The Maze of Mormonism

The Maze of Mormonism

“Mormonism…must stand or fall on the story of Joseph Smith. He was either a prophet of God, divinely called…or he was one

of the biggest frauds this world has ever seen.” - Walter Martin

There is so much that can be shared when it comes to the teachings of the Mormon Church. PLEASE DO NOT expect to get all your answers from this presentation. If anything, this is a reader’s digest condensation of the history and the theology of the Mormon Church.

Tips on how to witness to Mormons will be included too.

Disclaimer

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ…”

Galatians 1:6-9 (NIV)

“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!”

Galatians 1:6-9 (cont.)

Born in 1805 Was confused at the number of different

denominations; wanted to know which was the right one

James 1:5 – “ask God for wisdom.” From this verse he preceded to pray in a small grove for which denomination to choose.

In 1820, while praying in a grove, God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared, and told him. This is what happened next:

Life of Joseph Smith

“My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join…I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt…” (POGP - Joseph Smith –History 1:18-19)

Joseph’s Visions

So according to Joseph Smith and his first vision:◦ All sects are wrong◦ All creeds of those sects were an abomination◦ All other professing Christians are corrupt.

That’s us included!

Joseph’s Visions

3 years later Joseph receives another vision from the angel Moroni as to where the Golden Tablets are found, as well as the Urim and Thummin are.

These Golden Tablets supposedly tell the story of what happened to a group of Israelites who sailed to America after the Tower of Babel. They also chronicle the history of the Jaredites, the Nephites, and even the Lamanites

Josephs’ Visions

1827, Joseph Smith claims he found the Golden Tablets written in ancient Egyptian Hyeroglyphics. He began translating them into English. The result was the Book of Mormon.

Having established churches in various parts of the country, Joseph and his brother were arrested in a Carthage jail, where an angry mob broke into and shot them both.

Life of Joseph Smith (cont.)

Brigham Young inherited the role as leader/prophet of the Mormon church and under him the Mormons founded and established the state of Utah.

Under Brigham and later prophets, the Mormons flourished.

Today, the Mormons still claim they have a head prophet who interprets Scripture for them.

Brigham and the Mormons

We are told by Scripture to test what the Mormons have to say:◦ Jude 3◦ 1 Peter 3:15

What does the Bible say we do???

Clearly they give us permission to test their teachings!

“Take up the Bible, compare the religion of the Latter-day Saints with it, and see if it will stand the test” (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, vol. 16, p.46, 1873).

“Convince us of our error in doctrine, if we have any, by reason, by logic, and by the Word of God, and we will forever be grateful to you.” (Orson Pratt, The Seer)

What do the Mormons say we do ???

The Bible ◦ (“…insofar as it is correctly translated”)

The Book of Mormon The Pearl of Great Price (POGP) Doctrine and Covenants (D&C)

Holy Books

While there is so much to learn about when it comes to the doctrine of the Mormons, or “Latter-Day Saints,” this powerpoint will primarily focus on three tennants of their beliefs:◦ Who they think God is.◦ Who they think Jesus is.◦ What do they think about salvation.

What They Believe

“God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens!....I am going to tell you how God came to be God. 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...he was once a man like us...and you have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves..." (Mormon founder Joseph Smith, History of the Church vol. 6, April 7,1844, pp. 345-346).”

The Mormon God

He [God] is our Father--the Father of our spirits, and was once a man in mortal flesh as we are, and is now an exalted being (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 7, page 333).

As man is, God once was, as God is, man may become (Fifth LDS President Lorenzo Snow, Gospel Through the Ages pg.104).

Man and God are of the same race (Apostle Bruce McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, pp. 465-466)

The Mormon God (cont.)

So according to the Mormon Church, God was a man and is now an exalted man. It is also possible for Man to become gods themselves!

From the get-go we have a god that is not so much different from us, the possibility of becoming gods, which means a plurality of gods.

The Mormon God (cont.)

What does the Bible say about God?◦ “I am God, and not a man” (Hosea 11:9)◦ “God is not a man that He should lie” (Numbers

23:19 )◦ "God is Spirit" (John 4:24)◦ For I am the LORD, I change not (Malachi 3:6)◦ Declares the LORD...Before me no god was

formed, nor will there be one after me (Isaiah 43:10).

The Biblical God

Common Argument from Mormons: “The Bible says he has a body! There are verses that say he has a face, ears, nose, hands, etc.”◦ And the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a

man speaks to his friend. (Exodus 33:11)◦ [God continuing to talk to Moses] “And I will take

away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen. (33:23)

The Biblical God

Biblical Answer: The Bible uses both literal and figurative language. The previous verses employed a type of figurative language called anthropomorphic language, or attributing human-like qualities to God.◦ Example: Psalm 91:4

“He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge…”

◦ Conclusion: If taken literal, that means God is a chicken!!! NONSENSE!

The Biblical God

“It is true that many of the Christian churches worship a different Jesus Christ than is worshipped by the Mormons or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” (LDS Seventy member Bernard P. Brockbank, The Ensign, May 1977, p. 26).

“He was not begotten by the Holy Ghost” (Mormon President Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, vol.1, pp. 50-51).

The Mormon Jesus

The official Mormon website tells us: “We needed a Savior to pay for our sins and teach us how to return to our Heavenly Father. Our Father said, "Whom shall I send?" (Abraham 3:27). Two of our brothers offered to help. Our oldest brother, Jesus Christ, who was then called Jehovah, said, "Here am I, send me" (Abraham 3:27). Satan, who was called Lucifer, also came, saying, "Behold, here am I, send me" (lds.org).

Jesus is the brother of Lucifer

The Mormon Jesus

Burning Question to ask any Mormon: Is Jesus God? ◦ The Mormon would say, Of course!

However, rephrase your question, “Is Jesus the only God of the only universe?” ◦ You should see a difference in how they respond

The Biblical Jesus

In the end, Jesus is the Savior of this world, but in Mormonism this isn’t the only world and Jesus isn’t the only Savior. There are other worlds with other Saviors. Jesus is one god among a pantheon of gods.

This is polytheism (a belief in many gods).

The Biblical Jesus

Key passages to look up about the deity of Christ:◦ John 1◦ Colossians 1◦ Hebrews 1◦ Philippians 2

The Biblical Jesus

When we say salvation, we are referring to the complete forgiveness of sin from Jesus’ sacrifice for us upon the cross. We deserved Hell, but Christ paid the price for us and now we can have eternal life.

For the Mormons, there are two types of salvation: ◦ General Salvation: Through Christ’s death, we

have the ability to work our way into heaven.◦ Specific Salvation: Only good, obedient

Mormons and enter what is called the Celestial Kingdom

The Mormon Salvation

To understand Mormon salvation(s), you must understand their idea of the 3 levels of Heaven:◦ Telestial

Open to all and everyone. There is no such thing as Hell because God is a loving God.

◦ Terrestrial Open to only good, moral, religious people (it doesn’t

matter the religion)◦ Celestial

Open to only good, obedient Mormon followers. This is the realm they go to live as gods and goddesses of their own planets.


Key Question: “Are we saved by grace through faith?” The Mormon would say yes!

When Jesus died upon the cross, the opened the “door” to the Telestial Kingdom. His sacrifice also provided for us an opportunity to work our way up the Heavenly Ladder.


New Key Question: “Can we get to the Celestial Kingdom by grace through faith?” The Mormon would say ‘NO.’

In the end, the Mormons believe in a works-based salvation.


What does it mean to be saved by grace through faith?◦ What does “grace” mean?◦ Answer: Romans 11:5-7: “So too at the present

time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.”

◦ Grace is “unmerited favor.”

Biblical Salvation

Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

In short, salvation wasn’t just a one time thing that happened, but that once you were saved, the effects of that event are ongoing.

Biblical Salvation

Since both Christians and non-Christians commonly associate Mormons with polygamy, it may be necessary to touch on this subject a little bit.

“For behold, I reveal unto you a new and everlasting covenant [polygamy]; and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my [Lord's] glory” (Doctrine and Covenants 132:4).

Polygamy and Mormons

So polygamy is the “everlasting covenant” between God and the Mormons. What happens next?

The U.S. government at one time threatened to confiscate all of Mormon property and to send them all to Mexico.


Polygamous marriages eventually stopped in 1904 when church president Joseph F. Smith disavowed polygamy before Congress and issued a "Second Manifesto" calling for all plural marriages in the church to cease.

There are still factions of Mormons who still hold to polygamy, but your typical Mormon friend or coworkers who attends the Mormon church in town more than likely does not hold to polygamy.


Common Christian mistakes in talking with Mormons:

1st Don’t: Do NOT assume the Mormon you are talking to still practices polygamy. If you do, the Mormon will go on the defensive…and rightly so!◦ They have been trained to counter any “polygamy

statements” you might throw out at them.

2 “Don’t”s with Mormons

2nd Don’t: Do not bash Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, or any of their prophets. It is NOT helpful.

Both Joseph and Brigham did ungodly things in their lifetime, but don’t point out the “sins” of their founders. Let the Mormon be responsible for his/her own sin and mistakes.

Do not attack their character, but look at their theology and teachings.

2 “Don’t”s with Mormons

Keep in mind, the Mormons hold to a works-based salvation.

That being said, what must we make clear to them when witnessing to them?◦ Answer: that our good works mean nothing to

God.◦ “We have all become like one who is unclean, and

all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment…” (Isaiah 64:6)

Witnessing to Mormons

What do you think a Mormon’s concept is of a good person?◦ Their answer: They would say that a good person

would be a morally, religious person Do all good people go to heaven?

◦ Their answer: yes! Do all good people go to the Celestial

Kingdom? (refer back to slides #27-29)◦ Their answer: No…


Sometimes it’s appropriate to show the Mormon the inconsistencies/difficulties of abiding by “their Gospel.” It would be helpful to 1) have your own copy of the Book of Mormon, and 2) to note the following Book of Mormon references down.◦ Moroni 10:32◦ 2 Nephi 25:23


“Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace is sufficient for you…” (Moroni 10:32).

Moroni 10:32

Questions to ask the Mormon: How do you receive God’s grace? What if it were possible to “deny yourself of

all ungodliness/sin?”◦ Answer: You wouldn’t need Jesus Christ.

Is it possible to “stop sinning?”

Moroni 10:32

Ask the Mormon, “Have you denied yourself of all ungodliness yet?”

They may say something along the lines of “I’m working on it.”

Then ask: “Does this verse look like a process or a one-time command?”

Obvious answer: It is a command! “If…then…”

Biblical Answer: God gives grace to those who sin!

Moroni 10:32

You can even ask, “Do you know of anyone (besides Christ) who doesn’t sin, or at one point stopped sinning?

Biblical Answer: It is impossible to stop sinning

Moroni 10:32

Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

1 John 1:8 says, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

Even if you were able to “stop sinning,” you have still sinned before! From the moment you first sinned against God you stood condemned as a sinner and still need a Savior!

Moroni 10:32

"For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.“ (2 Nephi 25:23)

So how are you “saved”? If grace is given to us “after all that we can

do,” what does that make “grace?”

2 Nephi 25:23

God doesn’t reward us with salvation from what we’ve earned up to a certain point. Otherwise, that wouldn’t be “grace.” Grace was given to us despite what we’ve “earned” or “done with our lives.” That is the beauty about grace!

2 Nephi 25:23

The Mormon may ask you, “Well does that mean I can live however I want?”◦ This is a good sign! This means the Mormon is

trying to comprehend “grace.” Answer: No, the Bible does not say that “What shall we say then? Are we to

continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:1-2)

2 Nephi 25:23

Ask the Mormon, “Have you done all that you can do yet?” You can even give examples of…◦ Time spent in prayer◦ Time spent in reading the Bible◦ Time spent witnessing to others◦ Time spent in…etc. etc. etc.

They may answer, “I’m trying.” Conclusion: If you were to die today, you

wouldn’t be saved, according to Mormon teachings.

2 Nephi 25:23

Works-based theology meets the 10 Commandments!

Ask them whether they’ve done all that they can do and whether they’ve kept God’s law.

Then introduce them to the 10 Commandments. After that, transition into the Gospel and define true grace for them.

The grim reality is that despite all that we’ve done, we can never be perfect and we need a Savior!

2 Nephi 25:23

Warning: When you use the Bible to witness to Mormons, understand they do not hold to inerrancy of the Bible just like we do.◦ Inerrancy: the Bible is true in whatever it says and

100% trustworthy They may say, “Well, you really cannot trust

the Bible, it’s been mistranslated over the years and that’s why we have a Prophet to interpret Scripture for us. It just has too many contradictions.”

Evangelism with the Bible

Mormons believe that ever since the apostles died, evil men messed with the Bible, which caused God to take away his church, only to give it back to Joseph Smith, along with the authority to understand/teach the Bible.


Question: Can we trust the Bible? Answer: Yes Simple solution: Ask the Mormon, “Can you

show me a contradiction in the Bible?” 9 times out of 10, they cannot think of one

single contradiction. If they happen to “find” a contradiction, do

not fret. There is always an answer to any question against the Bible. Chances are that this “contradiction” was asked before. Therefore, it has an answer.


When the Mormon begins to say that the Bible cannot be trusted completely, just ask them, “Out of your four inspired books, which one came first?”

Their answer should be, “The Bible.” Continue, “So, does God lie? Can He be

trusted when He first speaks?” Their answer should be, “God can be

trusted!” Continue: “Well, let’s look at what He had

said from the beginning…”


Once you start getting to the end of your conversation with your Mormon friend, they may make a transition from talking about their faith as objectively as they can to talking about personal experience and how their experience validates Mormonism.

They may say, “But I remember receiving my burning in the bosom when I prayed whether the Book of Mormon was God’s Word or not!”

Burning in the Bosom

Questions to ask yourself: Does a feeling validate truth?

◦ I can feel that it’s right to rape and kill. Does that make it ok to rape and kill?

◦ I can fell that the Qu’ran in Islam is God’s Word! Does that make it God’s Word?

Is it possible that their “burning in the bosom” was a legit feeling they experienced?


Remember, even feelings can be used by Satan!

“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)


“But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it 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. But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong; therefore, you cannot write that which is sacred save it be given you from me.” (D&C 9:8-9)”


At some point (probably towards the end of the conversation), the Mormon may plead with you to “just pray about the Book of Mormon,” and then will go on with their testimony.

Ask them, “Would you pray over the _______ before believing it is true?”◦ Satanic Bible◦ Quran


In the end, we are following by what we read in D&C 9:8-9!

Remember what the passage said? First, “you must study it out in your mind…”

That is what we are doing!


As said before, it would be difficult to fit and cram everything there is to know about how to witness to Mormons.

The prayer is that this presentation will arm you in your evangelism to your Mormon friends or coworkers.

Conclusion

Documents

The Maze of Mormonism