Some Good Articles at Mormonism Research Ministry

The Mormon belief about where the atonement took place is examined.  The LDS claims the atonement took place in the Garden of Gethsemane, while the Bible says it took place on the Cross.

Ten reasons why Joseph Smith can’t be considered a true prophet of God.  Follow the link at the bottom of the article for ten more reasons.  ALL of these are good reasons which prove Smith was a false prophet.

The misinformation the LDS must tell to keep their “honor.”  If you have to lie about your history, you are proving that you have something to hide.

Should Mormons Follow Their Living Prophets? The LDS answer is “yes” and “no.”  The LDS doctrine is constantly in a state of flux.

What are the Fundamentals of Mormonism?  They are in total contradiction to the fundamentals of real Christianity.  As the article sums up, Any idea that Mormonism and biblical Christianity are fundamentally the same is mistaken. They proclaim different gospels and different gods.

LDS Professor Daniel Peterson’s examination of Thomas Marsh’s accusations against Joseph Smith leads him to dismiss Marsh altogether.  This is necessary in order to defend Smith, but it ignores facts.  Just another example of LDS revising history to cover up the actions of their false prophet.

Speaking of revising history, there are some more recent things that the LDS wish would just go away — such as sexual abuse against American Indian children in the LDS “Indian Student Placement Program.” The LDS, who claim that their president has unique knowledge on ANY subject and yet to get around the lawsuit they suddenly claim the president has no unique knowledge.  So which is it?  Is he or is he not a prophet of God?  (The article has some amusement value when you read Spencer Kimball’s lies that Indians became “whiter” while in the program, reversing the curse of dark skin.)

Finally, we as Christians should challenge Mormons to agree with us and Moroni 8:18:  “God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity.”

If they agree with Moroni, then they have to disagree with Joseph Smith’s teachings that God is created by a previous God and that he continually changed until he became God himself!  Oh, what tangled webs the LDS have woven!

Do Mormons Believe in the Biblical Jesus?

I’ve previously addressed in other articles the issue of who the Mormon Jesus is versus the Jesus of the Bible, and why they are not the same person.  All you have to do is look at the column on the right side of this blog and select the label “Jesus Christ” and you will come to articles which examine the issue.

I’ve come across another article which is another examination of the Mormon claim to worship the same Jesus.   The crux is a closing statement:

There might be some similarities that we have about Jesus' earthly existence, but when it comes to the nature of Christ, who He was, that Father, Son, Holy Spirit together are the one God who have existed eternally as God, that's where we have a clear difference from the Mormon Jesus. The Mormon Jesus is a created being from the Heavenly Father. In fact, the Heavenly Father is also a created being from his Heavenly Father. So, not only do you have a different Jesus, you have a different Heavenly Father and a different Holy Spirit. 

No, Mormons do NOT believe in the Jesus of the Bible.

Mormon Women Fear Eternal Polygamy

From the time Joseph Smith invented polygamy to justify is philandering ways, the Mormons taught polygamy as an eternal doctrine, as published in Doctrine and Covenants 132.  Of course this is in direct contradiction to what God told us in His Word, as I demonstrated in my article, God’s View of Polygamy. (It also contradicts the teachings in their own Book of Mormon: Jacob 1:15; 2:24, 27; 3:5; Ether 10:5).

As polygamy was outlawed it took quite a while for all the leadership to finally end it and denounce it, regardless of what D&C 132 stated.  They then began claiming it is really about celestial marriage and not polygamy here on earth, which, of course, contradicts the plain reading of D&C 132 as well as the teachings of all their former prophet/presidents.

Well it seems the polygamy issue won’t go away.  Research has shown that Mormon women fear the idea of eternal polygamy, sharing their husband with other women.  An article by Jana Riess reviews the book, “The Ghost of Eternal Polygamy,” by Carol Lynn Pearson, a Mormon woman.  Some information gleaned should be upsetting to Mormon hierarchy:

Pearson says, Only about 15% of people said polygamy was just fine, and that they trusted God and it would all be worked out in heaven. The other 85% gave their personal stories of extreme pain and difficulty around those issues. This may be the most egregious “women’s issue” that is still floating out there with no one addressing it. This can’t continue, because it’s just too damaging.

When asked how it was damaging, Pearson states:

Polygamy is still “alive and unwell” in our psyches even if we’re not aware of it. Everyone sort of knows that D&C 132 is still there, and that Emma Smith was told she would be destroyed if she wouldn’t go along with it. But the very specific ways that polygamy damages people in the Mormon community came out in the responses.

For example, the first story I tell in the book is of a woman who becomes a hypochondriac. She’s a young woman, still in her thirties, but she has constant fear that if she dies young then her husband will take another wife. And this will be her lot in eternity, an eternity that she now fears with all her heart.

Especially it’s a terror to sealed widows. A widow who is sealed to her first husband is considered way out of the pool of attractive women for Mormon men to date. One man actually hung up the phone when a woman told him she was a widow. “You’re no good to me” was his reaction, because in the next life he would have to turn her over to her first husband that she was already sealed to. Also, her children from her first marriage and her children with the second husband would all belong to her first husband in the afterlife. I have many stories from people who have written to the General Authorities, begging to be free of this.

This is a horrid ideology!!!  Pearson speaks about those women who hold back “a part of their heart from the husbands because of this fear.”  This certainly is not what God intended for marriage.

Mormons really need to study their history and learn that Joseph Smith was not a prophet of God, rather he was a con artist who was an occultist, was greedy for money, lied about his invention, The Book Of Mormon, and used his power for gratifying his sinful sexual desires while committing serial adultery.  This is some of the “fruit” which proves Smith to have been a false prophet, and the foundation of the false system called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Learn the truth, learn the true Gospel and turn to the true Christ of the Bible or you will die in your sin.

The Mormon Amazon Challenge

Mormon “dirty pool” — the Mormon Church lives by deceit:

The LDS volume of scripture, the Book of Mormon, is available on Amazon.com. As with all things for sale at Amazon, the book is open to reviews. The Book of Mormon had apparently not been faring well enough, receiving too many negative reviews. According to KUTV.com in Salt Lake City, local LDS Church leaders in Provo allegedly “requested all members of the ward publish positive reviews of the book on Amazon.” This “challenge” from the stake presidency and bishopric appeared in a Facebook post on the “Provo YSA 9^th Ward (Official)” closed group Facebook page this week (also see the Fox13 report). It said in part,

“The challenge for us is to go to the amazon website and write a positive rating and review for the Book of Mormon. It is a great opportunity to share your testimony to the world and do online missionary work. I personally found that my love and testimony for the Book of Mormon has increased tremendously as I wrote down my testimony as a review, and I know it will be the case for you as well.”

Many are concerned over the unethical nature of a “challenge” by religious leaders instructing their congregants to go and “write a positive rating and review” of the Book of Mormon. The challenge does not take into account whether ward members have actually read the book, nor does it suggest that reviewers should leave honest comments reflecting what they actually think about the book. Rather, they are instructed to leave positive ratings and comments and by doing so, their own love and testimony for the Book of Mormon will increase.

Continue reading the article.

Did They Really Say That?!?

The temple work for the fifty-six signers of the Declaration of Independence and other founding fathers has been done.  All these appeared to Wilford Woodruff when he was president of the St. George Temple.  President George Washington was ordained a high priest at that time.  You will also be interested to know that, according to Wilford Woodruff’s journal, John Wesley, Benjamin Franklin, and Christopher Columbus were also ordained as priests at that time.

Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p.604

Let me get this straight:  While the Bible specifically states that there is nothing we can do for those who are dead (Hebrews 9:27), the Mormons think they baptized and conferred priesthood on these dead men?!?  

What is even more interesting is that they consort with the dead who “appear” to them, again in contradiction to the Bible’s commands against communication with the dead (Lev. 19:31, 20:6; Deut. 18:9-14; Isa.8:19).

This is more evidence of the false nature of the LDS faith.

Gospel Topics Essays

In 2013 the LDS church began posting a series of essays intended to show that they are being more “transparent” about their history and beliefs but, as usual for the LDS, they told mostly half-truths and even lies.  Even so, the information provided has been truthful enough that many Mormons have finally learned that sites like mine, which expose the LDS for what they are, have actually been telling the truth!  This becomes quite disconcerting for them, and many have left the LDS because of this.

The LDS has the following to say concerning the Gospel Topic Essays.

Recognizing that today so much information about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can be obtained from questionable and often inaccurate sources, officials of the Church began in 2013 to publish straightforward, in-depth essays on a number of topics. The purpose of these essays, which have been approved by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, has been to gather accurate information from many different sources and publications and place it in the Gospel Topics section of LDS.org, where the material can more easily be accessed and studied by Church members and other interested parties.

Notice that sites like the Utah Lighthouse Ministry, Mormonism Research Ministry, et al (including THIS blog) are considered “questionable and often inaccurate sources.”  Of course they’ve never demonstrated anything on these sites is ever inaccurate, but by saying so they hope to keep Mormons from learning the truth.

Mormonism Research Ministry has published responses to these essays so as to demonstrate where the LDS is not being as forthcoming as they claim.  Below are the topics of the LDS essays, the dates they were first posted, and the links to both the LDS article and the MRM commentary:

Are Mormons Christian?  (11/20/13)

https://www.lds.org/topics/christians?lang=eng&_r=1

http://www.mrm.org/mormons-christian

Becoming Like God  (2/24/14)

https://www.lds.org/topics/becoming-like-god?lang=eng

http://www.mrm.org/becoming-like-god

Book of Mormon Translation (12/30/13)

https://www.lds.org/topics/book-of-mormon-translation?lang=eng

http://www.mrm.org/book-of-mormon-translation-essay

Book of Mormon and DNA Studies (1/31/14)

https://www.lds.org/topics/book-of-mormon-and-dna-studies?lang=eng

http://www.mrm.org/dna  

First Vision Accounts (11/20/13)

https://www.lds.org/topics/first-vision-accounts?lang=eng

http://www.mrm.org/first-vision-accounts

Joseph Smith’s Teachings about Priesthood, Temple, and Women (10/23/15)

https://www.lds.org/topics/joseph-smiths-teachings-about-priesthood-temple-and-women?lang=eng

http://www.mrm.org/gospel-topics-women

The Manifesto and the End of Plural Marriage (12/23/13)

https://www.lds.org/topics/the-manifesto-and-the-end-of-plural-marriage?lang=eng

http://www.mrm.org/end-plural-marriage

Mother in Heaven (10/23/15)

https://www.lds.org/topics/mother-in-heaven?lang=eng

http://www.mrm.org/mother-in-heaven

Peace and Violence among 19th Century Latter-day Saints (5/13/14)

https://www.lds.org/topics/peace-and-violence-among-19th-century-latter-day-saints?lang=eng

http://www.mrm.org/peace-and-violence-essay

Plural Marriage and Families in Early Utah (12/16/13)

https://www.lds.org/topics/plural-marriage-and-families-in-early-utah?lang=eng

http://www.mrm.org/plural-marriage-early-utah

Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo (10/22/14)

https://www.lds.org/topics/plural-marriage-in-kirtland-and-nauvoo?lang=eng

http://www.mrm.org/gospel-topics-polygamy

Race and the Priesthood (12/6/13)

https://www.lds.org/topics/race-and-the-priesthood?lang=eng

http://mit.irr.org/race-and-priesthood-analysis-of-new-mormon-statement

Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham (5/13/14)

https://www.lds.org/topics/translation-and-historicity-of-the-book-of-abraham?lang=eng&_r=1

http://www.mrm.org/book-of-abraham-essay

Wildly Unbiblical Teachings

Consider how very fortunate we are to be living in this land of America . . .  Many great events have transpired in this land of destiny.  This was the place where Adam dwelt; this was the place where the Garden of Eden was; it was here that Adam met with a body of high priests at Adam-ondi-Ahman shortly before his death and gave them his final blessing, and the place to which he will return to meet with the leaders of his people (D&C 107:53-57).  This was the place of three former civilizations: that of Adam, that of the Jaredites, and that of the Nephites.

Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, pp.587-588

Firstly, the American continent didn’t even exist in Adam’s time, and the Flood wiped out what land masses would have existed, and completely reshaped the world. 

Secondly, Adam never met with any council of priests — there were no such persons during Adam’s time, and there is no biblical evidence that Adam will ever return to earth to meet with anyone.

Thirdly, there is no archaeological evidence that such cultures as Jaredites and Nephites ever existed outside of Joseph Smith’s imagination.

Did They Really Say that?

Presumptuous and blasphemous are they who purport to baptize, bless, marry, or perform other sacraments in the name of the Lord while in fact lacking his specific authorization.

Spencer W. Kimball, Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p.494.

And yet Mormons continue to claim that they never speak against Christians.

Why No Trinity With LDS?

Why does the LDS Church reject the historic church’s concept of the Trinity?  Not only does the Trinity remove any hope of a Mormon ever achieving godhood, but it also undermines Smith’s First Vision account and subsequent teachings regarding a multiplicity of deities.  If it can be demonstrated that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost/Spirit are God, and at the same time be shown that there exists only one God, it would definitely place the integrity of the first Mormon prophet on the line.

Bill McKeever and Eric Johnson, “Mormonism 101,” pg.66

Jesus Isn’t Enough?!?

How are you going to get your resurrection?  You will get it by the President of the Resurrection pertaining to this generation, and that is Joseph Smith Junior . . . no man or woman in this generation will get a resurrection and be crowned without Joseph Smith says so.  The man who was martyred in Carthage Jail, State of Illinois, holds the keys of Life and Death to this generation.  He is the President of the Resurrection in this Dispensation and he will be the first to rise from the dead.

Brigham Young, 8 October 1854, “The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young,” 2:853.

So I guess it doesn’t matter what Jesus did for salvation, and I guess Jesus doesn’t have the authority to raise from the dead.  Joseph Smith, Jr. seems to be quite god-like for Mormons.