What Lutherans Believe: What About... Mormonism?

Life of the World ^ | A. L. Barry

[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.

[Larry Lucido]

Apparently you are incapable of detecting sarcasm. Here: /s /s /s

[ejonesie22]

That would be my question, for unless it is coming from an atheistic approach it makes no sense.

[ejonesie22]

You left off the fact that Muslims server honorably, which is a fact just as it is Mormons do (though less serve than you may think).

So if Mormons serve honorably and Muslims serve honorably, then we should leave both alone as they are both equal to Christians who serve and their faiths are equal in value and truth to Christianity.

By applying your standards of course.

What was that about false dichotomy?

[ejonesie22]

And some of us can multitask...

[ejonesie22]

That was sarcasm?

Interesting approach.

[Godzilla]

Good enough for me too. Mormons are good people and while its true that some of their beliefs are strange, I also think that some are taken out of context for these anti-Mormon essays.

The references were posted within the article and were not taken out of context as even a little follow-up will indicate.

[greyfoxx39]

And Mormons (with the exception of Mitt Romney, his father and all five sons) serve honorably in the armed forces.

[Larry Lucido]

Not carrying any water for the Romneys here. :-)

But the Mormons I have served with in the military and on the police force and those I have known elsewhere have been patriotic and have been solid supporters of universal gun rights.

But yeah, there are infamous Mormons, too:

http://famousmormons.net/infamous.html

Along with the good and talented ones:

http://famousmormons.net/infamous.html

[Larry Lucido]

I’ll just add: There were many, many solid reasons to not vote for Mitt. Abortion, guns, taxes, liberalism, you name it. But the STUPID reason not to vote for him was his Mormonism.

[greyfoxx39]

But the STUPID reason not to vote for him was his Mormonism.

I prefer NOT to vote for a man who has made a "sacred" vow to put his church above everything in life, including his COUNTRY.

THE LAW OF CONSECRATION

[Peter, James, and John return to the Terrestrial Room.]

PETER: A couple will now come to the altar.

We are instructed to give unto you the law of consecration as contained in the book of Doctrine and Covenants, in connection with the law of the gospel and the law of sacrifice, which you have already received. It is that you do consecrate yourselves, your time, talents, and everything with which the Lord has blessed you, or with which he may bless you, to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for the building up of the kingdom of God on the earth and for the establishment of Zion.

All arise.

Each of you bring your right arm to the square.

You and each of you covenant and promise before God, angels, and these witnesses at this altar, that you do accept the law of consecration as contained in this, the book of Doctrine and Covenants [he displays the book], in that you do consecrate yourselves, your time, talents, and everything with which the Lord has blessed you, or with which he may bless you, to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for the building up of the kingdom of God on the earth and for the establishment of Zion.

Each of you bow your head and say, "Yes."

That will do.

Link

Read more about the "law of consecration" here:

Nov 21st, 2008 "When we make the covenant of consecration, we agree to consecrate our lives, including everything that we have, will have, are or will be.”

With the racist history of the mormon church, there is no way that Romney can defeat the liberal candidate.

I have already had experience in living under the dictates of the mormon religion. I don't care to repeat the experience.

Lest the "Obama" comparison enter the conversation, I maintain that this country was not founded to be ruled by either dictatorship.

[Larry Lucido]

If Mitt had Duncan Hunter’s views and credentials, he would have gotten my vote. But that is a huge “if.”

[Larry Lucido]

But it’s moot now because I am looking to Sarah or any other candidate with solid conservative credentials.

[greyfoxx39]

If Mitt had Duncan Hunter’s views and credentials, he would have gotten my vote.

As I stated, I prefer not to vote for a man who has taken the vow of "consecration". I daresay that there are quite a few who would feel the same way if the fact were widely known.

IMO, Mitt was a spoiler with a lot of money and kept better qualified candidates from winning the nomination, Hunter among them.

[aSeattleConservative]

Ring Ring: (You might want to take this call):

If things continue on the path we’re taking, Christians will be secretly meeting in someone’s basement with a lookout standing at the window giving the pastor the “high- sign” when it’s ok to preach the gospel.

By the way, the lookout isn’t watching for the Mormons.

[Godzilla]

By the way, the lookout isn’t watching for the Mormons.

How do you know that will be the case in your 'future'?

BTW. a relatively high percentage of exmormons become your dreaded atheists once they realize the bankruptcy of their religion. Anyone with half a brain would realize that those like reaganaut are trying to help those leave mormonism while maintaining a bridge to Christianity.

[Colofornian]

You left off the fact that Muslims server honorably, which is a fact just as it is Mormons do (though less serve than you may think).
So if Mormons serve honorably and Muslims serve honorably, then we should leave both alone as they are both equal to Christians who serve and their faiths are equal in value and truth to Christianity.
By applying your standards of course.
What was that about false dichotomy?

Touche' EJONES!

[Colofornian]

They do not crash planes into buildings and kill people in the name of their faith. That is good enough for me. [pnh102]

...[then]...ignore the islamofascists. [sarcasm by Larry Lucido]

PNH, perhaps you should update your premise...read a bit about Lds bomber Mark Hoffman, or better yet, about the Lafferty brothers and the 1857 conspirators in the best-seller by Jon Krakauer, UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN: A STORY OF VIOLENT FAITH.

The fact is that for exactly half of Mormonism's restructuring since Joseph Smith's death, the Lds had this temple oath of vengeance:

"You and each of you do covenant and promise that you will pray and never cease to pray to Almighty God to avenge the blood of the prophets upon this nation, and that you will teach the same to your children and to your children's children unto the third and fourth generation."

This oath was initiated a year after Smith's death (1845). It was recited by Mormons in their temples through part of 1927 -- 82 years ago. So it was recited for 82 years. And now they've been silent in the temple oaths for 82 years. Why? Because a Mormon "prophet" put together a committee for six years (1921) to study this matter. It took the Mormon "prophet" 6 years, via committee, to come up with it being removed. [A true "prophet" of God would take nanoseconds]

Well, tell us: What's going to prevent a future Lds "prophet" from appointing a committee to study reinstating this oath? If it was "true" for 82 years; why wouldn't be true for a future 82 years?

George Romney, Mitt's father, may have recited this temple oath as an 18, 19, & 20 yo (George Romney was born in 1907). What would prevent Mitt from "honoring" what his dad may have embraced as a sacred religious oath at one time? George Romney may have promised to almighty God to teach it in his family, according to this oath to his third/fourth generations. IOW, we're only one generation removed from people who swore to God to not only carry it out but teach it to their kids, grandkids, great-grandkids, and great-great grandkids.

And frankly, we all know that you don't "teach" something to your great-great grandkids, and even most great-grandkids face-to-face...these men may have left this in writing. How do we know that the WWI generation Mormons, who were prominent personal journal-keepers, haven't advised this "legacy" to be promptly taught? (Or do you think that Mormons are so anti-sacred that they don't honor their sacred vows made to their god???)

[Elsie]

 

 ....I also think that some are taken out of context for these anti-Mormon essays.

 

Could you share some info on just WHICH things you are alluding to?

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http://scriptures.lds.org/en/js_h/1/17#17

  17 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!
  18 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. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right (for at this time it had never entered into my heart that all were wrong)—and which I should join.
  19 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.”
  20 He again forbade me to join with any of them; and many other things did he say unto me, which I cannot write at this time. When I came to myself again, I found myself lying on my back, looking up into heaven. When the light had departed, I had no strength; but soon recovering in some degree, I went home. And as I leaned up to the fireplace, mother inquired what the matter was. I replied, “Never mind, all is well—I am well enough off.” I then said to my mother,

“I have learned for myself that Presbyterianism is not true.”

 

 

 

[Elsie]

 

I take it you're not a Calvinist. :-)

 

 

I take it that you're a SMITHIAN?

 

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"He (Joseph Smith) is the man through whom God has spoken... yet I would not like to call him a savior, though in a certain capacity he was a god to us, and is to the nations of the earth, and will continue to be."

 - Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 8:321

 

 

"You call us fools; but the day will be, gentlemen and ladies, whether you belong to this Church or not, when you will prize brother Joseph Smith as the Prophet of the Living God, and look upon him as a god..."

- Herber C. Kimball, Journal of Discourses 5:88

 

 

"If we get our salvation, we shall have to pass by him [Joseph Smith]; if we enter our glory, it will be through the authority he has received. We cannot get around him [Joseph Smith]"

- (as quoted in 1988 Melchizedek Priesthood Study Guide, p. 142)

 

 

There is "no salvation without accepting Joseph Smith. If Joseph Smith was verily a prophet, and if he told the truth...no man can reject that testimony without incurring the most dreadful consequences, for he cannot enter the kingdom of God"

- Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 1, p.190

 

 

"I tell you, Joseph holds the keys, and none of us can get into the celestial kingdom without passing by him. We have not got rid of him, but he stands there as the sentinel, holding the keys of the kingdom of God; and there are many of them beside him. I tell you, if we get past those who have mingled with us, and know us best, and have a right to know us best, probably we can pass all other sentinels as far as it is necessary, or as far as we may desire. But I tell you, the pinch will be with those that have mingled with us, stood next to us, weighed our spirits, tried us, and proven us: there will be a pinch, in my view, to get past them. The others, perhaps, will say, If brother Joseph is satisfied with you, you may pass. If it is all right with him, it is all right with me. Then if Joseph shall say to a man, or if brother Brigham say to a man, I forgive you your sins, "Whosoever sins ye remit they are remitted unto them;" if you who have suffered and felt the weight of transgression—if you have generosity enough to forgive the sinner, I will forgive him: you cannot have more generosity than I have. I have given you power to forgive sins, and when the Lord gives a gift, he does not take it back again."

 - Orson Hyde, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, p.154-155

 

 

 

"It is because the Lord called Joseph Smith that salvation is again available to mortal men.... If it had not been for Joseph Smith and the restoration, there would be no salvation,"

 - Bruce McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 396, 670

 

 

[Elsie]

We need to get him out of Congress.

But "WE" don't get to vote for (against) him. Only Nevadans do.