Mormonism

Mormonism in Light of Scripture

"But through we, or an angel from heaven, preach any gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:8 KJV)"

"For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophesy in this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (Revelations 22:18,19 KJV)"

On April 6, 1830 Joseph Smith founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who today has over four million members. His family was mostly Presbyterian but he remained undecided in which Christian denomination was right. When Joseph was fifteen he supposedly received a vision.

Joseph Smith claimed that he saw two personages. He asked them which sect was right, so he could know which to join. Joseph Smith said:

"I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the personage that addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in His sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: 'they drew near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof" (Joseph Smith, The Pearl of Great Price, 2:18,19)

On September 21, 1823 Joseph Smith had a second vision in which an angel named Moroni tells him of "a book [that] had been deposited, written on golden plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent and containing 'the fullness of the everlasting Gospel' as delivered by the savior to the ancient inhabitants of this continent" (The Pearl of Great Price, p. 50-54)

Joseph Smith, with divine help, copied and translated the reformed Egyptian characters off the golden plates. The translation was completed and placed on sale on March 26, 1830. The Book of Mormon was made available to the public.

The Mormons claim they are the restored church established by Jesus Christ. Let us examine some more of Mormon claims and doctrine in light of scripture. "If it had been for Joseph Smith and the restoration, there would be no salvation outside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [LDS]" (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 670). But the Bible says:

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves [works]: it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8 KJV).

It is not through one church that man is saved but by believing in the vicarious death and resurrection of our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ. It is not through works or a CHURCH but by Jesus Christ. Look at John 3:16. Jesus says:

"For God so loved the world that He gave His Only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not but have everlasting life."

God's Son is Jesus Christ and He is the ONLY way to the Father. John 14:6 says:

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

The Mormon Church has four accepted sacred works: The Bible, The Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price. Another source of authority are the present LDS prophet's words. There are now twelve prophets or apostles in Salt Lake City. But in Revelations 22:18,19 it warns those like Joseph Smith who adds on to the prophecies of the Bible, God will add or inflict unto him the plagues which are in this book. Joseph Smith is credited with the translation of the Inspired Version of the Bible. He basically took the King James Version of the Bible and added and subtracted from it allegedly by divine inspiration. Once again look at Revelations 22:18,19. Some people say that the verse refers to only the Book of Revelations. But Joseph Smith added even to the Book of Revelations. Revelation 19:15 says:

"And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron..."

But Joseph Smith changed this verse to say, "And out of his mouth proceedeth the word of God, and with it he will smite the nations; and he will rule them with the word of his mouth..." Look at Revelation 5:6. John the Revelator says:

"And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth to all the earth."

But Joseph Smith rendered the verse saying that the Lamb had "twelve horns and twelve eyes, which are the twelve servants of God, sent forth into all the earth." Here is a question asked by Ron Rhodes in his book Reasoning from the Scriptures with the Mormons, p. 145:

"How do you reconcile Jesus' statement in Matthew 24:35 - "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away" - with Joseph Smith's work on the Inspired Version?

Look at Matthew 5:18. Jesus says: "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” How could Joseph Smith claim the authority to something that Christ could not - namely to change the text of the Scriptures.

What about the Bible? What does the Mormon say about the Bible? The Mormons' eighth "Article of Faith" says, "We believe the Bible to be the word of God, as far as it is translated correctly." Mormon apostle said, "Who in his right mind, could, for one moment, suppose the Bible in its present form to be a perfect guide? Who knows that even one verse of the Bible has escaped pollution? (Orson, Pratt, Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon, p. 47)" But Jerald & Sandra Tanner point out:

"Pratt's statement that the Bible may have changed so much that we can't even rely upon one verse sounds very strange in light of the fact that the Book of Mormon quotes hundreds of verses from the Bible. In almost all cases these verses carry the same meaning as they do in the Bible...The Bible cannot be discredited without casting doubt on the Book of Mormon also. If the Bible is all wrong, then the Book of Mormon is also" (Jerald & Sandra Turner, The Changing World of Mormonism, p. 367).

The Book of Mormon contains some 20,000 words from the King James Version of the Bible. If the Book of Mormon was written between 600 B.C. and A.D. 421, as claimed, how could it contain quotations (word for word) from the KJV, which was translated in A.D. 1611. If the ancient records (Book of Mormon) were engraved on golden plates were allegedly written in the language which the prophet Lehi wrote (Consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians), then these languages when translated would be different in language style than the poetic King James Version. Some modern translations today revere the KJV as poetic but some articles like "Thou, Lo, Thus" are not in the Hebrew language much less in any language which originated in the Middle East with the possible exception of Arabic.

Here are some of the plagiarisms in the Book of Mormon:

COMPARE
John 1:34 with 1 Nephi 11:7
Acts 13:10 with 1 Nephi 13:27
Acts 2:19 with 1 Nephi 2:18
Luke 10:15 with 2 Nephi 9:34
John 3:19 with 2 Nephi 26:10
Luke 3:22 with 1 Nephi 11:27
John 1:29 with 2 Nephi 31:4
Ephesians 4:5 with Mosiah 18:21
John 10:16 with 1 Nephi 22:25
Hebrews 13:8 with 1 Nephi 10:18
Luke 11:23 with 2 Nephi 10:16
Hebrews 7:1,2 with Alma 13:15
Revelation 22:11 with 2 Nephi 9:16
Acts 4:30 with Moroni 8:3
1 Corinthians 12:11; 13:4-7 with Moroni 7:45

What Jerald & Sandra Tanner said earlier is RIGHT!

What about the Mormon idea of God? Joseph Smith said, "As Man is, God was, As God is, Man may become" (Joseph Smith, King Follett Discourse, p. 9). Isaiah 43:10 says, "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" (KJV). Look at the Book of Mormon. Alma 11:26-29 says, "And Zeezrom said unto him: 'Thou sayest that there is a true and living God?' And Amulek said: 'Yea, there is a true and living God.' Now Zeezrom said: 'Is there more than one God?' And he answered, 'No!' (My Emphasis). See also Alma 11:21,22; 2 Nephi 11:7; 31:21; 3 Nephi 11:27,36; Mosiah 15:1-5; 16:15. Not only the Bible contradicts Smith's teaching on the nature of God but also it contradicts the Book of Mormon.

In the Pearl of Great Price (See Abraham 3:9,16) it says that God the Father is now on a planet near the star Kolob with his wives having spiritual children. But the Bible says in Matthew 6:9, "Our Father which art in heaven." Usually when Mormons get married they plan on having large families because where God is, there are many spirits waiting for human tabernacles, and each child they have will become a home for one of these spirits (Pearl of Great Price, Abraham 3:22-28 & Mormon Doctrine by B.R. McConkie, p. 698). The Journal of Discourses (Vol. 1, p. 345 & Vol. 2, p. 210) shows that the Mormons once taught that Jesus had many wives including the two sisters of Lazarus & Mary Magdalene. Furthermore, Mormons believe that Jesus could not have become a god unless he was married (B.R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 117,118). The Bible says, "Jesus Christ [is] the same yesterday, and to day, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). Jesus Christ has always been God. The Book of Mormon even quotes that scripture in Hebrews 13:8 in 1 Nephi 10:18. Jesus says in John 8:58, "Before Abraham was, I AM." He is saying he was always God. Jesus Christ is the everlasting Father in Isaiah 9:6. See also John 1:1-3 and Revelation 1:8. It looks to me like the Book of Mormon contradicts Joseph Smith and the Mormon apostles contradict Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. So then who is right. A religion or a sect divided against itself cannot stand. Joseph Smith in his book, Times and Seasons, (Vol 5, p. 490) said that if anyone preaches doctrine contrary to the Book of Mormon, mark him as an imposter. But earlier his view of God contradicted the Book of Mormon. So is he an imposter? Or according to the Bible, did he take away and added to the prophecies of the Bible and the Book of Revelation and claim himself the authoritarian of changing scriptural text, which was something Jesus (who is God) could not even do? The answer to both is YES!

The Bible says that there is any one way to get to Heaven and that is through Jesus Christ (John 14:6) not through a church.

If you want to accept Jesus into your heart follow these steps:

1. Admit you are sinner.
2. Be willing to REPENT and TURN away from your sins.
3. BELIEVE that Jesus Christ died for you, was buried, and rose from the dead on the third day.
4. Through Prayer, invite Jesus into your heart to become your Lord and personal savior.

Finally, make sure to pray daily, read your Bible and fellowship with Christians so you have any questions answered about your walk with Jesus Christ. You are now a NEW creation in Christ! God Bless!

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