To hear a full conference-style presentation of these issues, please refer to my YouTube channel to see parts one and two.
"Mormonism" is a large, nuanced religion that contains a wide range of beliefs, varying from member to member. However, there are at least four beliefs that every Latter-day Saint holds to, being definitional to the religion in some sense. Each of these four beliefs is heretical, meaning it rejects clear, biblical teaching on the issue. To learn more about what those teachings are, check out this episode of the Do Theology podcast, as well as this chart.
Update: I joined Aaron Shafovaloff for a discussion of this article on his YouTube channel.
1. "The Book of Mormon is true."
This is the most fundamental point of Mormonism. The Latter-day Saint missionaries knocking at your door have one immediate goal in mind: to introduce you to a new testament of Jesus Christ, the Book of Mormon. It is their goal for you to bear a "testimony" of this cornerstone scripture of their faith.
This is a summary of the Book of Mormon's storyline taken from the Church's official website: "The Book of Mormon records the visit of Jesus Christ to people in the Americas following His resurrection…Moroni, the last of the Nephite prophet-historians, sealed up the abridged records of these people and hid them in about A.D. 421."
As Luke Wilson and Sandra Tanner have both rightly noted, the Book of Mormon contradicts the Bible on several serious counts. It teaches and affirms each of the following anti-biblical notions:
- Children have no sin nature
- It was necessary for Adam and Eve to sin by eating the fruit
- The Bible would become corrupted by men who would remove precious truths from it
- The Christian church existed as early as 147 BC
- The title of "Christian" was used as early as 73 BC
- The New Covenant promise of the Holy Spirit was given as early as 545 BC
- Jesus was born in Jerusalem
The Book of Mormon is not Christian literature. In fact, the Book of Mormon is heretical in light of the truths God has given us in the Bible. Interestingly, as CARM.org rightly points out, there are several areas in which this book even contradicts Mormon theology, let alone biblical theology.
Sadly, there are many people who are willing to believe the Book of Mormon is divine scripture. Once they give on that point, they are then expected to embrace the rest of LDS teachings that are not found in the Book of Mormon, but in their other religious works. Many of these teachings are heretical, just as the ones listed above. Here's a partial list of those additional beliefs:
- We all lived pre-earthly existence, the details of which we cannot know now
- Marriages and family unions can exist eternally through the LDS Church's ordinances
- Jesus is not the one, true God of the universe and the Trinity is rejected
- Heavenly Father is an exalted man of flesh and bone
- An infinite number of gods exists
- You must perform ordinances in the LDS Church to achieve exaltation in the next life
- There are modern-day prophets and apostles who exist as mouthpieces for God
2. "Evangelicalism is a result of false churches."
Latter-day Saints hold to the presupposition that there should only be a universal church, not diverse local churches. This means that there should not be any denominations within the Christian faith. They believe that a "true church" is evidenced by its never splitting or dying. Therefore, all Christian churches (whether denominational or not) are apostate in the sense that they were born out of a split with some other expression of Christianity and have not been continuously existent since the time of Christ.
For this reason, some Mormons have said that either their church is true or the Roman Catholic Church is true (they believe Peter was the first pope). Since all Protestant traditions were born out of a split with Catholicism, none of them can be the "one, true church." Additionally, they say that the Bible used by Christians today is lacking many "plain and precious truths" because God did not providentially preserve what He desired humans to know. Joseph Smith went as far to say that all of the creeds of the churches were "an abomination."
Therefore, as Joseph came along and introduced a restoration of God's true church, he offered a new authority (priesthood) for men, which he claimed was lost on the face of the earth. When he "translated" the Book of Mormon, he offered a new sacred text, which he claimed was the "the most correct of any book on earth." These two offerings -- priesthood authority and a new testament of Jesus Christ -- were foundational to the restoration of God's one, true church on the face of the earth and they are the bedrock for Mormonism today.
This view of the church is heretical. Jesus stated plainly that He would build His Church and the gates of Hades would not prevail against it (Matthew 16). Jesus taught that He would be with the Church until the end of the age (Matthew 28). Scripture says that God does whatever He pleases (Psalm 115) and He is pleased to dwell with man (Isaiah 57) and preserve a remnant (Romans 11). This Almighty, omnipotent God does not desire that His people or His word vanish; therefore, they don't.
3. "We're all going to heaven."
This heresy doesn't fall in line with the other three listed here. Typically, when a religious movement makes an exclusive claim about its authenticity as a church, there is punishment for rejecting that claim. It would be logical to conceive that Mormons believe a person would go to hell for rejecting their church. However, Latter-day Saints believe that the overwhelming majority of people who have ever existed have ended up in one of the three kingdoms of heaven -- even the worst of sinners among us who have rejected Jesus.
According to their teaching, the top kingdom is the Celestial Kingdom, reserved for faithful Latter-day Saints who fulfilled the Church's ordinances. This is where men become gods and have all that Heavenly Father and Jesus have. The middle kingdom is the Terrestrial Kingdom, made up of "good people" who didn't obey all of the commandments. They perhaps believed the LDS gospel after their death in the spirit world, but that is not a requirement to make it to that kingdom. Finally, the Telestial Kingdom is composed of those who rejected God on earth and lived as they pleased. Joseph Smith said that the Telestial Kingdom has an indescribable glory.
Jesus, on the other hand, taught us that there is a place of everlasting punishment for those who reject Him. This place is where God crushes both soul and body (Matthew 10), where many people are inescapably sentenced to (Matthew 23), and where people are tormented forever and ever (Revelation 20). This is the due penalty for one who dies in his sin (John 8). However, since Latter-day Saints reject the biblical doctrine of total depravity, they have no problem erasing the doctrine of hell and the lake of fire.
4. "Personal revelation and feeling override all else."
Very rarely will a Latter-day Saint come out and say plainly that his or her own feelings and perceptions are the ultimate authority, but that is what they each believe. Their own literature states, "You must study [The Book of Mormon] out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right." As Matt Slick has rightly pointed out, this is not the way human beings are to discern truth. Neither a sensation nor a shiver constitute a Divine affirmation of a person's thinking.
The Bible teaches us that the human heart is full of deceit (Jeremiah 17); consequently, human beings must rely on God's objective word to know who He is and who we are (Matthew 4). It is man's responsibility to pay attention to Scripture and submit to it, because it is the word of God (2 Peter 1). Any feelings of inspiration a person has must be submitted to the authoritative Bible. To place one's own "revelation" over the Bible's testimony is heresy.
At the end of the day, Mormons are Mormons because they believe God has revealed truth to them in a personal, supernatural way and no one can reverse that experience. It is nigh impossible to argue with someone who believes this, but it is able to be refuted.
For my responses to these heresies, please check out this video where I walk through the biblical truths concerning these topics.
Thank you for sharing. I came out of new age deception. So has been easy for me to share the gospel with people from new age, occult, divination, yoga, systemic constellations, reiki, etc.; but now I have a mormon/lds co-worker and by studying this I am getting stronger in the Word!
ReplyDeleteWe must be sure we have a correct Christology and Soteriology, or we are damned!
no religion speak any form of truth
DeleteEither Mormonism is true or the Roman Catholic church is true? What about the Orthodox? The RCC split off of the Orthodox Church.
ReplyDeleteThe Holy Bible is TRUE.
DeleteLDS / RCC have both strayed
DeleteTruth the RCC have changed to much from the direct teachings of Jesus Christ the Bible says the BOM is wrong and if the Bible is right the BOM is wrong,orthodoxy hasn't changed anything from what was given to us from Jesus while the RCC have changed to much.
DeleteThe Holy Bible is TRUE but how can you make that claim if you reject the authority of the church (the Orthodox Church) that compiled it? In order to have a valid epistemic principle you must be Orthodox
DeleteTo the March 4th comment.... The Orthodox church is no more legitimate than the Roman Catholic church. Both groups were bickering from the middle of the dark ages, and neither qualifies as being the oldest existing church continuing to modern day. That honor goes to the Coptic churches of which there are very few left.
DeleteYour argument is over denomination. The focus should be on Christ and the Word of God. If you are worried about which social group you belong to you are not living according to what the Bible says. The "Church" or "Body" as the Bible calls it is made up of Individuals who believe and obey the words and commands of Christ. It is not, and never will be about what denomination.
You invalidate your own argument by taking the focus off of God and trying to turn it into which group of men you follow (Apollos, Paul, Peter.....).
But Mormonism split as well and it could be true according to Mormons. So Evangelicalism and Catholicism would have an equal chance of being true. The church was born out of a confusion on the fate of Native Americans isolated from Christianity; eg, was our great country just a place for the damned to be born. And then Mormonism applied this to all other isolated people, like Native hunter gatherers on one isolated island that've never seen the rest of us or Christianity. Or just people who aren't born Christian, or into the wrong denomination.
ReplyDeleteI'm not Mormon myself. I don't know if any organized church can work. With all of the abuse victims, its hard to reconcile that the sole source of knowledge of Christianity, who's version of the Latin bible is the source of all translations, were also the same ones who did all those awful things, and not just Catholics but Mormons, Baptists, Anglicans, other Evangelicals. Even Anabaptists.
We don't get the proof of God, or the direct word, that the bible claims the originals had (as during the time of Jesus, faith for faith's sake didnt exist yet.) Eg; if more of us got to see Him walking on water. But some people don't even know what Christianity is, or ideally have an imperfect missionary who may simply be bad at persuading or explaining the bible.
There is no confusion when it comes to the fate of the Native Americans. No isolation from Christ's day until the end times changes what the Bible says. When missionaries presented the gospel to the Americas, the indigenous peoples had the same opportunity to accept or reject Christ.
DeleteSecond, the latin bible is not the source of all translations. Bibles dating back to the Geneva bible of 1560 were translated from Greek, Hebrew, and latin manuscripts. There is a difference between what the Bible says verses what denominations say and practice. The Bible states "There is no one good but God", so trying to question God's word on the basis that mankind is prone to sin is a false comparison.
Third, Jesus spoke on the matter of faith, and "It is a wicked generation that demands a sign." Mormonism is not true, nor is it comparable to Christianity. It does not have an equal chance, truth is not subjective to where something may be true historically just because you are part of a given denomination. Historical places, geographical references, events, and records of individuals exist which give credence to the Bible. No such evidence exists for mormonism because it is a product of man, a heresy that goes against what Christ himself said.
What about the greatest heresy of them all: denying the Trinity? That truth, at least, is accepted by all Christians – from Catholics to Fundamentalists.
ReplyDeleteThat’s the greatest heresy?
DeleteHow can not believing in something as nonsensical as the holy trinity be the greatest heresy?
DeleteFirst and foremost, GOD has revealed Himself in Scripture to be Three, yet One, yet three, yet One. Elohim, for example is a plural term that denotes 3. Hebrew has a singular, plural and a multiple. Yet Elohim is used as a singular. Further, as most human-based misunderstandings of the Trinity are the inability to understand GOD is outside of dimensionality. The are at least 10 dimensions, and HE exists outside of all of them. That's why Jesus was able to go through walls.
DeleteFinally, the LDS as all heretical organizations do, steal Jesus' Jewishness. The Watchtower society is going to be shocked when none of them are 144,000. And they're going to see that in torment, sadly.
Dari istilah : maling teriak maling, maka dapat kita asumsikan sama dengan : orang sesat menuduh orang sesat. Dari sejarah sejak berdirinya gereja pasca para rasul telah terjadi perpecahan, dan setiap terjadi perpecahan pasti saling menghujat dan saling menuduh sesat. Menurut Yesus Kristus , kerajaan siapakah yang terpecah pecah?, dan menurut Yesus Kristus yang telah dituliskan di kitab Injil, siapakah raja hujat?. Bagaimana mungkin kita bisa menyembah yang tidak kita kenal?, jika trinitas itu memang tidak mampu manusia mengenalnya, seumpama ada 10 kemungkinan tetapi dia berada di luarnya. Sedangkan ada tertulis : mengenal yang maha Kudus adalah pengertian. Jika jemaat itu memang tidak mengenal trinitas itu, maka sampai kapanpun tidak akan mengerti ajarannya. Setiap orang yang tidak mengenal Yesus didalam iman, maka sampai kapanpun tidak akan mengerti arti dari Injil itu. Maka banyak orang berseru didalam nama Tuhan Yesus Kristus, tetapi sesungguhnya mereka tidak mengenal siapa Yesus Kristus itu, sehingga mereka menyembah Yesus yang disebut didalam Injil adalah mesias palsu. Dimana baptisan Yesus Kristus itu dibentuk menjadi Allah yg disebut : tri tunggal, Sehingga muncul Allah anak yang tidak pernah dituliskan didalam Injil, dimana yang tertulis jelas adalah anak Allah tetapi di putar balikkan karena TDK mengenal Yesus itu. Sehingga muncul Allah menjadi 3 pribadi yang berbeda tetapi satu. Bacalah Wahyu mulai dari Wahyu 10 sampai dengan Wahyu 13, saudara akan menemukan jawaban 3 pribadi yang berbeda tetapi menjadi satu didalam kuasa yang dahsyat yang disebut menjadi nabi palsu yang menyesatkan seluruh isi bumi dari segala bangsa, suku, dan bahasa yang tidak tertulis didalam kitab kehidupan anak domba sejak dunia dijadikan.
DeleteThanks for this. Nuff said.
ReplyDeleteMormonism teaches three damnable heresies (Galatians 1:6-9): 1- Polytheism-the belief in millions and millions of gods; 2) Human deification-that men can become gods (Satan's lie in Genesis 3:5); and 3) Finite theism (that God is limited and not omniscient, not omnipresent, not omnipotent).
ReplyDeleteFundamentally, Creation draws it's being from the Creator. For creation is finite, having a beginning and an end. This fact illustrates the necessity that God must be eternal, having no beginning and no end. He affirms this idea by His chosen name; I AM. Time is meaningless to the existence of God. He is other than Creation. Nothing comes from nothing, er go; God the Creator is a necessity for all that is created. Scripture clearly states in John1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
ReplyDeleteThat Word is Christ Jesus. (Numbers 23:19) God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
So... How does Mormonism teach that God was once a man? ...and claim to be anything other than apostate?
There is, indeed, only one true church--it is made up of those who have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and been born again. It has suffered splits, mistakes, false leaders, persecution, etc. But it is one. It is not defined by certain groups that get together and agree on everything: it is defined by being adopted by the God of heaven, a new birth that cannot be defined in any other way that what God defines it as: justification by faith in the Lord Jesus. Now, this one church needs reformation, for sure. We are SO divided! But there is a regular parade of misguided individuals who rightly desire reformation and unity, but themselves publish completely insane doctrines, and claim they are the only true church. This, by the way, goes all the way back to over a thousand years ago, teachers who laid the foundation for the erroneous sects known as Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox, who have added mountains of false revelations to the Scriptures, and led people astray. And of course, there are the modern cults such as the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons, who have a false Jesus that contradicts the Bible, a false salvation idea, etc. They claim to be the "only true church" but are in fact, not in the Church at all! But the true Church does need a reformation, where we walk in unity, in all of God's truth, instead of split up into thousands of groups that don't agree on various points. Right now, huge "winds of doctrine" dominate the Church: Calvinism, Armininanism, Pentecostalism, Cessasionism, Dispensationalism, Covenentalism, Evangelicalism. Each of these has major errors due to "going beyond what is written", and/or twisting the Scriptures in places to "make the word of God of none effect". A preacher of one group could not go preach in another group--there is no unity. They have to agree to not talk about the holy doctrine of the Lord in various places where they do not agree. We are so divided, we need a move of the Spirit of God, because it is not humanly possible to get to what God wants, "that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and the same judgment". Without spewing new cults, we need a reformation that unites the Church in ALL the truth. God can do it! Let us pray for that repentance from the "wisdom of men" that leads to revival, and produces a long-term change that is what reformation is.
ReplyDelete"This, by the way, goes all the way back to over a thousand years ago, teachers who laid the foundation for the erroneous sects known as Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox, who have added mountains of false revelations to the Scriptures, and led people astray."
DeleteSeems you dislike the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church a bit.
First, by calling us a "sect": Jesus left the apostles in charge and he left them with the mission to evangelize the world. For 2,000 years they have done just that through apostolic succession.
Second, you insist on calling us "Roman", just Catholic is fine.
Third, and lastly you accuse of erroneous teachings, what are the erroneous teachings? Point them out.
Lastly, what are the false revelations or /and where has the Catholic Church led people stray?
I hope you start loving your neighbors a lot more, including us Catholics.
Roman Catholicism is outright idolatrous paganism, and what they proclaim is a false god and a false Jesus. Nothing they proclaim is true...nothing.
ReplyDeleteImmanuel saudara saudara, mohon maaf kepada saudara yang ber gereja katolik dan sekte sekte lainnya. Saya tidak bermaksud utk menyakiti hati saudara saudara, bahkan karena saya mengasihi semua orang yang berseru didalam nama Tuhan Yesus Kristus, yang telah dibaptis didalam nama : bapa, anak, dan roh Kudus. Sesungguhnya saya sangat setuju dengan tanggapan saudara kita pada tgl 08 Maret 2024 jam 07.34. diatas. Gereja Kudus (bait suci) yang benar itu hanya satu yaitu Yesus Kristus, maka bait suci yang sesungguhnya itu masih didalam pengharapan dan penggenapannya kelak setelah kedatangan Yesus Kristus yang kedua kalinya didalam penghakiman. Maka kita sekarang masih berada didalam gereja yang Kudus yaitu iman yang telah menerima karunia Roh Kudus. Setiap orang yang telah dikaruniai Roh Kudus Allah maka ia telah hidup didalam bait suci Allah yang Kudus dan bait suci Allah itu ada didalam pengharapan iman yang akan digenapi oleh Tuhan Yesus Kristus didalam dunia baru yang sesungguhnya setelah penghakiman. Sebab sebelum tiba penghakiman itu maka tidak ada gereja yg Kudus sesungguhnya didunia ini semuanya masih didalam pengharapan karena dunia ini menuju ke kebinasaan. Jadi benar seperti tanggapan diatas bahwa semua doktrin itu adalah hikmad manusia, marilah kita ber do'a supaya Roh Allah mengumpulkan anak anak Allah untuk membuat gereja pertobatan sesuai dengan kehendak Allah yaitu Injil Kristus. Yang tidak membenarkan diri sendiri dan tidak menghujat yang lain sebab ajaran yang diajarkan itu bukanlah ajaran manusia melainkan ajaran Kristus, dan yang mengajar itu bukanlah hikmat manusia melainkan hikmat Allah didalam kepenuhan Roh Kudus Kristus.
DeleteMengapa kah semua gereja sejak semula selalu membenarkan diri sendiri? Dan menghujat gereja yang lain sesat?. Jika kita hidup didalam hikmat Tuhan, bukankah menghujat itu dosa?. Jika setiap aliran atau ajaran masing masing mengaku ajaran lah yang benar, sedangkan ajaran yang lain sesat, bukankah ini yang disebut Yesus kerajaan yang terpecah pecah?. Lalu kalau kerajaan itu terpecah pecah, kerajaan siapakah itu menurut Yesus?. Jika kerajaan itu semuanya berseru didalam nama Tuhan Yesus Kristus, maka Yesus manakah yang disembah oleh kerajaan yang terpecah pecah itu?. Ya, Tuhan kami....kasihani dan selamatkan lah kami.
ReplyDeleteSaya ingin memberi pandangan kepada semua orang yang percaya kepada Yesus Kristus anak tunggal Allah. Firman Allah didalam Alkitab, menjadi pegangan untuk semua orang yang percaya kepada Yesus Kristus anak tunggal Allah. Kitab suci itu menjadi patokan untuk belajar dan mengajar tentang keselamatan. Tidak lebih dan tidak kurang, sejak penciptaan sampai penghakiman telah sempurna didalam kitab itu. Tetapi ada yang perlu kita pahami, bahwa kitab suci itu berisi firman Allah yang dituliskan utk diberitahukan, dikabarkan, dan diberitakan, oleh utusan utusan Allah di dunia ini. Firman itu bukan tulisan perkataan manusia, melainkan tulisan perkataan Allah. Maka yang mengerti perkataan Allah adalah Allah bukan manusia, dan yang memberitahukan, mengabarkan dan memberitakan firman itu adalah Roh Allah. Jika Roh Allah yang memberitahukan, mengabarkan dan memberitakan, maka pasti akan tau mana yang firman Allah dan mana yang bukan firman Allah, maka juga akan tau mana yang kitab suci Allah dan mana yang bukan kitab suci Allah. Kitab suci yang telah berubah juga Allah maha tau, misalnya sesungguhNya Allah menyebut namaNya adalah YHWH atau Yehova tetapi dituliskan didalam Alkitab menjadi TUHAN, atau sesungguhnya IMANMU tetapi dituliskan didalam Alkitab menjadi KEAGAMAANMU, dan banyak lagi yang berubah dan dirubah sesuai dengan kepentingan yang menyusun Alkitab itu,namun semuanya itu pasti diketahui oleh Allah, maka setiap pemberitaan didalam kepenuhan Roh Allah pastilah menggunakan kitab suci Allah. Sebab firman itu hidup dan sesungguhnya barang siapa ada didalam Yesus Kristus dan Yesus Kristus ada didalam dia yang disebut Immanuel maka semua firman Allah telah ada didalam orang itu, karena firman Allah itu adalah Yesus Kristus, tetapi untuk belajar dan mengajar firman Allah didalam pemberitaan Injil harus melalui firman Allah yang telah dituliskan didalam kitab suci. Jika seseorang membaca firman Allah didalam kitab suci, tetapi firman Allah yang hidup itu TDK ada pada orang itu maka firman Allah yang didalam kitab suci itu adalah mati. Itulah sebabnya sehingga manusia menafsirkan firman Allah itu dengan fikiran manusia sehingga terbentuklah doktrin demi doktrin manusia,yang membuat diantara doktrin manusia itu saling menghujat dan menuduh sesat.
ReplyDelete