- I wish people would stop posting articles about what they think we believe.
LDS Plan of Salvation
- Ignorance is not bliss.
Posted on 12/19/2009 7:10:18 PM PST by delacoert
The Rise of Mormonism
If anyone doubts that the Mormonism is a growing concern, just consider these facts. The Mormon church has grown from 2 million members in 1963 to 9.7 million members today with "stakes" (as they call their congregations) in 160 different countries. In the United States alone there are approximately 5 million people who claim to be Mormons!
As we express our deep concerns about the anti-Christian nature of Mormonism, it is important that we recognize that many Mormons are fine people, with high moral values and deep devotion to their family. The sincerity of the Mormon people is beyond question. But, they are sincerely wrong--very wrong--about the true God and His Son, Jesus Christ.
Mormonism is an anti-Christian cult that uses many of the same terms as Christianity, but gives them entirely different meanings. Mormonism bases its religion on the Book of Mormon and the "inspired" revelations of its leaders, rather than on the Holy Bible, which alone is the Word of God.
The Beginnings of Mormonism
Joseph Smith Jr. founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1830. He claimed that he had received special revelations from God. He said that John the Baptist and angels visited him and led him to discover, in 1827, plates of gold upon which was engraved, in what he called "a reformed Egyptian language," the Book of Mormon. Smith gathered all his various documents together in 1833 into what Mormons today refer to as the Doctrine and Covenants (abbreviated D.C.). This is the source of their religion.
Unlike the Holy Scripture, there is not a single shred of verifiable, archeological evidence to support the Book of Mormon's fantastical claims of ancient civilizations and epic battles here in the Western Hemisphere. Even the claim of a "reformed Egyptian" language has been proven time and again to be a myth.
After Smith's death in 1844, the largest group of his followers accepted the leadership of Brigham Young and migrated to Salt Lake City, Utah, the present-day headquarters of the LDS.
Mormonism's Key Beliefs
"Restorationism" is the most important principle for the Mormon Church. It is their belief that the true church died with the first generation of apostles and was restored with Joseph Smith. The Mormons are experts at using terms familiar to Christians, but giving them different meanings. Let's take a moment now to examine a few key teachings of Mormonism.
The Holy Trinity
An official statement from the Mormon Church claims: "A paramount doctrine . . . is a belief in God the Father; His Son, Jesus Christ; and the Holy Ghost. The three make up the Godhead. They are one in purpose but separate in being." (LDS Internet site). This sounds very similar to Christianity, but a study of what Mormons mean when they use words like "godhead" is very revealing.
Mormonism rejects the Holy Trinity. The key to the Mormon doctrine of the Trinity is found in the words, "one in purpose but separate in being." Joseph Smith wrote, "The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of spirit" (D.C., 130:22).
Mormonism explicitly denies the God revealed in the Holy Scripture and the God confessed by all true Christians through the ages. Matthew 28:19 reveals that the Triune God consists of three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Triune God is three persons, equal in their divinity, yet one God. They are not separate, but of the same divine essence.
Brigham Young, Smith's successor, wrote, "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 [Adam] is our Father and our god and the only God with whom we have to do" (Journal of Discourses, 1:50). Mormons explain that Young was describing Adam's elevation to a special, unique position of head of the human race, presumably its "only god" in distinction from the deified heads of other races in the universe.
The Person and Work of Jesus Christ
Brigham Young wrote this about Jesus: "He was not begotten by the Holy Ghost. And who was His Father--He was the first of the human family, Adam. . . . Jesus, our elder brother, was begotten in the flesh by the same character that was in the garden of Eden, and who is our Father in heaven" (Journal of Discourses, Vol. I, pp. 50, 51). Mormons teach that God the Father had sex with the Mother Goddess and gave Jesus, the Son, a spirit body.
Obviously, since Mormons do not believe in the Son of God as He is revealed to us in the Bible, they also reject what He has done for us, namely, paid for all sins with His death on the cross. It is therefore no coincidence that you rarely, if ever, see a Mormon painting of the death of Christ. The crucifix is particularly offensive to Mormons. Why? Because they believe that the blood of Jesus Christ did not atone for all of our sins.
Brigham Young wrote in his Journal of Discourses, p. 247, "There is not a man or woman who violates covenants made with their God that will not be required to pay the debt. The blood of Christ will never wipe that out. Your own blood must atone for it. Every man and woman will have to atone for breaking covenants." This is, of course, completely contrary to what Holy Scripture reveals, "The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).
Salvation
Holy Scripture teaches clearly that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, apart from works (Rom. 3:28; Eph. 2:8-11). In contrast to Christianity, Mormonism teaches that salvation is not a free gift of God, but something to be earned. A person may earn this salvation by believing in God, by receiving baptism by immersion, and then by fulfilling required works. Mormonism expressly rejects the doctrine of justification by faith alone. One of their "apostles," James Talmage wrote, "The sectarian dogma of justification by faith alone has exercised an influence for evil since the early days of Christianity" (Articles of Faith, 1909, p. 120).
How does a Mormon believe a person is saved? A Mormon theologian puts it this way: "Without the Book of Mormon and other latter-day revelation, Christians are left without a full understanding of . . . Jesus Christ. This same Jesus Christ, God of the Old Testament and Redeemer of all, has once again benefited humankind by restoring the same teachings, principles, ordinances, and organization that he first brought to the world two thousand years ago" (Rex Lee, What Mormons Believe, p. 24-25).
Mormonism teaches its followers that they must do certain things to gain heaven. Since they reject the true Son of God, Jesus Christ, they can never have the assurance that they are saved by the love of God, revealed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Mormon church officially states: "The Purpose of Life" is the following: "All have the potential of eternal life, conditional upon individual worthiness and obedience to the Savior's ordinances and teachings." How tragic!
How Can We Reach Out to Mormons?
We need to approach this challenge with the attitude that it is God alone who converts a person to faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. We are merely God's instruments and our calling is to speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:14). We know from God's Word that we are to be prepared to "give an answer" to everyone who asks about the hope we have in Christ (1 Pet. 3:15).
Based on the observations of those who have spent many years living and working among Mormons, here are some practical suggestions for witnessing to Mormons. It is important not to get into arguments with Mormons. As we defend our faith, we must always do so lovingly and with compassion, never merely for the sake of scoring debating points.
When we witness to Mormons, we need to be careful that we base our understandings of Mormonism on reliable sources. An excellent resource is available from Concordia Publishing House. I highly recommend the helpful booklet, How to Respond to . . . The Latter-day Saints, by Pastor Edgar P. Kaiser. You may obtain a copy from CPH by calling 800-325-3040.
The best thing we can do is to share with Mormons God's love and grace in Jesus Christ. We need to emphasize the powerful comfort we have knowing that God loved us so much that He sent His only begotten Son to provide, totally and completely, for our salvation. We do not have to look to our own efforts for our salvation. The Mormon Gospel is only a new law. The true Gospel is the good news of God's work in Jesus Christ, which atones for all sin. The bottom line in witnessing to Mormons is to be aware of the fact that our job is to witness to our faith in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is the one who converts a Mormon through God's Word. Finally, pray that the Lord would bless your words as you present the hope that is within you.
Pray too for the Mormon with whom you are speaking, asking that the Lord would break through the fog of error that clouds his mind so that he may come to know who God really is and what His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, is really all about.
I won’t be on I80 till spring. *sigh*.
Repression?
Projecting?
There are over thirteen million Mormons. The article begins with false information. By the way, Jesus Christ is my Savior and I love Him with all my heart. I thank Heavenly Father for His Plan of Salvation and the Holy Ghost seals this in my heart. I am a Mormon. I wish people would stop posting articles about what they think we believe. Ignorance is not bliss.
So we should not take the BOM and other LDS doctrine seriously then.
Good to know, though I think many of us were already aware of that....
However isn't it odd that you would follow a "faith" based on a book that is not to be taken seriously? And getting the name of Christ all caught up in that as well, wow...
(I will spare you the whole "ignorance" matter...)
LDS Plan of Salvation
In this particular case, I think ignorance will ultimately be rather painful...
There are over thirteen million Mormons. The article begins with false information.
Truth does not come by numbers. Muslims, Catholics, Evangelicals, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews all have more than 13M members. Numbers does not make one “truer” than another.
Secondly, the statement is not dated, so it is entirely possible, even likely that this statement is several years old. The fact that gives a specific number would corroborate that.
Finally, even your 13 million claim is misleading. The LDS church still includes “inactive” members who do not bother to take their names off the rolls. Several studies have shown, in recent years, that activity of LDS members is only about 50%. The 12 Milllion number includes many who no longer consider themselves LDS.
The “active” number is closer to 6.5 million, and if half of those live in the US, then it is about 3.25 Million, a fairly small percentage of the population.
By the way, Jesus Christ is my Savior and I love Him with all my heart.
Define Savior. What does He save you from? Not having a body? What do you have to do in order to live with Heavenly Father again? According to LDS doctrine is Jesus enough? Or do you have to do a number of other things as well? Is Jesus Lord of your life, even to the exclusion of membership in any church? Or is he just more of a “janitor” who cleans up your “mistakes”, the sins you can’t repent of and make up on your own?
I am a Mormon. I wish people would stop posting articles about what they think we believe.
I don’t have to go with what I “think” the LDS believe. I’ve been there. Read the book, saw the movie, wore the garments. I KNOW what the LDS teaches. And I now know what the Bible teaches, and the Bible contradicts LDS teachings, every one of them.
And I wish Mormons would be more forthcoming on the “meat” doctrines rather than just posting nice, meaningless phrases hoping that Christians will assume they mean the same thing. It is the height of deception.
By the way, Jesus Christ is my Savior
_____________________________________________
BTW ???
Jesus is just a post script ???
an after thought ???
Something to pad out your comment ???
Add some credance to the pagan stuff ???
a by the way ???
OK that tells us plenty...
As for me Jesus is foremost in my thoughts and life...
I am a believer...
The Jesaus ofd the Bible told us to be believers, not mormons...
Christians follow Christ Jesus...
mormons follow Joey Smith and his macaroni angel book of mormon....
I wish mormons would stop lying about Jesus and the Christians...
Mormonism is not Christianity...
Ok...
Still at it I see...
Whom the Son sets free is free indeed.
Moab is farther south than that!
Just about as far west as one can get on I-80 in Utah...
And it ends with TRUTH?
IF some info is FALSE; why don't you do the LURKERS a favor and correct it!
Looks like your’e stepping in the salt flats :)
*AHEM*
The angel of Lucifer was
MORONICK
not “Macaroni”
Get it right, pagan-presbyterian sympathizer!
- Mormon Dupe (got sidetracek en route to Elsie’s place...had to do some visiting teaching and drop off some “Funeral potatoes”, and touch bases with an “investigator”)
AAC
Just arrived in Folsom. Fought the snow up at Donner Summit. Four days with the grandsons down here. Their parents too.
The message was sent from my Blackberry. Letters so small this old turd can’t properly see to type.
Meant to communicate with you as well in previous message.
I will be doing the Danish dinner this week. Lutheran food all the way!
My Intel Corp kid is taking good care of us.
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