Mormonism

In this article we will examine the cult of Mormonism, its beginnings, doctrines, and practices. We will also establish that Mormonism is not ‘Christian’ in any biblical sense of the word and that the Jesus Christ they promote, is not the Christ of Scripture. Finally, I will offer some personal and tested advice on how to help Mormons to understand they are involved in a cult and to come to know the real Jesus Christ.

Much of the material in this article comes from my two university textbooks, Practical Systematic Theology and Religion: History and Mystery, both of which can be found on my website. So firstly, a short introduction.

At the end of the eighteenth century a great Christian revival broke out which spread across parts of Europe, especially Great Britain, and to North America. This was a traditionally Bible-based revival known as the Great Awakening and was attributed to the work of the Holy Spirit. Within fifty years of this, several groups of pseudo Christian religions sprang up in America - religions which Bible-based Christians consider cults, and even a demonic reaction to the Great Awakening. The first of these groups came to be known as Mormonism and was founded in the 1820s by Joseph Smith.

Mormon Beginnings

Joseph Smith was born in 1805 and assassinated in 1844. He was said to be a member of the Masonic Lodge, an organization with close ties to Kabbalism. He claimed to have received a vision in which an angel named Moroni told him where he could find Golden Plates which were supposedly a chronicle of the indigenous people of America, a group of Israelites who believed in Christ hundreds of years before His birth. Over three months, Smith is said to have dictated a 584-page book which he claimed he translated from an ancient language he had been able to understand through a gift from God. Other sources claim that he had a magical pair of spectacles, glasses which enabled him to read these golden plates. From 1829, Smith, and his close associate, Oliver Cowdery, began baptizing people into a new Church called the Church of Christ.

Smith claimed that in 1820 he had seen another vision of God and Jesus Christ together, and in answer to his prayer, was told he should join no Church as they were all teaching false doctrines. By 1830, he claimed that God had chosen him to be the prophet of the Restored Church, and that the book of Mormon would be the foundational document for this church.

Smith's claims were not well met and, to avoid conflict, he tried to establish what he referred to as The New Jerusalem in Jackson County, Missouri. By this time the Mormons were calling themselves the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS), and from 1830 onwards were practicing polygamy as instructed by Smith. By the 1850s about 30% of Mormons practiced polygamy openly, and no doubt this was one of the most controversial practices which led to their confrontation with both the government and local organizations. LDS were expelled from Missouri and settled in Illinois for several years, but conflicts there saw the death of Smith in 1844. It is claimed that prior to his death by an angry mob, he called out a secret code of the Masonic Lodge in the hope that fellow masons would save him.

Brigham Young was accepted as the new prophet/leader of the LDS and led his followers to the Utah Territory. In Utah, plural marriage was practiced openly, which led to the United States Congress outlawing the practice. In 1890 the LDS officially announced the end of plural marriage; however, such multiple unions have continued secretly amongst fundamentalist Mormons to the present time.

Mormon Teachings

1. Pre-existence. As in Plato's philosophy, Mormons believe in the pre-existence of all persons as souls/spirits or intellects. This is an interesting contradiction in that one of Mormonism's earliest criticisms of Protestantism is that parts of the Bible were corrupted by Greek Philosophy. Pre-existence means that humans, and angels such as Satan, were all spirit beings before God created the world. Plato taught that the Ultimate God, the Logos, was immortal, and that the human soul was a tiny part of the Logos. Mormons believe that we are spirit children of God and, therefore, of the same essence of God.

2. God as a Man. The God called Jehovah was once a man with an Immortal Father. His origins are described in another Smith translation, The Book of Abraham, which is supposed to be a text written upon Egyptian papyrus which Joseph Smith translated. In this book, God is said to dwell on a planet/star called Kolob, the 'Throne of God'.  He has a tangible body like ours. Due to his good character, Jehovah ascended to being a great god with his own planet (Kolob) and then proceeded to create our universe which he rules. Human beings are also capable of achieving god status, of having their own planets and producing spirit children, depending entirely on their lives on earth.

3. Human life on earth is merely a testing ground to determine each spirit's future. Freedom to choose means that most will make mistakes and sin; however, through good works one can earn their way upwards to the highest of three different levels of heaven, a doctrine recorded in Smith's work, Doctrines and Covenants. 

4. Jesus Christ is the naturally conceived son of Jehovah and Mary. God, in his physical body, had sexual relations with Mary to produce Jesus.

5. Jesus is able to offer atonement for sins. This is not a 'salvation by grace' theology, but rather an opportunity for the person to get back on track on their spiritual journey towards ascension. Jesus is therefore more of an exemplar - an example to follow in order to gain a higher ascension.

6. Forgiveness of sins is tied to compliance of Mormon Laws and Ordinances. The Book of Mormon has greater authority than the Bible, in fact, the Bible is considered to have been changed, or parts of it lost - supposedly the parts which would support Mormon theology.

7. Jesus is the first spirit born in Jehovah's universe, but there are many universes, and other gods rule them as Jehovah rules ours.

8. There is no 'salvation' outside of Mormonism. Satan devised the doctrine of Salvation by Grace alone in Jesus Christ. A person must earn their salvation through good works. However, there are many degrees of salvation and hell. There are several lower realms including 'outer darkness' where the worst sinners are sent, but Smith also indicated that for those living in the two lower 'heavens', after seeing the highest heaven, their existence will be a form of hell.

9. As in Freemasonry, in order to ascend to the highest heavens one must join the priesthood and learn secret rites and handshakes - a spiritual elite who are recognized by Jehovah through the individual learning and application of them. Until the mid 1970's, no black person could become a Mormon priest, and women are banned from this level of Mormon hierarchy. 

10. God is married to his goddess wife and produces spirit children. Marriages are eternal for Mormons, whether one has several wives or just one.

11. Mormons baptize the living on behalf of the dead in order to help the dead ascend to a higher level. Mormons also believe that it is possible to baptize a living person for a dead non-Mormon in order for that person to become a Mormon and, therefore, obtain a higher level of eternal existence. This doctrine would seem to contradict Smith's claim that no one can progress from one spiritual reality to a higher one after death.

12. Ordinances. Mormons have many ordinances, rituals similar in some respects to sacraments, but closer to the idea of a covenant with God. Ordinances include water baptism, ordination into the Melchizidek and Aaronic priesthoods, the laying on of hands, etc.  

Mormonism as 'Christian'

Is Mormonism a form of Christianity?

Christianity holds the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, as its fundamental, foundational beliefs, and that the Bible, at least in context, is infallible, inerrant, and revealed by God. The Book of Mormon is the foundational text of Mormons, just as the Qur'an is for Muslims - two religions which both claim angelic revelation and authority by their founders. Any religion must be defined by its foundation, therefore, it would be just as authorative to call Muslims 'Christians', for Muslims also quote the Bible as a secondary source. The Book of Mormon contradicts the Bible in the same way as the Qur'an. Mormons also recognize other books as Scripture, including Doctrines and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price.

Christianity has creeds which are accepted by all Christian denominations. The 'Apostolic Creeds' include doctrines which are absolutely non-negotiable for Christians which include the following:

1. God is Triune in nature. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three persons of the Godhead, indivisible and yet individual. Mormonism rejects this doctrine wholesale.

2. Christology. Jesus Christ is the Logos, the second person of the Trinity. He is the physical manifestation of God, the Creator, and the one who was born of the Holy Spirit and seed of Mary, the virgin who conceived. Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully man. Jesus Christ, through His death and resurrection, atones for all sin. Mormons reject traditional Bible-based Christology.

3. The Nature of God. God alone is immortal (1st Timothy 6:16). God alone is the infinite uncreated being. Mormons teach that Jehovah was a man before becoming God; that he married and produced 'spirit children'. This idea is utterly rejected in Christian theology.

4. Satan was created as an arch angel, not a 'spirit being' or brother to Jesus. Such an idea is abhorrent to Christian ears.

5. Salvation is by grace and through faith. Salvation cannot be earned as in Mormonism.

Mormonism is absolutely opposed to traditional Christianity in its beliefs and practices. For the Christian, salvation is by grace, through faith in the saving power of Jesus Christ, 'apart from good deeds' (Ephesians 2:8); therefore, salvation is a gift from God to all those who seek immortality through trusting their lives to Christ (Romans 2: 7). For Mormons, Christ is merely an exemplar. Mormons must, as Buddha stated, 'work out their own salvation with diligence', observing strict rules and entering into covenants, of which many are closely related to The Masonic Lodge. 

Joseph Smith introduced many Masonic ideas and practices into Mormonism and remained a Freemason until his death. Masons practice a ritual in which the initiate must wear torn and ragged clothes and get into a coffin, symbolizing death to their former Masonic life. According to the testimony of ex-Mormons, Mormon initiates are subjected to similar rites. Symbols such as the square and compass are taken from freemasonry, as are many of the rites. For example, freemasons use secret handshakes in order to identify other masons, whereas Mormons learn secret handshakes in order to be identified by specific angels and be allowed to enter the highest realms of their three- leveled heaven. 

For the Christian, Scripture is a closed revelation. No one has the authority to add to the Bible, although both Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christianity consider their traditions to be on an equal status to Scripture. For Mormons, like Hindus, revelation can be continued as in the case of Joseph Smith.

Leo Tolstoy described Mormonism as the 'quintessential American Religion'. Mormons believe that the Garden of Eden was in North America, that Christ visited America, that the people of the Book of Mormon lived in America prior to the coming of Christ, that the New Jerusalem would be built in Missouri, and that the revelation for the restored Church was given to Joseph Smith in New York.

Conclusions

If Christianity is a Bible-based religion, in the sense that Christian theology must be tested against the Bible, then Mormonism is definitely not Christian. One may also question the appearance and disappearance of the golden plates containing the Book of Mormon. These plates were supposedly hidden somewhere in New York - not brought down from heaven - but went missing entirely. How could something so important to a religion just get lost or disappear? According to Smith, he returned the plates to the angel Moroni. Whether or not the golden plates ever existed can never be proven or disproved. Stories about the plates vary considerably and, for Mormons, their existence is simply believed.

Furthermore, one can obviously discern major influences of both Gnosticism and Kabbalism in Mormon beliefs. The idea that Jehovah had to ascend to a higher level, the goal of humans having god-like status with their own planets to rule, that Satan and Jesus are related were all taught in one or other of these mystic religions well before Joseph Smith borrowed them.

Mormonism is a thoroughly male dominated cult with self in the center, a religion of merit, secrecy and hierarchy where women are second-rate vessels for pleasuring men. Women exist to serve their husbands, and this servitude and absolute submission continues for eternity. The use of any form of contraception was taught as utterly sinful as a woman’s role was to give birth to as many children as possible. This teaching continued until the 1970s when Mormon leaders became less adamant regarding contraception.

By changing its name to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, it sought to legitimize itself as a ‘christian’ denomination, however, the Christ of Mormonism is in no way the Christ of Scripture. The Bible clearly teaches that Jesus Christ is the second person of the Trinity, the physical manifestation of God who created the world, entered into the world as a man, and made atonement for sinners on the cross. Jesus Christ is not a created being, and not a spirit-child of Jehovah and brother of Satan as Mormons claim. 

Like many cults, Mormons have dietary laws in which to separate them from non-mormons. Hot drinks such as tea or coffee are forbidden, as is any form of alcohol or smoking. Such rules are prevalent in cults as they give members concrete objectives and regulations to follow in order to evaluate their level of merit through comparing themselves with others.  

Personally, I have seen people, even mormon missionaries, come out of this cult. I invited two mormon missionaries who came to my door to return and have a discussion. I set some rules. I would let them speak for 30-45 mins without interrupting them as they made their case, and then they would allow me to do the same. They agreed to return in a week. During that time I read the book of moron, and one of their favorite books called ‘a wonderful work and a wonder’, making many notes when I saw blatant contradictions. 

Each week I invited them to address these contradictions the next week. I also took them through Scripture as a story, concentrating on the prophecies regarding Christ, who He really is and why salvation is only available through faith in Him. I used an earlier version of my small book ‘Time for truth’ and gave them each a copy so they could see the logic and message of the Bible.

They continued to come for several weeks until the elder man forbade this discussion any longer. His younger partner called me secretly before they left my town and said that the contradictions had made him doubt, and the presentation of prophecies and life of the real Jesus Christ had convinced him that he must leave the cult and come to know the Lord.

If you have a friend or family member involved in a cult, I encourage you to use this same form of discussion. Show a level of respect, make notes, learn exactly what they believe, and then respectfully present your case. Interrupting each other and arguing back and forth will get you no-where, but if you have given the person the time and respect to speak without interruption, then, God willing, they may listen and you will plant the seeds which may bear fruit.

I pray this article has been enlightening and helpful for you. The video series on World Religions and Cults can be viewed from my YouTube channel @stevecopland6001.

Steve Copland