Course: World Religions, Cults
and Heresies.
Lesson Six
Title: Mormonism: Utah, Salt Lake City.
Text: 'Christ in you, the hope of glory' Colossians 1:27.
Theme: The
Introduction: Three teachings
Three teachings that developed in the 19th century are closely associated with Old Testament teaching. In this regard Old Testament teaching is used in opposition to New Testament Christianity.
1. Jehovah's Witnesses use the name Jehovah from the Old Testament to oppose the deity of Jesus Christ in the New Testament.
2. Seventh Day Adventists use the Old Testament teaching of the Sabbath to oppose the New Testament teaching that the Sabbath rest was fulfilled through Christ.
3. Mormons follow occultist teaching linked with a perverted form of Old Testament themes.
a) Israelites - The myth that a Jewish diaspora emigrated to America
b) Temple - The development of temple worship linked to a mystery religion, and
c) Priesthood – Mormons adhere to a priestly form of religion which they associate with the Aaronic and Melchisedek priesthoods.
Introductory Story: Joseph Smith
and the occult practice of ‘seer stones’
Joseph Smith practiced divining with ‘seer
stones’ using a white top hat. He would
see reflections in the hat that directed him in ‘treasure seeking’.
Smiths association with ‘necromancy’ and
‘treasure hunting’ is dominant in the formation of Mormonism.
The angel
Joseph Smith supposedly used seer stones to
translate the Book of Mormon from ancient script.
This is occultism and has nothing to do with
Christianity.
Paul’s words to the Galatians are directly
applicable to Mormonism.
Galatians 1:8, ‘But though we, or an angel from
heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto
you, let him be accursed.’
Contrast between Mormons and born again Christians.
Jesus said ‘by their fruits you shall know them’ Matthew 7:20.
Mormons – known by outward appearance.
Born again Christians – known by new life in
Christ
1)
Mormons build large expensive buildings in poor countries like the
Philippine Islands that stand in stark contrast to the poverty
many encounter in the community. In
church history the development of Basilica’s and large temple style buildings
were a product of apostasy. It has
nothing to do with New Testament Christianity.
True Christianity does not stand outside a
community but works within the community among the people.
2)
The outward appearance of Mormon missionaries reflects the formality of
a religion without Christ. Mormon
missionaries walk in two’s wearing a white shirt and a black badge. They are easily identified by their outward
appearance, but true believers in Christ are not recognised by a badge or by
outward clothes but by the life of Christ dwelling in them.
The true believer in Christ is seen by
peace; love; truth; and joy
Peace will be their guide
Colossians 3:15 'And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also you are called in one body; and be thankful'.
Love will be their way
John 13:34 'A new commandment I give unto you, That you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.'
Truth will be their way
3 John 3 'For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, even as you walk in the truth.'
Joy will express their outward character.
Psalms 104:15 'And wine that makes glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengthens man’s heart.'
True Christianity is not manufactured. It is the oil of the Holy Ghost that makes the face to shine and the new wine of the Holy Ghost that makes the heart rejoice.
Main Points:
- 1. The Origins of Mormonism
Timeline of the life of Joseph Smith
(1805-1844).
Claim
of Joseph Smith
Founder of Mormonism: Joseph Smith
(1805-1844) claimed he was shown by the angel
Joseph Smith claimed he discovered the
plates buried in the Hill Cumorah in
The writings on the gold plates were in ancient
script.
He claimed that he was able to decipher the
ancient script by ‘the power of God’.
He used the same practice that he had used
in treasure seeking - divining with ‘seer stones’
One seer stone in a white top hat giving
reflections, and two seer stones were made into spectacles which he called the Urim and Thummim.
High possibility of deception
The possibility that Joseph Smith was being
deceptive is very high.
Joseph Smith dictated the translation from
behind a curtain.
Three witnesses gave written testimony that
they had seen the plates and heard the voice of God testifying to them.
The testimony of these witnesses is
unsubstantiated and unreliable.
The plates then supposedly disappeared.
The Book of Mormon (1830)
What is the message of the Book of
Mormon?
'An account of the former inhabitants of this (American) continent'.
a) Two waves of migrants built a large and prosperous civilization.
First migration c.2200 BC (Tower of Babel).
The Jaredites - became extinct. Farmers.
Later migration of Lehi and his family from Jerusalem (600BC - AD400).
Two sons of Lehi – Laman and Nephi. Built cities.
Lamanites forsake the Lord.
Nephites upheld the law but became apostate.
Lamanite race associated with the Native Americans.
Final Battle. Lamanites fought Nephites at Hill Cumorah (c.385 AD).
Over 230,000 Nephites killed
The Nephite Prophet Mormon is also killed.
b) An account of a visit by Jesus Christ to America after his ascension.
c) Documents written by prophets collected and abridged by the prophet Mormon.
Book of Mormon has no relevance to the New Testament
Even if the Book of Mormon was historically accurate it has no relevance to New Testament Christianity.
a) The spread of the lost tribes of Israel has no relevance in New Testament Christianity - there is neither Jew nor Gentile in Christ.
'There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus.' (Galatians 3:28)
b) The building of temples made by hand has no relevance to New Testament Christianity - the temple of the Holy Spirit is the living body of Christ.
'If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which you are.' (1 Corinthians 3:17)
c) Joseph Smith claimed to use the Urim and Thummim to translate the Book of Mormon. The Urim and the Thummim were on the heart of the High Priest so that he could use them to make judgements in a particular situation or circumstance. But now believers in Christ are indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
'This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;' (Hebrews 10:16).
d) The building of a literal city of Zion on earth has no relevance to New Testament Christianity - the book of Hebrews tells us that believers in Christ have already come to the heavenly Jerusalem.
'But you are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem , and to an innumerable company of angels,'(Hebrews 12:22).
Timeline of the life of Brigham Young (1801-1877)
2. Mormonism and the Bible
a) Mormons claim that the canon
of scripture did not close with Bible:
The Mormon 9th Article of Faith teaches that
revelation is continuous.
‘We
believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe
that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the
Kingdom of God.’
Mormons hold to ‘continuous revelation’. This means the inspired word of a Prophet in
the Mormon Church today can have the same authority as
scripture.
New Testament Christianity:
Scripture is complete
The canon is closed because the message of
the Bible is complete.
The message of the Bible from Genesis to
Revelation is one message: Redemption.
It is the message of how mankind fell and
how God has provided the way of redemption through the Lord Jesus Christ.
New Testament Christianity can be understood
in simple terms; 'Christ in you, the hope of glory'. (Colossians 1:27).
Christ now dwells in the lives of those who
have received the gift of eternal life through faith in the finished work of
the Lord Jesus Christ. I Corinthians
b) The authority of scripture is diminished by the Mormon claim that all
translations are unreliable.
Mormons believe the Bible in its original
form is the Word of God, but hold that there is no absolutely reliable
translation.
Mormon Articles of Faith, Article 8
‘We
believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly;
we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. ‘
The Book of Mormon states:
'thou seest the formation
of that great and abominable church, which is most abominable above all other
churches; for behold they have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb many
parts which are plain and most precious; and also many covenants of the Lord
have they taken away.' (1 Nephi 13:26)
Mormons quote scriptures
but when the scripture contradicts Mormon teaching they refer to Article 8
claiming all translations of the Bible are unreliable.
Orson Pratt 'Who knows that even one verse of the whole
Bible has escaped pollution, so as to convey the same sense now that it did in
the original'.
Manuscripts
Early New Testament manuscripts verify the
accuracy of the New Testament and its central message.
See course on Church History. New Testament Manuscripts
Archaeology - Dead Sea Scrolls have revealed
the accuracy of the Old Testament scriptures.
The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in
1947 has shown that only minor differences have occurred in the copying of Old
Testament texts over a period of 1000 years.
- 3. The teaching of Mormonism
Additional Mormon
scriptures are: The Book of Commandments and The Doctrine and Covenants (1833);
and The Pearl of Great Price (1851).
Mormon doctrine is
derived from these books.
Teachings
(1) Mormonism teaches that salvation is through faith plus obedience to laws.
3rd Article of the Mormon Faith: 'We believe that through the Atonement of
Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of
the Gospel'.
New Testament Christianity: The Bible states that justification is
through faith alone in the atonement of Christ :
Romans 3:24-28 '...A man is
justified by faith without the deeds of the law'
(2) Mormonism teaches the doctrine of eternal progression.
Lorenzo Snow
(1814-1901) former President and Prophet
of the Mormon Church.
'As man now is, our God
once was; as now God is, so man may be.'
(1840)
a)
God was once a man
b)
He learnt to be a god.
c)
All Mormon men are planning to become gods.
This Mormon teaching
reminds us of the lie of the serpent ‘you shall be as gods’ Genesis 3:5
New Testament Christianity: The Bible teaches the immutability of
God. God never changes.
Hebrews 13:8 'Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever'. The name Jehovah 'I AM THAT I AM' refers to
His unchanging nature and character.
New Testament Christianity: Romans 8:15-16, ‘For
ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received
the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
The Spirit itself bears witness with our
spirit, that we are the children of God:’
The born again Christian does not become a
god but we are born into the family of God.
In the Old Testament those who represented
God as judges were called by the name of ‘Elohim’.
(3) Mormonism teaches that Jesus
Christ was pre-existent and the firstborn of God's spirit children.
Mormon doctrine regards all humans as being
pre-existent spirit children of God.
In 1909 the doctrine was expressed in a
First presidency message:
‘Jesus, however, is the firstborn among all the sons of
God—the first begotten in the spirit, and the only begotten in the flesh. He is
our elder brother, and we, like Him, are in the image of God. All men and
women are in the similitude of the universal Father and Mother and are
literally the sons and daughters of Deity.’
The message bears the names of Joseph F. Smith; John R. Winder; Anthon
H. Lund
Brigham Young's 'Adam was
God the Father' teaching was declared as false doctrine by Spencer W.Kimball
(12th Prophet and President).
According to Brigham Young
Adam was God the Father and
began producing earthly bodies for spirit children.
New Testament Christianity: The Bible states 'Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and
today and forever'. (Hebrews 13:8).
Only begotten Son does not mean begotten as
in through sexual relations, it means only begotten in His relationship with
the Father. He is the eternal Son of
God.
The creation of human beings, body, soul and
spirit, is seen in Genesis 2:7, 'And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground (body), and breathed into his nostrils
the breath of life (spirit); and man became a living soul (soul).'
(4) Mormonism
teaches that God the Father and God the Son have physical bodies and cannot
dwell in us.
(Deeds and
Covenants 130:22) ‘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. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us.
New Testament Christianity: The Bible states that 'God is Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and
in truth'. (John 4:24).
The Holy Spirit is called ‘the Spirit of Christ’
Romans 8:9, ‘But ye are not in the flesh, but
in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man
have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.’
The Gospel is summed up by Paul as ‘Christ in you, the hope of glory’
(Colossians
(5) Mormonism teaches that
baptism is essential for salvation:
Obedience includes baptism, which is
essential for salvation. Those who have
died without baptism, and who would have accepted the Gospel if they had heard
it, can be baptised vicariously - see 1 Corinthians
Mormon teaching regarding baptism for the
dead takes scripture out of context.
1 Corinthians
New Testament Christianity: Baptism is for believers. It is a personal confession of faith in Jesus
Christ.
See teaching on Baptism in the New Testament
Baptism by total immersion in water is ‘an
outward witness to an inward work’.
The Bible teaches that baptism does not save
but is an outward witness to salvation already received.
(6) Mormonism teaches that
Mormons believe that the lost tribes are
being gathered to
New Testament
Christianity: The Bible states all
believers have already come to
The dispersion of the lost
tribes has no relevance to New Testament Christianity. Galatians
4. Mormonism is
a Mystery Religion.
Joseph Smith was a freemason.
The Mason Lodge in
Joseph Smith and his
brother Hyrum became members of the lodge.
Joseph Smith became a
Master Mason in 1842.
Masonry – is a secret
society that associates its rituals with Solomon’s
Masons claim to be non
religious but display all the characteristics of a ‘mystery religion’.
The link between Mormonism
and Masonry is obvious.
Mormonism is a mystery
religion that is associated with the ideas of freemasonry and occultism.
The origin of mystery
religions is from
Roman Catholicism; Hinduism; Buddhism; Islam have
similar practices that are derived from the mystery religions of ancient
Jesus did not come to make
us religious.
He came that we might have
life and life more abundantly, John 10:10.
Summary:
1) Even if
the Book of Mormon was historically accurate it has no relevance to New
Testament Christianity. There is no
distinction between Jew and Gentile; the
2) The
Mormon claim that all translations are
unreliable is a false claim because the Bible has one message: Redemption
through the Lord Jesus Christ. Rejection
of the Bible as the inspired word of God is to reject the message of redemption
through faith in Jesus Christ alone.
Archaeology has also proved the Mormon claim to be false. The Dead Sea Scrolls have revealed that the
copying of scripture has been done with extreme care and only minor differences
are apparant in copy's made 1000 years apart.
3) The teaching of Mormonism is directly opposed to New
Testament Christianity.
4) Mormonism and Freemasonry are closely related – Freemasonry
is a secret society and Mormonism is a mystery religion but their close
relation is obvious.
Points to consider:
a)
Mormonism is based upon the teachings of unreliable
witnesses.
b)
It is a mystery religion - Mormons are initiated
into deeper teaching in the Mormon Temple.
c)
It baptises on behalf of the dead. The Bible states that after death comes the
judgement.
d)
Mormons build big expensive buildings in poor
areas, which bear no relationship with the community. True Christianity relates to the needs of the
local people.
e)
Mormon's have a two tier priesthood 'Aaronic (secular) and Melchisedek
(spiritual)'. In the New Testament all
believers are priests - the Aaronic priesthood was
done away with in Christ and Melchisedek priesthood
is fulfilled in Christ who lives forever to make intercession for us.
f)
Mormonism is built upon the belief that the lost
tribes of Israel went to the USA; that Jesus visited the USA after His
ascension; and that through the Mormon Church Zion is being built in the
USA. New Testament Christianity - there
is neither Jew nor Gentile but all are one in Christ Jesus; Jesus will return
again and every eye will see Him.
To study issues
concerning Mormonism in more detail go to this website: Utah Lighthouse
Ministry