The Fundamentals: Volume 8, Chapter 9: Mormonism: Its Origin, Characteristics, And Doctrines

8/20/2019 The Fundamentals: Volume 8, Chapter 9: Mormonism: Its Origin, Characteristics, And Doctrines

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CHAPTER IX

MORMONISM:

ITS

ORIGIN,

CHARACTERISTICS,

AND DOCTRINES

BY REV. R. G. MCNIECE, D. D.,

•

FOR T'\vVENTY YEARS PRIOR T0

1

1897,

PASTOR 0

1

F F~ST

PRESBlY·

TE,RIAN CHURCH, S1ALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

The writer has lived in Salt Lake City, the official head

quarters of

Mo,rmonism,

.for oVer thirty years, and he has irn~

proved the opportunity to secure a complete understanding o:f

the system. In the great Tab ,ernacle in Salt Lake City, during

a

whole

generation,

he

has heard Mormonism expounded

and def ended,

again and again, by its chief officials by

President Brigham Young, and President John ·Taylor, and

their successors, Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo SnoW, and

Joseph F. Smith. In various Mormon meeting-houses, also,

front Idaho to Arizona, he has heard the system set forth

by many of its chief apostles, bishops, and elders .

F'urthermore, the writer has diligently studied the chief

o:fficiaJ

books of Mormonism, especially the ''Boo k of Mor ..

•

mon'', the

''Doctri ne and

Covenants'', ,

the

''Pearl of G:reat

Price'',

and,

supplementing these , the Mormon Catechism,

Elder

Robert's ''New Witness for

God'',

Professor Talmage's

''Lectures on the Articles of Faith' '', the works of Apostle

•

· Orson Pratt , Lucy Smith's ''History of the Proph~t Joseph'',

and

the

Autobiography of Joseph Smith. And besides he

has read a

great

mass of pamp ,hlets and

articles

by Mormon

officials. 1 he standpoint of

the

writer is that of friendly

sympathy and good-will toward the men and women a.mong

the common people in the Mormon ranks, whose sincerity

he has no desire to call in question. But since Mormonism

keeps from 1,500 to 2,000 missionaries Scattered up and down

the country, propagating

this

most erroneous

and

harmful sys-

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Mor1nonism: Its Origin and Do triii.es

•

ten1, organ .izing

Mormon

meetings,

a·n,d

separating , famities,

in the Eastern, Th1idd1e,Southern and Nortl1wes,tern . States,

pat .riotic and Ch.ristian people eve,rywhere n,eed to have a

clear idea of what M,or1nonism

1.

eally is, and tl1e shameful

way

in w.hich it disl1onors tl1e Bible and th·e Chri stian religion, so

that they

ca11

help to

pro ·tect their

own com111unities

fro1n the,

cttr se. And it .is imp,ossih1e

t,o·

understand its

cha1.

cter, with-

out ttnderstanding

its

origin, so l·et us consider

that

first. ·

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T I-IE ORIGIN OF THE 110RM

1

0N SYSTEM

1..

As an organization

it is only eighty-two ye,ars old,

going back to April, 1830. About this ti111e, r a f,ew months

bef o,re, tl1e Bo·o,k of Morn1,on was publisl1ed ;, a11d on April

6tl1.,

1830., the Mormon Church \Vas

orga .11ized

·with six mem

bers, in Fayette, Seneca County, New Yo1·k. Notwit hstan ,d

ing the

1ong-continued

effort to. surround

this

origin with

gr

1

eat

1nystery, a11d various .

spectacular

firew

1

orks

from heaven,

as

1nanipul ,ated

by

Joseph Smith,

there

is no mystery about

it.

Tl1e period of eigl1ty-two years is not long

,enough to

take .

us back to the region of mystery.

2. Tlze two main s oitrces of its Origin: The first

sourc ·e

is a group of tl1r·ee

1

designing 1nen, wl10 p

1

ut tl1eir profane

wits

tog

1

ether t.o p,alm off on various commu11ities in N

1

ew

York, P

1

e·nnsylvania

an,d Oh.io,

this crude, bogus, man-made

system un(ler tl1e

garb of Cl1ristian ph1·aseol,ogy, in order

to deceive t·l1e unt11inl


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112

The Funda nentals

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been trained in the Bible and in theology was needed to give

the bogus system some kind of religious setting. The only

man connected with the scheme from its very beginning long

before the public organization who had any such qualifications

was the Rev. Sidney Rigdon. About 1819 when 26 years of

age he was licensed to preach as a Baptist minister and in

1821

became pastor of a small Baptist church in Pittsburg.

He was an interesting speaker but very erratic and con

stantly presenting all sorts of wild and startling theories

which unsettled the people. In

1824

he was deposed from

the Baptist denomination because he was unwilling to work

in harmony w1th its leaders. About two years later he be .

came a minister of the Campbellite denomination and came

under the powerful influence of that strong man Alexander

Campbell who thoroughly indoctrinated him in all the doc

trines and views peculiar at that time to the denomination. But

Rigdon quarreled with Campbell and argued if the latter could

secure fame and authority for himself by organizing a new

church then he Rigdon could secure still greater fame and

authority by giving to the world both a new revelatio~ and

a new religion through the Book of Mormon.

The two unprincipled men who assisted Rigdon in work

ing out this scheme were Parley P. Pratt who after

wards became one of the twelve apostles and Joseph Smith.

Pratt furnished 1:he mental and moral audacity necessary to

pr0pagate such a dishonest scheme and Joseph Smith fur

nished the avaricious cunning which enabled him to so com ..

mercialize the whole affair that the great bulk of the financial

profit and of the ecclesiastical power fell into his hands.

He occupied a subordinate place only until Rigdon could

put the spurious Book of Mormon into its present shape.

But just as soon as the church was organized Joseph Smith

seized the reins of power rode rough-shod over everything

and everybody that stood in his way and did not lay down

the power until his death in June

1844.


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Mormonism: Its Origin and Doctrines 113

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·The kind of ma11 Pratt was is illustrated by the fact that

•

he lost his life in 1857 near Fort Gibson, Arkansas, at the

•

muzzle of a shot-gun in the hands of an enraged husband,

wh,ose wife Pratt h,ad induced to desert her horme and

her

children, and

go

with him to Utah as ·one of his

plural

wives.

These three

unprincipled

men were

the

fabricators of the

Mormon

system. ,

THE CHARACTERISTICS ·OF MORMONISM, WHICH

MAKE IT WHAT IT IS

1.

It is

a stro1igly anti American system . By that is

meant that it

flatly contradicts the

fundan1ental

principles

•

of our free,

representative government, by insisting

that

priestl1ood g-0vernment

in

civil affairs

is

the only right£ ul

government in

this

country, or

any country.

Apostle Orson

Pratt,

speaking for the Mormon Church, thus lays down the

law:

''The

kingdom

of

God

[by which he

means the

Mormon

priesthood]

is an

order

of

government

established

by

Divine

authority. . . •

All

other

governments are illegal and un

authorized. . • . An·y people attempting to govern .them

selves by laws of

their

own

making,

and by officers of their

own appointment, are

in

direct rebellion

against the kingdom

of God''. (Orson Pratt's

Work ,s,

p. 41.) . .

•

Nothing

is left uitdone:

to

magnify the

power and au-

thority

of

the

priesthood, and

the

people are instructed

that

to

disobey the priesthood is the same as disobeying God.

One

of the official books of the

cl1.urch thus sets

forth this

ex

travagant

and

blasphemous

claim: ''Men who

hold

the

priesthood possess Divine authority thus to act for God ; and

by possessing

part

of God's power,

they

are

in

reality part

of God; . . . and those who

reject it, reject God,

even

the power of God . (''New

Witness for

God,'' p. 187.)

This tyrannical priesthood

dictates

and controls

all the

affairs of the

people in

the average Mormon community .

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4

The Fundamentals

2.

The Mormon System is thoroughly anti-Christian.

While appropriating to itself Christian phra seology, and

New Testament names and forms,

it

perverts or denies

every fundamental doctrine of the Christian religion.

It

not only denies but ridicules the Christian doctrine

of

the

spirituality of

God,

and teaches the people that

He is a

big

man like Brigham Young. For Morn1onism teaches that Adatll

is the god of this world. It denies that Christ's atonement has

anything to do with our sins, but only with the sins of Adam.

To

get rid

of

our sins,

we

must wo

1

rk

out our-salvation through

the teachings, and form s, and ordinances

of

the Mormon

Church, with its multiplied baptisms for the dead.

3.

Mormonism is a deliberate counter/ eit of the Christian

religion int ended to deceive the ignorant.

It calls itself,

The Church of Jesus Chri st , a name to which it can lay no

claim. The term Church ,>

is

a Chri stian name· and belongs

alone to Chri stians- to those who are loyal to the Christian

Church, to Je sus Chri st as the Divine and only head of the

Church, and to

the Bible

as

the

supreme and only revelation

from God.

1)

Mormoni sm tries to palm off on the world a

coun ter

feit prophet in the person of Joseph Smith. He had all the

mark s of a counterfeit or false proph et, and not one of the

marks of a true prophet. In prophetic times, what were the

n1arks of a t rue prophet? In the first place, he was a man of

pure and upright life; he was noted for spirituality of n1ind,

so

that he could discern spiritual truth and teach it to other s. He

was loyal to God, everywhere and always, and he never made

merchandise of his prophetic office. Joseph Smith .was just

the very opposite of this. Instead of living a pure and upright

life, he was hnmoral and wicked, as we shall presently see. He

had no spirituality whatever , and he constantly made n1er

chandise of his pretended prophetic position, so that it secured

for him houses and lands, and valuable corner-lot s and lucra-


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Mormonism Its Origin and Doc·trines

115

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tive offices, such as the

1

office

1

0£ mayor, municip,al magistrate,

municipal judge, lieutenant:_general o.f the .Nauvoo Legion,, and

the nominatio

1

n

to be president.

Th

1

e Mormon people have all9wed themselves to be gr

1

iev

ou,sly decei,ved by l1is Au·tobiograp,hy, written in 1838. H

1

e

tries t.o make out that ·when he was

fift

1

en, he was a

pio1us,

praying youth, greatly concerned about religion, and ·especially

t ro t1bled becau se there were so many religious , sects, he could

not tell which one

t

1

0 join.

Now

let

us

see what

J ,oseph .Smith s

imme.diate

neighbors

have to

1

s.ay

about hi~ charact~r. , Tl1er,e is no

lack o,£

evidence.

Josep~ Smith s f,ather and mother, with the other child·ren,

.removed fr ,om V,ermont to Paln1yra, Onta ·rio County, New

York ;

in

the summer of 1815,.

They were

fortune-telle ·rs,

dreamer s, vision-seers. The fat her was a money-digger, and

th·e ,son Joseph be

1

came f,amo,us all

thr

1

ough

that

region a.s a

money-digger. Young Joseph was about eleven years old at

thi s time, having been born in

Sharon,

Vermont ,, Pee. 23, 1805.

After two ·or three yea1·s they moved about three miles south

to

Manches,ter,

where they lived

up

to 1830. Take

fi·rst

the

. .esti.mony of

P omeroy ·Tucker,

edit ,or

of

the Wayn ,e

S.en

t.ine1,

at

Palmyra,

on wl1osep

1

ress the

first

e,ditio·n of

the

Book of Mormon was

p

rin ·ted. S

1

ays Mr.

Tucker: At

this

period [ £ram 1820 to 1830] in tl1,e ]ife a11dcareer of Joseph

Smith, Jr., or Joe Smith , as he wasl uriiversa~ly named, and

the

Smith

family,

they were

popularly regarde d

as

a.n illiterate,

whisky-drinking, irreligious race of people;

the

first named,

th

1

e chief subject of this biogr,aphy., being unanimously vo·ted

the laziest

and

most worthles ,s of the generation. . . . . He

could utter the most palpa~le exaggeration, o,r marv

1

elous

absLtr,dicy,

with

the utmos ·t apparent gravity .

( Origin, Ris

1

e

an~ -P·r·ogress

of

Mormonism , p. 16.) · .

In 1833 sixty-two r,esid

1

ents of Palmyra made affidavit, over

their own sign.a.tu res, to the following

st.at,ements :

We, the undersigned, ,have be,en acquainted with the Smith

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7/18

116

The Fundamentals.

family for a number of years while they resided near this

place, and we have no hesitation in saying that we consider

them destitute of that moral char~cter which ought to entitle .

them to the confidence of .any community. • • Joseph

Smith, Sr., and his son Joseph, were, in particular, considered

entirely destitute of moral character and addicted to vicious

habits . There is much more evidence of a similar character.

(2) Mormonis1n tries to palm off on the world a counter·

feit Bible which it calls the Book of Mormon and sets forth

as a revelation from God, putting it on the same level with our

own Christian Bible, placing the two side by side in the Mor ..

mon pulpit. Now the Book of Mormon is simply a poor and

weak imitation of our English Bible-a lifeless counterfeit.

Where did the Book of Mormon come from?

· Let all that absurd, fictitious yarn of Joseph Smith, about

an angel disclosing to him the box ·hidden in the hill of

Cumorah, New York, on whose golden plates, in the reformed

Egyptian language, was contained the material out of w.hich he

translated the Book of Mormon-let all that be cut out as

having not a particle of foundation. There was no angel. The

only plates Joseph Sm ith ever dug ou t of the hill of Cumorah

or any other hill were put there by hin1 self or by one of his

agents.

While the literature in regard to the origin of the Book

of Mormon is quite voluminous, the real facts about its origin

can be stated in small compass. In

1808-09

the Rev. Solomon

Spaulding settled down as a citizen in the town of Conneaut,

in northeastern Ohio. He was a man of education, having

graduated · from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire in

1785. He studied theology, and for a number of years was a

minister

of

one of the Christian den0minatiot1s in western New

York. He had given up preaching, and had settled down in

Conneaut as a business man, seeking to establish an iron

foundry.

Being fond of Bible literature and religious romance and

archaeology, he became interested in the many Indian mounds


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Mormonism: I ts Origin and Dorctrin es

117

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ii

in that region)

and

especially in

their

builders. Tl1is led him to

pt,an a r

1

eligious romance,

in w.hich

he

brought

a colony of the,

Lost Tribes from

J

rsuale1n

into this country, where

the,y,

developed into two

nations,

the N ephites and

tl1e

Lamanites, a

purely imaginary

people.

The Book of Mormon,

composed

of

fift ,een

1

different

books,

giv ·es an account

of their

wan

1

dering ,s,

hardships and battles.

The

records are alleged

to

have been

written on pJ-a,tes of b·rass. These plate:,

begin

to jingl,e on the

second page of the Boo.k of M

1

ormo

1

n,

.and

tl1ey

cont,inue

to

jingle until

they

are

finally sealed up

and hidden

away

in

the

hill

of

Cumorah, near

Pa ,lmyra, in 420

A.

D,.

Now there are t.en int ,elli,gent witnesses, who stated over

their affida.vit

in

1833, when the .subject was f r

1

esh

in miari,

tha,t about 1811-12, they heard Solomon Spaulding reading a

religious i,tory from the Manuscript Found , trying to show

that the American Indians are the descen

1

dants

1

0f

tl1e Lost

Tribes. They remembered

the

quaint phraseology, and the

queer

names,

Lehi,

Nephi,

Jarom,

Moroni,

and

the rest. The

expression, and it

came to

pass ,

occurred ·

so of ten, the

boys

n,ick-named Spaulding, 01 ,d

Con1e-to-Pass . When

the Book

of

Mormon was publishe

1

d these witnesses

identified a t

once

the queer

names

and

phraseology.

When Esquire Wright

heard the B,oo k of Mormon read in Conneaut he ex,claimed,

Old

Come-to-P ,a,ss has co,me

to

life again .

These witnesses

were John

Spaulding,

brother of Solomon, his wife

Martha

Spa .ulding,

Henry

Lake, ,

business

partner

of Solomon

Spaulding,

John N. Miller,

who worked

for Spaulding, . ·

Aaron Wright, Oliver

Smith,

and Naham Howa .rd, three

o,f Spaulding s neighbors, and Artemas Cunningham,

of

Geauga

1

County,

who

visited

Spaulding

in

,October, ,

1,811, to

co11ect a

1

debt. Spaulding showed h,im la story he was writing

about

the 10

st tribes.

Mr. Cunningham

,spent half the ni,ght

list,ening to the

.story.

When

the

Book of Mormon a·pp~ared

he

recognized

that

in

outline it ·was

the same

thing that Spauld

ing

had read

to him.

The two

other witnesses are the widow

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9/18

118 .

The F unda1nentals

of Solomon Spaulding, and Mr. Joseph Miller, of Amity,

Pa.,

where Spaulding died.

The evidence clearly shows

that the Book of Mormon grew ·

out of Spaulding s story , but the defenders of Mormon1sn1

lose their mental balance whenever this subject is mentioned,

and they treat it dishonestly. They say: We have the

Spaulding manuscript in the Oberlin College Library, brought

back from Honolulu in

1884

by Presid .ent Fairchild, and there

is

no connection between it and the Book of Mormon . Cer-

tainly not. No person well informed about the history of Mor-

moni sm ever claimed that there is any connection. But why

say, . We have the Spaulding Manuscript ? All that the facts

warrant is, There is a Spaulding manuscript in Oberlin ,

and the possession of that manuscript will afford no help

to

the defenders of Mormonism against the plagiari sm of the

.book until they do one thing which they are unable to do;

namely, establish a general negative, and show that this manu-

script in Oberlin College Library is the only manuscript which

Solomon Spaulding ever wrote. This can not be done, for

there is conclusive evidence that he wrote three or four manu-

scripts, and one of them was the ''Manu script Found , which

he read to his neighbors, and which formed the basis of the

Book of Mormon. So when the champions of Mormonism

say: The Book of Mormon could not have grown out of the

Spaulding manuscript, for that manu script is in Oberlin, and

there is no connection between it and the Book of Mor.moo ,

they take a dishone st position by fal sely assurriing that this is .

the only manuscript Spaulding wrote, whereas there is positive

evidence that he wrote several manuscript s. The fact, there-

fore,

is established

by

abundant evidence

that the

Book

of

Mormon is a plagiarism from Spaulding)s religious romance.

Ju st

when Rigdon, Pratt, and Smith first met and con-

cocted the dishonest scheme of the buried plates is not alto-

gether clear, probably about

1827. A strenuous attempt has

been made to show that Rigdon and Pratt had no' knowledge


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Mormonism: I ts 01 .igin a11td

Doc trines 119

of th·e Book of Mormon un·til its publication, and they go

through the wretched farce of pretending to be convert

1

ed to

11ormoni sin after the Book of Mormon ha ,d be,en published,

wl1ich they say they knew not h·ing about before, althougl1

evidence sl1ows that they both had been in tl1e scheme to pub-

'lish it since 1827. Wha ·t,a S

1

et of deceivers f · · ·

The one important fact is the plagiari sm of the Book of

Mormon

f

ro·m the Sp

1

auiding ro,mance, entitled '''Ma .nttscript

Found''. It is not sp,ecially important to know

wh,o

edited

tl1e,

Spaul ding story, and developed it into the present Book of

-

Morn1on. · But all the evidence points to Sidney Rigdon, and

it points to no one else. The evide11ce shows the following

things : That a copy of the Spaulding manuscript was in the

printing offic,e of Patterson and Lambdin, in Pittsburg, f

1

or a

good while after 1814; that Rigdon and Lambdin were on

intimate t.e1~msrom

1818,

to

the

deat l1 of Lambdin in August,

1825 ;, th ,at more tl1an two

1

y,ears befor ,e ·the p.ublication of the

Boo'k

of Morn1011,

Rigdon had

spol


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120

The Fundam entals

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priesthood~ There

was

one man

by

that name,

both

a

king

and

a priest, without p·rede

1

ccssor or suc

1

cessor, ,a·nd so chosen

as

a

type of the priesthood of the S

1

0,n

of God.

The

Aaroni ·c priest .. .

hood des,cended from ·father to son, in a marvelous way, for

forty-five generations, until a.JI priesthood was fulfilled in Je:s~s

Christ. Since the one perfect sacrifice · of Himself made by

OUr ,g.re·a, Hig}:liPrie ,st, Jesus , Christ, any person who pretends

to be

a priest and

claims the right

to

stand between us

and

God, is what o·ur Saviour calls a , thief and a, robber , WJtat

a bogus priesthood this pretended Morn1on priesthoo 1d is It . ·

,-has no more right to administer , the Christian ordi ·nances of

baptism and the Lord s Supper,

than

any other

group

1

of

unp ,rincipled men ,vho repudiate Jes ius Christ as, the Divine

Head of the Church, an

1

d. go through the blasphemous , fa,rce of

electing themselves ·members of the holy priesthood .,. And

yet ..

M.ormo·ns trem,b

le

a.t,

the dictat ,es

of

this

b

1

0,gus pr ,iesit.hood,

and fear to exer

1

cise the freedom of opinion which is their

r·ight. The · ,7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th Chapters of He,brews give

u,s

Divine instruction

as to

the . a

1

ct

that

all

priesthood

was

f

or

1

ever fulfil]ed, and came to an end in J,es,us Christ .

4.

Mormonism imposes·

upon

the people a counterfeit

group of apostles. .

-

It

re

1

q.uires

four tl1ings to

ma.ke

a. tru .e·

apo,stl,e:

First He must have been acqua ·inted

witl1

Jesus Ch·rist

•

bef

or1

Hi,s crucifixion. ·

Second

He must

have seen Christ after His resurrection

f

r

1

om the

1

dea

1

d.

•

·

Third

H ,e must have received his commission as an apostle

directly

f

ram

·Christ,

as Divine

Head of

th,e

Chur,ch.

· F ourt h

I-le must be [able

t·o

work

miracles

to show that

God

sent him.

So that

any

group of men

now who say they

ar

1

e apostles.

are simply will£ul deceivers, and the truth is· not in them.

T

1

HE DOCTRINES 0

1

F

THE

M:O·RMON •S,YST

1

EM

i\JJ

that has been said under the

preceding

1

division

about

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M

o,monism: Its

0 -igin and Doctrines 121

.

the char.a

1

cteristics of M

1

ormonism, has

been

a se~ing fo,rth of ·

its false and anti-Scriptural teachings on_the four important

s·ubjects of

prophecy,

revelation, Divine authority ·

0£

the

bogus

pries ithood, and the bo,gus

1

a.postle:,.

T·he

Mormon.

Chu,rch.does

not publish its peculiar teachings and beliefs. If i-t did, it

would g,ain no more converts ; it waits until its c,onverts are

thoroughly entrapped before its

peculiar

doctrines are

dis.. ·

cl,0

1

sed.. .Its whole

system

is carr .ied on.,

so

far as new converts

are concerned,

by

means

of ·the

most

systematic

dec

1

eption.

Its

missionaries wear black frock coats and white cravats so

t'ha·t

the people are deceived into supposing that

they are

Christian

i •

ministers.

In the Spring of 1844, when the Mormon Church was

being severely condemned all over the country

I

John Went

worth, who was publishing a p,aper in Chic-ago

1

~ asked Joseph

Smith to

.sitat ,e what

the Mormons believe, Smith and some of

his associates put their heads together, and sent

out thirteen

articles as a summary of Mormon belief. It is sin1plyanother

piece

of

deception, for these articles do no~

contain

one doc

trine peculiar to Mormonism, but are rather a summary of

doctrines held by the Christian denominations. And yet they

stand

today as representing lVIormon belief. When we come

to test the,se artic 'les by

the

official

books of M·ormo·nism,

we

find

they

are

thoroughly deeciving.

Let

us take up

the first

s·ix or , seven of these prctende ,d articles of belief, ind see how

misleading

they are. · .

''ARTICLE 1. WE

BELIEVE IN '

GOD

THE E'l~ERNAL FAT'HER,

AND IN BIS S,ON J 'ESU ;S

CHRI :ST,

AND IN T'HE BO 'LY GH0 1ST. '

1. B,y God

the

,eternal

Father,

the

Mo1·mon

fficials

mean

Adam. (For convenience we will use the following abbreviaM

tions: B. oi

M.

for Book of Mormon; D. & C., for Doctrine

and

1

Cov

1

enants; P. G. P.

fo·r

Pe·arl of Great Pri

1

c

1

e;

Co·mp.l for

Compe·ndium

1

0£

Mormon

Doctrine; Key,

for

Pratt's Key to

Th

1

eoJ.; J.of D. for

Journa] of Discourses

volumes of Mor-

mon

Sermons;

and M.

C.

for Mormon Catechism.)

Brigham

•

•

•

•

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13/18

•

•

•

•

•

•

122

The Fundamentals

•

You ng taught tl1at Adam was p,ro,moted to be the god of this

world: He

{Adam)

is our Father and our God, and the only

·God with whom we l1ave to dot . -(J. of D., Vol. I, p. 50.)

2. T.his Adam-god

i.s

a polyg.amis·t. When our Fath

1

er

Adam came int·o the garden of Eden, he came into ,

i·t

with

a

celesi_ial body, and brought Eve. o,ne of his wives, with him ,.

(Brigham Young,

J.

of D., I,

5,0.) ·

•

3. The M·ormon officials teach that tho se who build up

-large polygamous

establishments

011

earth,

will

be promoted

to

be gods in the hea ven ly ,vorld, and will rule over kingdoms.

Take t.l1is heathen

teaching

of Josep .h Smith: God Hims.elf

was once .a.s we a1·e 110w, ,and :is .an. ex.alted Man [i.n

1

0·t:he1·

words,

simply

a big

Mormon]. . ; .

And

you

have

got

to

•

learn how to be gods yourselves, the same as all gods have

done before you .

(J.

o·f D. VI, 4; ·comp. 283 .)

4.

It

will be seen that Mormon ism b,elieves in many

gods. Are there more gods than one? Yes, many .

(Catechi sm~)

S. These gods con.tintt·e to have chil,dre.n for ,eve1·. Each

I

god. through his wife

or

wives, raises

up

a numerous family

of

sons and daughters, , . . . · for each father and motl1er

will

be

in

a

condition

to multiply forever

and

ever .

(The

Seer, 1, 37.) This is dire

1

ctly contrary to, our Saviour s ·teach

ing ·i·n J\dark 12 :25:

1

For wh ,i·n

they

shall

rise

from the dead,

they neither marry n,o,r .are given in marriage; but are as the

angels

which are

in

heaven . .

It see·ms

incredible

that such

di.s11011oring

heathe ·n.ish vi

1

e·ws

of

God,

the A1mighty

Creator and

Gover11or of the world,

should be

held and propagated in Christian America, by

an

organization calling itself The Church of

J s11s

Cht·ist of

La.tter ...Day

S

1

aints .

Paul s ·

statement in

Rom.

1 :2.l-2

1

4

see.ms

v,erified in them. ·

6. They teach that the Holy Spirit is

a

kind of ethereal ·

substance diffused through space. The purest , most refin.ed

and

subtle

of

all

these substances

(such

as

electricity, galvan•

• •

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14/18

•

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I

M ormo nism: Its Originand Doctrines

123

•

•

· ism, magnetism )

1

• • •

is

that

substance

called the

Holy

•

Spirit''. (Key,

p.

39.) . ·

How

refr ,eshing

to turn

to the

Divine Word

and

read

its

convincing

and authoritative teachings about God.

We read

in Gen,. 1 ;1 : ''In the

be,ginning

God created tl1e heaven and

the

earth''; ,

in

De·ut,. 6 4:

'''Hear ·

1

0 ·

Israel, the

Lo

1

rd our

God

is one Lo:rd'';

:in

Psa. 104

:1:

~'O Lor ,d

my God, Tl1ou art very

great .; Thou art clothed

with h

1

onor and majesty''; in Isa. 4.5 :5:

''I am the Lord, and there is none else''; in

John

:24: ''God is

a S

1

pirit, and they that worship Him must w·orship Him in spirit

and in truth'';

in John

14 :2

1

6:

''But

the C

1

omforte ,r, which

is th

1

e

Holy Gl1ost, wh,om th

1

e

Father

will

se·nd

in

My name,

He s,hall

teach

you

all things,

and

bring all things to,

your

remembrance

whatsoever I have said unto you''. Tl1e Holy

Spirit,

then, is

a Divine Person, and not an '' ·ethereal sttbstance' ''.

''ARTICLE

2,

WE BELIEVE THAT MEN WILL BE PUNISHED

FO.R. 'THEIR OWN SINS ,, AND NOT FOR ADAM'S . TRANS .GRESSIONS.''

But

that

is

very

1

diff

erent

from

l1olding tl1at Adam

did

not

transgress

the

law ~f

God. Here

is the teaching of the Mor

mo1n

1

Catechism: ''Was it

ne ,cessary

that Adam . should partake

of the

£,or

bidden

fruit?

Yes,

unless. he had

done so, he would

not have known good

and

evil

here,

neither

could

he

ha·ve

had

•

§ ''

mortal

posterity • ·

''Is

it

proper

·for

us

to consider the t.ransgression

of A.dam

and Ev

1

e as a gri,e·vous

calamity,

and that all mankind w,oul ,d

have

been

infini·tely more

happ

1

y

if the Fall ,

had n

1

ot occu .rried?

No, but we ought to consider

the

Fall of our first

parents

as

· one

of the

great

steps

to

eternal exa1tation

and happiness''.

(Catechism, Chapter 8.) What saith the S,criptures: ''I 'f we

say that w·e h.ave n,o

s:in, we

deceive

ourselves ,,

and 'the

truth

is,

not -in us'' (

1

John 1 :8).

''Wheref

O·r·e as by one man

[Adam]

.sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so

death

passed upon all men, for that a1I have

sinned''

(Rom.

5

:12).

'~For, th,e wag ,es of sin is

death; h'ut

the gift

of God is eternal

-

li,fe, through

J·esus Christ

our Lord''.

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15/18

•

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•

124

•

T he

Fu,ndamentals

•

''ARTICLE 3, WE BELIEV 'E THAT THROUGH THE ATONEMENT

•

OF JESUS CHRIST ALL MANKIND MAY BE SAVED, BY OBEDIENCE

TO

THE L,A

W1S

AND ORDINANCES

OF

THE ,

GOSPEL'

1

.

1. That is, the bogus Mo

1

rmon Gos,pel. According to the

official

teachings

of

Mormonism, who , was J

s,us

Christ? ' The

son of Adam-god and Mary. '' The Father has begotten him

in his own likeness. , He was not begotten of the Holy Ghost~

And who is the,Fatl1er? He is t·he first of the human

f

amily'

1

.

(Brigham

Young,

J.

of

D.,

I,

50.)

2. Christ is represente ,d as h,aving plural wives. ''We say

it was Je sus Christ who was married (at Cana to the Ma~ys .

. nd Mart .ha),

whe,·,eby

He could

see

His see:d be·£

1

re He

wa;s

c1·ucified'' (

Apostle 0. H ,yde,

Sermon). . .

''The at

1

on

1

ement

made

by

J ,esus Christ

brought .

about the

resurr ection from the dead, and restored life''. (B. of M. ·

Alma, 42 ::23.)

' '.Re,demp

1

tion from perso

1

nal

si·os can

o,nly

be

ootained tl1rough

obedience

to

th.e

requirements of the , ·Gospel

(Mormon c,eremonies] and a life of good works''. .

. '·Will all the people be damne ,d who, are not Latter -D,ay

Saints

? Yes,

an ,d ,a gre ,at many of

them

except they

repent

spee

1

di]y'' . ( Brigham Young, J.

of

D., I, 339.)

,Qur

Saviour

said: ''For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn

tlie wo,rld, but tl1at throttgh Him the world might b1 save,d'''

''ARTICLE 4. WE BELIEVE Tl-IAT THE FIRST PRINCIPLES AND

•

ORDINAN ,CES ,oF 'THE , BIBT-E ,A:RE :: First, Fai ·th in the Lo.r,d

Jesus Christ; Second, Repentance; Third, Baptism by Im

rn1rsion fo1· the Remission of Sins; Fo·urth, ·Laying on of

Hands for

tl1e

Gift

of

the Holy

Gl10st.''

1. ''The sectar ian doctrine o,f justifi

1

cat,ion by faith

alone

has exercised an influence f'or evil since the early days of

· Christianity''. (Talmage's Articles of Faith, p. 120.) Paul

says: ''For ye are all the children of G,od by faith in Jesus

1

Christ'' (Gal.

3:26). · .

2. ·How

to

obtain the

H,o1y Spir 'it:

''There

is a set

mod

1

e

by which this great gift ( the Holy ,Spirit) js c,onf erred upo

1

n

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16/18

I

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Jtlormonism:

Its

1

rigin

and octrines 125,

•

•

mankind . • • the laying on of hands by men w'l10 have

themselves received

it,

an

1

d have been call

1

ed of Go

1

d and

ordain ,ed

to administer

it'', (

That means the

Mormon

priest

l1ood.) Our Saviour said : ''How much more shall your

•

Hea .venly

Father

give the Holy

Spirit

to them who ask Him .

The Holy Spirit, our Saviour teaches, is given in answer to

prayer, and is not dependent on the priesthood of the Mormon

Churcl1, or an,y

other church.

''ARTICLE

5.

'\J'E BELIEVE THAT

A

MAN MUST BE

C'ALLED

OF

GOD BY PROPHECY, AND

BY

TH ,E

LAYING

1Q~

1

0F HAND 1S, .BY

.

THOSE WHO ARE IN AUTHORITY, TO

PREACH

THE GOSPEL AND

•

•

ADMINISTER IN THE

1

0RD'INANCES THEREOF.wt,

Accordi .ng to Mormonis m,, the only persons wh,o ha.ve a.ny

right to administer the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's

Suppe r are

the

representative s of the Mormon priesthood. It

unchurches

all

the

Chri s,tian

den,omi11ations,

.and

impudently ,

claims ·

that

the

Mormo,n Church

is

tl1e

only true church;

wh 1ereas

it

is not a church .at ,all in th,e New T

1

estament sense,,

,and has no more authority than Do,vie had, or Mrs. Eddy. Its

priesthood is bogus in its origin and its autl1ority. They are

what ,our Saviour call ,s

''thieve ,s

and

1.

obbers''. . ·

•

Paul

says

in Eph. 4:11, 12:

''And

He

[Christ] gave

son1e

apo,st1es an,d

some

p

1

r·ophet.s ;,

and s,om,e evange'lists ; a.nd some

pastors and teachers; for the perfecting ·of the saints, for the

work of the ministry, fo

1

r

the

edifying

o,f the

body of

Cl1rist.'''

. ''ARTICLE 6.

WE

BEf-'IE, rE IN T'H .E SAME ORGANIZATION

THAT EXISTED IN THE PRIMITIVE CBURCHJ· NAMELY, APOSTLES,

PROPHETS, PASTORS, TEACHERS, EVANGE 'LISTS, ETC.''

We have

shown

'that

it

is

impossible

for men to, be true

apostle s no'1v. Nor is

tl1ere

any warrant in the New

Testa

ment for S'UCh bogus officials as th

1

e ''First

Pre .sid,ency

,of th ,e,

Church'' , with its two Counsellors, or for the

''High

1

C·ouncil_',

with its despotic methods ..

The Mormon

Churcl1 p

1

ronounc

1

es damnation upon

1

Chris,

tian believers who receive baptism

fr ,om the hands of

Christian

•

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17/18

126

The undamentals

ministers. Any person who shall be so wicked as to receive

a holy ordinance of the Gospel from the ministers of these ·

apostate [Christian] churches, will be sent down to hell with

them unless he repents of the unholy and impious act . ( The

Seer, Vols. 1 & 2, p. 255.) Our Saviour said to His disciples,

and to all who should become His disciples to the end of time,

in Matt. 28 :19: Go,ye therefore and teach all nations, baptiz

ing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of

the Holy Ghost .

• A RTICLE

7.

WE BELIEVE IN THE GIFT OF TON GUES.,

PROPHECX, VISIONS ., HEALING, INTERPRETATION OF ...ONGUES.

ARTICLE 8. WE BELIEVE THE BIBLE TO BE THE WORD OF

GOD, SO FAR AS IT IS CORRECTLY TRANSLATED_,' WE ALSO BEL IEVE

THE BOOK OF MORMON TO BE THE WORD OF GOD.

L The prie sthood can 1nake additional Scriptures: Wil- ·

ford Woodruff is a prophet, and he can make

Scriptures as good as those in the Bible . (Apostle .J. W.

Taylor, Conference, Salt Lake, April S; '97.) The living

oracles [pretended priestly revelations] are worth more to the

Latter -Day Saints than all the Bibles . (Apostle M W. Mer

rill, Conference, Salt Lake, Oct., '97.)

2. Paul tells us, on the other hand, in 2 Tim. 3 :16, that

all genuine Scripture is given by inspiration of God .

The disgusting doctrine of plural marriage is omitted from

these Articles of Faith. But it still stands in the Book of

Doctrine and Covenants as a revelati on from God to be

observed under pain of eternal damnation. Yet as Mrs . Orson

Pratt said: This pretended revelation was simply a dishonest

trick on the part of Joseph Smith to cloak over h~s own wicked

and immoral life, and to keep the peace in his hou sehold .

It will be seen that the Mormon people are required to accept

the pretended revelation sanctioning plural marriage, on pain

of eternal damnation , from ·the following quotation from this

bogus revelation which still stands in their official book; ·

For .behold

I

reveal unto you a new and an everlasting


18/18

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M

ormonis·11i ~

ts Origin and

Doctrines

•

127

covenant;

and

if yo

1

ti

~bi,de not tha~

covenant

then ar·e you

dan1ned : for

no 011ecan reject this covenant and be permitted

to ent~r

int

1

0

My

glory. ·. • •

And again, as

pertaining to

the llaw of the Priesth .ood,

if

a11y

man esp,ou.se a vi.rgi·n and

de·sire to espouse anotl1er, and the first give .her consent; and

if he espouse the second ,and they are virgins and have V

1

owed

.

to no other . 1nan, theri h~ is justified; for he canno ,t

1

commit

adultery with that that belongeth unto him and to none Clse;

and if he have ten virgins given unto him by this law, he can-

not commit

a.dultery,

f·or

they

b

1

el.ong

ttnto

him; and

they

are

give11 unto hin1;

therefore

is he justified:'' (''Doctrine an,d

Covenants, chap. 132.) .

N,ow, what is this but a depr

1

a,red and cunnin ,g bribe to ·

every kind of social imn1orality? And that has .been its direct

result for two gene1ations, with the

iniquity

still going on.

It is difficult fo

1

r any one to study this . Mormon system as a

wl1ole, wit.hout

co,ming

to

t l1

e

C

1

o·n

1

c·1usion

'tl1at

the1·e

is, som,e-

thing in it beyond the power of man,

sometl1ing positively

Sata11ic.

And does it not

s,eem to be a

reproach

on

the Chris·

tian churche s of tl1is country that, af te.r ei,ghty years,

sucl1 a

system of downright heatl1enism should still hold the people of

one of the great states of the West in absolute bondag

1

e, and

through its

hierarchical

powert

by means of

colo,niZation,

be

able to influence t·h.e election of senators ,.and

representative ls

in

Congress from five other

states?

This latter fact makes it a

na,tional and not a local

probl ,e1n.

The one

im,portant

thing to

be

done

is to double

tl1e Cl1ristian

missionary forces in Utah,

in order to bring deliverance to those who are in bondage .

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Documents

The Fundamentals: Volume 8, Chapter 9: Mormonism: Its Origin, Characteristics, And Doctrines