Most Christians Have No Idea What Mormons Believe [LDS truth claims oft' tucked away by Mormons]

From the release: In a recent article in the Christian magazine, World, author Joel Belz made this statement: "A huge majority of the American public has no idea what Mormons claim to believe. If those holding to the Mormon faith were to place their distinctive truth claims front and center, the public response would be probing, negative, and nasty." -- World Magazine, God's World Publications, online June 16, 2012 edition (Vol. 27, No. 12) For starters, official Mormon teachings include the belief that God the Father was once a man who progressed to godhood and that worthy men may one day become gods themselves. On the topic of Jesus, official Mormon doctrine holds that Jesus' death on the cross did not provide full atonement for all sin. There is no concept of the Trinity. Rather, Mormonism is polytheistic, having multiple gods.

Proof re: atonement lacking in Mormonist teachings:

#1 Christ's atonement covers our sin nature...something Mormons even deny that humankind has (a sin nature)

What do I mean by a sin nature?
Allow us all to filter our understanding thru the Living Word -- Jesus Christ: 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. (Matthew 15:19)

Our heart isn't simply corrupted by the sin we allow into our lives; no, Jesus says that it's our heart that spills over into enacted sin...

Let's go back to Jewish theological thought from a long time ago:
* Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. (Psalm 51:5) [Based on this verse, Joseph Smith & Mormons call the Psalmists a liar on this...they think the Psalms teaches falsely on this]
* Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward... (Psalm 58:3)

What people mix up is that they think the Garden happens all over again at some point in their life: something environmental tempts them & then they sin "for the first time." Until then, they think they're innocent. [Mormons teach that children are perfect angels until age 8...I guess all those children's temper tantrums are just done to help parents be better people -- and no other "sinful" reason]

Unlike Adam & Eve, people do not simply sin & then become sinful; they sin because they are sinful by nature. The symptoms are the misdeeds -- not the diagnosis itself.

People's spiritual nature is dead (Eph. 2:1), which the New Testament describes as being in bondage to sin (Romans 6).

Now, in contrast what does the Mormon 2nd article of faith emphasize? It teaches that men are subject to punishment for their own sins; their Mormon "jesus" doesn't serve as our Substitute [LDS second article of faith: "We believe that men will be punished for their OWN sins, and not for Adam's transgression."]

IOW, not for Adam's sin nature that's been generationally passed down.

This, plain and simple, is heresy. And Mormons are heretics for denying all of the Biblical scriptures above.

#2 What is the other Lds "atonement" teaching that Lds conveniently ignore -- as taught by Lds "apostle" Jeffery Holland in the Mormon hierarchy?

Answer?

Well, God bless her, Greyfoxx39 posted this relevant thread a few years back:
ATONEMENT OF JESUS CHRIST - Mormon- (OPEN)

From this link, Lds "apostle" Jeffrey Holland claims forgiveness of personal sins applies to ONLY to members of the Mormon church:

From that Holland message: Latter-day Saints believe that other aspects of Christ's gift are conditional upon obedience and diligence in keeping God's commandments. For example, while members of the human family are freely and universally given a reprieve from Adam's sin through no effort or action of their own, they are not freely and universally given a reprieve of their own sins unless they pledge faith in Christ, repent of those sins, are baptized in his name, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and confirmation into Christ's church...

Notice from the above quote all that Mormons might "leave out" in a convo with you on this subject.
* The Mormon version of the atonement doesn't "take" minus your "obedience" and diligent command-keeping;
* And that people "are not freely and universally given a reprieve of their own sins unless they are baptized in his name...and confirmation into Christ's church...

Per Mormonism, what is the ONLY true church on the face of the earth? The Mormon church...no membership...no atonement (payment for your sin; at-one-ment reconciliation with the Father) for you.


Snapshot of Joseph Smith’s Slanderous Invectives vs. Christian Sects	Mormon Source [Note: Most of these are Mormon ‘scriptures'. In fact, First three rows below are Lds 'scripture' & therefore cannot be rug-swept any more than a Jew might try to take three commandments off of the very tablets of stone Moses brought down from the mountain]
“...which of all the sects was right… must join NONE of them, for they were ALL WRONG… those professors were ALL CORRUPT…”	Joseph Smith – History vv. 18-19. – Lds "scripture" Pearl of Great Price
...“which of all the sects was right…ALL their CREEDS were an ABOMINATION* in his sight…they teach for doctrines the commandments of MEN…”*	Joseph Smith – History vv. 18-19. – Lds "scripture" Pearl of Great Price
Mormon church the only ‘Christ-sanctioned’ church on earth: “…the foundation of this [Mormon] church…the ONLY true and living church on the face of the whole earth” [Obvious ‘scorched earth’ implication: All other churches are false and dead]	Lds “scripture” Doctrines & Covenants 1:30

Jesus is THE Spiritual Physician of spiritual physicians.

He didn't say jump thru these commandment & membership hoops, oh wretched spiritually infirmed one...oh, spiritual cancerous person, & then we'll talking about covering your sin.

No, God in Christ levels the playing field before the cross by undercutting any spiritual pride that presumes anybody from any religion doesn’t need Him as our great physician ("It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick...For I have NOT COME to call the righteous, but sinners."--Matthew 9:12)

The atonement is for us unhealthy sinners...not just membership Mormons in good standing to collect a series of temple recommends from Bishop Romney & the rest of the Lds bishops...

We join with the apostle Paul in declaring the TRUE Gospel:

* But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were STILL SINNERS, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
* Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. (1 Timothy 1:15)
* But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would BELIEVE in him and RECEIVE eternal life. (1 Timothy 1:16)

From the release: For starters, official Mormon teachings include the belief that God the Father was once a man who progressed to godhood and that worthy men may one day become gods themselves. On the topic of Jesus, official Mormon doctrine holds that Jesus' death on the cross did not provide full atonement for all sin. There is no concept of the Trinity. Rather, Mormonism is polytheistic, having multiple gods.

How can we tell that the Mormon god is distinct from THE God of the Bible?

(1) LDS "Apostle" Bruce McConkie wrote, "The Father is a glorified, perfected resurrected, exalted man who worked out his own salvation by obedience to the same laws he has given to us so that we may do the same" (A New Witness for the Articles of Faith, pg. 64).

As somebody once pointed out...Notice McConkie's use of the word "resurrected" and the phrase, "worked out his salvation." Only those who die can be resurrected, and only those who are lost need salvation.

Bottom-line here:

Mormon leaders have taught that Heavenly Father needed "salvation!" And, since death came due to sin (either your own, or in Jesus' case, someone else's), whose sin caused Heavenly Father to die, Mormons? Whose sin was around that prompted his death? His own?

Also, please note another aspect of this Lds "apostle's" claim: He said Heavenly Father is a "perfected...exalted man." Interesting. Why did He say "perfected" -- vs. "perfect? This Lds "apostle" claimed Heavenly Father needed a spiritual makeover and needed to be perfectED!!!

(I guess that shows you what kind of sinner-saved god Mormons REALLY embrace!!!)

(2) What other Lds general authority comment supports the notion that Lds worship a sinner-saved god?

Well, after B.H. Roberts, the next "deep theologian" to fill the ranks of Mormonism was Lds "apostle" James E. Talmage.

Here's how Talmage weighed in on this: "...but though the Son is glorified with the glory of the Father, you can't change the fact that He is the Son of that Father,
and that Father,
the Eternal Father,
the Father of Jesus Christ,
the Father of His spirit
and the Father of His body,
was once a Man,
and has progressed,
not by any favor but by the right of CONQUEST OVER SIN,
and over death,
to His present position of priesthood and power,
of Godship and Godliness,
as the Supreme Being whom we all profess to worship"
(James E. Talmage, Conference Reports, April 1915, p. 123).

So there ya go! Talmage says the Mormon god "progressed...to His present position of...Godship". He got the "godship" job! And how did he manage that? Well he won via a "Conquest over sin"!!!!!!!!!!!!! (and death)

Hmmm...the Mormon elohim was a sinner!!!! (says a prominent Lds "apostle" still repeatedly cited by the Mormon church and by Mormon leaders)

Per the Mormon Journal of Discourses: "God our Heavenly Father was perhaps once a child, and mortal like we are, and rose step by step in the scale of progress, in the school of advancement; has moved forward and overcome, until He has arrived at the point where He now is" (Lds "apostle" Orson Hyde, Journal of Discourses 1:123).

So. Mormon leaders have stated that Elohim (God the Father), as a mortal on some distant planet similar to Earth, went through the same struggles as present-day humans in order to obtain his Godhood. In the words of LDS Apostle Orson Hyde, "God our Heavenly Father was perhaps once a child, and mortal like we are," HYDE is claiming GOD (our Heavenly Father) was mortal like we are. To be consistent, HYDE is claiming mortality for GOD, so it would have to include "a sinful nature".

Well, again, we know from history that mortality was provoked by things having to do with a tree. In the book of Genesis, it was rebellion (sin) by picking fruit from a forbidden tree. And for Jesus, it was donning a tree (the cross) to pay for the fruit of Adam & Eve's sin passed down throughout mankind. So sin was linked to mortality somehow -- either thru direct sin or indirectly taking on the sin of others.

So, again, if the Mormon elohim was mortal, why? Was it his sin -- or that of another?

Other Lds leaders even elaborated a bit beyond that: "The doctrine that God was once a man and has progressed to become a God is unique to this Church. How do you feel, knowing that God, through His own experience, 'knows all that we know regarding the toils [and] sufferings' of mortality?" (Brigham Young, Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, p. 34, brackets in original)

So Brigham claimed the Mormon god knows all about the "toils & sufferings" of mortality from firsthand experience!!!

And another Lds "apostle," Orson Whitney, emphasized that "Mormonism teaches that God was once just like ourselves; that the eternal part of Him was enshrined in mortal flesh, subject to mortal ills and earthly pains and toils." (Orson F. Whitney, May 6, 1892, Collected Discourses 3:45)

So perhaps the "best" way for us to describe the Mormon god, per their "apostles," is to first ask Mormons to describe themselves, since Whitney says he "was once JUST LIKE OURSELVES!" That not only includes mortal flesh, but mortal ills. (And guess what prompted mortal ills?) That's right, sin.

(3) Finally, consider what two other Lds "apostles" claimed:
"God and man are of the same race, differing only in their degress of advancement" (John A. Witdsoe, Rational Theololgy, 1915, p. 61)
Wow!!!
And: "Gods, angels, and men are all of one species, one race, one great family, widely diffused among the planetary systems as colonies, kingdoms, nations, etc." (Parley P. Pratt, The Key to the Science of Theology, 1978, p. 21)

Parley P. Pratt, btw, is Mitt Romney's G-G grandfather! (And Romney says he is sticking to the "faith of his fathers!")

So...if ya wanna know the gods of Mitt Romney & his fellow Mormons...well...if you saw aliens from another planet, and one said they were humanoid just like us, and another said, "Yeah, I'm humanoid, too. But I'm also divine." Well, there's your Mormon master race! Aliens from heavens, Mormons all of them, some claiming to be man-made gods, and others claiming to be future man-made gods.

The Mormon "apostles" -- the entire bunch -- are whacko heretics!

From the release: For starters, official Mormon teachings include the belief that God the Father was once a man who progressed to godhood and that worthy men may one day become gods themselves. On the topic of Jesus, official Mormon doctrine holds that Jesus' death on the cross did not provide full atonement for all sin. There is no concept of the Trinity. Rather, Mormonism is polytheistic, having multiple gods. Don't Mormons realize that lack of respect of their so-called "theology" is tied to the reality that their "theology" is actually anthropology?

Lds "apostle" Bruce R. McConkie:
"According to [Mormon] revelation...
...he is a...
personal Being
a holy and exalted Man
a glorified, resurrected Personage [news flash: The Mormon god they pray "Our Father" to died at some point before the Mormon Jesus became his son]
having a tangible body of flesh and bones [I guess the apostle John was wrong, eh, about God being Spirit -- see John 4:23-24]
an ANTHROPOMORPHIC ENTITY,
the personal Father of the spirits of all men [this last means there's a mom-god @ Kolob w/whom this God had sex with to yield your spirit before you came to earth]
Source: Mormon Doctrine, 1966, p. 250

I mean, come now: Who wants an anthropomorphic entity --a man-made religion about a man who made his godhood level by landing the "god job" -- whose divinity didn't precede His anthro aspects?

Mitt Romney is a direct descendent of Parley P. Pratt, a Mormon "apostle." Mitt Romney's ancestor taught:
"Gods, angels, and men are all of
one species,
one race,
one great family,
widely diffused among the planetary systems as colonies, kingdoms, nations, etc.
Source: The Key to the Science of Theology, 1978, p. 21

So what? Why should Romney be linked to what his ancestors taught? Well, because Romney himself provided such a linkage!

Mitt Romney, Dec, 2007, speaking @ the George Bush Presidential Library: "I believe in my Mormon faith and I endeavor to live by it. My faith is the faith of my fathers – I will be true to them and to my beliefs.

Mormon "theology" that essentially says the Mormon man-gods & man-angels bounce around the universe and thereby arrive on planet earth as essentially aliens. And Mitt "confesses" and "professes" this as the "faith...of my fathers - I will be true to them and to my beliefs."

Lds "apostle" John Widtsoe originally published in 1915 called Rational Theology.

Widtsoe in that book slandered God, reducing him to be of slime and then mortal origins:
"God and man are of the same race..." (Widtsoe, p. 61)

Jews don ‘t believe Jesus is God. Gonna try scaring people about them too?

Whichever way you cut it, Mormons are not Christians.

But then again, neither is Obama and the country has reached a point that to have a Christian in the WH is of no importance any more.

I am not sure, but nowhere does it state in the Constitution that the POTUS must belong to a Christian denomination.

With the way we promote diversity and multiculturalism, it is highly likely that we will have a Buddhist in the WH in the not too distant future. And even a convinced atheist cannot be contitutionally barred from that position. (I don’t think.)

At least Jews and Christians worship the same God.

Mormonism is a cult.

I am not at all sure most Mormons know what they are supposed to believe. The LDS church has for decades if not more than a century been promoting itself as an offshoot of conventional New Testament Christianity. The more bizarre and sometimes laughable teachings of Joseph Smith are downplayed, denied, or have been reversed altogether by his successor “prophets”.

It is true most Christians have no idea. We have seen it a lot on here, people come in defending Mormons as nice people and “Christians” then find out what the Mormon church really believes and teaches and go ‘SAY WHAT?!?!?’

Also, it needs to be pointed out that the Mormon missionaries FLAT OUT LIE about Mormon teaches to potential converts, so you hear one set of things and teachings before you join and once you join you find out the rest of the stuff.

That is part of the reason why there is an over 50% inactivity rate among converts the first year here in the US.

No church should have to lie to either its members or the outside world - one more proof they are a cult.

To the headline: yep, and I will add many mormons don’t know what they beleive, as in actually teachings.

I am not at all sure most Mormons know what they are supposed to believe.

- - - - -
Part of that is the complete lack of systematic theology in Mormonism. Thier theology is haphazard which makes it easier to keep control on its members (harder to see the contradictions) and easier to dismiss its critics (”we don’t believe that anymore” cry even though many members do)

The things listed in the OP are very common teachings and would be known by all members.

Christians and Jews believe in the same God. Where as mormons not only believe in many godS, they also teach they will become one.

I should add that LDS has no appeal whatsoever to me. But I am not going to condemn individual Mormons for being members of what I find to be a laughable concoction church created by a skilled and charismatic 19th century con artist. When thinking of Islam and Scientology all I can say is: I have seen worse faiths a person might choose to follow than the LDS.

All lead a person’s soul away from God: islam, scientology and mormonism.

I have no idea what the Mormon church teaches BUT I did live in Idaho and knew many Mormons. They were all good people, very community oriented, helped non Mormons as often as Mormons, were great friends, parents, and neighbors. I never saw any freaky rituals or cult like activities. On the occasion a whacked out Mormon made the news for a too young wife they called for his castration as fast as I did and none of them I knew had a wife that would tolerate another woman at all.

All lead a person’s soul away from God: islam, scientology and mormonism.

I cannot and don't disagree with you. The comment I gave was intended as a counterpoint to the subject of how little Christians know about the details of Mormon theology. The Mormons I have known don't seem to have much if any better idea themselves. They believe they are Christians.

Jews don ‘t believe Jesus is God. Gonna try scaring people about them too?

When they start claiming to be the only true Christians, yes.

I never saw any freaky rituals or cult like activities

- - - - - -
Temple rituals? Secret underwear? The level of control? what you eat, how you dress, what you read, not thinking for yourself, long hours of monotone repetitive lectures (conference)? All of those are freaky rituals and cult like activities.

I can give you many more examples. BTW, they are only nice to ‘gentiles’ (all non-Mormons even Jews) in hopes you might convert - you should hear how they talk about you to each other!

I don't care what his religious beliefs are....at this point I'll take an atheist over Obama!!!

Snapshot of Joseph Smith’s Slanderous Invectives vs. Christian Sects

Mormon Source