The Real Threat of Mormonism

Over the years I have encountered many misperceptions that Mormons have about Christians and Christianity. One of note is found in a little book published in 1998 by LDS author Scott Marshall. In an effort to explain the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, Mr. Marshall wrote,

“THE TRINITY CREATION. They believe in the trinity creation. The trinity was voted on in the Council of Nicene hundreds of years after Christ’s death. A bunch of church leaders and govern­ment officials got together and voted on ‘who God was?’, and it wasn’t even a unanimous vote. There were about four different versions of God that they voted on. The version that is used by Catholics and Protestants today only won by about a 40 percent margin. Their view of God, as you may know, is that He is like a formless mass of spirit that fills the whole universe and when He comes to earth, part of it breaks off and forms itself into Jesus.” (Scott Marshall, Tracting and Member Missionary Work, 73)

Both historically and doctrinally, this teaching on the Trinity and its “creation” is atrocious. Yet at least one Mormon (the author) believes it.

Another idea – and one that is long-lived and widely embraced among Mormons – is that Christians “fight” against the LDS Church out of a fear of “member poaching” that results in lower salaries for individual Christian pastors. This misperception is being promoted in a brand new book by LDS author Christopher C. Sheldon, Donning the Armor of God: The Saint’s Guide to Defending the Faith. Mr. Sheldon encourages members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to read his book to find facts and information that will prepare them for encounters with critics of the LDS Church.

In Chapter 2 (“Anti-Mormon Thinking and Tactics”) Mr. Sheldon explains why critics “would go through all the trouble” of arguing against Mormonism. After stating that Christians believe Mormonism is “a twisting of Christianity,” Mr. Sheldon writes,

“Another reason as to why Christians fight against the Church is a two-part problem. First, they are upset with the fact that we believe ours to be the one and only true church of Christ and that all other Christian teachings are wrong. In this respect it is understandable why Christians are upset with the Church. This statement and belief is threatening to the Christian community. It brings into question and threatens the credibility of Christianity. This leads us to the second problem for Christian denominational leaderships, because preaching is their job and sole source of income. Aside from tithing[,] ministers, pastors and preachers are paid so much money per seat filled in their congregations… Thus, every member lost is money lost.” (8-9)

Continue reading at Mormonism Research Ministry

The threat from Mormonism is summed up in this paragraph:

Mormonism threatens the eternal hope of millions of people. It proclaims a false god. It proclaims a false gospel. It proclaims an unattainable eternal future, making spiritual promises that it cannot fulfill. Those who place their faith and hope in Mormonism will never see Heaven because they have rejected God’s merciful and gracious offer of redemption in Christ alone. Often unaware, they have turned from the narrow gate that leads to eternal life, choosing instead the wide gate that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14).

Mormon and “Gay”?!?

The Mormon Church has now said you can be both a Mormon and “gay.”  Looks to me like they are slowly capitulating, but I hope they won’t.

I think I understand that they are saying you can be struggling with homosexual attraction and still be a Mormon.  Well, that is also true for Christians; we all struggle with sin and attractions to sinful activities.

The issue really is that there is no such thing as a “gay” (or “homosexual”) person.  Regardless of whether those who practice homosexual behavior want to make that their identity, it isn’t their identity.  Never does our sexual activity become our identity, and one of the major coups of the homosexual agenda was to change the adverb/adjective “homosexual” into a noun.

The problem is that those who call themselves “gay” or “homosexual” are normally practicing homosexual behavior and are unrepentant about it.  I would think, based on Mormon teachings, that one could no more be a Mormon and continue in the homosexual lifestyle than one could be a Christian and do so.

Whether or not same-sex “attractions” are a choice is irrelevant to the issue — the sexual behavior is always a choice.  Most men are attracted to attractive women, but that doesn’t mean it is okay for them to have sex with someone to whom they are not married.

I’m glad to see that Mormons don’t even recognize “transgenders,” since that is a made-up idea for non-existent people.  “Transgender” is a term used to justify another type of sexual deviancy, and has come to be a noun.   Why should the LDS propagate this lie?

The really sad thing is that these people want to stay with the LDS, where there is no Holy Spirit to help them overcome their sin of homosexuality, let alone provide salvation from their sins.  They need to seek the true God and true Christ of the Bible so as to be saved from their sins, and THEN the Holy Spirit will help them.  If they continue as Mormons, they will die in their sin and be eternally damned.

Joseph Smith Was NOT a Prophet of God

Joseph Smith Was NOT a Prophet of God

The following was posted at Mormonism Research Ministry.  I thought it was an excellent post to share with my readers.

10 reasons why Joseph Smith should not be considered a true prophet of God

By Eric Johnson

1.  He was not considered to be trustworthy by the people of his day.

2.  He taught in a version of God different from the Bible.

3.  He produced prophecies that didn’t come to pass.

4.   He made a mockery of marriage and was not faithful to his wife Emma.

5.   He did not know how to translate foreign languages.

6.   He said he received a revelation on the Word of Wisdom but didn’t keep it himself.

7.   He created a temple system that was in no way similar to the biblical temple.

8.   He added in prophecies about himself in the book of Genesis.

9.   He said he saw God the Father and Jesus with his own eyes.

10.  He was involved with folk magic.

For more “10 Reasons” click here.

The Mormon Claims About Poor Transmission Are False

One of the lies by Joseph Smith was about the Bible and why no one could trust it.  The following is recorded in the History of the Church 6:57:

I believe the Bible as it read when it came from the pen of the original writers. Ignorant translators, careless transcribers, or designing and corrupt priests have committed many errors.

In the previous article I posted, by Bill McKeever of Mormonism Research Ministry, McKeever addressed these claims.  However, on the issue of transmission of the Scriptures through history, it is important to note that, contrary to LDS claims, we have plenty of evidence demonstrating how very little has changed from the earliest manuscripts to the latest ones.  The transmission has been very accurate.

Mormonism Research Ministry recently published the article, “What a charred lump of a 2,000-year-old scroll can tell us about Mormonism.”  Written by Sharon Lindbloom, the article definitely destroys the LDS claims against the accuracy of the Bible.

In June of 1843 Mormonism’s founder, the Prophet Joseph Smith, told his followers,

“There are many things in the Bible which do not, as they now stand, accord with the revelations of the Holy Ghost to me.” (Jo­seph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 310. See also History of the Church 5:425)

Four months later, in another sermon, Joseph Smith explained,

“I believe the Bible as it read when it came from the pen of the original writers. Ignorant translators, careless transcribers, or designing and corrupt priests have committed many errors.” (History of the Church 6:57)

This view of a corrupted Bible has been accepted and perpetuated throughout the history of Mormonism. The Church’s 8th Article of Faith (written by Joseph Smith) clearly states that Mormons believe the Bible to be the Word of God–with a caveat: “as far as it is translated correctly.” An LDS scholar clarified,

“Here the word trans­lated appears to be used in a broader sense to mean transmitted, which would include not only translation of languages but also copying, editing, deleting from, and adding to documents. The Bible has undergone a much more serious change than merely translation from one language to another.” (BYU Professor Robert J. Matthews, A Bible! A Bible!, 72. Italics in original).

So, throughout the history of the Mormon Church members have been told that when Joseph Smith’s teachings deviate from biblical doctrine, it is because the text of the Bible has been carelessly transcribed and deliberately falsified (for a refutation of Smith’s assertion see “The Joseph Smith Translation: Inspired by Whom?”). Therefore, an article published this week by the Associated Press is of interest to those concerned with Mormonism.

On Wednesday (21 September 2016) journalist Daniel Estrin reported,

“The charred lump of a 2,000-year-old scroll sat in an Israeli archaeologist’s storeroom for decades, too brittle to open. Now, new imaging technology has revealed what was written inside: the earliest evidence of a biblical text in its standardized form.”

Through the use of digital technology, researchers were able to unwrap (“virtual unwrapping”) the brittle scroll and read the ancient text, finding passages from the book of Leviticus.

“The text discovered in the charred Ein Gedi scroll is ‘100 percent identical’ to the version of the Book of Leviticus that has been in use for centuries, said Dead Sea Scroll scholar Emmanuel Tov from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who participated in the study.

“‘This is quite amazing for us,’ he said. ‘In 2,000 years, this text has not changed.’”

Continue reading at Mormonism Research Ministry.