Letters from Paul

Recently, Glen Beck made the issue of his health, a public issue.  I do not follow Mr. Beck, but I certainly know of him and I am aware of his radio and TV show.  His recent rally on the Washington Mall certainly speaks of his popularity.  When I heard of his health problems, I was curious to know what was going on.  Did he have cancer?  Was there another disease that was causing him problems?  So, I went online and searched for information in order to read up on the topic.  What I found was quite interesting.  I read the article, and as usual, I scanned some of the comments and what I found was simply a back-and-forth commentary on the Mormon (LDS) faith.  There were those who stated they would pray for Mr. Beck, but their prayers would be directed toward his salvation and his abandonment of the Mormon faith.  Others, Mormons I presume, were defending their faith and their belief that they, along with Glen Beck, were most assuredly “Christian.”

Mormonism is a growing religion in which many, on both sides of the issue, are simply confused.  Glen Beck is not the only nationally known Mormon.  I am sure that many of you know that Mit Romney and Harry Reid are also Mormons.  Mormonism also hit the national stage when, according to the press,  ”Without the Mormon vote, same-sex marriage would be legal in California.”  There is absolutely no doubt that when it comes to social issues that many conservative Christians and many Mormons would be in 100% agreement, but does that ring true when it comes to theological issues?  The answer is a resounding, “NO.”  Even among Christians, many believe that Mormonism is simply another subset of Christianity and just like a denomination, there are simply some disagreements.  I hope to briefly explain why this simply is not true and is illogical.

Mormons cannot be Christians because it is illogical from a historical standpoint.

This is not an attack on anyone’s intelligence, but the history of Mormonism must either be misunderstood or simply ignored if one believes that Mormonism and Christianity can be intermingled as a faith.  Most know that Joseph Smith was the founder of the Mormon Church, but why did he begin another church when he could have simply become a Presbyterian, a Baptist, or a Methodist?  According to LDS writings, Joseph Smith ALMOST became a Methodist, but he could not decide which denomination was correct between the three.  According to the LDS church, when Joseph Smith was alone in the woods in 1820, he asked God for wisdom and after being delivered from, “the power of some actual being from the unseen world” he saw two “Personages.”  Joseph Smith asked one of them which sect (Christian denomination) was right and which should he join.  This was the answer Joseph Smith received, again, according to LDS documentation.

I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: “they draw 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.”

The very origin of Mormonism is a rejection of the Christian faith known and taught by Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists, so why would anyone who is Mormon attempt to say, “We are Christian.”  The two faiths simply are not compatible.  The only two options are listed below.

1.  Mormons must co-opt the name “Christian,” redefine it, and deny traditional Christian denominations the status as “Christian”
OR
2.  Mormons must reject the name, “Christian.”

It is simply illogical for Mormons to claim, “We are one of you.”

Mormons cannot be Christians because it is illogical from a Biblical standpoint.

The difference between Mormonism and Christianity has probably never been more clearly and concisely stated than when Dr. Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Seminary said:

 “Mormonism rejects what Christianity affirms and affirms what Christianity rejects.” 

I am not sure how to even begin writing on this aspect.  Suffice to say, one cannot reinterpret the Bible apart from traditional Christianity, write other books which contradict the Bible, teach doctrine in opposition to the Bible and then proclaim, “We are Christian.”  I am not speaking of peripheral issues in which different denominations disagree, but rather the nonnegotiables of Christianity. 

What Mormons have done is akin to taking the four equal sides of a square away . . .  and still proclaiming that it is a square.  The four equal sides of a square are the definitive components which make it a square.  Take one away and it becomes a triangle.  Add one and it becomes a polygon or a pentagon, but it is no longer a square.  One cannot add to traditional Christianity, nor can one take aspects of it  away and then claim, “We are Christian.” 

Books have been written about this subject, so this blog certainly will not be exhaustive.  Let me briefly cover just two (God and Jesus) of the glaring differences between Christianity and Mormonism.  Let me state up front that when I refer to “scripture” I am only talking about the Bible.  That distinction must be made because another major difference between the Mormon Church and the Christian Church is that Mormons believe The Book of Mormon and other writings to also be inspired and of God as well.

God – Christians believe and scripture is clear that there is only one God and He is the God over the entire universe.  God was not created.  He had no beginning and He has no end.  I will simply give you one passage here, but there are actually 28 passages proclaiming the singularity of God.

⁶Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel
   and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts:
“I am the first and I am the last;
   besides me there is no god.
⁷Who is like me? Let him proclaim it.
   Let him declare and set it before me,
since I appointed an ancient people.
   Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.
⁸Fear not, nor be afraid;
   have I not told you from of old and declared it?
   And you are my witnesses!
Is there a God besides me?
   There is no Rock; I know not any.”  

Isaiah 44:6-8

Mormons believe that God was once a man like us and that there are many gods.  He became a god because he followed the law of his god on another planet.  Some Mormons state they no longer believe this, but that is not the teaching of Joseph Smith (as follows) and others in the LDS church have affirmed this teaching.

God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens!  (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Section Six 1843-44, p.345, emphasis mine)

These are incomprehensible ideas 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.  (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Section Six 1843-44, p.345, emphasis mine)

These are incomprehensible ideas 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. (History of the Church, vol. 6, 305-307 – emphasis mine)

If Mormons are correct, then God is certainly not omniscient, because He knows of no other gods.  It certainly makes God seem less Godly which is not in line with Scripture.  Lastly, President of the Mormon Church (1995-2008), Gordon B. Hinckley, was asked about the doctrine of God once being a man and he stated,

‘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.’ 

My response . . . The fact that Hinckley does not immediately deny the idea that God was once man says volumes.  Any Christian would quickly denounce this idea.

Jesus – Christians believe scripture is clear that Jesus was/is God.  He always existed (was not created).  Through him everything was made.  He took on flesh and became the God/man, lived a perfect life, died on the cross, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven.

¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  (John 1:1)

⁶Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, ⁷rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.  See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. ⁹For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, ¹⁰and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.  (Colossians 2:6-10)

One of the apostasies that came up in the early church was the inequality of the Jesus with the Father (Arianism).  In order to make clear the churches stand concerning Jesus and his equality with the Father as well as affirm the clear teaching in scripture,  the Council of Nicaea wrote the Nicene Creed which states: 

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father [the only-begotten; that is, of the essence of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father.

The Mormon faith simply does not affirm what scripture teaches.  The LDS church believes that Jesus was created and that Jesus, Lucifer, angles, and all of mankind are simply ALL spirit brothers and sisters.  This previous statement is supported by quotes and teachings too many to list here.  Here is just a sample:

In the premortal life, Jesus Christ, whose main title was Jehovah, was the firstborn spirit child of God and thus the eldest brother and preeminent above all other spirit children of God. (Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 724)

God is not only our ruler and creator; he is also our Heavenly Father. "All men and women are . . . literally the sons and daughters of Deity. . . . Man, as a spirit, was begotten and born of heavenly parents, and reared to maturity in the eternal mansions of the Father, prior to coming upon the earth in a temporal [physical] body” (Joseph F. Smith, “The Origin of Man,” Improvement Era, Nov. 1909, pp. 78, 80).

Every person who was ever born on earth was our spirit brother or sister in heaven. The first spirit born to our heavenly parents was Jesus Christ (see D&C 93:21), so he is literally our elder brother (see Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 26). Because we are the spiritual children of our heavenly parents, we have inherited the potential to develop their divine qualities. If we choose to do so, we can become perfect, just as they are. (Gospel Principles, chapter 2)

Mormons will gladly tell you that they have faith in Jesus Christ, but it is not the Jesus Christ of the Bible.  Even Gordon Hinckley admitted that in a Newsweek interview.

“In bearing testimony of Jesus Christ, President Hinckley spoke of those outside the Church who say Latter-day Saints ‘do not believe in the traditional Christ.‘ ‘No, I don’t. The traditional Christ of whom they speak is not the Christ of whom I speak. For the Christ of whom I speak has been revealed in this the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times. He together with His Father, appeared to the boy Joseph Smith in the year 1820, and when Joseph left the grove that day, he knew more of the nature of God than all the learned ministers of the gospel of the ages.’” (LDS Church Newsweek ending June 20, 1998, p. 7).

Mormons cannot be Christians because it is illogical from a reality standpoint.

Already this blog is extremely long so I will not write much here except to say that you (the reader) ought to simply go to YouTube and watch, “The Bible Vs. The Book of Mormon.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1mFdO1wB08

This is a video that simply asks the question – Does the Book of Mormon line up with history as the Bible lines up with history?  For instance, in the Bible we read about world powers such as the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and Romans.  We read about places such as Jerusalem, Capernaum, Bethlehem, and the Sea of Galilee and when we look at the massive amount of physical evidence collected through archeological digs; we find the Bible to be reliable.  The Bible is much more than a history book, but it does contain history.  The same CAN NOT be said about The Book of Mormon.  The stories it tells, the people groups it describes, the cities they lived in, and the temples they built are simply not there.  This video is  well done, very informative, and one that ought to be watched. 

Let me conclude with this.
This issue is close to home.  Many of us have Mormon neighbors and friends, but many are clueless about their very own faith.  The reality is that Mormons are lost without Jesus Christ of the Bible.  Some may respond, “It doesn’t matter that there is no proof.  Archeology doesn’t prove that Jesus is God’s Son or that He is the Savior of the World.”  I couldn’t agree more, but when Jesus Christ of the Bible lived here; he lived in a real culture, part of a people group which was conquered by a real Roman empire, taught in real cities, went to a real temple, dealt with real people of history, suffered a real death with real nails going through his hands, and even when Thomas doubted, Jesus let him touch his real flesh and real wounds.  A Mormon has to believe that Jesus acted outside of human history within The Book of Mormon.  The message of the Bible is in stark contrast to that idea, because the Bible tells the story of how God worked within human history to redeem mankind.  We read this in scripture. 

For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.  2 Peter 1:16

Joseph Smith cannot make this claim.  He wrote a myth.  It is time that we share this information with those who have been taken in by this false religion and help them see the truth.  One of my greatest joys as a pastor was to lead a former LDS family to the truth of THE GOSPEL.  There is no other gospel other than Jesus Christ of the Bible.  Share this blog with others and share the video, “The Bible VS. the Book of Mormon.”  I look forward to your comments.