Errors:
1: Christ is _NOT_ God Almighty, but one of many "gods"
The Mormons believe in a plurality of gods, so in this way they believe
not only that Jesus is a god, but that God is but a god.
Ish 44:8 Is there a God besides me? Yea, there is no God. I know not
any.
Smith started out echoing this simple faith, but as he continued to have
revelations, he changed. The following passages are from the book of
Moses, in the Book of Mormon, first published in 1830, and from the
Bookof Abraham, in the Pearl of Great Price, first published in 1844.
Book of Moses Book of Abraham 2:1 and the Lord spake unto Moses 3:15 and
the Lord said unto me: saying, "Behold I reveal unto you Abraham, I show
these things unto concerning this heaven and this earth: Thee before you
go into Egypt, that write the words which I speak: you may declare all
these words.
2:3 And I God said: Let there be Light 4:3 And they (the Gods)said: Let
and there was Light..... there be Light, and there was light
2:10 And I God called the dry land 4:10 And the Gods called the dry
Earth.... land, earth...
2:25 And I God made the beasts of the 4:25 And The Gods organized the
earth after their kind... Earth to bring forth the beasts after their
kind...
3:8 And I, The Lord God planted a 5:8 And The Gods planted a garden
garden eastward in Eden.... eastward in Eden....
Mormons take both of these works as gospel, but which is the one they
accept? The Apostle Orson Pratt said "If we should take a million worlds
like this and number their particles, we should find that there are MORE
GODS than there are particles of matter" Journal of Discourses V2 P345
Brigham Young "He was once a man in mortal flesh as we are and is now an
exalted being. How many Gods there are, I do not know. But there has
never been a time when there were not Gods" JoD V7 P333 and also "The
Lord created you and me for the purpose of becoming Gods like Himself.
We are created to become Gods like our Father in Heaven"JoD V3 P93
Mormon Apostle LeGrand Richards said, in 1966, " it is accepted in
church doctrine, and this is 'as man is, God once was; as God is, man
may become" You can see that Mormons not only accept a plurality of
gods, but expect to become gods themselves.
2. God Changes
if you look at the above.. If God is like us, He changes. See Mal 3:6
3. They reject the Doctrine of the Trinity.
The Mormons reject the Doctrine of Trinity, since they have said the
Holy Spirit is Not God, but the Mind of God. The Trinity says that
theNature of the Father, Son, and The Holy Spirit are the same.
4. They have said in the past that Adam was actually God.
"When our father Adam came into the garden of Eden, he came into it with
a celestial body, and brought Eve, one of his wives, with him. He helped
to make and organize this world. He is Michael, the Ancient of Days!
about whom holy men have written and spoken -- He is our Father and Our
God, and the only God with whom we have to do" Brigham Young, sermon,
April 8th, 1852. Published in Journal of Discourses V1 p 50-51 Though
this teaching is now repudiated, it was in force for 50 long years.
5. They hold to a salvation that can only be administered by a priest
See luke 9:49-50
Mormons have Two Priesthoods: Aaronic & Melchizedek see Heb 7:11
According to Mormon Doctrine & Covenants, the Aaronic Priesthood was
conferred on Smith and Oliver Cowdery by John the Baptist on May 15,
1829. This was, however, not published until 1876, though it was
published in the Magazine Times & Seasons in 1842. These Priests perform
much the same function they did in Aaron's day. They Performed various
duties one might find around a temple, to include worship services,
consecration cerimonies, and cerimonial washings. The Melchizedek
Priesthood was, according to Doctrine & Covenants 27:12, restored by,
oddly enough, Peter, James & John, prior to the organization of the LDS
church. These Priests are the Church leaders, much like the Sanhedrin
was in the First Century.
Structure of Priests: at 12 a boy is ordained as a deacon, in direct
contradiction of 1 Tim 3:12. This is the aaronic priesthood, and
apostleship is next, the Melchizedek priesthood. Brigham Young's kids
made apostle before they were 20.
6: They have made False Prophecy. in 1835 Smith Prophesied
that the Lord would return in 56 years. History of the Church V2 P182.
Joseph was wrong in 1832 Smith Prophesied that the Temple of the Lord
would be build in Independence, Mo before all who were there at that
time had died. Doctrine & Covenants 84:2-5 Joseph was wrong in 1856
Young prophesied that in 26 years or less, the elders of the Mormon
church would be considered as kings. Young was wrong. In 1882, Mormons
were held in derision because of Polygamy. There are mnay others as
well. Smith had prophesied that his Som, Joseph, III would lead the
Mormon Church, yet it was actually Young. Smith made a Prophesy that the
Civil war would start in South Carolina and that ALL nations would be
involved. Joespeh was Partially right, but he wrote this prophesy at a
time when South Carolina was expected to seccede from the union
immediately (1833) because of an unfair tarrif tax, and they didn't.
Also, obviously, all nations were not participants in the civil war.
7: Mormons are Universalists. (there will be no punishment for the
Wicked)
In 1826, Alexander Campbell wrote a long (20 page) letter to a young boy
who had asked him about hell, in the Christian Baptist. Campbell, you
may remember, was the founder of the restoration movement, and one of
Smith's primary sources for theology. In the Book of Mormon, Alma 42,
asimilar "explanation" to a "son" occurs, concerning Hell. You may say,
what, did Campbell reject Hell. No, and neither does the Book of Mormon.
but by late 1830, Smith said "it is not written that there shall be no
end to this torment" D&C 19:6 "Now, repententance could not come unto
men except there were a punishment, which also was eternal as the life
of the soul" BoM P299:16
Which is Doctrine to the Latter Day Saints?
"There is no hell.. everyone will find a measure of salvation" Apostle J
Widtsoe, Joseph Smith-seeker after truth, 1951
The Wicked, or non-saved will go to the telestial kingdom or terrestial
kingdom, while Baptized Mormons go to the Celestial Kingdom.
8: Plural Marriage
The Mormons authorized this Doctrine basicly from just before the death
of Smith until the US goverment forbade it in the late 1800's. They
continue to "seal" multiple wives to husbands "in heaven". Their proof
text is 1Ti 4:3-5 see: Lu 20:34-35,Lu 16:18,Mr 12:25,Mr 10:11-12,Mt
22:25-31,
Ro 7:3-4
9: They exclude groups from the Gospel based on their "nation"
As we have shown, the truely "saved" mormon must be an Aaronic Priest to
get into the celestial heaven. Blacks and Indians were denied that
priesthood until 1978, when Apostle Spenser Kimball had a new revelation
about Blacks, and allowed them in. Let's quote Smith and Young. In
Mormon theology, black skin is a sign of God's displeasure. "Wherefore,
as they were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome, that they
might not be enticing unto my people the LORD God did cause a skin of
Blackness to come upon them" BoM "And the skins of the Lamanites were
Dark, according to the mark which was set on their fathers, which was a
curse upon them because of their transgression" BoM President
Joseph F. Smith apparently believed that our skin color was dependent on
some former existance. " There is a reason why one man is born black
.... while another is born white... The reason is that we once had an
estate before we came here, and were obedient..." The Prophet Smith
taught Blacks are the sons of Cain, and inherit his transgression. Young
echoed his remarks by saying "Cain slew his brother... and the Lord put
a mark on him, which is the flat nose and the black skin" JoD V7 Mormons
teach Ham married a Negro and thus, Cain's seed was carried through the
flood. See Acts 10:34, Acts 10:28, Matthew 28:19
10: Cursing Enemies See Rom 12:14 "in as much as mine enemies
come against you, ye shall curse them. and whomever ye curse, I will
curse, and ye shall avenge me of mine enemies" D&C Section 103 V24-25
11: No Coffee, No Tea, No Tobacco, Little meat
on Feb 27, 1833, Joseph Smith had a "Word of Wisdom" (which appears as
section 89 of D&C) that barred "Hot Drinks", wine or Strong drink,
Tobacco, and said Meat should be "used sparingly" The Mormon
Church says "hot Drinks" means Caffine drinks hot or cold today,
however, this has altered since in 1868 Apostle Cannon said Coffee, Tea,
Hot Chocolate, Hot Soup, and Cocoa were all banned. The Deseret News
said in 1962 that Hot Chocolate & cocoa were allowed. Apparently the ban
on much meat is largely ignored as well. see Acts 10:9-16 Additionally,
it should be noted that Brigham Young owned a distillery in Utah, and
the Mormon cartage trade was built on Tobacco and Whiskey. Smith ran a
General store in Nauvoo, and sold liquor, and since he was mayor, gave
himself exclusive rights to sell liquor in Nauvoo.
12: Temple Work
This is probably the most important section of this outline. The
Millions of Dollars and Millions of Hours LDS members spend on Temples
and temple work is in vain, and this section will attempt to prove it.
The primary events that take place withing the temple are Baptism,
Baptism for the dead, Marriage, Marriage to the dead, Consecration,
Consecration for the dead, anointing, anointing for the dead, and
re-anointing. Temple cerimonies are secret, but former mormons have
divulged these activities. The most common activity in the temple is
Baptism for the dead. Mormons believe that the wicked do not go to hell
at death, but to some sort of pugatory where they either will burn out
their sin over the 1000 years until Jesus returns, or until they accept
the Gospel of the LDS church. When they do, they then tell their
desendents, who are vicariously baptised for them. Then they get to go
to Mormon Heaven. "These are the principles in relation to the dead and
the living...their salvation is necessary and essential to our
salvation, as Paul says concerning the Fathers- that they without us
cannot be made perfect- neither can we without our dead be made perfect"
Smith D&C Sec 128
1 Cor 15:29. Heb 11:40
"We are the only people who know how to save our progenitors... we are
in fact the saviors of the world" JoD V6 P163 President John Taylor "the
Greatest commandment given us, and made obligatory, is the temple work
in our own behalf and on behalf of our dead" Doctrines of Salvation by
Mormon 10th President Joseph Fielding Smith. And from the same source:
"Joseph Smith declared 'The greated responsibility in this world that
God has laid upon us is to seek after our Dead"
Therefore the LDS Church has the greatest genealogical tools, records,
and information in the world. The Church spends at least 4 million each
year on geneology alone. There is a Huge microfile storage center in
Utah. This is the main reason Mormons build temples and spend 80 or so
millions on them during the 1980's. Of course, Mormons do not believe
they "will be come as Gods" unless they are Baptised, have their dead
Baptised, and are Sealed (married) in the temple. Mormons believe
that, Once married in the Temple, they are married forever. A man may be
sealed to multiple wives forever. This does contradict Luke 20:34-36,
among others. If you are allowed to enter the temple, either for
Baptism, or for marriage, which is preceded by Baptism if it hasn't
already been done, you enter into a ceremony that presents you with a
secret name, secret handshakes and symbols, special undergarments that
must be worn at all times after this time, a apron representing the
fig-leaf aprons Adam & Eve wore, and you must take oaths not to reveal
this ceremony. The undergarment is an interesting item. It is a
fundraiser for the church, since you must either make it yourself to
exacting standards, or buy them from a mormon church owned company.
Obviously, you must have more than one. It is a long sleaved, long
legged, white union suit with mystic symbols embroidered on them. Even
though one Mormon President said the garment could "never be altered",
it is now accepted as short sleeved, knee-length, and low-collared to
agree with modern fashion.
13: Connection with Freemasonry
Joseph was a Mason in Nauvoo, and the Church met in the mason hall.
After Joseph became a Master Mason, he developed the temple Cerimonies,
which have a marked similarity to Masonic services. "In the
evening, I received the first degree in freemasonry" Smith, History of
the Church, V4
Listen to these quotes, the first from "temple Mormanism" on receiving
the tokens of the Aaronic preisthood, and then from "freemasonry
exposed" on receiving the first degree.
[Mormons] The Grip-hands clapsed, pressing the knuckle of the index
finger with the thumb
[Masons] The right hands are joined together as in shaking hands, and
each sticks his thumbnail into the third joint or knuckle of the
forefinger
[Mormons] we and each of us doo cevenant and swear thae we will not
reveal the secrets of this, the second token of the aaronic priesthood,
with its accompanying name, sign, grip, or penalty. Should we do so, we
agree to have our breasts cut open and our hearts and vitals torn from
our bodies and given to the birds of the ait and the beasts of the field
[Masons] I do most solemnly and sincerely promise and swear that i will
not give the degree of a fellow craft mason to any one of an inferior
degree, nor to any other being in the known world... binding myself
under no less penalty then to have my left breast torn open and my heart
and vitals taken from thence.. and to become prey to the beasts of the
field and the vulture of the air The connection between the
striving nature of Masonry (you start at first degree, heading for 32nd
degree (and possibly more) and Mormonism (ye shall be as gods) is
unmistakable
The Current President of the LDS church, Spenser Kimball, has said "
This Progress toward eteranal life is a matter of acheiving perfection.
Living all the commandments guarantees total forgiveness of sins"
(commandments and doctrines of God, deseret press) "Christ's blood
doesn't attone for a single individual sin" JoD V13 P143
Bibliography:
Mormonism: Shadow or Reality, Jerold and Sandra Tanner
The God Makers, Dave Hunt and Ed Decker
Book Of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, and Doctrine & Covenants, Deseret
Press
The Bible
Journal Of Discourses, 1965 and 1876 editions
Kingdom of the Cults, Walter Martin
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