Price contains the Book of Moses, which is roughly equivalent to the first 6 chapters of Genesis, and The Book of Abraham, a translation of an Egyptian Papyrus that later proved to be fraudulent. It also contains an extract from Joseph Smith's translation of the Bible; extracts from the History of Joseph Smith, which is his autobiography; and the Articles of Faith.The Living Prophets
The living prophet also occupies an important part in present-day Mormonism. Ezra Taft Benson, who is the late President of the Council of the Twelve Apostles, said in a speech on February 26, 1980, at Brigham Young University that the living prophet (head of the church) is 'more vital to us than the standard works.'(_7_)The Bible Says
The Bible contradicts the Mormon reliance on multiple contradictory revelations. While the Mormon scriptures contradict each other and the Bible, the Bible never contradicts itself and the God of the Bible never contradicts Himself. Hebrews 1 tells us what the source of our knowledge of God comes from:"(1)God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, (2)Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; (3)Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high[.]"Any message that purports to be from God must agree with the message already brought by Jesus Christ in fulfillment of the Old Testament (Luke 24:27). Eternal life comes from the works and gift of Jesus Christ, not from Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, or any other false Mormon prophet (John 20:31). Proverbs 30 warns those who try to add to God's Word, saying, "(5)Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. (6)Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar."
The Mormon Doctrine of God 'We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and His Son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.'(_8_)
The above statements leaves the impression that Mormons believe the biblical doctrine of the Holy Trinity -- namely, there is one God who manifests himself in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are the one God. However, nothing could be further from the truth.
The Mormon doctrine of God is contradictory to what the Bible teaches. The Mormons believe in many gods and teach that God himself was once a man. Moreover, Mormon males have the possibility of attaining godhood.'God was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens ... I say, if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in a form like yourselves in all person, image, and very form of a man.
I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity.
[...]
God himself, the father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ did.
Here then, is eternal life -- to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods have done before you.'(_9_)The Bible repeatedly affirms that there is only one true God. Isaiah 43:10 emphatically declares, "Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me."
In the New Testament we are assured that though there are false gods and idols worshipped by men, they are worthless. "...we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one." (I Corinthians 8:4)Jesus Christ The Mormon Church teaches that Jesus Christ was a preexistant spirit like the rest of us. Even though we are all literally brothers and sisters of Jesus, He is set apart from the rest of us by being the firstborn of God's spirit-children.(_10_)
In Mormonism Jesus is not the unique Son of God.(_11_)Man According to Mormonism, man is a preexistent soul who takes his body at birth in this world.
5
Contrary to Mormon theology, Jesus Christ is the unique Son of God. John 1:14 declares that He "was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." Jesus Christ reflected the power of God while on earth that no other man could ever achieve: He "is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature" (Colossians 1:15). To think that we can one day be God like Jesus Christ and the Father is blashphemous. There is an eternal chasm between the Creator and the created. The Bible soundly condemns those who would think otherwise:
"(22)Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, (23)And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. (24)Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: (25)Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen." (Romans 1:22-25)Salvation Articles 2 and 3 of the Mormon Articles of Faith spell out their doctrine of salvation:
No. 2: "We believe that men shall be punished for their own sins and not for Adam's transgression."
No. 3: 'We believe that through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.'(_13_)James Talmage in his work Articles of Faith explains what this means:
"The extent of the Atonement is universal, applying alike to all descendants of Adam. Even the unbeliever, the heathen and the child who dies before reaching the years of discretion all are redeemed by the Saviour's self-sacrifice from the individual consequences of the fall ... of the saved not all will be exalted to the higher glories. [...] In the kingdom of God there are numerous levels of gradations provided for those who are worthy of them."(_14_)Thus in Mormonism there is a general salvation for all mankind and an individual salvation for each person. There is, to the Mormons, no such thing as hell or everlasting punishment. Everyone will eventually go to 1 of 3 levels of glory: the celestial kingdom which is reserved for the Melchizedek priesthood members who will become gods; the terrestrial kingdom, for those who failed the requirements of exaltation; and lastly, the telestial kingdom, for those who have no testimony of Christ.(_15_)
Salvation according to the Bible is a free gift from Jesus Christ our Lord. Ephesians 2 declares, "(8)For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (9)Not of works, lest any man should boast. (10)For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."
When the people asked Jesus, "What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?" (John 6:28), Jesus replied, "This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." (John 6:29) There is no way to earn salvation. One's good works are testimony to the accomplished fact of one's salvation, purchased not by works, but by the blood of Jesus Christ. We are saved through Christ's sacrifice on the cross for our sins, not because of anything we can do ourselves.7
Hebrews 7:27 says that when Jesus offered Himself for man's sin it was "once[.]"
Conclusion When all the evidence is considered, the Mormon claim to be the restoration of Jesus Christ's church falls to the ground. I have taken up the challenge of Brigham Young who said, 'Take up the Bible, compare the religion of the Latter-day Saints with it, and see if it will stand the test.'(_16_)
Orson Pratt echoed the same sentiment, 'Convince us of our errors of Doctrine, if we have any, by reason, by logical argument, or by the Word of God and we will ever be grateful for the information and you will ever have the pleasing reflections that you have been instruments in the hands of God of redeeming your fellow beings.'(_17_)
My conclusion is that when Mormonism is weighed in the balances it is found wanting.
NOTES 1. Josh McDowell, and Don Stewart, Handbook of Today's Religions, p. 66.
2. Ibid., p. 66.
3. Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, pp. 189-190.
4. Articles of Faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Article 8.
5. Josh McDowell, and Don Stewart, Handbook of Today's Religions, p. 67.
6. Articles of Faith, Section Eight.
7. Josh McDowell, and Don Stewart, Handbook of Today's Religions, p. 69.
8. Joseph Smith, The Pearl of Great Price, Articles of Faith, p. 59.
9. Joseph Smith Jr., King Follet Discourse, pp. 8-10.
10. Josh McDowell, and Don Stewart, Handbook of Today's Religions, p. 70.
11. Ibid., p. 71.
12. Joseph Fielding Smith, Progress of Man.
13. Mormon Articles of Faith, Articles 2 and 3.
14. James Talmage, Articles of Faith, pp. 85, 91.
15. Josh McDowell, and Don Stewart, Handbook of Today's Religions, p. 72.
16. Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Volume 16, p. 46.
17. Orson Pratt, The Seer, p. 15.
BIBLIOGRAPHY Articles of Faith.
Articles of Faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
McDowell, Josh, and Stewart, Don. Handbook of Today's Religions. San
Bernardino, California 92402:
Campus Crusade For Christ, Here's
Life Publishers, Inc., 1983. (Non-
KJV)Mormon Articles of Faith.
Pratt, Orson. The Seer.
Smith, Joseph. The Pearl of Great Price.
Smith, Joseph Fielding. Doctrines of Salvation.
Smith, Joseph Fielding. Progress of Man.
Smith, Joseph Jr. King Follet Discourse.
Talmage, James. Articles of Faith.
Young, Brigham. Journal of Discourses, Volume 16, 1873.