World Religions → Mormonism – Are Mormons Christians?
This is the 2nd blog in the series “False or Faith-Worthy?“.
Why do I write about different world religions? Religion and Spiritualism has always interested me. As I have mentioned in some of my blogs before, I did not grow up in church, so everything I know is first hand personal experience. I decided to look into different religions for myself and find what is right. I am a Christian because Christianity has never been proven wrong and there is a tremendous amount of evidence to base my faith on. Really, I am just in the search for truth and I like writing about it. Let this study begin.
We begin our study on world religions with one of the biggest religions next to Christianity. This blog will be on Mormonism otherwise known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Many of the blogs I write are heavily based on my personal beliefs and opinions, but for the subject of world religions, I will stick to a large portion of factual information. Like I always say, I don’t want to tell you what to believe, I just want you to be informed with the facts and evidence. This is not an attack on Mormonism; even the majority of the opinions are based on factual evidence. I care for Mormons and I want you to know the truth to make you own decisions.
For Mormons, this blog is some of the introductory information into the reality of Mormonism. All I ask of Mormons reading this is for you to be open minded. I understand that this may be the only religion you have ever known and because of that it may be a scary thought to read something that opposes Mormonism. I strongly urge Mormons to read this blog and study the facts for yourself. If you don’t agree with something, please look it up for yourself before omitting it completely and if you see information that is incorrect, I will change it if you can provide a legitimate documentation of correction.
For Christians, knowing about a person’s religion is a great way to witness to them. The facts you will see in this blog will help you to understand Mormonism. After reading this blog, you should be fueled as a Christian with all of the information you need to talk to Mormon friends, acquaintances and the Mormon missionaries that knock at you door. Mormons knocking at your front door is a mission field at your door.
For other people of other religions or no religion, this will be a lot of information on Mormonism. If you have ever considered it or thought about it, many of your questions will be answered.
The Beginning of Mormonism
Mormonism began in 1820 when an alleged messenger of light came to Joseph Smith Jr. and began to speak to him. For some brief background on Joseph Smith Jr, (we find this in the book Early Mormonism and the Magic World View by D. Michael Quinn in which the history department at B.Y.U. documents this), Joseph Smith Jr. was heavily involved, with his father, in spiritism, magic and the occult, long before he began to receive visitations from the spirit world. I tell you this to give you a brief background of who he was before he started Mormonism.
After a life of being involved in these things, Joseph Smith Jr. says that at the age of 14 he decided to go into the woods and pray for the first time in his life and inquire of God which of all the Christian churches were right and which one should he join. This is what took place according to Joseph Smith Jr., in his own words (this is from his own testimony found in one of the standard works of the Mormon church, The Pearl of Great Price, in the book Joseph Smith ‘chapter 2′). The testimony of Joseph Smith Jr.:
“I knelled down and began to offer up the desire of my heart up to God. I had scarcely done so when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction, but exerting all of my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy, which had seized upon me. At that very moment, when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction. At that moment, some power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous powers I had never before felt in any other being. Just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head about the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it feel upon me. It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which had held me bound. When the light rested upon me, I saw 2 personages, whose brightness and glory defy all descriptions standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me calling me by name and said, pointing to the other, this is my beloved son, hear him. Now my object in going to inquire of The Lord was to know which of all the Christian churches or sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner therefore did I get possession of myself so as to be able to speak. Then I asked the personages who stood above me in the light: Which of all the Christian Churches was right and which one should I join? 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 and teachings were an abomination in his sight and that all their teachers were corrupt.
This is how Mormonism began in the year 1820. With a messenger of light telling Joseph Smith Jr. that all of the Christian churches were wrong and all of their teachings were an abomination. What would this include?
- The deity of Jesus Christ
- The Trinity
- The blood atonement
- Salvation by faith in Jesus Christ
To name a few. This arises a great question for Christians. Who was that personage of light? First lets move on with more information on Mormonism. Here are some quick statistics:
- Mormonism is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah
- The Mormon church claims a membership of about 11 million worldwide.
- Less than half of those are active members. (The Salt Lake Tribune)
- They are at zero growth in The United States.
- Most of their growth rate has taken place in The Philippines and South America.
- The Mormon church has taken in over 6 billion dollars in one year.
- They are one of the largest corporations west of the Mississippi river
- They hold political and economical power controlling Utah and Idaho politically.
Mormons claim to be neither Catholic nor Protestant. They claim to be the true church of Jesus Christ. Mormons believe that everyone else is wrong and that they alone speak for God. First off, the Mormons have 4 main books that they call the standard works of the Mormon church. These books are The Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, The Pearl of Great Price and The Holy Bible (in so far as it is translated correctly). When Mormons say they believe The Bible in so far as it is translated correctly, they say that where Mormonism disagrees with The Bible, The Bible is incorrectly translated. As far as this is concerned, I would strongly urge any Mormon to look up the original languages for some parts of The Bible that allegedly are translated incorrectly. I know for a fact that all of the verses I have seen where Mormons say The Bible is incorrectly translated are correctly translated. Study this for yourself.
The Origin of The Book of Mormon
What is wrong with The Book of Mormon? Once again, I am not trying to tear down any individual. This is just to put the facts out there and to point out a few key aspects of Mormonism. Mormons claim that the book of Mormon is a real history of the Western Hemisphere (North and South America). They claim that The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ (this phrase was added in 1983). They claim that this book was given to Joseph Smith Jr. by the angel Moroni. The say that this angel appeared to Joseph and said that near his home in New York there were some gold plates buried. Joesph Smith says that as a teenager, he dug up these alleged gold plates. He describes the size of these gold plates and based upon the weight of gold they easily would have weighed over 275 pounds. He claims, as a teenager, he put the plates under his arm and walked home 3 miles. He says that these golden plates had Reformed Egyptian Hieroglyphics written on them. How did he translate from this language? Joseph Smith Jr. claims that he put magic seer stones into a top hat, he then put his face into the top hat, he looked through the magic stones and he was able to translate the supposed Reformed Egyptian Hieroglyphics into The Book of Mormon. The biggest issue with this is that the language of Reformed Egyptian Hieroglyphics does not exist. Another issue is that in The Book of Mormon, there are over 25,000 words plagiarized word for word out of the King James Bible (including entire chapters plagiarized word for word). The main thing that makes this so interesting is that Joseph Smith translated The Book of Mormon from Reformed Egyptian Hieroglyphics into perfect King James English in the 19 century. The Book of Mormon was supposedly written down by an American Indian 1000 years before King James English ever came into existence.
Basic Mormon Doctrines
Mormons believe that we were all physically created by father and mother gods. They believe that God the Father is a finite man of flesh and bone, who is married in heaven to multiple wives (Mormons actually practice polygamy here on Earth too, which is the practice of having multiple wives). They believe that God the Father continues to have physical relations to his goddess wives to have spirit babies in heaven that then wait for bodies to possess on Earth so that they can begin their progression to godhood themselves. Yes, Mormons do believe that every man is striving to become a god themselves. This is why Mormons practice polygamy on Earth, to mass produces bodies for the spirit babies to possess. Here are some facts on Mormon polygamists:
- Joseph Smith Jr. had 43 wives
- Brigham Young (2nd Mormon president) had 57 wives & 186 children
The Book of Mormon’s Accuracy or Inaccuracy
Mormons do not believe the Book of Mormon theologically, because it refutes most of Mormonism. So, what is The Book of Mormon about? It is the story that Joesph Smith Jr. wrote about the American Indians on the Western Hemisphere. He claims that the American Indians are the lost tribes of Israel and that they are all Jews. The entire basis for the truth of Mormonism is this story that Joseph Smith Jr. tells in The Book of Mormon. He claims it is a true history of North and South America. Recently Mormon Scholars, Anthropologists and Biochemists (wanting to finally prove The Book of Mormon) have taken over 5000 DNA samples from 140 different Indian tribes from all over North and South America to attempt to prove that they are Jews. What they discovered is that the American Indians are not Jews. They are all descendants from Asians from Mongolia and Siberia. They are not related to the Jews at all. This has completely collapsed all truth claim of Mormonism by the DNA evidence. This entirely disproves The Book of Mormon, making Mormonism a lie. Mormons claim that The Book of Mormon is a real history of North and South America, but Mormons and Mormon Scholars have never been able to produce a map of anything found in The Book of Mormon. Even The Mormon Church refuses to produce a map of anything found in The Book of Mormon, because it is historical, archeological and geographical fraud. This is very different from Christianity. Not only can you still visit the places in The Bible, but archeologists now use The Holy Bible to find ancient cities and they actually find them. The Holy Bible has been proven to be historically, archeologically and geographically accurate time and time again and never been proven inaccurate. All I am saying is that the inspired Word of God should be accurate. How could it be inspired by God if it can be proven wrong and inaccurate?
The Mormon Temples & Free Masonry
What are the Mormon temples for? They are not for worshiping or teaching. They use the temples for their ordinances. These are secret rituals that Joseph Smith Jr. stole word for word from Free Masonry and The Masonic Lodge. Joseph Smith Jr. was a Master Mason. What are some of the secret rituals he took?
- Secret handshakes
- Secret passwords
- Through the Veil
- 5 Points of Fellowship
All of these secret rituals were stolen word for word from Free Masonry. They do not encourage Mormons to be Masons, because they don’t want them to find out where they got their rituals from. Other than Mason rituals, they also practice baptizing for dead relatives, believing that they can be the savior for dead people. Those are some of the rituals that take place in Mormon temples.
Mormons on the Return of Christ
Mormons do teach and believe that Jesus Christ will return. They believe He will return to Independence, Missouri and that Independence will become the new Jerusalem.
The God of Christianity and The Mormon God
Mormons claim that Christianity and Mormonism are one in the same. In their book Mormon Doctrines, it states that you cannot distinguish Mormonism from Christianity in the slightest detail. So, what is the Mormon doctrine of God? This is what Mormons teach about God:
- God the Father has a body of flesh and bone
- God evolved from mortal man
- God is a finite man only over planet Earth
- Every male Mormon is striving to become a god
This is what they teach about the god over planet Earth. They also believe in polytheism (the belief in more than 1 god). They believe there are millions of gods and goddesses in the universe populating planets throughout the galaxy including father gods, mother gods, grandfather gods and grandmother gods…millions of Gods.
The Death of Joseph Smith Jr.
Mormons teach that Joseph Smith Jr. dies a martyr. This is what really happened. He died in Carthage, Illinois in his prison cell. He was arrested and jailed in Carthage, Illinois for many crimes including counterfeiting money, stealing horses, burning down a printing press, polygamy and a variety of other crimes against the state. He was put in the local jail in Carthage. The Free Masons came to hang him, because they were upset over him stealing all of their secret rituals of Free Masonry and putting them into the Mormon temple. Before they came to hang him the Mormons had smuggled 2 guns to him and his brother in the jail cell. Joseph Smith Jr. opened fire when they came to hang him and he killed 2 men before he was gunned down in the jail cell. Mormons now have turned the jail cell into a Mormon tourist center and claim that Smith’s blood on the ground is the blood he shed for the forgiveness of our sins. This point already obviously disagrees with The Holy Bible which states that Jesus shed the blood for the forgiveness of our sins.
The Difference Between Christianity and Mormonism
As Joseph Smith Jr. has stated in many sermons and as it is written in their book Mormon Doctrines, every male Mormon is striving to become a God themselves. This is the obvious difference in Christianity and Mormonism. Christianity is Monotheism, because it is a belief in only 1 God. Mormonism is polytheism, because they believe in millions of gods. That is the main difference and the main doctrine that will, from a Biblical perspective, keep Mormons out of Heaven. This is very similar to the story of the fall of man. In the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve ate of the fruit…what did the serpent say to them? He said “Your eyes will be open and you will be like God yourself”. Strange similarity…this brings us back to one of our initial questions: Who was that personage of light that told Joseph Smith Jr. that all of the teachings of The Bible were an abomination? Let us examine…
Who was That Angel of Light That Came to Joseph Smith Jr?
Who is the angel that sits on the Mormon temples? Moroni, the angel of light. It is well documented that Joseph Smith Jr claims Moroni was the angle of light that visited him throughout his life and that Moroni gave him The Book of Mormon. It was very well documented in the Mormon book Doctrine and Covenants , but after 140 years the Mormons decided to remove the paragraph that documented Moroni being the angel of light that spoke to Smith, but it is still documented elsewhere. So, what does the Mormon texts say about the angel of light? The book Mormon Doctrine is setup like a dictionary and reference. If you look up angel of light in Mormon Doctrine, you will find 2 words. The words “sea devil”. What does the book of Mormon say about the angel of light?
“And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself; yea, to that being who beguiled our first parents, who transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light”
2 Nephi 9:9
Their book clearly states that Satan transforms himself into an angel of light. What does The Bible say about the angel of light?
“And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light”
2 Corinthians 11:14
So, who is this angel of light? Examine the facts. An angel of light came to Joseph Smith Jr. and told him that all the Christian churches teachings were wrong (which is in full agreement with Satan) and the revelation that this angel of light gave Smith was the same revelation that the serpent (Satan) gave to Eve in the Garden of Eden…”you can be like God yourself” .
To Sum it Up
When I study religions, I try to look at all the angles. You have to understand that I was not a Christian when I first started looking into religions. I now feel that Christianity is 100% true, but when I started I just knew that it made the most sense and had the most evidence. I am not writing to tear down any person or individual. I just want the truth to be out there and I want Mormons to think about what they believe. Mormons are taught to not read or look at any anti-Mormon literature. I have never been to a Christian church where they tell you not to look at anti-Christian literature, because there is nothing to hide. Mormonism has been proven inaccurate and Joseph Smith Jr. was proven to be a false prophet. When we dove further into it, we saw that it is most likely that Satan is behind Mormonism. Please understand, from a Biblical perspective, Satan does not care if you are a Satanist or a Mormon, he just does not want you to be a Christian. What a great way to further confuse people by adding more religions and giving people more choices. People will believe anything they want to in the end. All I ask is for you to do the research and know what and why you believe. If anyone, Mormon or not, is offended or has any questions or comments, please send me a message or leave a comment. A lot of this information on Mormonism was from Ron Carlson. I have now included a few extras on Mormonism.
Christians Talking to Mormons
Something that often times comes up as an issue for Christians when talking to Mormons is that Mormons will ask you “have you prayed about Mormonism?”. Many Mormon missionaries, when backed into a corner, will use this as a way out. They will say that they have prayed about Mormonism and God told them it was true. When Mormons ask Christians this question, many times Christians feel like they need to pray about it. As a Christian, you do not need to pray about something that God has already revealed to you. You would not pray to God and ask if it is ok to murder somebody or to take The Lord’s name in vain. When we pray, the only way for us to know for sure who is speaking to us is whether or not what is said to us lines up with God’s word. See Hebrews 4:12 and 2 Timothy 3:16 on the subject of testing things by God’s Word. What does The Bible say about another gospel, other than the gospel of Jesus Christ? We read about it from the apostle Paul in Galatians 1:6-9:
6I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
I could post a few more stats and facts about Mormonism, because this article is very summarized, but instead of giving you a little bit more information, I have decided to post a link to a website with tons of factual information on Mormonism. The site also has more links to Mormon skeptics and even a book list on Mormonism. Check it out: CARM on Mormonism.