Common Threads between Islam and Mormonism

Townhall.com ^ | October 30, 2011 | Michael Youseff, The Church of The Apostles.

[Kaslin]

A number of years ago, I was on Larry King Live and was asked point-blank if I had a problem with the appointments of Justices Roberts and Alito (both are Roman Catholics). My answer was very clear that I did not, as long as they shared my own conviction of upholding the Constitution — not trying to rewrite it — and as long as they were committed to the Biblical values of the Founding Fathers. I was certain that both men were.

Many people today are quoting a statement reputedly made by Martin Luther, the great reformer, that he “would rather be ruled by a competent Turk (a Muslim) than an incompetent Christian.” First of all, there is no evidence whatsoever that Martin Luther ever said these words. But even if he did say them, it would have been a gross exaggeration used to make a point. He never lived under a Muslim ruler and did not know what that would be like. But I did. And I can tell you, there is no such thing as choosing between Muslim and non-Muslim leaders under Islam.

pastedGraphic.pdf In America, we have the great privilege of choosing candidates based on our core values, rather than how they identify with our theological point of view.

In looking at some of the candidates for the 2012 election, one cannot help but notice the controversies that have arisen regarding the Mormon religion. As I considered Luther’s quote and the concerns regarding electing a Mormon president, I noticed some peculiar similarities between the Mormon faith and Islam as they relate to orthodox Christianity.

It's hard to believe that two religions that are worlds apart geographically have so many things in common. Here are some examples:

1. Both believe that Christianity was corrupt and incomplete until their respective founders came on the scene. For Islam, it was Muhammad; for Mormons, it was Joseph Smith.

2. They both have their own book of “sacred scripture.” While both tip their hats to the Bible, each see God’s Word as insufficient by itself. Both Islam and Mormonism use many biblical themes, narratives and personalities. But the Qur’an draws heavily from the apocryphal books rather than the authoritative cannon of the Bible.

3. In both cases, Islam and Mormonism see their religion as complete within itself. Above all, both repudiate Biblical Christianity and identify orthodox Christianity as a false faith.

4. Both religions reject the doctrine of the Trinity. The Mormon’s concept of god includes many gods, not just one. Muslims view god as one, but as an aloof, remote god who could never become a man or relate to humanity. Allah can have mercy if he wants to, but he is also a cunning god.

5. Both religions reject the Bible as the sole and sufficient authority of faith. For Mormons, the Book of Mormon and other writings of the Latter Day Saints represent God’s final revelation. For Muslims, the Qur’an and the Sunna (traditions of Muhammad) constitute God’s final authoritative word.

6. They both reject the Biblical teaching of original sin. Muslims believe Adam did not become completely depraved after disobeying God; he merely slipped but quickly recovered. Therefore to Muslims, humanity does not need redemption. Salvation in Islam is very uncertain, even when keeping the Five Tenants of Islam; although some teach that jihad will help in that quest for salvation. Mormons believe that they are not condemned by what many call “original sin.” In other words, they are not accountable for Adam’s transgression in the Garden of Eden.

Here are two questions Christians must ask when considering political candidates:

First, has the candidate been consistent in his/her political and moral values, or is he/she pandering? Second, has the candidate upheld their philosophical convictions throughout their public and private life, or did they change their political convictions to suit their audience?

All believers need to be good stewards and spend time in deep prayer before exercising their right to vote. God will give us wisdom so that we will not be persuaded by the slickest and the cleverest. We can trust Him to help us choose those who have proven core values.

[MHGinTN]

Unfortunately, LDS inc fosters the victim mentality, so when the media exposes the hallamrks of Joseph Smith’s fabricated religion and society in general has a long extended snicker at MormonISM, the adherents to that religion will then play the victim card at every turn, thus allowing the commie democrats and their sycophantic media to carve off another piece of conservative voters. Milt is doing the DNC such a favor by continuing to run. The media is praying to their father that Milt gets the nomination, because he is the most vulnerable to their methodology of personal destruction. Don’t expect mormonism apologists to comprehend the reality of what Milt means if he gets the nomination. They’re vested in his candidacy to the tune of 90+% who will vote for him because he is one of them, just as they do for Harry Retch.

[WPaCon]

As your post indicates, there are a LOT of similarities between Islam and Mormonism.

However, I’m not as worried about Mormonism. I think Islam is a or THE religion of Satan, while Mormonism is just Joseph Smith’s cheap imitation.

[cruise_missile]

I think the media wants, desires, longs for a Willard candidacy.

The will rip on Mormonism every day.

Willard is the perfect foil for the Obama salivating media.

[MHGinTN]

Affirmative.

[Fred Nerks]

It doesn't strike you, having so much in common, that the one might open the door for the other?

"A Mormon living in an Islamic society would be very comfortable," said Steve Young, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints attending the event.

The sentiment is echoed by Muslims. "When I go to a Mormon church I feel at ease," said Haitham Bundakji, former chairman of the Islamic Society of Orange County. "When I heard the president [of LDS] speak a few years ago, if I'd closed my eyes I'd have thought he was an imam."

U.S. Muslims and Mormons share deepening ties

[Fred Nerks]

Arnold H. Green, a history professor at BYU, has traced how early Mormons in the 19th century were hounded by accusations that church founder Smith was the American Muhammad. The first Mormons angrily denied any connection to the Muslim prophet but gradually accepted some comparisons, particularly that both religions were founded by post-Christian prophets with strong sectarian views. “As the church grew into a global faith,” Green wrote in a 2001 essay, “its posture toward Islam became more positive” until, today, “the two faiths have become associated in several ways, including Mormonism’s being called the Islam of America.”

http://www.rickross.com/reference/mormon/mormon498.html

[Fred Nerks]

I don’t know what to make of this...being an Australian is sometimes a real cultural handicap. Are you aware of this?

excerpt:

LDS - “If we sit with negroes at our tables, if we entertain them as our guests and social equals, if we disregard the color line in all other relations, is it possible to maintain it fixedly in the sexual relation, in the marriage of our sons and daughters, in the PROPAGATION OF OUR SPECIES? Unquestionably, No! ...[O]nce the middle wall of social partition [is] broken down, the mingling of tides of life would begin instantly and proceed steadily. ...As a race, the Southern CAUCASIAN WOULD BE IRREVERSIBLY DOOMED. For no possible check could be given to this process once established. ...The moment the bar of ABSOLUTE SEPARATION is thrown down in the south, that moment the bloom of her spirit is BLIGHTED FOREVER, the promise of her destiny is annulled, the proud fabric of her future slips into dust and ashes. No other conceivable disaster that might befall the south could, for an instant, compare with such miscegenation within her borders. Flood and fire, fever and famine and the sword - even ignorance, indolence, and carpet-baggery - she may endure and conquer WHILE HER BLOOD REMAINS PURE; but once TAINT THE WELL-SPRING OF HER LIFE, AND ALL IS LOST - EVEN HONOR ITSELF. “ William Benjamin Smith, The Color Line, as quoted in LDS “Historian” B.H. Roberts’ book entitled “First Year Book in the Seventy’s Course in Theology,” 1931, pp. 231 - 233, emphasis added.

http://exmormon.org/d6/drupal/blacks1

[Carl from Marietta]

You’ve now received 108 replies on this thread, can you honestly say that any of it was useful?

[MHGinTN]

Very very useful, if you’ve paid attention. Do you think the enemedia will pass on any morsel of negative which would serve their barry bassturd messiah if exposed to the ignorant public?

[MHGinTN]

There is such a wealth of material to impugn mormonISM, which will in turn taint Mitt Romney with the moderate and undecided voters that you can bet media researchers are digging deeper than has ever been delved into the religion created by a peepstone conman sexual predator of married women, Joseph Smith. In the History of Mormonism, the media has abundant ammunition to alienate Catholics, Protestants, blacks, and any other demographic the commie media is told to ‘inform’. Perhaps LDS victimology will welcome the alienation, but the people will suffer in the end, just as Satan plans. Perhaps that’s why Glenn Beck keeps trying to advance the chrislamesque theme which hooks evangelicals into ignoring the blasphemies of MormonISM.

[WPaCon]

I don’t think Islam really needs the door opened for it by Mormonism.

It has done quite well in the Middle East and increasingly in Europe without Mormonism clearing the way.

[CommerceComet]

So, what you’re saying is that you don’t want to answer my question false dilemma.

Fixed it for you.

If you have studied any history you would see that our country was basically founded on the desire for religious freedom.

Being so historically astute, you know that harshly criticizing doctrines of other religions was common fare in Colonial America. Obviously, speaking against another's religion and defending your own was understood by the people of the time as being part of religious freedom. You accuse cruise_missile of being a liberal but it is YOU who is trying to modify the meaning of a historical concept to fit your preferences which is what liberals do to drain historical concepts of any meaning they don't like. Colonial Americans and the Founding Fathers would have no concept of religious freedom that meant no religions could be criticized.

[slowhandluke]

Cognitative dissonance? Only when somebody reads what I wrote and then your interpretation of what I said.

What did Luther create? And is the schism by Luther that much more egregious than the Roman/Orthodox differences?

"man-made" religion is your term, not mine.

[Colofornian]

Jeffries and the whacked out fLDS are not good examples of the LDS church. He’s a nutcase and we all know it. BTW, many here think that I’m a Mormon because I defend their right to practice as they choose. If your religion were attacked, I would defend you in the same way.

Every now & then comes along a post where the poster can't even breathe a paragraph's separation emerging from his keyboard without contradicting himself.

Congratulations, Panaxanax! You've managed to do it in back-to-back paragraphs!

Such back-to-back thoughts is called self-refutation and is evident of open hypocrisy. In this case such 2-facedness reaches its zenith, depicting a poster so seemingly entrenched in pulling one over on themselves that he can't even recognize the discrepancy of his own words!

Of course, when this happens, we, the Flying Inmans, want to give the poster credit.

I therefore nominate Panaxanax for...
...Flying Inman Radar Post of the Month both for October and Fall of 2011!

[A "radar" post of the month is one that draws our attention]

Now, Panax...it's obvious from this post that you need a bit of help "unpacking" your own jumbled thoughts. So allow me:

ALL: Imagine that you, a member of the fundamentalist Mormon camp, signed on to FR, and read this ringing charitable offering from Panaxanax: "If your religion were attacked, I would defend you in the same way".

Wow! You'd feel pretty good, especially if you belonged to a minority religion. Here was a poster who...
...didn't seemingly engage in what is commonly referenced around here as "bigotry."
...Who stood up for your religious expression.
...Who went to bat for the religious minorities of America.
...Who was into civility and tolerance and...Well, I'll stop there. (You get the idea)

But imagine that what caught your eye was that word "defend." Now, you back up to take in the entirety of the post...

And just 2 and 3 sentences before, Panaxanax tells you what his real operating mode is: "...Jeffries and the whacked out fLDS are not good examples of the LDS church. He’s a nutcase..."

Wow! What a ringing "defense" Panaxanax of all religious minority groups! Not only that, but you just gave a personal false prophesy. You forecasted that if somebody's religion "were attacked", you "would defend" them!

Boy, how did we miss that post where you contended vs. yourself???!

It just goes to show you that the very thing that this poster (an ex-Mormon, I believe) accuses others of doing re: certain religions, he engages in. All within the same post, mind you! Amazing!

Yet no critique of it emerges from his lips. For some reason, he can't bring himself to level the same critique he judges others with -- in applying to himself.

[Oh, and btw, it's "Jeffs" --as in Warren Jeffs-- not Jeffries...]

FI...some of you may have missed this thread from last weekend where Dr. Youssef compared Islam to Mormonism.

[fishtank]

“Jeffries and the whacked out fLDS are not good examples of the LDS church. He’s a nutcase and we all know it.”

Is Warren Jeffs FAR CLOSER to Jospeh Snith than you would care to admit ........?

[musicman]

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[Elsie]

Glaring-omission alert.

Well!

We'll just have to FIX that!!!

---

 

“I Will Be a Second Mohammed”

In the heat of the Missouri “Mormon War” of 1838, Joseph Smith made the following claim, “I will be to this generation a second Mohammed, whose motto in treating for peace was ‘the Alcoran [Koran] or the Sword.’ So shall it eventually be with us—‘Joseph Smith or the Sword!’ ”[1]

It is most interesting that a self-proclaimed Christian prophet would liken himself to Mohammed, the founder of Islam. His own comparison invites us to take a closer look as well. And when we do, we find some striking—and troubling—parallels. Consider the following.

• Mohammed and Joseph Smith both had humble beginnings. Neither had formal religious connections or upbringing, and both were relatively uneducated. Both founded new religions by creating their own scriptures. In fact, followers of both prophets claim these scriptures are miracles since their authors were the most simple and uneducated of men.[2]

• Both prophets claim of having angel visitations, and of receiving divine revelation to restore pure religion to the earth again. Mohammed was told that both Jews and Christians had long since corrupted their scriptures and religion. In like manner, Joseph Smith was told that all of Christianity had become corrupt, and that consequently the Bible itself was no longer reliable. In both cases, this corruption required a complete restoration of both scripture and religion. Nothing which preceded either prophet could be relied upon any longer. Both prophets claim they were used of God to restore eternal truths which once existed on earth, but had been lost due to human corruption.

• Both prophets created new scripture which borrowed heavily from the Bible, but with a substantially new “spin.” In his Koran, Mohammed appropriates a number of Biblical themes and characters—but he changes the complete sense of many passages, claiming to “correct” the Bible. In so doing he changes many doctrines, introducing his own in their place. In like manner, Joseph Smith created the Book of Mormon, much of which is plagiarized directly from the King James Bible. Interestingly, the Book of Mormon claims that this same Bible has been substantially corrupted and is therefore unreliable. In addition, Joseph Smith went so far as to actually create his own version of the Bible itself, the “Inspired Version,” in which he both adds and deletes significant portions of text, claiming he is “correcting” it. In so doing he also changes many doctrines, introducing his own in their place.

• As a part of their new scriptural “spin,” both prophets saw themselves as prophesied in scripture, and both saw themselves as a continuation of a long line of Biblical prophets. Mohammed saw himself as a continuation of the ministry of Moses and Jesus. Joseph Smith saw himself as a successor to Enoch, Melchizedek, Joseph and Moses. Joseph Smith actually wrote himself into his own version of the Bible—by name.

• Both prophets held up their own scripture as superior to the Bible. Mohammed claimed that the Koran was a perfect copy of the original which was in heaven. The Koran is therefore held to be absolutely perfect, far superior to the Bible and superceding it. In like manner, Joseph Smith also made the following claim. “I told the Brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding its precepts, than by any other book.”[3]

• Despite their claim that the Bible was corrupt, both prophets admonished their followers to adhere to its teachings. An obvious contradiction, this led to selective acceptance of some portions and wholesale rejection of others. As a result, the Bible is accepted by both groups of followers only to the extent that it agrees with their prophet’s own superior revelation.

• Both Mohammed and Joseph Smith taught that true salvation was to be found only in their respective religions. Those who would not accept their message were considered “infidels,” pagans or Gentiles. In so doing, both prophets became the enemy of genuine Christianity, and have led many people away from the Christ of the Bible.

• Both prophets encountered fierce opposition to their new religions and had to flee from town to town because of threats on their lives. Both retaliated to this opposition by forming their own militias. Both ultimately set up their own towns as model societies.

• Both Mohammed and Joseph Smith left unclear instructions about their successors. The majority of Mohammed’s followers, Sunni Muslims, believe they were to elect their new leader, whereas the minority, Shiite Muslims, believe Mohammed’s son was to be their next leader. Similarly, the majority of Joseph Smith's followers, Mormons, believed their next prophet should have been the existing leader of their quorum of twelve apostles, whereas the minority, RLDS, believed Joseph Smith's own son should have been their next prophet. Differences on this issue, and many others, have created substantial tension between these rival groups of each prophet.

• Mohammed taught that Jesus was just another of a long line of human prophets, of which he was the last. He taught that he was superior to Christ and superceded Him. In comparison, Joseph Smith also made the following claim.

“I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him, but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet.”[4] In light of these parallels, perhaps Joseph Smith's claim to be a second Mohammed unwittingly became his most genuine prophecy of all.

---

[1] Joseph Smith made this statement at the conclusion of a speech in the public square at Far West, Missouri on October 14, 1838. This particular quote is documented in Fawn M. Brodie, No Man Knows My History, second edition, (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1971), p. 230–231. Fawn Brodie’s footnote regarding this speech contains valuable information, and follows. “Except where noted, all the details of this chapter [16] are taken from the History of the [Mormon] Church. This speech, however, was not recorded there, and the report given here is based upon the accounts of seven men. See the affidavits of T.B. Marsh, Orson Hyde, George M. Hinkle, John Corrill, W.W. Phelps, Samson Avard, and Reed Peck in Correspondence, Orders, etc., pp. 57–9, 97–129. The Marsh and Hyde account, which was made on October 24, is particularly important. Part of it was reproduced in History of the [Mormon] Church, Vol. III, p. 167. See also the Peck manuscript, p. 80. Joseph himself barely mentioned the speech in his history; see Vol. III, p. 162.”

[2] John Ankerberg & John Weldon, The Facts on Islam, (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1998), pp.8–9. Eric Johnson, Joseph Smith & Muhammed, (El Cajon, CA: Mormonism Research Ministry, 1998), pp. 6–7.

[3] Documentary History of the [Mormon] Church, vol.4, pp.461.

[4] Documentary History of the [Mormon] Church, vol.6, pp.408–409.

[Elsie]

Glaring-omission alert.

Well!

We'll REALLY have to FIX that!!!

---

 

---

Questions put to Joseph Smith: "'Do you believe the Bible?' [Smith:]'If we do, we are the only people under heaven that does, for there are none of the religious sects of the day that do'. When asked 'Will everybody be damned, but Mormons'? [Smith replied] 'Yes, and a great portion of them, unless they repent, and work righteousness." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 119).

Joseph Smith: "for the teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible" (from Pearl of Great Price 1:12). "What is it that inspires professors of Christianity generally with a hope of salvation? It is that smooth, sophisticated influence of the devil, by which he deceives the whole world" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.270).

 

 

Brigham Young stated this repeatedly: "When the light came to me I saw that all the so-called Christian world was grovelling in darkness" (Journal of Discourses  5:73); "The Christian world, so-called, are heathens as to the knowledge of the salvation of God" (Journal of Discourses  8:171); "With a regard to true theology, a more ignorant people never lived than the present so-called Christian world" (Journal of Discourses  8:199); "And who is there that acknowledges [God's] hand? ...You may wander east, west, north, and south, and you cannot find it in any church or government on the earth, except the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" (Journal of Discourses , vol. 6, p.24); "Should you ask why we differ from other Christians, as they are called, it is simply because they are not Christians as the New Testament defines Christianity" (Journal of Discourses  10:230).

Orson Pratt proclaimed: "Both Catholics and Protestants are nothing less than the 'whore of Babylon' whom the Lord denounces by the mouth of John the Revelator as having corrupted all the earth by their fornications and wickedness. Any person who shall be so corrupt as to receive a holy ordinance of the Gospel from the ministers of any of these apostate churches will be sent down to hell with them, unless they repent" (The Seer, p. 255).

 

 

Pratt also said: "This great apostasy commenced about the close of the first century of the Christian era, and it has been waxing worse and worse from then until now" (Journal of Discourses , vol.18, p.44) and: "But as there has been no Christian Church on the earth for a great many centuries past, until the present century, the people have lost sight of the pattern that God has given according to which the Christian Church should be established, and they have denominated a great variety of people Christian Churches, because they profess to be ...But there has been a long apostasy, during which the nations have been cursed with apostate churches in great abundance" (Journal of Discourses , 18:172).

 

President John Taylor stated: "Christianity...is a perfect pack of nonsense...the devil could not invent a better engine to spread his work than the Christianity of the nineteenth century." (Journal of Discourses , vol. 6, p.167); "Where shall we look for the true order or authority of God? It cannot be found in any nation of Christendom." (Journal of Discourses , 10:127).

James Talmage said: "A self-suggesting interpretation of history indicates that there has been a great departure from the way of salvation as laid down by the Savior, a universal apostasy from the Church of Christ". (A Study of the Articles of Faith, p.182).

 

 

President Joseph Fielding Smith said: "Doctrines were corrupted, authority lost, and a false order of religion took the place of the gospel of Jesus Christ, just as it had been the case in former dispensations, and the people were left in spiritual darkness." (Doctrines of Salvation, p.266). "For hundreds of years the world was wrapped in a veil of spiritual darkness, until there was not one fundamental truth belonging to the place of salvation ...Joseph Smith declared that in the year 1820 the Lord revealed to him that all the 'Christian' churches were in error, teaching for commandments the doctrines of men" (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 3, p.282).

 

 

More recent statements by apostle Bruce McConkie are also very clear: "Apostasy was universal...And this darkness still prevails except among those who have come to a knowledge of the restored gospel" (Doctrines of Salvation, vol 3, p.265); "Thus the signs of the times include the prevailing apostate darkness in the sects of Christendom and in the religious world in general" (The Millennial Messiah, p.403); "a perverted Christianity holds sway among the so-called Christians of apostate Christendom" (Mormon Doctrine, p.132); "virtually all the millions of apostate Christendom have abased themselves before the mythical throne of a mythical Christ whom they vainly suppose to be a spirit essence who is incorporeal uncreated, immaterial and three-in-one with the Father and Holy Spirit" (Mormon Doctrine, p.269); "Gnosticism is one of the great pagan philosophies which antedated Christ and the Christian Era and which was later commingled with pure Christianity to form the apostate religion that has prevailed in the world since the early days of that era." (Mormon Doctrine, p.316).

President George Q. Cannon said: "After the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized, there were only two churches upon the earth. They were known respectively as the Church of the Lamb of God and Babylon. The various organizations which are called churches throughout Christendom, though differing in their creeds and organizations, have one common origin. They all belong to Babylon" (Gospel Truth, p.324).

 

 

President Wilford Woodruff stated: "the Gospel of modern Christendom shuts up the Lord, and stops all communication with Him. I want nothing to do with such a Gospel, I would rather prefer the Gospel of the dark ages, so called" (Journal of Discourses , vol. 2, p.196).

[Elsie]

All VERY well thought out defenses about what was claimed by the poster.

He is OBVIOUSLY a Hateful BIGOT!

—MormonDude(I may not know much about MORMONism, but, by golly I believe it!)