On Mormonism

Jesus Christ, a spirit brother of the devil?  Jesus of Nazareth, married to Mary Magdalene, engaging in sexual acts with Mary and Martha, secretly fathering children before His crucifixion? What is this, another sacrilegious scene from the controversial movie, The Last Temptation of Christ?  No.  Believe it or not, this is the teaching of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints --the Mormons-- excerpted directly from their own literature (The Pearl of Great Price, Book of Moses, chapter 4, verses 1-4; Journal of Discourses, Volumes 13:282 and 4:259-260). Other strange and less well-known components of the doctrine of the Mormon church include the allegation that Almighty God was originally nothing more than a mere man: "as we are now, an exalted man."  The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as any man's."  God, according to Mormon founder Joseph Smith, is not eternal in nature, as the Bible says He is.  Besides, He presently exists on a far-flung celestial body, having continual sex with numerous spiritual goddesses.  (The King Follett Discourse; Doctrine and Covenants, Volume 130:22). As of 1991 the Mormon Church claimed approximately 7 million members worldwide. Mormonism is big business in America.  The July 29, 1991 issue of TIME magazine included an article on the growing and dynamic combination of business and religion in the heart of Mormon country --Salt Lake City, Utah. An astounding $8 billion in annual proceeds actually make the Mormon church today of "Fortune 500" status. During my youth, our family lived for a brief time in the Salt Lake City area.  We had Mormon neighbors on both sides.  Many discussions of a doctrinal nature were held between my parents and our neighbors, often lasting late into the night.  More recently, my own family visited the area.  We saw many of the hundreds of Mormon churches in that city.  We saw the people. We saw first-hand their beautiful, immaculate homes.  Most Mormons seem to lead an impeccably clean life style.  They are nice people.  They have high values.  They have an impressive work ethic.  Over the years we have come to share a cordial acquaintance with more than one individual of Mormon persuasion.  Some even receive this publication.  So it is in a spirit of goodwill that we search for the real truth in regard to the claims of the LDS church.  But the truth to defend itself.  It is important to honestly and candidly evaluate every faith system, Christianity included. The Mormon faith today continues to be enthusiastically propagated in spite of many evidences of fraud in the writings of its early founders and leaders. Not one of the ancient persons, cities, artifacts, or names mentioned in the Book of Mormon have ever been documented.  No ancient copies of Book of Mormon have ever been found.  Numerous evidences of blatant plagiarism appear in Brigham Young's writings. Although Mormons purport to accept the Bible as God's Word, much of their church teaching is based on the "further revelation" that the angel Moroni is said to have provided Joseph Smith -- material which often categorically contradicts the Bible.  Mormonism has therefore been labeled a cult for good reasons, based on the commonly accepted definition of a cult as "a religious system based on non-Biblical or extra-Biblical sources of authority, and on a deviant interpretation of Scripture that departs from historic, orthodox Christian doctrine." On a bright Sunday afternoon, May 6, 1990, Sister White escorted our family on a tour of Temple Square in Salt Lake City UT.  I listened carefully to all that she said.  Then, after the rest of our tour group had dispersed, I asked her about how Mormons reconcile the words of Galatians 1:6-9, with their own history.   Sister White said, "Well, I am often asked about the passage in Revelation 22, and the answer to that is . . . "  "But wait just a minute," I interrupted.  "I'm not asking about Revelation 22; I'm asking about Galatians 1."  Then I quoted to her these words of the Apostle Paul: "There are some that...would pervert the gospel of Christ. But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed."  Sister White said, "Well I'm not sure exactly how to respond to that.  But give me your address and I'll get back to you."  So I gave her my address.  I'm not surprised that she has never been in touch.