------------------------
Today, the series "Test Every Spirit" will begin an in-depth look at Mormonism. When one studies Mormonism, one must be patient to wade through a bunch of material, and it is a step-by-step process. It's kinda like pulling up weeds. Just when you think you've gotten to the end of a long root, you find it's connected to another one. This will be a tedious process, so I ask for your patience.
What’s so amazing is that for a religion that boasts a total of over 13 million followers worldwide, there are so many people who know so very little about it. They may know that they have a big temple in Utah, they may know that Mormons used to be polygamists, and they may even know Donny and Marie, and Mitt Romney. But many people aren’t aware that Mormons believe that there are over 300 million gods. They probably don’t know that Mormons teach that the GOD we worship—the GOD of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—was born as a man, just like you and me. In fact, what people know—or think they know—about Mormons would barely begin to scratch the surface.
If I were asked to use an everyday illustration to describe Mormonism, I would probably compare it to what’s called a ‘rip current.’ After a wave hits the shore, the water goes back out again. What happens with a rip current is, the force of the water moving away from the shore is stronger than the force of the waves coming in. So it gives the illusion that the water is calm because it prevents the waves from coming in. Unfortunately, every year over 100 make that mistake, and they swim into what looks to be really nice, calm water, only to be pulled out to sea, where they drown.
Mormonism is a lot like that. To the untrained eye, it looks really good. It looks very…religious. They’ve got that big huge temple out in Utah. And I'll be real blunt with you here. Most Mormons act in a way that more Christians should act. They're normally very honest, very ethical, and very trustworthy. If you owned a business, they're the kind of people you’d want working for you. So it gives the illusion that Mormonism is a good thing. But, like the rip current, if you get caught up in it, it will drag you very far away from the truth. And every year, many Mormons die, believing that they were saved, only to be cast out of the presence of GOD for all eternity.
I think it’s pretty ironic that two of the biggest counterfeits of Christianity—Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons—are the ones most likely to be knocking on your door. Why do you think that is? Well, we know who actually is behind these counterfeits. I think these groups go door-to-door because Satan wants you to feel comfortable. And what better way to be comfortable with someone than by ALLOWING them into your house. And when you invite someone into your house, you are making yourself comfortable with their presence in your house. But when Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormons knock on your door, and you let them into your house, guess who else is coming in with them? That's why John wrote in his 2 John 1:9-10, Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed...
So, the all-important question: Are Mormons Christians? Well, ask them if they believe in GOD. They’ll say, “Yes we do.” Ask them if they believe in Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. They’ll say, “Yes we do.” Ask them if they believe in the Holy Ghost. They’ll say, “Yes we do.” Ask them if they believe in a Trinity. They’ll say, “Yes we do.” So they're Christians, then, right? No thy're not. Although they do claim to be Christians. Listen to former LDS president and prophet Gordon Hinckley:
So, the all-important question: Are Mormons Christians? Well, ask them if they believe in GOD. They’ll say, “Yes we do.” Ask them if they believe in Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. They’ll say, “Yes we do.” Ask them if they believe in the Holy Ghost. They’ll say, “Yes we do.” Ask them if they believe in a Trinity. They’ll say, “Yes we do.” So they're Christians, then, right? No thy're not. Although they do claim to be Christians. Listen to former LDS president and prophet Gordon Hinckley:
"Are we Christians?...Of course we are! No one can honestly deny that. We may be somewhat different from the traditional pattern of Christianity. But no one believes more literally in the redemption wrought by the Lord Jesus Christ. No one believes more fundamentally that He was the Son of God, that He died for the sins of mankind, that He rose from the grave, and that He is the living resurrected Son of the living Father.
"All of our doctrine, all of our religious practice stems from that one basic doctrinal position: 'We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.' This is the first article of our faith, and all else flows therefrom." (1)
From the website for FARMS, the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies:
“Latter-day Saint beliefs are in harmony with what the Bible calls Christian.” (2)
However, they preach a completely different gospel than the one GOD gave us in the Bible. And listen to what the apostle Paul told us in Galatians 1:8-9—But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. Now, Paul wasn’t repeating himself just to hear himself talk, or to keep his scribe busy. He repeats himself because it is vitally important—in fact, it is MOST important—that we believe in the TRUE GOD and the TRUE Christ. In fact, listen to what Paul wrote in the verses immediately before the ones I just read, Galatians 1:6-7—I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. They worship a Christ, but not THE Christ.
So, where did it all begin? Let me take you back to the year 1820. It all began in a little town that you would have otherwise never heard of. In the little village of Palmyra, New York (population: 3500) there was a young man named Joseph Smith, Jr, a young man who was given to spinning tall tales, and to treasure hunting with his father. Well, it happened when he was about 14 or so, he says that he got to wondering about which church he should join. So one morning, he took a walk in the woods—alone—to ask GOD for an answer. According to the website of the LDS church, this is what happened. These are Joseph Smith’s own words, from the work entitled “Joseph Smith—History”:
"I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God…immediately I was seized…by some power which entirely overcame me…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 my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy…just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, 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!" My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join…I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light…which I should 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 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.” (3)
Did I mention that young Joseph used to dabble in the occult? That he was given to crystal gazing, and along with his father was known to be a treasure hunter? Notice something about this “vision.” He says that, “the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight;” and that he should join none of them. And he appeared as an angel of light. Hmmmm. Who does that sound like? 2nd Corinthians 11:14—For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light! And thus had Satan enlisted the help of a 14-year-old boy to begin one of the largest counterfeit religions the world would ever know. And according to several groups that do research on Mormon claims, Joseph Smith changed his story several times. One time he said that Jesus was the only one who came. Another time he said it was just a couple of angels. In the official LDS version, he was visited by the Father and Jesus. Apparently his story changed depending on who was listening.
This is what Mormons refer to as “Joseph Smith’s first vision.” How important is this vision in Mormon theology? Again, Gordon B. Hinckley:
“Our whole strength rests on the validity of that vision. It either occurred, or it did not occur. If it did not, then this work is a fraud. If it did then it is the most important and wonderful work under the heavens.” (4)
In fact, they place this “vision” second to the crucifixion in importance. You see, the whole fabric of Mormon theology is spun from that one strand that was Joseph Smith’s “first vision.” How old was he, did it actually take place, who came to him? I think I can answer those questions. He was somewhere between the ages of 14 and 17, it may very well have taken place, and he was visited by Satan himself.
Notice something else. Remember he was alone in the woods? Did you know that most false religions began when one person, alone, by themselves, received some “message” from an “angel”, or they received some “sensation” or “enlightenment”? Muhammed was alone in a cave when he was “visited by the angel Gabriel”, who “gave him the Koran.” A young man named Siddhartha Gautana was alone underneath a tree, when he was “enlightened” and became “Buddha.” And Joseph Smith was alone in the woods when he claims that he was visited by GOD the Father, and Jesus Christ.
Another inconsistency is that Joseph Smith claimed that there was a “great religious revival” taking place among the Baptist, Presbyterian, and Methodist churches when he was trying to decide which one to join. However, according to the Institute for Religious Research—which is devoted to rooting out false religions—this is what they found from official documents of these churches:
Joseph Smith's neighborhood experienced no revival in 1820 such as he described, in which great multitudes joined the Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian churches. According to early sources, including church conference reports, newspapers, church periodicals, presbytery records and published interviews, nothing occurred in 1820-21 that fits Joseph's description. There were no significant gains in church membership in the Palmyra-Manchester…area…in 1820, the Baptist Church in Palmyra only received 8 people through profession of faith and baptism, the Presbyterian Church added 14 members, while the Methodist circuit lost...members, dropping from 677 in 1819…to 622 in 1821. (5)
Now, the reason they call this Joseph’s “first vision”…well, you can't have a first if you don’t have a second…and a third… After this vision in which he was told to not join ANY church, he was visited by another spirit. This time, it was an angel named Moroni. This angel/spirit told Joseph that there were some gold plates buried in a hill called “Cumorah”, just outside of Palmyra, and these plates contained “The fullness of the everlasting gospel.” The fullness of the everlasting gospel? That's Christ and Him crucified! Christ came, died for our sins, rose from the grave and He’s coming back--that’s “The fullness of the everlasting gospel.”
-----------------
Part 2 here.
-----------------
References:
(1) Gordon B. Hinckley, cited by Robert L. Milett.
Mormon apologists.
(2) The Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies.
FARMS
(3) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Joseph Smith--History (1:15-19)
Joseph Smith--History
(4) Utah Lighthouse Ministries.
Salt Lake Messenger. Issue #99. Nov, 2002.
SLC #99
(5) Institute for Religious Research.
IRR--first vision
