Recently, I have been contacted by several Mormons regarding the article that I posted on our church blog for the benefit of our local church body regarding Focus on the Family’s CitizenLink article on Glen Beck. I took issue with the CitizenLink article (which has since been removed by Focus on the Family) because it doesn’t bother to mention that Mr. Beck is a member of the Mormon cult, but instead, it portrays him as an example of God’s saving grace through the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Mormons that have personally contacted me have expressed everything from calm concern to anger and outrage that I would have “the audacity to decide who believes in the ‘correct’ Jesus Christ . . .” and “Those who declare themselves to be followers of Christ and genuinely seek to speak only the truth should represent the actual theology of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints accurately. This is most effectively accomplished by visiting the Church's official website at lds.org as opposed to relying on inaccurate and deceptive sources such as the one you so mistakenly think contains a ‘great overview of the cult of Mormonism’.”
Another Mormon who contacted me via e-mail, reflected the politically correct “virtues” of our postmodern
“Of the 3,000 Christian churches, which one is right? Yours? Prove it!! The reason there are so many is because each one has a little different dogma on what the Bible is saying. In this life there is no way to PROVE who is right. Your FAITH tells you you are right, but that doesn't make it so! I recently attended a Catholic funeral mass. I was very uncomfortable with the ritual, pagentry, and ordinances that I am unfamiliar with. But, out of respect for God and the deceased person, I went through the ceremony and respect them for having beliefs. At least this person, and the people in attendance at her funeral, had beliefs to guide them to make moral choices in this mortal life.
With the threat of radical Islam all around us in the world, I shudder to think that Christians the world over couldn't come together to take on this foe because they hate each other and refuse to fight for the same cause. It makes me sick!!! Of the more than 200 wars and skirmishes going on right now in the world, all but two are caused by religious differences. I'll bet that makes Jesus proud of us!
I wish we could all just pull together as people wanting a moral world as citizens, if not religious people. These kinds of issues sure turn me off on religious branches that set themselves up to judge others. We both know the time is coming when we are GOING to have to work together to combat Satan and other horrors that will be facing us.”
Well, since I'm being interpreted as a bigot by Mormons because I'm teaching that official LDS doctrine is a corrupt and damnable heresy, I wonder how our Mormon friends would feel about these comments from Joseph Smith himself as found in their own sacred Scriptures?
My object in going to ainquire 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. I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all awrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those bprofessors were all ccorrupt; that: “they ddraw near to me with their lips, but their ehearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the fcommandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the gpower thereof.” [Joseph Smith, Pearl of Great Price, History of the Church, Vol. I, Chapters 1-5, 19].
Given the Mormon standards leveled against those who oppose their cultic doctrines, the above passage of Mormon Scripture teaches that it is necessary to oppose historic Christian doctrine because "all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those bprofessors were all ccorrupt". Contrary to what many Americans think, our nation’s biggest problem is not radical Islam, economic hardship, or the coming uber-liberal policy implementation of our new President-Elect Barak Obama.
NAU James 2:19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.
Knowledgeable Mormons don’t even do as well as the demons, yet even the demons are headed for damnation. How much worse for the Mormons who hold a Bible in their hands! With that in mind, we will look at their first major heresy, polytheism.
I. Polytheism: “Latter-day Saints believe in God the Father; his Son, Jesus Christ; and the Holy Ghost . . . These three Gods form the Godhead, which holds the keys of power over the universe.”[1]
The above quote shows that Mormons believe that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit do not make up the one true God as described in the Bible but believe that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three separate gods contrary to Isaiah 43:10 and Matthew 28:19. The Encyclopedia[2] goes on to say, “Although the three members of the Godhead are distinct personages, their Godhead is ‘one’ in that all three are united in their thoughts, actions, and purpose, with each having a fulness of knowledge, truth, and power. Each is a God.”[3] Latter-Day Saint President Gordon B. Hinckley confirms this heretical view when he says in context regarding the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, “They are distinct beings, but They are one in purpose and effort.”[4] Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles affirms Mormonism’s polytheism as well when he explicitly states, “We declare it is self-evident from the scriptures that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are separate persons, three divine beings,”[5]
Well I wish that someone would have informed the human authors of Scripture, for the only thing they know about polytheism was that it is idolatrous falsehood! And therein lays the great, damnable heresy of Mormonism; the rejection of the fundamental truth of Biblical Christianity: that there is only one God (Deuteronomy 32:39; 1 Kings 8:60; Mark 12:32-34; 1 Corinthians 8:4; Ephesians 4:6; 1 Timothy 2:5). The fact that they reject this fundamental truth puts them outside the camp of Biblical Christianity from the beginning of any discussion on this issue. The fact that many professing evangelicals don’t recognize this shows that American evangelicalism is in dire straits indeed. Consider what God Himself has to say about the number of gods that exist:
NAU Isaiah 43:10 "You are My witnesses," declares the LORD, "And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me.
NAU Isaiah 44:6-8 “Thus says the LORD, the King of
NAU Isaiah 45:5 "I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me;
NAU Isaiah 45:18 For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited), “I am the LORD, and there is none else.”
NAU Isaiah 45:22 "Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other.
NAU Isaiah 46:9 "Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me,
NAU 1 Corinthians 8:4 Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one.
However, contrary to the Scripture above, “Elder”
“In the spring of 1820, a 14-year-old boy, confused by many of these very doctrines that still confuse much of Christendom, went into a grove of trees to pray. In answer to that earnest prayer offered at such a tender age, the Father and the Son appeared as embodied, glorified beings to the boy prophet Joseph Smith. That day marked the beginning of the return of the true, New Testament gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and the restoration of other prophetic truths offered from Adam down to the present day.”[6]
That day didn’t mark a restoration of the gospel, but a damnable perversion of it. On June 16, 1844, in his last Sunday sermon before his martyrdom, Joseph Smith declared that “in all congregations” he had taught “the plurality of Gods” for fifteen years: “I have always declared God to be a distinct personage, Jesus Christ a separate and distinct personage from God the Father, and that the Holy Ghost was a distinct personage and a Spirit: and these three constitute three distinct personages and three Gods.”[7]
Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, exchanged the truth of God for the lie and worshipped and served a created thing rather than the Creator, just like Romans 1:25 says all idolaters do. Because Joseph Smith did not glorify God by submitting to the teaching of Scripture that clearly proclaims that there are three separate eternal persons called God (John 1:1-3; 5:18; 20:28; Acts 5:4; 2 Corinthians 3:17; Colossians 1:15-17; 2:9; Titus 1:3-4) but there is only one eternal being that can be called the living and true God (Isaiah 43:10; 44:6, 8; 45:5, 18, 22; 46:9), nor was he thankful for this revelation, but instead he did what all men who reject revelation do, become futile in their thoughts (i.e., by declaring “the plurality of Gods.”) and so, his foolish heart became darkened.
II. God the Father was one of us.
Romans chapter one continues to explain the progression towards idolatry in 1:22-23, “Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man . . .” For a Latter-day Saint, the ultimate spiritual attainment is for a man to achieve “godhood”, i.e., becoming a god. The Encyclopedia affirms,
“Logically and naturally, the ultimate desire of a loving Supreme Being is to help his children enjoy all that he enjoys. For the Latter-day Saints, the term ‘godhood’ denotes the attainment of such a state – one of having all divine attributes and doing as God does and being as God is. Such a state is to be enjoyed by all exalted, embodied, intelligent beings . . . The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that all resurrected and perfected mortals become gods (cf. Gen. 3:22; Matt. 5:48). They will dwell again with GOD THE FATHER, and live and act like him in endless worlds of happiness, power, love, glory, and knowledge; above all, they will have the power of procreating endless lives.”[8]
Smith also taught, “Every man who reigns in celestial glory is a God to his dominions.”[9] And it doesn’t stop there. In LDS theology, God the Father also achieved his exalted status this way by progressing to godhood through “the law of eternal progression”. Eventually God the Father’s spiritual progress resulted in him changing from being a mere man to becoming a divine exalted man for Smith taught “God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret.”[10] Here, Smith exchanged “the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man” by teaching that God was a man “as we are now” and then progressed onward to become “an exalted man who sits enthroned in yonder heavens”. Of course, in LDS theology, before the Father became God He was not always the Father, but became the Father just like any other man. Again, Joseph Smith said, “God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret!”[11] So, according to Mormonism, God the Father became God at some time before “the beginning” of the universe by experiencing a mortality similar to ours that was experienced on earth.[12] This false god that Mormons worship not only became the Father, but existed before the Son and the Holy Spirit.[13] The Encyclopedia affirms this, “The Father existed prior to the Son and the Holy Ghost and is the source of their divinity”[14] and “The Son and the Holy Spirit were ‘in the beginning, with God,’ but the Father alone existed before the beginning of the universe as it is known.”[15] Also, not only do they make the Father likened unto a corruptible man, but they also make the Son and the Holy Spirit likened unto corruptible man by teaching they did not exist in eternity past (Psalm 90:2; Micah 5:2; Hebrews 7:3). And so, not only is the LDS understanding of “God the Father” a false god, but the Mormon Jesus and Holy Spirit are also demonic false gods (Deuteronomy 32:17; 1 Corinthians 10:20; Revelation 9:20).
Mormon doctrine further exchanges the “the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man” by teaching that both “gods” and “humans” are the “same species of being.” Joseph Smith stated clearly, “‘If men do not comprehend the character of God, they do not comprehend themselves’ (TPJS, p. 343). Gods and humans represent a single divine lineage, the same species of being, although they and he are at different stages of progress. This doctrine is stated concisely in a well-known couplet by President Lorenzo Snow: ‘As man now is, God once was: as God now is, man may be.’”[16] The Encyclopedia says, “The important points of the doctrine for Latter-day Saints are that Gods and humans are the same species of being, but at different stages of development in a divine continuum, and that the heavenly Father and Mother are the heavenly pattern, model, and example of what mortals can become through obedience to the gospel.”[17]
This doctrine puts man and God on the same plane of existence with the same capabilities and same goals but merely at different “levels of development”. However, the God of the Bible is Holy (Isaiah 6:3), completely set apart from His creation, and in being God He is unlike anything else in all of existence. Consider what the prophet Isaiah says in Isaiah 40:12-18,
NAU Isaiah 40:12-18 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, And marked off the heavens by the span, And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, And weighed the mountains in a balance And the hills in a pair of scales? 13 Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His counselor has informed Him? 14 With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding? And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge And informed Him of the way of understanding? 15 Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, And are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales; Behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust. 16 Even
The one true living God - the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – in comparing Himself with the “nations,” of mankind says that “All the nations are as nothing before Him, They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless.” The one and only true and living God is infinitely greater than men (Isaiah 55:8-9; 57:15; Psalm 90:2). Yet, Mormons teach that God is like corruptible man, and as such, Mormons even have a “mother God”! This leads to our third section.
III. A Divine Mommy
Did your eyes notice those two quirky words in the middle of a quote that was produced from the Encyclopedia just four paragraphs ago? Here it is again in full,
“The important points of the doctrine for Latter-day Saints are that Gods and humans are the same species of being, but at different stages of development in a divine continuum, and that the heavenly pattern Father and Mother are the heavenly pattern, model, and example of what mortals can become through obedience to the gospel (see MOTHER IN HEAVEN).”[18]
The Encyclopedia later clarifies for the reader on page 961 under the section titled “MOTHER IN HEAVEN”, “Latter-day Saints infer from authoritative sources of scripture and modern prophecy that there is a Heavenly Mother as well as a Heavenly Father.”[19] “Latter-day Saints believe that all the people of earth who lived or will live are actual spiritual offspring of God the Eternal Father (Num.16:22; Heb. 12:9). In this perspective, parenthood requires both father and mother, whether for the creation of spirits in the premortal life or of physical tabernacles on earth. A Heavenly Mother shares parenthood with the Heavenly Father. This concept leads Latter-day Saints to believe that she is like him in glory, perfection, compassion, wisdom, and holiness.”[20] In other words, Mormonism affirms not only polytheism but they also affirm the existence of a goddess as well.
The Encyclopedia goes on to say that a Mormon wrote a hymn about their heavenly mother!
As early as 1839 the Prophet Joseph Smith taught the concept of an eternal mother, as reported in several accounts from that period. Out of his teaching came a hymn that Latter-day Saints learn, sing, quote, and cherish, “O My Father,” by Eliza R. Snow. President Wilford Woodruff called it a revelation (Woodruff, p. 62).
In the heav'ns are parents single?
No, the thought makes reason stare!
Truth is reason; truth eternal
Tells me I've a mother there.
When I leave this frail existence,
When I lay this mortal by,
Father, Mother, may I meet you
In your royal courts on high? [Hymn no. 292][21]
Finally, under this section, the Encyclopedia concludes, “Today the belief in a living Mother in Heaven is implicit in Latter-day Saint thought. Though the scriptures contain only hints, statements from presidents of the church over the years indicate that human beings have a Heavenly Mother as well as a Heavenly Father.”[22]
IV. Final tidbits about Polytheism in Mormon Theology.
We have shown from official LDS sources that Mormons believe that the Godhead is three separate gods and that where there is a heavenly Father there surely is a heavenly mother. However, their polytheism doesn’t stop there, the Mormons believe also in many other gods beyond those of the Godhead and a heavenly mother. Here are a few examples from the Encyclopedia,
In 1909 the first presidency, under Joseph F. Smith, issued a statement on the origin of man that teaches that "man, as a spirit, was begotten and born of heavenly parents, and reared to maturity in the eternal mansions of the Father," as an "offspring of celestial parentage," and further teaches that "all men and women are in the similitude of the universal Father and Mother, and are literally the sons and daughters of Deity" (Smith, pp. 199-205).[23]
Logically and naturally, the ultimate desire of a loving Supreme Being is to help his children enjoy all that he enjoys. For Latter-day Saints, the term "godhood" denotes the attainment of such a state - one of having all divine attributes and doing as God does and being as God is. Such a state is to be enjoyed by all exalted, embodied, intelligent beings (see Deification; Eternal Progression; Exaltation; God; Perfection). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that all resurrected and perfected mortals become gods (cf. Gen. 3:22; Matt. 5:48). They will dwell again with God The Father, and live and act like him in endless worlds of happiness, power, love, glory, and knowledge; above all, they will have the power of procreating endless lives. Latter-day Saints believe that Jesus Christ attained godhood (see Christology) and that he marked the path and led the way for others likewise to become exalted divine beings by following him (cf. John 14:3).[24]
Most people are accustomed to using the term "God" to identify only one being, the Father. But the scriptures sometimes use the term to designate others as well. In this sense, while the faithful worship only one God in spirit and in truth, there exist other beings who have attained the necessary intelligence and righteousness to qualify for the title "god." Jesus Christ is a god and is a separate personage, distinct from God the Father (see Godhead).
People qualify themselves for this rank and degree of exaltation by bringing themselves fully in line with all that God has commanded them to do: "Here, then, is eternal life - to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves, . . .[25]
The above quotes from Mormon sources not only prove that their doctrine is non-Christian and polytheistic, but they also remind true believers that if a Mormon adheres to historic and current LDS teaching about God, then they are worshipping idols crafted in the minds of men and will be on doomed forever to outer darkness (1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Revelation 21:8). Contrary to what LDS doctrine teaches, the Jesus of the Bible never became a god. He has always been and will eternally be the one and only true God. In light of that last statement, God warned the Hebrew Christians in Hebrews 13:8-9a to avoid strange doctrines as they remembered the true nature of Jesus Christ, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. 9 Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings . . .” (Hebrews 13:8-9a; see also John 1:1; John 5:18; 8:58; 20:28; Romans 9:5; Philippians 2:6; and 1 Timothy 6:14-16). It is our prayer that our church body may be protected from the idolatrous teaching of Mormonism and that our Mormon friends may have their eyes opened by the Holy Spirit to heed that warning from Hebrews 13:9 as they seek to compare the Bible’s teachings about God with Mormonism’s own official teachings.
[1] Encyclopedia Of Mormonism, Daniel H. Ludlow, ed., (online version) 552. Hereafter referred to as Encyclopedia.
[2] All doctrinal quotes and sources used to critique LDS theology in Part I of this series come directly from this online Mormon resource.
[3] ibid.
[4] Articles of Faith: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost [Bolded portion mine for emphasis]
[5] The Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom He Hath Sent [Bolded portion mine for emphasis]
[6] Ibid.
[7] Encyclopedia, 552, excerpt from the Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 370. [Bolded portion mine for emphasis]
[8] Encyclopedia, 553. [Bolded emphases mine]
[11] Ibid.
[13] Ibid., 554.
[14] Ibid., 548.
[15] Ibid.
[16] Ibid., 549.
[17] Ibid.
[18] Ibid. [Bolded emphasis mine]
[19] Ibid., 961. [Bolded emphasis mine]
[20] Ibid.
[21] Ibid.
[22] Ibid.
[23] Ibid.
[24] Ibid., 553. [Bolded emphasis mine]
[25] Ibid., 554.
