Author: Nick Peters

I was thinking of Mormonism and Polytheism as a title, but let’s face it folks. Two m’s makes a much cooler mnemonic device! Anyway, that’s our topic today. One thing that is quite apparent in Mormonism is the belief that there are many gods. Oddly enough, this is said to be true according to the Bible. Often, this is based on a hideous understanding of the Trinity. What does the Bible say though about monotheism?

The first place to begin is in Genesis 1:1. We are told that in the beginning, God created the Heaven and the Earth. God alone. No one else. In other tales, we will hear of gods involved in creation. The Genesis account starts off with one God in a clearly monotheistic sense. The usage of “our” in verses like Genesis 1:26-27 fits in with a Trinitarian context which is also monotheistic.

When we get to Deuteronomy 6:4, we are told that the Lord God is one. The word “one” is echad and again, fits in with a Trinitarian concept. However, this is more a statement of monotheism than anything else. Please keep in mind also that monotheism is belief that there is only one God. it is not believing in many gods but acknowledging one. That is called henotheism. If you believe there is more than one god, you are in some sense a polytheist.

When we get to Isaiah especially, we see a strong charge of monotheism as God issues his charge against the idols of the day. Observe Isaiah 43:10

“You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD,
“and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
nor will there be one after me.

This in Mormon thought would be Jesus talking since Jesus is Jehovah in their system. But isn’t it true in Mormonism that his Father became a god and then Jesus became one seeing as he had to attain his godhood also? That would mean that God the Father was a god formed before Jesus. It would also mean that all good Mormons who become gods are gods formed after him.

The passage is stating monotheism for all eternity. Before YHWH, there were no other gods and after him, there are going to be no new gods. Of course, this is simply a blanket statement as before YHWH is a way of saying that he is the only one. There was no time when YHWH was not.

Now some have said that this is talking about idols. This makes no sense though. We would all know idols were formed after YHWH. YHWH is certainly no idiot in the Scriptures either. He would know that the people were making idols. The problem was what the idols represented. They were to represent other gods. YHWH says the idols are in vain because there are no other gods to be represented.

To be sure we get the message, we have Isaiah 44:6

“This is what the LORD says—
Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty:
I am the first and I am the last;
apart from me there is no God.

And Isaiah 44:8

Do not tremble, do not be afraid.
Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago?
You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me?
No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”

When we get to the NT, things aren’t much different. In 1 Cor. 8, we read the following:

4So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one. 5For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), 6yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

Note what he says. There is no God but one in verse 4. In verse 5, he says there are many things that are so-called gods and lords. They are called that, but there is no reality to the charge. In verse 6, he says though that for us, there is but one God and one Lord. (This is a Christianized version of the Shema. See Richard Bauckham’s “God Crucified.”) So what does it mean if you say there is more than one God and Lord?

It means you’re not in Paul’s “us” and that “us” is in reference to Christians.

James is an epistle written to Jewish Christians. These are Christians who have a strong background obviously in Judaism and what does he say in James 2:19?

You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

In other words, he’s pointing to the Shema and saying that it is good that they believe that, but they need to act accordingly. At least the demons shudder! Let’s not skip over what he says though. Belief in one God is true. If James had believed there was more than one god, this would be a good time to correct it.

However, there is another text that is relevant to the discussion. What does the Book of Mormon say? In Alma 11, Alma is in debate with Zeezrom about God.

26 And Zeezrom said unto him: Thou sayest there is a true and living God?

When the Mormon missionaries last visited us, I had some time with one of them alone and we managed to discuss the cross. I talked about how I was at their church and I did not see a cross anywhere. This struck me as quite interesting so I chose to discuss it, knowing quite well what I would hear, and indeed, that is what I heard.

I was told that for the Mormons, they do not choose to focus on the cross. That was the low point as it was. They choose to celebrate the empty tomb. To a degree, many of us can sympathize with this. Certainly, Christianity is not Christianity if there is no empty tomb and certainly, that tomb being empty is something to celebrate. Yet at the same time, we in Christianity celebrate what we call “Good Friday”, the day Jesus died on the cross.

This was also forefront in the mind of the apostles. A brief search through an online concordance brought up numerous verses with the word “Crucified.” Here are some:

Romans 6:6

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—

Note that Paul identifies our transformation with crucifixion.

1 Cor. 1:13

Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?

And with the Corinthian church, he identifies it as a main event. He didn’t say resurrected but crucified. For Paul, the cross is where atonement was made. (Contrast to the Mormon saying it was also made in the garden.)

And what did Paul preach? 1 Cor. 1:23

but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,

What did he desire to know? 1 Cor. 2:2

For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

In talking about righteousness and how it comes in Galatians 3:1, Paul says this:

You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.

And note also a search for the word “Cross”

1 Cor. 1:17-18

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

18For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Notice the message that Paul says he brings. It’s the message of the cross.

Galatians 6:14

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Ephesians 2:16

and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.

Notice that the cross is where Paul says reconciliation took place.

Philippians 3:18

For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.

Notice that opposing the ministry of Jesus is seen as opposing the cross. It is equated with the message of the gospel.

Colossians 1:20

and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Again, notice that the peace, or atonement, is made through blood shed on the cross, not blood in the garden.

Colossians 2:

14having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Notice that the law against us was put to death on the cross and the powers of darkness that were at work were triumphed over at the cross.

Now make no mistake, the empty tomb is essential, but the cross was important. Why?

Philippians 2 tells us that Christ was obedient to death on a cross. Note how Hebrews 12:2 also says he endured the cross scorning its shame.

Those are two clues. They tell us the cross was shameful. Deuteronomy 21:23 tells us that anyone hung on a tree is under God’s curse, and this was seen as crucifixion later on to Israel. There were numerous Messiah claimants in Israel at the time of Christ. They all had one thing in common though. When they died, their movements died with them.

That would especially be if they were crucified. Why? Who wants to follow someone under a curse of God?

Yet for Christ, that didn’t end it. It led to the beginning. No cross. No empty tomb.

What does the resurrection mean to the cross?

It means that God accepted the sacrifice of Christ. It means that he vindicated his claims as well. It means that he was not a blasphemer when he claimed to be God. He was speaking the truth. It means that we do have forgiveness. Paul makes this clear in his writings in such places as 1 Cor. 15. The empty tomb is as important to him as the cross, but the cross is important.

Could it be that there really is a lack of atonement in the doctrine of Mormonism and that’s why the cross isn’t there? Let’s be sure on this friends. If the Scripture highlights the cross as a point of victory and Mormonism doesn’t want to show it, there’s something telling going on. The cross is where we receive our atonement. It is where we were reconciled to God.

Is the cross a symbol of shame today? Nope. It is the way God reverses things. Today, it is a symbol of victory. God takes what is a thing of shame and makes it a thing of honor.

If the Mormons don’t want a cross in their church, it will be their problem. I’m pleased to see a cross in any church and even wear one around my neck to remind me of the great truth it conveys.

Today, I was visiting a friend’s church who I went out of state to visit. The lesson today was on the Holy Spirit in Sunday School. I always get concerned when this topic comes up because people have so many misconceptions about the Holy Spirit and they come from an experiential basis. When we were told the Holy Spirit prompts us what to say and what things to do I wanted to raise my hand and say “Excuse me! Scripture for that?” I was a visitor though and being nice, but I did get to talk to the teacher some afterwards.

He had talked about how when you do something right, the Holy Spirit gives you a good feeling, and when you do something wrong, the Holy Spirit gives you a bad feeling. I think if this was really the case though, we’d all do good a whole lot more than we do and we’d all do evil a whole lot less. There are times we do good and feel miserable and times we do bad and feel great about it.

But when my time came to talk to him about that point in the last paragraph, I asked him if he thought the Book of Mormon was true. He told me he hadn’t read it so he didn’t know. A fair enough answer. However, I pointed out that in the end, they tell you to pray about it and if you get that burning in the bosom, well that’s the Holy Spirit telling you it’s true.

Never mind that Scripture never says anything like that. Never mind that Scripture says to ignore the signs and wonders and look to the message of truth for even a false prophet can have signs and wonders. Never mind that feelings are a terrible basis for believing something about the world external to you. If it feels good, it’s true!

I don’t think we can deny that something happens in the Mormon experience and it’s something powerful. However, that does not mean that it is something of God. We are told to test the spirits in Scripture. The test is not “Does it make me feel good?” or “Does it make my bosom burn?” The test is whether it agrees with what has already been revealed.

Many of us have all had times when we “felt” something for sure about the external world. How many of us have turned in a paper and felt for sure we would fail it only to realize we didn’t? How many of us have gone to the doctor feeling like we’ll be told we have Bubonic Plague only to be told we have a disease that’s easily treatable? How many of us have felt we’d get fired for a screw-up only to realize if anything, we received a mild reprimand?

When it comes to truth, we have to have more than feelings. When I doubt my faith, I don’t look to a feeling. I had good feelings when I converted. I don’t look to those at all. I look to the coherence of the Christian worldview. I look at the evidence of the veracity of Scriptures. I look to the reasons why I believe that God exists and Jesus is his only begotten Son and why I think he rose from the dead.

Yes. That is the foundation.

We can’t look at our worldview and say “Well, there’s no evidence for it and the worldview has necessary contradictions at its core, but I have a good feeling about it.” It has to be more than that! That’s what I see going on in Mormonism though. There is no evidence for the BOM and all evidence against it. There are necessary contradictions at the heart such as the doctrine of eternal progression. What will it be? The external world, or a feeling? Feelings are quite capable of lying to us. Facts are not. We can misinterpret them of course, but they are blunt, “in your face” realities.

Sadly, this is where Evangelicalism is going today with our emphasis on experience. I was describing to a professor here how we went to the Mormon church and simply heard an account of an experience in a testimony. He said “Not much different from many evangelical churches.” I sadly had been thinking the same thing myself and agreed.

If we base truth entirely on our experiences, then we are prone to be easily duped by any feeling that comes along. Experience is important. I don’t deny that. Experience is rooted in reality though. For a Christian, the Scriptures interpret the experience. The experience does not interpret the Scriptures. It’s time we put things in the right order.

We’ve been talking lately about Mormonism. I have also mentioned the missionaries visiting our house. The last time we had them over, one of our missionaries asked a great question. “What about all the denominations?” We have to remember that Joseph Smith’s start allegedly was that he wasn’t sure which denomination was right and was told by God the Father that he was to choose none of them for they were all an abomination to him.

This isn’t a question just Mormons ask though. This is a question raised by Catholic apologists and raised by skeptics against the Christian faith and by Christians themselves. What is to be the answer to this? Is Christianity really so divided that we have to have thousands of denominations. (From what I hear, the most common number is 30,000+.

To begin with, the number is just false. If you have two independent Baptist churches on each side of the street, each one of them is considered a denomination. In fact, even within Catholicism, there are a number of denominations. I’ve asked people to give me a list right off without looking online or using other sources, just going on memory, of twenty denominations. It takes a long time for most people to name just twenty. (Seems odd considering there are supposed to be over 30,000.

But what about Mormonism? Actually, Mormonism has its own number of sects as well. Smith’s wife formed the Reformed Latter-Day Saints when Joseph Smith died. It was led by the prophet’s grandson Joseph Smith Jr. who was known as Little Joe. This is just one sect of the Mormon movement. There are many others, for instance, the Fundamental Latter-Day Saints.

Furthermore, how is it an answer to all the denominations to just create one more denomination that is claiming that it has the truth? It just makes things tougher. In fact, to add whole new Scripture presents an extra obstacle as we have a hard time understanding the Scripture we have at times, and yet it’s supposed to be easier with another one?

Let’s not forget the main important detail. I am a Baptist at heart. I can preach happily in a Baptist church. I can do the same though in a Restoration movement (The teaching of Alexander Campbell) church, a Methodist church, a Lutheran church, a Presbyterian church, etc. Why? It is because we unite on what is the essential truth.

Christian is not a meaningless word. It has deep content to it. It refers to one who believes in the full deity of Christ and his full humanity. They believe in the Trinity. They believe in the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ. They believe in salvation by grace through faith. You could not, for instance, say you were a Muslim and you did not believe Muhammad was a prophet. There are some essential things to believe to be a Muslim just as there are a Christian.

Those essential things are the things that unite us and the things we need to focus on. I’m not saying secondary issues are unimportant. I have opinions on the age of the Earth, Calvinism vs. Arminianism, eschatology, views of the church, etc. However, I make it a point to unite on what is most important. It’s one reason Deeper Waters does not comment much on secondary issues.

Thus, I understand the importance, but the Mormons are missing what is going on. We are far more united than we are divided and we all unite on the essential truths. This is one reason we don’t unite with the Mormons also. They disagree with us on those essential truths. It means something specifically to be a Christian, and Mormonism doesn’t fit into the picture.

I’ve been writing on Mormonism and mentioning that my roommate and I do have Mormon missionaries visiting us. Today, one of the topics we talked about was the idea of eternal progression. For those who don’t know, the idea is that God was once a man like we ourselves are now and that he progressed until he reached Godhood. In his famous King Follett Discourse, Joseph Smith said the following:

It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God, and to know that we may converse with him as one man converses with another, and that he was once a man like us; yea, that God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did; and I will show it from the Bible. [endquote]

Note this. This is the first principle. This is what surprised me when the Mormons I were talking to today said that this was deep. One of them said he’d only been in the church for three years. I had to say though that this is a first principle. Please keep in mind what Smith himself says in the discourse:

It is necessary for us to have an understanding of God himself in the beginning. [endquote]

It is NECESSARY! It’s not that it’s a nice thing. It’s not that it will give us a deeper walk. It’s necessary. Shouldn’t this be something the whole church is familiar with? However, it seems this doctrine is being shied away from. Former President Gordon Hinckley was asked about this in the August 4th, 1997 issue of TIME magazine and said this:

‘I don’t know that we teach it. I don’t know that we emphasize it … I understand the philosophical background behind it, but I don’t know a lot about it, and I don’t think others know a lot about it,’” [endquote]

Honestly, when I hear the president of the church saying “I don’t know if we teach that,” then it makes me wonder “If the president doesn’t know this, who would? If anyone ought to know what a church is teaching, it ought to be the president of the church!” Could it be that Mormonism is trying to shy away from this doctrine in order to appear more Christian?

How can the doctrine be true is the main question I have though. There are so many problems with this. The biggest one is the impossibility of transversing an infinite. However, God is described in the BOM as one who does not progress to Godhood but is unchangeable. See what Moroni 8:18 says:

For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity. [endquote]

Note also from all eternity to all eternity. How could such be the case and yet a moment of time came when the unchangeable changed into being the unchangeable? If he did such, then he is not unchangeable and it is certainly not from all eternity to all eternity. Could it possibly be the case that this doctrine is a doctrine Smith came up with later on after writing the Book of Mormon?

There is also the problem that the finite simply cannot be come infinite. It would mean that there was some amount added to the finite that made it become infinite. But how can you add something and get infinity? There is no point where you have one more and then you have infinity. Infinity is a totally different concept from that.

Why bring this up? Because a worldview to be true has to be philosophically tenable and that is a problem I have with the BOM worldview. Mormonism is not a worldview that is logically consistent. It is most especially seen in this doctrine of eternal progression. If it contains an essential contradiction at heart, then the worldview must be false.

Remember also that this is a first principle. Smith pointed out that we must start out right. Thus, if the first principle is right, what does that say about the whole thing? The answer is clear to me, and I hope to an honest seeker, they will be willing to look at this and see if maybe Mormonism really is a false worldview and it’s time to give a second look at orthodox Christianity.

In chapter 13 of 1 Nephi in the BOM, Nephi is having a conversation with an angel. The following verses come from that chapter:

23 And he said: Behold it proceedeth out of the mouth of a Jew. And I, Nephi, beheld it; and he said unto me: The book that thou beholdest is a record of the Jews, which contains the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; and it also containeth many of the prophecies of the holy prophets; and it is a record like unto the engravings which are upon the plates of brass, save there are not so many; nevertheless, they contain the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; wherefore, they are of great worth unto the Gentiles.

I’ve been blogging lately on Mormons and with my speaking soon at my church on Mormonism, it could be going on for a couple of weeks. If there is one tactic you can be sure you will be the recipient of when a Mormon knocks on your door, it is the testimony. In this, you will be told by the Mormon that the Holy Spirit has confirmed to him the truth of the Book of Mormon. (BOM)

This is a convincing tactic to many in our day and age. We are caught up entirely in experience and feeling the Holy Spirit. (I remember being at a church once and hearing someone in a band performing say the best thing about it was that you could really feel the Spirit there. Pray tell what this means? Why not that the pastor is expounding on truth or the church has people growing to be like Christ? Instead, the best thing is a subjective experience that we’re not sure what it is even?)

So what is going on? Is there any reason to reject this experience, this burning in the bosom?

YES!

For one thing, we have yet to see hard evidence for the veracity of anything in the BOM. I know there are claims, but these claims aren’t taken seriously for good reason. We have enough evidence of the contrary in fact, such as Joseph Smith claiming to get the book of Abraham out of an Egyptian document when we know today it was actually the Book of the Dead. But hey, what do Egyptologists know?

However, if the BOM is true, then we should expect some evidence. We should expect copies of the OT to be found over here. We should expect to find ruins of temples that the Nephites built over here. We should expect to find remains from the battles that were supposedly fought. Instead, we have come up with nothing at all.

Whereas the Bible has a totally different story. That’s another blog though.

Thus, I don’t see the Holy Spirit saying one thing and what I can see with my eyes saying another. Readers know my thoughts on these subjective experiences anyway. If you want to use one, fine, but make sure you have external facts to back it up also.

Also, the only pieces of data that seem to count are those in favor of the BOM. We have to do double-blind tests now for new drugs because doctors used to get so excited when giving a new drug to a patient thinking it’d cure them that the placebo effect would kick in. It wasn’t a valid test. Now, the doctors don’t know even which drug is the placebo and which isn’t.

The point is that how do we not know that the accounts of people having a burning in the bosom are not simply emotional excitement worked up? We only know by comparing it with people who pray the prayer in the book of Moroni in the BOM and get a negative answer. We could look at each case and see why the results turned out differently.

However, imagine doing a placebo test and saying you were only going to accept the results that agreed with what you were trying to prove? It would hardly be a valid test. Someone who is open will want to know why things did not work out as they were intended to do in certain cases. Unfortunately, the BOM doesn’t give much leeway.

Also, why should it only be Mormon experiences? Why not the New Age experience? Why not the Jehovah’s Witness experience? Why not your experience or mine? The only reason to have the BOM experience be at the forefront is arbitrary. Again, we need to go to something outside of the experiences in order to determine who has an experience rooted in truth.

Finally, the experience can’t be the final arbitor because experience is not self-interpreting. You need something outside the experience to interpret it. What I’ve asked Mormons lately is what it would mean if Jesus did not rise from the dead. It’s amazing how long it takes them to come up and say “I guess my faith would be shaken.” Paul had no hesitation in 1 Cor. 15. He said he knew his faith was in vain, that he was to be pitied above all men, and that he was still in his sins.

Consider this though for the Mormon. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then the experience must be interpreted another way. This means that something outside of the experience is indeed interpreting the experience. Whatever is outside of it then must be a higher authority than the experience themselves. That would be the facts. What we can find about the BOM outside of experience, and what Scripture tells us as well.

Unfortunately, you can expect this technique to show up often and it’s the foundation. Whenever you hear a Mormon speak, you will most often hear the testimony. Be prepared. Giving your own can be helpful and I’m not against it in this case. It would be best for you to stick with Scripture though to determine what is true. If Mormonism doesn’t match up, and it doesn’t, at the end of the day, their experience can’t overrule that.

I had someone leave a comment yesterday here who I believe is LDS. If I am mistaken, I apologize. Part of it is that they spoke about how Christians treat other Christians and indicated LDS members by that other Christians part. Now I do agree that Christians don’t treat LDS members right often, but I cannot place LDS members as Christians in any sense of the word.

That is, of course, not to say anything against LDS members as people. We have the missionaries visiting us now and I think the world of these guys. They’re great guys and meeting with them is one of the highlights of my week. These are some guys I’d love to just hang out with sometimes. I do have great respect for their devotion and their willingness to be in evangelism. Take a note of this Christians! We could learn something from the Mormons and JWs on being out there in evangelism.

However, there are too many differences. The Mormon church would have to do a lot of reforming before they could be considered orthodox. (That’d also include dropping the BOM, the D&C, the teachings of Joseph Smith and their other prophets, etc. When that is dropped, it is a wonder what they would end up calling their denomination.)

Let’s start with the big one though. What about the doctrine of God. For starters, Christianity is monotheistic. We are monotheistic and Trinitarian however. The Trinity is rooted in monotheism. The one who refers to the Trinity as a belief in three gods simply does not know what the doctrine of the Trinity really teaches.

Yet Mormonism has the number of gods wrong even. Listen to what Mormon apostle Bruce McConkie says in his work, Mormon Doctrine. The following can be found in the section “God”:

There are three gods–The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost–who, though separate in personality, are united as one in purpose, in plan, and in all the attributes of perfection. [end quote]

Interestingly, when he gets to Godhead, he says:

Though each God in the Godhead is a personage, separate and distinct from each of the others, yet they are “one God” (Testimony of Three Witnesses in Book of Mormon), meaning they are united as one in the attributes of perfection. [end quote]

Which is it? How can you say “each God” and have one God? How can you say they are three gods and one God? Christianity has no problem. We see three different persons who are not one person. We also see that each fully partakes of the nature of God, but yet there is one God. No doubt, there is much difficult to understand in Trinitarianism, but the way to avoid that is not to go with heresy.

But what about this God who is there? Is he the same? Well, no. Let’s look at the famous “King Follett” sermon that Joseph Smith gave:

God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret. If the veil were rent today, and the great God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by His power, was to make himself visible—I say, if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form—like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as a man; for Adam was created in the very fashion, image and likeness of God, and received instruction from, and walked, talked and conversed with Him, as one man talks and communes with another.

In order to understand the subject of the dead, for consolation of those who mourn for the loss of their friends, it is necessary we should understand the character and being of God and how He came to be so; for I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea, and take away the veil, so that you may see.

These ideas are incomprehensible to some, but they are simple. It is the first principle of the gospel to know for a certainty the character of God, and to know that we may converse with Him as one man converses with another, and that He was once a man like us; yea, that God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ Himself did; and I will show it from the Bible.

I wish I was in a suitable place to tell it, and that I had the trump of an archangel, so that I could tell the story in such a manner that persecution would cease forever. What did Jesus say? (Mark it, Elder Rigdon!) The scriptures inform us that Jesus said, as the Father hath power in himself, even so hath the Son power—to do what? Why, what the Father did. The answer is obvious—in a manner to lay down his body and take it up again. Jesus, what are you going to do? To lay down my life as my Father did, and take it up again. Do you believe it? If you do not believe it you do not believe the Bible. The scriptures say it, and I defy all the learning and wisdom and all the combined powers of earth and hell together to refute it. 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, namely, by going from one small degree to another, and from a small capacity to a great one; from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation, until you attain to the resurrection of the dead, and are able to dwell in everlasting burnings, and to sit in glory, as do those who sit enthroned in everlasting power. And I want you to know that God, in the last days, while certain individuals are proclaiming His name, is not trifling with you or me. [end quote]

I urge the reader to read the rest here:

http://emp.byui.edu/ANDERSONKC/431readings_files/readings/Rel431ReadingFile.W2003/thekingfollettsermon.smith.htm

Thus, God is not God eternally. He eventually became God. As Lorenzo Snow, earlier Mormon president said “As man is, God once was. As God is, man may become.” Philosophically speaking, there are so many problems with an infinite regress here and transversing an infinite that it’s unbelievable. Biblically, you have verses like Isaiah 43:10.

However, that’s not all….

In their Scripture, Doctrines and Covenants, we read in 130:22 that, “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s.”

Now I have not put up the whole verse for it’s not relevant, but anyone who wants to can do so! That way, they can be assured I have not taken things out of context.

Compare that though to John 4:24 saying that God is Spirit and note that when the Israelites made an idol to represent YHWH in Exodus, they did not make an image of a man.

Thus, the god of Mormonism I conclude is not the God of the Bible. Naturally, I’ve only scratched the surface here, but I think it has been shown enough for most to see. Now if Mormonism wants to show me in error, let them do so. They’ll have to do so from the Bible that has been accepted as orthodox for centuries and which writings alone I place my ultimate trust in.

I wrote yesterday about going to the Mormon church. It was truly a saddening event especially as I saw the youth. They’d stand up and talk about the joy of God and following Jesus and I was thinking, “You don’t have the joy of the real God and you’re not following the real Jesus.” I still stand by that. I don’t stand by it because I like it. I stand by it because it’s true.

It’s not just the youth of course. It’s everyone. These people have their whole lives revolving around Mormonism. Their church life is Mormon. Their jobs are Mormon. Their friends and family are Mormon. To break away from Mormonism is to change everything and we lose sight of just how serious that change is for a Mormon.

Right now, there are millions of Mormons and the number is growing every day. In fact, Mormonism could be the next world religion. Of course, they’re nowhere near the number of Protestant Christians or the number of Muslims even, but the number around the world is growing. This visit made me realize how many Mormons live where I live.

Yet who will reach them?

In fact, who is even trying?

They come and knock on our doors and what do so many of us do? We say “Not interested” or we slam the door in their faces. Friends. I can understand being annoyed, but you’re not going to get them to the gospel that way. You’re only going to increase a persecution complex. If you can’t meet with them then, at least say “Guys, this is a really bad time. Can we arrange another date?”

“But I don’t know how to talk to Mormons!”

First off then, you need to study some. These guys are studying as well before they go out. You need to study also. Most especially, I would rather you know your Bible well than you know their Scriptures well. If it has to be one or the other, make the emphasis be to study the Christian Bible, especially getting a good grounding in doctrines like the Trinity and the Atonement.

Second off, call a good friend over who can help. I had a friend call me in my old town once because he was dealing with Jehovah’s Witnesses and he wanted me to come over. I was more than happy to do so. Talk to your pastor and see if there is someone at your church who is really good at dealing with Mormons. See if they’d be willing to meet with you with the Mormons and even better, see if they’d be willing to train you.

Third, pray. This is something that needs to be done for these people regularly. If we change our religion, it usually isn’t as big a shift as it is for these people. You must remember their whole lives are drenched in Mormonism. To ask them to change is not a small thing. It is a huge and monumental thing. Remember also that you must have something in its place. Don’t knock off the cane of Mormonism from under them unless you give them something else to walk with, particularly the Christ of Scripture.

Fourth, have your testimony ready. Testimonies mean a lot to these people. I don’t place much stock in testimonies, but if it’ll help bring a Mormon to Jesus Christ, then do it! Make sure everything you say is true of course, but you need to be sure you know what difference Christ has made in your life and it needs to be more than a feeling.

The Mormons are growing more and more and they can be reached. They just need people willing to show the love of Christ and reach them. How about you? Are you doing what you can to reach Mormons today, or are you just hoping they go away?

Today was my first visit to a Mormon church service. We’ve had missionaries visiting us for awhile. I think the world of these guys. They’re great guys. I think they’re entirely wrong though and that saddens me. Still, my roommate and I try to be as nice as we can and answer their questions as gently as possible, as well as the friend of ours that often joins us and joined me at church this morning.

At the service, we heard many accounts, and all the time we kept hearing the word testimony. If you’ve been with the Mormons before, this is the key point. Missionaries are instructed to work on their testimony. It is their spiritual witness that testifies to them that the BOM is true. Unfortunately, that’s the only grounds I’ve seen thus far.

Now I’ll tell you that all of these Mormons I’ve seen are incredibly nice people and this is one area our churches do need work in. Are we really welcoming to sinners? When someone comes to church, are they a guest of honor or are they someone who parks in our parking spot and sits in our spot in the pew? Do we really want to see them there?

Now I’ll also grant that some of you are a lot better at that than some of us are. I am not the kind of person that can go up to a total stranger and initiate a conversation unless I know something about them or have some reason to do so. Some of you do have that gift. God bless you. Better you than me. If that’s the case, then I ask you to do what you can to make someone feel welcome.

Getting back to the visit, my heart was saddened really. I see people in these beliefs as good people really, but they’re serving a false god. It makes you think of the passage where Jesus says “Depart from me. I never knew you.” How many people are going to hear that? How many of them are going to hear that after thinking they have in fact been serving him?

How many people will it be? Isn’t it up to the church to do something? The Mormon church claims to baptize a Baptist church every week, and I say that as a Baptist! Wouldn’t it be great if we could reverse that trend? Wouldn’t it be great if we could start baptizing a Mormon church every week? What’s keeping us from doing it? It’s us.

And we have something they don’t have. The Mormons have an emotion, and this is why we have to go beyond emotion. It can’t be a testimony of a feeling alone. It has a to be a testimony of Christ. It has to be about Christ as presented in the Old and the New Testaments. It has to be the historical Jesus walking where we can show he walked.

When I test the Bible to see if it is true, I find it archaeologically backed, confirmed to be accurate in the text handed down, filled with prophetic fulfillment, part of a coherent worldview, and livable when it applies to life. I don’t find those in the Mormon Scriptures. I have asked our missionaries and others and in fact, all I get is the testimony.

Friends. We have our testimonies also. We also have them rooted in Scripture that has been tested to be true time and time again. We must go beyond emotion. If we are stuck on emotion, we are prey to any group that comes along. We need emotions that are rooted in facts. What we believe can’t be rooted in our emotions. Our emotions must be rooted in what we believe.