10 More Amazing Facts of Mormonism
The old saying “A little learning is a dangerous thing” certainly applies to Mormonism and its long history of mysterious teachings. The Mormon Church does not always discuss many of its core beliefs, so even Mormons do not know what their Church accepts as truth. This lack of knowledge is fatal, for choosing the wrong Jesus means an eternity without Him.
The purpose of these facts of Mormonism is not to attack people but to examine Mormon doctrine, and defend Christianity from the original attack of Joseph Smith.* Christians must know the basic teachings of Mormonism in order to answer them, and Mormons are certainly entitled to the truth.
10 More Amazing Facts of Mormonism
1. Jesus is a polygamist and the father of many children.
2. The God of the Protestants and Catholics is “a monster.”
3. Joseph Smith did a greater work than Jesus Christ.
4. All beliefs that deny Joseph Smith as a prophet of God are
“of Antichrist.”
5. Jesus was not conceived by the Holy Spirit.
6. The blood of Jesus cannot save—there is no salvation
without Joseph Smith.
7. Joseph Smith holds “the keys of the kingdom of God.”
8. Christianity is inspired by the devil.
9. Dead people—including Protestants, Catholics, Jews or Muslims—
can still become Mormons.
10. Satan planned to be the Savior of the world.
Endnotes:
[1] Journal of Discourses 11:328, Brigham Young – “Here is one of the ‘relics of barbarism!’ [polygamy] Yes, one of the relics of Adam, of Enoch, of Noah, of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob, of Moses, David, Solomon, the Prophets, of Jesus, and his Apostles.”; Journal of Discourses 2:82, Orson Hyde -“Jesus was the bridegroom at the marriage of Cana of Galilee, and he told them what to do. Now there was actually a marriage; and if Jesus was not the bridegroom on that occasion, please tell who was. If any man can show this, and prove that it was not the Savior of the world, then I will acknowledge I am in error. We say it was Jesus Christ who was married, to be brought into the relation whereby he could see his seed, before he was crucified.”; Journal of Discourses 4:259, Orson Hyde; Journal of Discourses 1:346, Jedediah M. Grant - “The grand reason of the burst of public sentiment in anathemas upon Christ and his disciples, causing his crucifixion, was evidently based upon polygamy, according to the testimony of the philosophers who rose in that age. A belief in the doctrine of a plurality of wives caused the persecution of Jesus and his followers. We might almost think they were “Mormons.” The Jesus of the Mormons participated (and still does) in “authorized” polygamy.
[2] History of the Church, Vol. 6, p. 473-479, Joseph Smith’s Sermon on the Plurality of Gods – “Many men say there is one God; the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are only one God! I say that is a strange God anyhow—three in one, and one in three! It is a curious organization . . . . All are to be crammed into one God, according to sectarianism. It would make the biggest God in all the world. He would be a wonderfully big God—he would be a giant or a monster.”
Jesus contradicts Joseph Smith in John 10:30 when He says, “I and My Father are one."
[3] History of the Church, Vol. 6, p. 408, 409 - Prophet Joseph Smith’s Sermon, Sunday, May 26, 1844 - “Come on! ye prosecutors! ye false swearers! All hell, boil over! Ye burning mountains, roll down your lava! for I will come out on the top at last. I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him; but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet.” See document at Christian site http://www.irr.org/MIT/WDIST/wdist-st-hcv6p408.html (accessed March 8, 2007).
[4] Journal of Discourses 8:176, Brigham Young; Journal of Discourses 9:312, Brigham Young.
[5] Journal of Discourses 1:50,51, Brigham Young – “The question has been, and is often, asked, who it was that begat the Son of the Virgin Mary . . . .When the Virgin Mary conceived the child Jesus, the Father had begotten him in his own likeness. He was not begotten by the Holy Ghost . . . . Now, remember from this time forth, and forever, that Jesus Christ was not begotten by the Holy Ghost.”
[6] Journal of Discourses 4:54, Brigham Young - “It is true that the blood of the Son of God was shed for sins through the fall and those committed by men, yet men can commit sins which it can never remit.” There is no salvation without belief in Joseph Smith as a prophet of God. Journal of Discourses 7:289-91, Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 5:88, Heber C. Kimball.
[7] Journal of Discourses 7:289-91, Brigham Young; Journal of Discourses 6:154-155, Orson Hyde.
[8] Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 14:10-11 - “And he [the angel of God] said unto me: Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth. And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore of all the earth, and she sat upon many waters; and she had dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people.”; Journal of Discourses 6:176, Brigham Young - “Brother Taylor has just said that the religions of the day were hatched in hell. The eggs were laid in hell, hatched on its borders, and then kicked on to the earth.”
[9] Doctrine and Covenants 127, Joseph Smith; Journal of Discourses, 18:241, Brigham Young. Mormons research their genealogy in order to baptize dead relatives into the Mormon Church by proxy (meaning they stand in for them in the baptismal tank). The dead can choose to accept or reject the baptism. Mormons can also do this for celebrities, friends and enemies, which is why some Jewish leaders are angry with the Mormon Church for baptizing victims of the Holocaust. See Mormons meet with Jews over baptizing Holocaust victims, CNN, http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/West/12/10/baptizing.the.dead.ap/ (accessed March 8, 2007). “Baptism for the dead in Mormon temples gives those who would have embraced Christ and His Church the opportunity to do so after death. It is a wonderful gift granted by a merciful God.” See pro-Mormon site http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/mormon/baptism/ (accessed March 7, 2007).
[10] Pearl of Great Price, Moses 4:1 - And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying—Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.” http://www.lds.org/library/display/0,4945,11-1-13-6,00.html
Jesus and Satan brought their plans for the salvation of the world before the council of the Gods, and they rejected Satan’s plan. Journal of Discourses, 6:5, 8, Joseph Smith - “In the beginning, the head of the Gods called a council of the Gods; and they came together and concocted a plan to create the world and people it . . . . The contention in heaven was Jesus said there would be certain souls that would not be saved; and the Devil said he could save them all, and laid his plans before the grand council, who gave their vote in favour of Jesus Christ. So the Devil rose up in rebellion against God, and was cast down, with all who put up their heads for him.”
Additional Notes:
Some Mormons argue that the Journal of Discourses is not Mormon Scripture, but early Mormon leaders refute modern Mormons:
Journal of Discourses 13:264, Brigham Young; Journal of Discourses 13:95, George Q. Cannon; Journal of Discourses 1:V.
"A little learning is a dangerous thing; drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring: there shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, and drinking largely sobers us again."-- Alexander Pope, An Essay on Criticism, 1709
posted by Jill Martin Rische at 10:12 PM
4 Comments:
Here are some more I have come across! :)
1.The Mormons believe that the biblical cannon is NOT closed and that "modern revelation is neccessary...(God) continues to speak, because He is unchangeable."
- Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine (Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book Company, 1977), p. 36.
The Latter-Day Saints then hold not only the Bible (specifically the KJV) as the word of god, but also The Pearl of Great Price, The Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants. But to go even farther, with reference to the Bible being the inspired word of God, the LDS states in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism by Daniel H. Ludlow on pp. 106, 107: "the Word of God as far as it is translated correctly."
This is a very liberal argument indeed!
Bible based Christians are of the opinion that the Canon is CLOSED and entirely inspired by God according to the Bible and not their own personal belief. (2 Timothy 3:16, Jude 3, Gal 1:8, 2 Peter 1:3)
2. Mormon faith teaches, "as man is, God once was; as God is, man may be." (Encyclopedia of Mormonism by Daniel H. Ludlow)
I pray that any who call themselves Mormon take up the challenge to defend your faith! Prove these things wrong, but also prove to yourself that the Bible is the only inspired work of God, and that your so-called prophets are nothing more than men who are leading you asstray and away from the Salvation and Grace of our One and Only God!
In your notes you acknowledge that Mormons, or at least some in your view, do not consider the Journal of Discourses as authoritative Scripture for Latter-day Saints. You then brush this aside with a reference to early Mormon leaders who did see this as authoritative.
This representation of LDS beliefs and line of argumentation demonstrates some of the problems in evangelical treatments of new religions.
First, religious movements constantly evolve, and we must interact with current Mormon views on praxis and doctrine, not those of the nineteenth century that may not be practiced or held by church members any longer.
Second, the Mormons currently define authoritative sources for their practices and beliefs, and the Journal of Discourses is not recognized. In line with the first point above, it seems highly problematic to defer to nineteenth century LDS thinking on the topic while ignoring current Mormon definitions on this topic.
Third, Mormonism is more properly construed as oriented around praxis, including its ethical sytem and rituals rather than doctrine. If we are to truly practice Paul's missionary maxim of being all things to all people (I Cor. 9:20-23) we must put ourselves in their shoes and view religion from their perspective and emphases, not that of Protestant evangelicalism and its priorities and preferences.
Fourth, whatever official LDS praxis and teaching may be we must also consider the varieties of folk Mormonism as practiced by rank and file members of the church. This can only be discovered through dialogue and it frequently differs from that put forward by the leadership of the church. To ignore folk Mormonism is to ignore a significant facet of this religion's expression.
Fifth, related to the last point, evangelicals have a strange habit of holding LDS feet to the fire of LDS orthodoxy (or however evangelicals construe this) rather than discovering where individual Mormons may be in their beliefs and practices and using this as the starting point for dialogue.
All this to say that I think the documentation and strategy behind these alleged amazing facts of Mormonism is problematic at best. Let the reader be cautious.
Mr. Morehead,
I do believe you are creating a formal fallacy with your post. Your point is that we need to look at the modern mormon and not that of the 19th century.
I quote, "First, religious movements constantly evolve, and we must interact with current Mormon views on praxis and doctrine, not those of the nineteenth century that may not be practiced or held by church members any longer."
Whether or not a Mormon takes part in their local congregation in acts of Poligamy or their view is that Adam is God,etc., they are still associating themselves with the Mormon Church and all of its current and past teachings.
For example the Protestants removed themselves from the Roman Catholic Church. They didn't simply say, "hey I don't believe in that, but Im still a Catholic". They "evolved", and "protested" the false teachings of the Catholic Church.
As a Christian it is my duty to hold any who call themselves Christian accountable to what the Bible really says. No one is perfect, but that is not excuse to hide behind false doctrine.
A Mormon needs to be informed that the Church they hold so dear is a False Teacher and a False Prophet.
Even with the earlier view asside there are plenty of views still held by Mormons that are in absolute conflict with Bible Doctrine. I am not refering to Traditions of men either.
You also state, "This representation of LDS beliefs and line of argumentation demonstrates some of the problems in evangelical treatments of new religions."
Christianity is not a new Religion or Faith. There ARE many branches of the Christian faith, but not all are correct. We know that some branches will be burned in fire or cast off, according to the Word. Each fails in some area, and all are or should be held accountable to the Word. Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, etc. have created a NEW version of Christianity that teaches a different Jesus. They teach and prophesy things that are not taught or instructed by the Word of God. Taking a good look at our faith and religion should be on every Mormons mind.
Do the teachings.. the MODERN day teachings of Mormon Theology and Doctrine fit that of the Bible?
NO. They do not.
I understand your opinion sir, but it is terribly flawed.
As far as mormonism goes, all the books, articles and websites that teach mormonism is a cult, repeatedly tell us about the all false teachings of the lds church. However, the mormons have become "smarter" or perhaps more trained and they have new answers to these very old accusations. Its getting more difficult to witness to them, even using the KJV. They are adept at scripture twisting or just making up things as they go along. This works for them as they have no real standard for truth. What one prophet says can be repealed by the current prophet! They change with the wind that there's no pining them down!
Erik
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