Are Mormons Christians? Part 3

Many times, when you point out a faulty doctrine or teaching in the Mormon church, the answer you get is, "Well, that's just what that one person taught. It was never official Mormon doctrine." But how can they say that when that doctrine/teaching has been perpetuated by one president/prophet after another. And these men are supposed to be speaking with authority from GOD.

Now, while I may differ in some beliefs as the leadership of the Southern Baptist Convention--and even my pastor sometimes--I know, and they know, that we do not speak as though we are prophets on the order of Isaiah, Ezekial, Obadiah, etc. We are reading the Word of GOD, and interpreting it as best we can according to what is written. We do not stand and proclaim that what we teach is superior to what GOD has already revealed.

If a man does claim to speak on the authority of GOD, and as a prophet on the order of Isaiah, Ezekial, Obadiah, etc., and if he is going to claim that what he speaks is from GOD, then that word must be truth. And since GOD does not change--what He accepts or rejects today, He will accept or reject tomorrow; He is not the author of confusion--then what that man who claims to be a prophet teaches must be consistent with the nature of GOD.

That said, let us take a look at a man who claimed to be speaking truth that came from GOD's lips to his ears: Brigham Young. Young was the second president/prophet of the LDS church. He led the Saints out to Utah, and was so hightly revered by them that they named their university after him. But, how true were his teachings? Let's take a look at one in particular: The so-called "Adam-God Doctrine." As I said at the outset, Mormons will tell you this was never Mormon doctrine. Is that true? Not really. Here is what Young said:

Now hear it, O inhabitants of the earth, Jew and Gentile, Saint and sinner! When our father Adam came into the garden of Eden, he came into it with a celestial body, and brought Eve, one of his wives, with him. He helped to make and organize this world. He is Michael, the Archangel, the Ancient of Days! about whom holy men have written and spoken—He is our Father and our God, and the only God with whom we have to do... (Journal of Discourses, vol. 1, pp.50-51.)

"But," the Mormon will say, "The Journal of Discourses is not official Mormon scripture!" Well, that really depends on whether or not the teaching in that particular issue makes the LDS church look good or bad. Much the same as it is with anything current or former LDS presidents/prophets have said.

So, was this "Adam-God Doctrine" official? Well, it was thought of highly enough that the LDS church published it in the Millennial Star [November 26, 1853 (vol.15, pp.769-70)], an official publication of the LDS church, and the forerunner to Ensign. And, when objections were raised by the LDS saints in England, they received this reply from the church elders:

"Concerning the item of doctrine alluded to by Elder Caffall and others, viz., that Adam is our Father and God, I have to say do not trouble yourselves, neither let the Saints be troubled about this matter.... If, as Elder Caffall remarked, there are those who are waiting at the door of the Church for the objection to be removed, tell such, the Prophet and Apostle Brigham Young has declared it, and that it is the word of the Lord" (Millennial Star, vol. 16, p.534).

Now, your Mormon friend may tell you that it was simply something Brigham Young said one time, and was quickly forgotten. Not so fast. The first time he said it was 1852. But, in 1873--some 21 years later--he was still putting forth that doctrine:

How much unbelief exists in the minds of the Latter-day Saints in regard to one particular doctrine which I revealed to them, and which God revealed to me—namely that Adam is our Father and God.... Our Father Adam helped to make this earth, ... he and his companions came here. He brought one of his wives with him.... Our Father Adam is the man who stands at the gate and holds the keys of everlasting life and salvation to all his children who have or who ever will come upon the earth.... We say that Father Adam came here and helped to made the earth. Who is he? He is Michael.... He was the first man on the earth, and its framer and maker. He, with the help of his brethren, brought it into existence. Then he said, "I want my children who are in the spirit world to come and live here. I once dwelt upon an earth something like this, in a mortal state..." (Deseret News, June 18, 1873).

Was this the point at which this doctrine ended? Brigham Young died in 1877. Did he take this teaching to the grave with him? No. In 1889--12 years after his death--it was still being taught in the LDS church:

"Jesus Christ is Jehovah...Adam is His Father and our God" (Daily Journal of Abraham H. Cannon, vol. 11, p.39)

So, was Brigham Young bringing forth a word from GOD, or was this simply the idea of one man, foisted upon the LDS saints? And if this doctrine was the idea of Brigham Young alone, then does it not cast doubt upon everything else he said?

Well, in 1981--after denying for almost 130 years Brigham Young ever taught the "Adam-GOD Doctrine"--Apostle Brucke McKonkie finally fessed-up that, yeah, he said it:

Nonetheless, as Joseph Smith so pointedly taught, a prophet is not always a prophet, only when he is acting as such. [How convenient--Ed.] Prophets are men and they make mistakes. Sometimes they err in doctrine. . . . Sometimes even wise and good men fall short in the accurate presentation of what is truth. Sometimes a prophet gives personal views which are not endorsed and approved by the Lord.

Yes, President Young did teach that Adam was the father of our spirits, and all the related things that the cultists [non-Mormons--Ed.] ascribe to him. This [Brigham Young's teaching on Adam], however, is not true. He expressed views that are out of harmony with the gospel. But, be it known, Brigham Young also taught accurately and correctly, the status and position of Adam in the eternal scheme of things. What I am saying is, that Brigham Young, contradicted Brigham Young, and the issue becomes one of which Brigham Young we will believe. The answer is we will believe the expressions that accord with the teachings in the Standard Works.(Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Spring 1982.)

In other words, when he (or any other LDS "prophet") says something that doesn't line up, then he's not speaking "as a prophet." It's kinda like their "get out of jail free" card. But, this begs the question: How is one supposed to know whether the "prophet" is speaking the word of the Lord, and when he's not? Does he have some "on/off" switch that he flips, and shifts from "prophet" to "not a prophet"?

Listen to what GOD said in Jeremiah 1:4-5--"Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations." Before Jeremiah was even conceived, GOD told him he would be a prophet. For life. Not "on" one day, and "off" the next. A prophet of GOD is always a prophet of GOD. This is just one more reason to beware of any organization calling themselves "God's channel", etc. and saying they have a "living prophet." And one more piece of evidence that Mormonism is a false religion.