The following is excerpted from Gospel Topics Essay: Are Mormons Christian? The article is written by Eric Johnson. This post is a continuation from my previous post.
As with the previous post, where in the original article Eric underlines the statements from the LDS essay, I will use italics instead. I will then put Eric’s rebuttal in blue except when he is quoting Scripture and then it will be in red.
Latter-day Saints believe the melding of early Christian theology with Greek philosophy was a grave error. Chief among the doctrines lost in this process was the nature of the Godhead. The true nature of God the Father, His Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith.
Which version of Joseph Smith’s teaching ought we to accept when it comes to the Godhead. The earlier version according to the Book of Mormon claimed:
*God was only one God (Alma 11:26-29; 2 Nephi 31:21; Mosiah 13:34, 15:1-4; Alma 11:44; 3 Nephi 11:27, 36; Mormon 7:7)
*God is unchangeable and eternal progression is impossible (Mos. 3:5; 3 Nephi 24:6; Mormon 9:9-10; Mormon 9:19; Moroni 7:22, 8:18)
*God is a spirit and could not be a glorified man (Alma 18:2-5, 18:24-28, 22:9-11)
Or should we accept the later version, as taught by Joseph Smith in the last couple years of his life?
*“I wish to declare I have always and in all congregations when I have preached on the subject of the Deity, it has been the plurality of Gods” (History of the Church 6:474).
*“God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens!” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg. 345).
*“We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea, and take away the veil, so that you may see” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg. 345).
*“The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s” (D&C 130:22).
*“The idea that the Father and the Son dwell in a man’s heart is an old sectarian notion, and is false” (D&C 130:3. Oddly enough, the Book of Mormon teaches the Lord does dwell in the hearts of the righteous. See Alma 34:36).
If any religion has gone through changes from the original, Mormonism is surely the candidate!
….
As a consequence, Latter-day Saints hold that God the Father is an embodied being, a belief consistent with the attributes ascribed to God by many early Christians. This Latter-day Saint belief differs from the post-New Testament creeds.
No supporting evidence is given to support such a claim.
Whatever the doctrinal differences that exist between the Latter-day Saints and members of other Christian religions, the roles Latter-day Saints ascribe to members of the Godhead largely correspond with the views of others in the Christian world. Latter-day Saints believe that God is omnipotent, omniscient, and all-loving, …
While Mormons might say their God is “all-loving” and point to the LDS rejection of hell, one must ask, Why did God kick one-third of his children out of pre-existence, never to be given the chance to have a body, based on one error in judgment (choosing Lucifer over Jesus)? While their version of hell (outer darkness) might be impossible to ever attain, a good number of souls will never have the chance to experience one of the three kingdoms.
Another premise used in arguing that Latter-day Saints are not Christians is that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not descend from the traditional line of today’s Christian churches: Latter-day Saints are not Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, or Protestant. Latter-day Saints believe that by the ministering of angels to Joseph Smith priesthood authority to act in God’s name was returned or brought back to earth. This is the “restored,” not a “reformed,” church of Jesus Christ. The Latter-day Saint belief in a restored Christianity helps explain why so many Latter-day Saints, from the 1830s to the present, have converted from other Christian denominations. These converts did not, and do not, perceive themselves as leaving the Christian fold; they are simply grateful to learn about and become part of the restored Church of Jesus Christ, which they believe offers the fulness of the Lord’s gospel, a more complete and rich Christian church—spiritually, organizationally, and doctrinally.
While Mormons may say their church has never criticized other churches, this is just inaccurate. Check out this article to see a number of quotes where the leadership blasted Christianity. To claim that your church is the “only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth” shows that all others are lacking in authority. Indeed, according to LDS leaders, the Mormon Church is, by itself, the only true church….
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