The Evangelicals & the Mormon Church:
Uniting Christ with Belial
By: SR Shearer
July 10, 2012
 |
|
"What concord hath Christ with Belial?
...
"And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?"
2 Corinthians 6:15-16 |
 INTRODUCTION
An extraordinary convergence of religious communities is occurring
– a convergence that involves the evangelical Christian
community and the Mormon Church; it is a convergence that has
made possible evangelical support for the nomination of Mitt
Romney for President on the Republican Party ticket –
something that most would have thought impossible not more than
twenty years ago, an impossibility that doomed George Romney's
(Mitt Romney's father) - attempt to become president in 1968.
 It first manifested itself openly in the alliance that the
Mormons struck with the evangelical community in the battle
over Proposition 8 (the California Marriage Protection Act),
a 2008 ballot initiative that added a new provision, Section
7.5 of the Declaration of Rights, to the California Constitution,
which provides that "only marriage between a man and a
woman is valid or recognized in California." Proponents
of the constitutional amendment argued that exclusively heterosexual
marriage was "an essential institution of society;"
that leaving the constitution unchanged would "result in
public schools teaching our kids that gay marriage is okay,"
and that "gays ... do not have the right to redefine marriage
for everyone else."
NOTE: In
February of 2012, a federal appeals court in California
struck down Proposition 8, ruling that the controversial
ballot initiative that defines marriage as being between
a man and a woman "singles out same-sex couples for unequal
treatment by taking away from them alone the right to
marry." [Please see our article, "Proposition
8 - How Will the Church Respond to Its Defeat."] |
 Concerning
the de facto alliance that emerged between the two communities
over Proposition 8, Christianity Today was quick to pick
up on the fact that evangelicals were extremely appreciative
of the financial help that Mormons contributed to the effort
- which in some cases involved channeling funds directly into
evangelical political organizations. The magazine went on to
say that -
"... advocates of Proposition 8 estimate that Mormons contributed
at least half of the nearly $40 million raised for the ballot
initiative."
NOTE; FROM
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER: One sure way
to ruffle the feathers of supporters of Proposition 8,
the ban on gay marriage, is to say, "Well, you didn't
win by that much." They've heard it enough that now, with
the final results certified by Secretary of State Debbie
Bowen, they've issued a list of boasts about just how
broad the margin of victory was:
-
 The measure won 52.3% to 47.7%. In raw numbers,
7,001,084 to 6,401,483 – a 600,000-vote margin.
|
THE BATTLE TO SAVE AMERICA
AS A "CHRISTIAN NATION"
Since Proposition 8, the alliance between evangelicals and
Mormons has grown and has gradually taken on an eschatological
hue; specifically, the role that both communities picture the
United States playing in the "end of days."
NOTE: Mormons
believe that THE USA IS THE PLACE WHERE THE GARDEN OF
EDEN WAS; a place where Christ visited after his resurrection,
and the place WHERE CHRIST WILL RETURN TO RULE THE
EARTH. Christ's return will take place during a period
of great crisis when civil government in the United States
"hangs by a thread;" it will be saved by the
elders of the Mormon Church who will then establish a
theocracy headquartered in Independence, Missouri where
Christ will reign for a thousand years.
 |
| Mormon
Bishop Edward Partridge |
According to Mormon eschatology, the site where Christ
will return (i.e., "The Temple Lot") is located
southwest of the intersection of Lexington Street and
River Boulevard in Independence, Missouri. It was here
that Joseph Smith said the Garden of Eden had been located.
Mormon Bishop Edward Partridge paid $130 in the 1830s
for the original 63.27-acre parcel. According to Mormons,
just prior to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, a magnificent
edifice—the New Jerusalem Temple—will be erected
on this location.
Until quite recently, the United States did not particularly
play much of a role in evangelical eschatology; this is
no longer the case as more and more evangelicals have
– willy-nilly – bought into a post-millennial
mindset popularized by leaders in the "Latter Rain" Movement
that pictures the seizure of earthly (temporal) power
by the church as the only means through which the world
can be rescued; only after the world has been thus "rescued"
can Christ return to "rule and reign." American
evangelicals believe that this process will begin when
the church gains (or, as evangelicals would say, REgains)
control of the united States. Then, using the US as a
springboard, the church will gain control over the rest
of the world, at which time Christ will return.
 |
|
THE CHURCH: seizing the world through military conquest. |
This kind of thinking is known as "dominionism." Some
dominionists see the seizure of the earth by the church
as the result of "signs, wonders, and miracles;"
others picture it as the result of military and political
conquest; most see it as a combination of both.
[Please see our article, "The
Rise of Dominionism – the Remaking of America as
a Christian Nation."]
 |
| The
"Gospel of the Kingdom" is preached to the whole
earth which leads to the conversion of Israel, the
conquest of the world. |
The basic dominionist model is as follows:
-
The world is plunged into a time
of political and spiritual crisis, one which threatens
the world with chaos and the church with destruction.
-
The Lord brings revival to the church.
This revival results in the end of the church's
divisions and the rule of the "apostles and prophets." -
The "Gospel of the Kingdom" is preached
to the whole earth which leads to the conversion of
Israel, the conquest of the world, and the judgment
of those who refuse to convert.
-
The Lord returns. [Please see APPENDIX
1, "The Dominionist Model Verses
the Biblical model."]
|
THE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN MORMON
ESCHATOLOGYAND EVANGELICAL ESCHOTOLOGY
While there are, of course, many dissimilarities between the
Mormon doctrine of "end times" and the doctrine of "end times"
that has today been popularized in the evangelical church by
such dimwits and naïfs as John Hagee, David Barton and
Mike Evans, there are also a great many very pointed similarities,
and THESE SIMILARITIES ARE PROFOUND! Consider
the following:
FIRST, as we suggested
earlier, the importance of the United States in Mormon eschatology
and what now passes for evangelical eschatology in countless
churches throughout the country.
SECOND, the belief
that the U.S. Constitution is a GOD-ORDAINED document
that is almost as important as the Bible.
THIRD, that the
forces of "Secular-Humanism" - and most especially the "Gay
Rights Movement" and Feminism - threaten to destroy the family,
the country and Christian Civilization.
FOURTH, that the
"Islamic Menace" likewise poses an ominous threat to Christian
civilization, and must be confronted and destroyed.
FIFTH, that as
a result of the twin threats posed by Islamic fundamentalism
and "Secular-Humanism," the United States will pass (is passing)
through a period of severe political, cultural and economic
chaos which will only come to an end after "God's People"
take control of the country.
 |
| Glenn
Beck speaks during the 30th Annual Night to Honor
Israel at Cornerstone Church, Sunday, Oct. 30. |
NOTE: Interestingly,
the Mormons even have a place in their eschatology -–
one that, it seems, is relatively new -– regarding
the Jews; specifically, that the Jews in Israel will convert
to Mormonism prior to the return of Christ: not much different
from the evangelical eschatology which pictures the Jews
converting to Christianity – especially when one
posits the belief that there is not that much difference
between Mormonism and Christianity as more and more evangelicals
are coming – willy-nilly – to believe. It
is precisely this similarity in eschatology that led John
Hagee to invite Glenn Beck (a Mormon) to address his congregation
in San Antonio regarding the importance of Israel in their
mutual eschatologies. MORE ABOUT
THIS IN UPCOMING ARTICLES. |
WHAT COMMUNION HATH LIGHT WITH DARKNESS
It us around these five intersections of eschatology (plus
their so-called mutual respect for the Jewish people) that the
alliance between the Mormons and the evangelical community revolves.
BUT IT IS AN ALLIANCE THAT HAS NO COMMONALITY
WITH REGARD TO CHRIST; it is exactly the kind of
alliance about which the Apostle Paul warned the early church:
"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for
what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and
what communion hath light with darkness?" (2 Corinthians 6:14)
 |
| Be
ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers |
And make no mistake about it, from a theological viewpoint,
the difference between what the Bible says concerning Christ
and what Mormons believe is the difference between light and
darkness:
MORMON VIEW OF CHRIST AS
OPPOSED TO THE BIBLE'S VIEW
Take, for example, the Mormon view of Christ as opposed
to what the Bible says concerning our Savior:
Mormon View
 "When the Virgin Mary conceived
the child Jesus, the Father had begotten him in his
own likeness. He was not begotten by the Holy Ghost.
And who is the Father? He is the first of the human
family; and when he took a tabernacle, it was begotten
by his Father in heaven, after the same manner as
the tabernacles of Cain, Abel, and the rest of the
sons and daughters of Adam and Eve"-sermon by
President and Prophet Brigham Young, recorded in The
Journal of Discourses, Vol. 1, page 50,
"When the time came that his First-born,
the Savior, should come into the world and take a
tabernacle, the Father came himself and favored that
Spirit with a tabernacle instead of letting any other
man do it"—Discourses of Brigham Young,
selected and arranged by Apostle John A. Widtsoe,
page 77, lines 8-11.
"His [Jesus Christ's] unique status
in the flesh as the offspring of a mortal mother and
of an immortal, or resurrected and glorified, Father"—The
Articles of Faith, by Apostle James E. Talmage,
1925 edition, page 472, last line, and 473, lines
1-2. This is a quotation from a statement signed by
"The First Presidency and the Council of the
Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah, June 30, 1916."
"NOW,
REMEMBER FROM THIS TIME FORTH, AND FOR EVER, THAT
JESUS CHRIST WAS NOT BEGOTTEN BY THE HOLY GHOST.
I will repeat a little anecdote. I was in conversation
with a certain learned professor upon this subject,
when I replied to this idea — 'if the Son was
begotten by the Holy Ghost, it would be very dangerous
to baptize and confirm females, and give the Holy
Ghost to them, lest he should beget children to be
palmed upon the Elders by the people, bringing the
Elders into great difficulties'"— sermon
by President and Prophet Brigham Young, recorded in
The Journal of Discourses, Vol. 1, page 51,
column 1, lines 46-51 and column 2, lines 1-9.
Christian View
 "The angel of the Lord appeared
unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David,
fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that
which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost"
Matthew 1:20.
"Then said Mary unto the angel,
How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the
angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall
come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall
overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which
shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God"
Luke 1:34-35.
COMMENT:
Such blasphemy
against the Holy Ghost as the utterance quoted last
above from Brigham Young, President and Prophet of
Mormonism, is astounding and actually indecent.
Translated into plain English, Young taught that
Jesus Christ was the Son of Adam—the first of
the human family—by "the Virgin Mary."
JOSEPH SMITH VERSES CHRIST
Then there is the matter concerning the status of Joseph
Smith over and against Christ:
Mormon View
Q. Which is the greatest dispensation?
A. The dispensation of the Fullness of
Times, opened through Joseph Smith"—Catechism,
by Elder John Jaques, page 73, paragraph 4.
Since the Mormons teach that "the
greatest dispensation" is "the dispensation
of the Fullness of Times, opened through Joseph Smith,"
it is fair to conclude that
Mormonism regards Joseph Smith as greater than the Lord
Jesus Christ. This will be denied by the Mormon
church, but the statement from their Catechism disproves
the denial.
Christian View
"Wherefore God also hath highly
exalted Him (the Lord Jesus Christ), and given Him a
name which is above every name: That at the name of
Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and
things in earth, and things under the earth; And that
every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father" Philippians 2:9-1
1.
The Lord Jesus said, "I am Alpha
and Omega, the first and the last" Revelation 1:
11. (See verse 18 to prove that it is the Lord Jesus
speaking in verse 11.)
 |
| Since
the Mormons teach that "the greatest dispensation"
is "the dispensation of the Fullness of Times,
opened through Joseph Smith," it is fair to conclude
that Mormonism regards Joseph Smith as greater
than the Lord Jesus Christ. |
MAN BECOMES GOD
Finally, there is the Mormon belief that man can become
a god.
Mormon View-Men Must
Learn How to Become Gods
"The couplet given by revelation
to President Lorenzo Snow is accepted as doctrine
by the entire church: 'As man is, God once was; As
God is, man may become" 'Leaflet No. 37, Series
B, for use of Ward Teachers in Liberty Stake of Zion,
during September 1924.
"You have got to learn how to
be Gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to
God, the same as all Gods have done before you"—sermon
by the Prophet Joseph Smith, recorded in The Journal
of Discourses, Vol. VI, page 4, column 1, lines
7-11.
"Each God, through his wife or
wives, raises up a numerous family of sons and daughters;
indeed, there will be no end to the increase of his
own children; for each father and mother will be in
a condition to multiply forever and ever. As soon
as each God has begotten many millions of male and
female spirits, and his Heavenly inheritance becomes
too small to comfortably accommodate his great family,
he, in connection with his sons, organizes a new world,
after a similar order to the one which we now inhabit,
where he sends both the male and female spirits to
inhabit tabernacles of flesh and bones." —The
Seer, Vol. 1, page 37, column 2, lines 11-27;
quotation from Apostle Orson Pratt.
THE GOD DREAM
 The
belief by Mormons that man can become God is not
unique to the Mormon Church. The concept is called
"deification." D.R. McConnell explains "deification"
in his book. A Different Gospel:
"Deification may be defined as
the process whereby men are transformed into
gods ... [Proponents of this view believe that]
man was created with the divine nature [in Eden],
sinned [through the Fall], and was filled with
the satanic nature; but through the new birth,
he is again infused with the divine nature.
To be born again ... is to receive 'the nature
and life of God' ..." [And, remember here, we
are talking about INTRINSIC
oneness.]
This "GOD-DREAM"
permeates our legends and myths, and echoes back
down through the corridors of time to Camelot
and Valhalla. Indeed, for millennia our poets,
writers, priests and prophets have been telling
and re-telling the legends and myths which swirl
like ghostly apparitions around this dream: that
there is within man a "divine spark" which longs
to be set free in order to ascend to its Originator,
God. Man is, therefore, divine and has a god'
s role in the universe. This is what the Nazis
taught; this is what Nietsche and Schopenhauer
taught: that man can ascend to the heavens; that
he can become divine in exactly the same fashion
that Christ is divine. |
 |
| How
art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of
the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground,
which didst weaken the nations |
This kind of thinking is LUCIFERIC! - and one
would do well to consider the words of the prophet Isaiah
before imbibing the waters of this putrid well with
the Mormons:
"How art thou fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down
to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
"For thou hast said in thine heart,
I will ascend into heaven, I WILL EXALT MY THRONE
ABOVE THE STARS OF GOD: I will sit also upon the
mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
"I will ascend above the heights
of the clouds; I WILL BE
LIKE THE MOST HIGH." (Is. 14:12-14)
This is LUCIFERIC sin, and it will NOT
be forgiven! Those who partake in this sin shall someday
-
"... be
brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit."
(Is. 14:15)
The Bible says:
"... All manner of sin and blasphemy
shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against
the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
"And whosoever speaketh a word
against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him:
but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, IT
SHALL NOT BE FORGIVEN HIM, NEITHER IN THIS WORLD,
NEITHER IN THE WORLD TO COME." (Matt. 12:31-32)
Christian View - God Did Not Become
God
Satan was the first being who was ambitious to become
a god. He said, "I will be like the most High."
But God said concerning Satan, "Yet thou shalt
be brought down to hell" Isaiah 14:14-15.
Satan's first lie to man was, "Ye shall be as
gods" Genesis 3:5.
And the Lord Jesus Christ said about Satan, "He
is a liar" John 8:44.
 "In the beginning God" Genesis 1:1.
"From everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God"
Psalm 90:2.
"For I am the LORD, I change not" Malachi
3:6.
"Your Father which is in heaven is perfect"
Matthew 5:48.
"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day,
and forever" Hebrews 13:8.
God is perfect and therefore cannot "progress,"
as Mormons teach. Christ, too, is changeless because
He is God.
VERY
IMPORTANT NOTE:
 |
| KENNETH
HAGIN: "That's who we
are; WE'RE CHRIST ... In fact, in the
Epistles, the Church is called Christ. The
Church has not yet realized THAT WE ARE CHRIST" |
It is extremely important to note in this connection,
that Mormons are NOT
alone in embracing the LUCIFERIC
notion that man can become God: it
is precisely this belief that the adherents of "Latter
Rain" embrace; for example, the late Kenneth
Hagin (who embraced a parallel belief system known
as "Word Faith" – a system which by now is
indistinguishable from "Latter Rain") says:
"That's
who we are; WE'RE CHRIST ... In fact, in
the Epistles, the Church is called Christ. The
Church has not yet realized THAT
WE ARE CHRIST. When we do, we'll start
doing the work we're supposed to do [i.e., subjugate
the earth]. Christ is the Head - we are the Body
- and the Body of Christ is Christ."
We are Christ? Yes! - that's what Hagin is saying
here; and he's saying that the same power that Christ
possessed to command nature, we possess too - and
not just as supplicants, but as actual POSSESSORS
of that power in the same way that Christ possessed
that power. That's what James Robison - in whose
church Ronald Reagan once said, "You cannot
endorse me, but I can endorse you" - also believes.
He writes:
"God wants us to
see Jesus as MERELY the big brother in
a huge family of brothers and sisters who are
[intrinsically] like Him ..."
In other words, we are as much "God"
as Christ is, and to the same degree that Christ
possesses DIVINITY,
we possess DIVINITY
as well! Robison - again, THE
SAME PERSON WHO DID SO MUCH TO LAUNCH RONALD REAGAN'S
1980 CAMPAIGN FOR THE PRESIDENCY - continues:
"As I consider the implications of what
God is telling us [i.e., that we as Christ's 'brothers
and sisters' are as much 'God' as Christ is] ...
my mind almost explodes. I do not believe the
Church until this time has ever noticed more than
a fleeting glimpse of THIS OVERWHELMING TRUTH
[i.e., that we are as much
'God' as Christ is God]."
This kind of thinking is called the "Continuation
of the Incarnation," and it is widely held
as a belief under different names and different
guises in today's church; according to this teaching,
the church is the essence of God; His "...
on-going incarnation in the world today." The
idea here is that, yes, Jesus is Christ, BUT
SO IS THE CHURCH AS THE "BODY OF CHRIST."
And if the "Body of Christ" is "God,"
THEN WE TOO ARE "GOD."
 |
| Ronald
Reagan and James Robison |
And it's not just Hagin and Robison who have
imbibed deeply of the poisonous waters of this pestilent
well (i.e., the belief that man can intrinsically
be united with God), and have ipso facto
involved themselves in the same great crime that
Lucifer involved himself. There are many others.
For example, ALL
of the following leaders of the American church have
embraced this pernicious doctrine - to one degree
or another, by commission or omission, by their positive
affirmation of this blasphemy or their silence in
opposing it and their refusal to "cut themselves
off" from those who affirm it, no matter:
Oral Roberts, Richard Roberts, the late John Wimber,
C. Peter Wagner, Kenneth Copeland, the late Kenneth
Hagin, Jack Hayford, Billy Joe Daugherty, Charles
Green, Marilyn Hickey, Karl Strader, Jim Ammerman,
Tommy Barnett, Charles Blair, Happy Caldwell, Charles
Capps, Morris Ceruillo, Ed Cole, Paul Crouch, Geraldine
Derstine, Richard Dortch, Ed Dufresne, Quentin Edwards,
Mike Evans, Kenny Foreman, Gerald Frey, John Gimeinez,
Ronald Halvorson, James Haynes, Wallace Hickey, Roy
Hicks, Charles Hunter, Frances Hunter, Robert Tilton,
Larry Tomczak, Casey Treat, Ron Tucker, Tommy Tyson,
Dick Iverson, Vicki Jamison-Peterson, G.L. Johnson,
Larry Lea, Freda Lindsay, Francis MacNutt, Ralph Mahoney,
John Mears, Mike Murdock, Charles Nieman, John Osteen
(and his son), Paul Paino, Carlton Pearson, Tommy
Reid, Fred Price, Evelyn Roberts, Roy Sapp, Jerry
Savelle, Charles Simpson, Carlton Spencer, Stephen
Strang, Lester Sumrall, Hilton Sutton, Vinson Synan,
Jeff Walker, Bob Weiner, Austin Wilkerson, Ralph Wilkerson.
All this to say nothing of our usual "cast
of suspects:" Tim LaHaye, Beverley LaHaye,
Ern Baxter, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Chuck
Colson, Robert Stearns, Mike Bickle, Reuven Doron,
Che Ahn, Frank Hammond, Cindy Jacobs, Bill Hamon,
John Eckhardt, Bobbie Byerly, Dutch Sheets, Jim
Goll, John Paul Jackson, Francis Frangipane, James
Ryle, Frank Damazio, Ed Silvoso, Carlos Annacondia,
Claudio Freidzon, Roger Mitchell, Ted Haggart, Paul
Cain, Chuck Pierce, Rick Joyner, Kingsley Fletcher,
Jim Laffoon, Barbara Wentroble, ad infinitum, ad
nauseum. [We URGE you to see our
APPENDIX 2, for a through
discussion of our relationship to God as His "sons
and daughters."]
This is a virtual Who's Who in American
Christianity today – NO
WONDER THAT TODAY'S EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANITY NO
LONGER FEELS UNEASY IN EMBRACING THE MORMON CHURCH
AS ALLIES IN THEIR EFFORT TO "RETURN AMERICA TO
CHRIST AND THE CHURCH." |
|
UNITING CHRIST WITH BELIAL
These are but a few of the differences that separate a Bible-based
Christianity over and against Mormonism. There are many more
– please see APPENDIX 3
for a much more complete list of those beliefs that make
Mormonism a system of Belial:
"What
concord hath Christ with Belial? o-r what part
hath he that believeth with an infidel?
"And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?" (2
Corinthians 6:15-16)
|
|
What concord hath Christ with Belial?
But in joining with Mormons to
"return America to Christ," evangelicals are plainly
rejecting this Scripture. |
And so it is that we are confronted with an extremely perverse
and blasphemous alliance – one that unites Christ with
Belial in an attempt to bring the Kingdom of God to earth. The
thought is mind-numbing in its stupidity! Nonetheless, this
is exactly the path that the evangelical community has chosen
to save America as a "beacon of light" to the world.
God bless you all!
S.R. Shearer
Antipas Ministries
________________________________________
***
IN ADDITION, WE URGE YOU TO DOWNLOAD THE NEW ANTIPAS PAPERS,
PRINT THEM OUT YOURSELF, AND STUDY THEM CAREFULLY; SHARE THEM
WITH YOUR FRIENDS.
***
FINALLY, WE URGE YOU TO DOWNLOAD AND PRINT OUT THE FLYER
WE SENT TO YOU RECENTLY.
Then make copies and take these copies out to the campuses
where you live; pass them out; OR if that seems
too "daring" for you right now, post them on telephone
poles, the sides of buildings, on campus bulletin boards; post
them in union halls, in the neighborhoods of the poor and downtrodden,
near employment offices, wherever you can.
Once again, we URGE you to read (or
re-read):
_____________________________________________
APPENDIX 1
"The Dominionist Model Verses the Biblical model."
"Dominionism" is a militant post-millennial eschatology
("doctrine of end times") which pictures the seizure
of earthly (temporal) power by the church as the only means
through which the world can be rescued; only after the world
has been thus "rescued" can Christ return to "rule
and reign." (Some dominionists see the seizure of the earth
as the result of "signs, wonders, and miracles;" others
picture it as the result of military and political conquest;
most see it as a combination of both.)
Dominionists - whether subtly or otherwise - discount altogether
the possibility of a rapture. They have rejected pre-millennialism
completely - and in doing so, they have not only rejected the
possibility of a pre-tribulational rapture of the church, but
also the possibility of a mid-tribulational rapture and a post-tribulational
rapture. This is post-millennialism - the historic teaching
of the Roman Catholic Church.
Al Dager writes, "Some two decades before Pentecostalism
found its way into the (mainstream) denominations (i.e., the
Episcopalians, the Catholic Church, etc.) as the 'Charismatic
Renewal', it experienced a new surge of experience-oriented
theology within its own ranks. It was from this neo-Pentecostal
experience - what came to be called the 'Latter Rain Movement'
- that Charismatic Dominionism sprang. The more prominent leaders
of that movement blended Pentecostal fervor with teachings that
the Church was on the brink of a worldwide revival. That revival
would result in a victorious Church without spot or wrinkle
... (which) would inherit the earth and rule over the nations
with a rod of iron." Dager explains that at the core of
the dominionist mindset is "a ... premise ... that when
Adam sinned, not only did man lose dominion over the earth,
but God also lost control of the earth to Satan. Since that
time ... God has been on the outside looking in, searching for
a 'covenant people' who will be His 'extension' or 'expression'
in the earth to take dominion back from Satan ..." [Dager,
Vengeance Is Ours, pgs. 43-44. ]
The basic dominionist model is as follows:
Jewel van der Merwe of Discernment Magazine, elaborates;
she writes that the "New Charismatics" are actively
pushing a belief system which prophesies that " ...
(1) the greatest revival the church has ever known (is
about to occur); (2) the greatest baptism of the Spirit
the Church has ever experienced (will shortly happen);
(3) the greatest army (Joel's Army) distinguished by invincibility,
immortality and divinity (will be raised up); (4) the
greatest purging ... in the history of the church (will
shortly begin); (5) the greatest ministry - the Prize
of all Ages (is about to break forth); and (6) the greatest
miracles, supernatural signs and wonders far exceeding
that of the Apostles and Prophets of old (will shortly
take place)."
The dominionist model, however, is at total variance with the
older premillennial model. The premillennial model pictures:
The world is plunged into a time of spiritual and political
crisis. The church is apostatized. The apostatized church unites with the anti-Christ and seizes
control of the world. A great tribulation breaks out against those Christians
who refuse to become a part of the apostatized church, resulting
in their persecution and finally their destruction - after
which the anti-Christ, who had at first appeared as the champion
of Israel, turns on Israel to destroy her. The rapture occurs for those Christians who "remain,"
and Christ returns to bring judgment on those who had destroyed
Israel and persecuted those Christians who had refused to
be apostatized.
[This model is essentially the model of Hal Lindsey's Late
Great Planet Earth, with the exception that Lindsey postulates
that Christians will be raptured out of the world prior to the
beginning of the persecution of the anti-Christ. Premillennialists
are divided on the point of the rapture; some argue that the
rapture will occur before the tribulation, some say during,
and some say afterwards - but the essential elements of the
rest of the model remain.]
It should also be noted in this connection that in the dominionist
model, the church is the "main player," while in the
premillennialist model, Christ is the "main player."
In one way or another Franklin Hall, William Branham, George
Hawtin, Percy G. Hunt, Herrick Holt, George Warnock, Bill Britton,
Kathryn Kuhlman, Oral Roberts, Ern Baxter, Don Basham, Bob Mumford,
Charles Simpson, Derek Prince, D. James Kennedy, William Banks,
Marilyn Hickey, Demos Shakarian, Ralph Martin, Steve Clark,
Kevin Ranaghan, etc. have all been involved in "Dominionism"
and "Latter Rain." [Dager, Vengeance Is Ours, pgs.
49-50.] |
____________________________________________________
APPENDIX 2
CHRISTIANS AS GOD'S
SONS AND DAUGHTERS
WE ARE ONE WITH GOD BY ADOPTION
Again, we are the "sons and daughters of God"
by ADOPTION, and this is how we relate to the Father.
The Bible says:
"... ye have received the Spirit of ADOPTION,
whereby we cry, Abba, Father." (Rom. 8:15)
And it goes on to say that He has -
"... predestinated us unto the ADOPTION
of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to
the good pleasure of his will ..." (Eph. 1:5)
The oneness that we enjoy with the Father is a oneness
of RELATIONSHIP, not an INTRINSIC oneness
that a son by blood enjoys with his father.
WE ARE ONE WITH GOD IN THE SAME MANNER
THAT A HUSBAND IS ONE WITH HIS WIFE
Moreover, the Bible doesn't leave it at that; it goes
on to compare the kind of oneness that we enjoy with the
Father to the same kind of oneness that an husband enjoys
with his wife:
"So ought men to love their wives as their own
bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
"For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but
nourisheth and cherisheth it, EVEN AS THE LORD THE
CHURCH:
"FOR WE ARE MEMBERS OF HIS [i.e., CHRIST'S]
BODY, OF HIS FLESH, AND OF HIS BONES.
"For this cause shall a man leave his father and
mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they
two shall be one flesh." (Eph. 5:28-31)
And the Bible goes on to say:
"Wherefore they [i.e., the husband and wife] are
no more twain [i.e., two], but one flesh ...."
(Matt. 19:6)
But, again, this oneness is NOT an INTRINSIC
oneness; IT IS AN ONENESS IN RELATIONSHIP! The
husband and wife are one in their relationship, but they
are not one in their nature. The man still remains a man,
and the woman still remains a woman. They do not meld
together and become a strange new creature: a sort of
"man-woman." But this is PRECISELY what
Hagin et. al. claim happens when we are
"born-again:" that we are made INTRINSICALLY
one with God.
I warn you, I somberly caution you, to believe such a
thing is to set yourself on the road to hell. |
____________________________________________________
APPENDIX 3
MORMONISM VERSES CHRISTIANITY *
I THE BIBLE
1. Several Books vs. One Book |
Mormon View
"We consider the Bible, Book of Mormon,
Book of Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great
Price and Sayings of Joseph, the Seer, our guides
in faith and doctrine"—A Compendium,
by Apostle F. D. Richards and Elder J. A. Little,
preface, lines 1-4.
"Thou fool, that shall say, A Bible,
we have got a Bible, and we need no more Bible...
Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible, ye need
not suppose that it contains all my words; neither
need ye suppose that I have not caused more to
be written"-The Book of Mormon, 2Nephi
29:6, 10.
At the semi-annual Conferences of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the "Mormon"
Church), their highest officers were "sustained"
as "Prophets, Seers and Revelators" by
vote of the Church. The following is quoted from
the Official Report of the 95th Annual Conference
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
Salt Lake City, April 4, 5 and 6, 1925, pages 149
and 150: "President Heber J. Grant presented
the General Authorities and the General Officers
of the Church; all of whom were sustained in their
positions and callings by the unanimous vote of
the large assembly, as follows: Heber J. Grant,
Prophet, Seer and Revelator.... The Counselors in
the First Presidency, the Twelve Apostles, and the
Presiding Patriarch as Prophets, Seers and Revelators." |
Christian View
"Ye shall not add unto the word which
I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought
from it" Deuteronomy 4:2.
"Add thou not unto His words, lest He
reprove thee, and thou be found a liar" Proverbs
30:6.
"For I testify unto every man that heareth
the words of the prophecy of this Book, If any
man shall add unto these things, God shall add
unto him the plagues that are written in this
Book: And if any man shall take away from the
words of the Book of this prophecy, God shall
take away his part out of the Book of Life, and
out of the holy city, and from the things which
are written in this Book" Revelation 22:18-19.
This last book of the Bible, the Revelation,
records the events with which the Church Age will
close. In it is described the Second Coming of the
Lord Jesus Christ, His Millennial Reign on the earth
and the bringing in of the new heavens and the new
earth. Christians believe that this book of the
Revelation closed the canon of Scripture for this
age—until Christ returns. They believe that
the penalties pronounced on those who add to or
take away from the book of the Revelation apply
to those who add to or take away from the Bible. |
COMMENT: There is no prediction in the Bible
of any "restoration" of the Gospel or the coming of
any true prophet before Christ comes to catch away His redeemed
ones according to 1Thessalonians 4:15-17. The only prophets
whom Christ said would come in the period between His ascension
and second advent are "false prophets." Hear what
Christ said: "For there shall arise false Christs, and
false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch
that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Behold, I have told you before" Matthew 24:24-25. |
2. The Reliability of the Bible |
Mormon View
"We believe the Bible to be the word
of God as far as it is translated correctly."
No. 8 of the "Mormon" Articles of Faith,
quoted in The Articles of Faith, by Apostle James
E. Talmage, 1925 edition, page 236, line 1.
"Add all this imperfection to the uncertainty
of the translation, and who, in his right mind,
could for one moment, suppose the Bible in its
present form to be a perfect guide? Who knows
that even one verse of the whole Bible has escaped
pollution, so as to convey the same sense now
that it did in the original?" —Divine
Authority of The Book of Mormon, by Apostle Orson
Pratt (Section No. 3), page 47, lines 28-32.
But Apostle and Theologian James E. Talmage
takes issue with the above utterance of Apostle
Orson Pratt: "An impartial investigator has
cause to wonder more at the paucity of errors than
that mistakes are to be found at all"—The
Articles of Faith, by Apostle James E. Talmage,
1925 edition, page 237, lines 3-5.
Apostle Orson Pratt, who died a long while ago,
even questions the inspiration of the New Testament
writers: "If it be admitted that the apostles
and evangelists did write the books of the New Testament,
that does not prove of itself that they were divinely
inspired at the time they wrote."—Divine
Authority of The Book of Mormon, by Apostle Orson
Pratt (Section No. 3), page 45, lines 31-33. |
Christian View
As to the correctness of the translation of
the Scriptures, hear the testimony of Professor
Robert Dick Wilson of Princeton Theological Seminary.
There is no greater authority on Hebrew and other
ancient languages. He says: "You can be absolutely
certain that we have the text substantially of the
Old Testament that Christ and the Apostles had and
that was in existence from the beginning"-The
Sunday School Times, June 27, 1925, page 414.
"Thy Word is very pure: therefore Thy
servant loveth it" Psalm 119:140.
"Thy Word is true from the beginning"
Psalm 119:160.
"Thy Word is truth" John 17:17.
"All Scripture is given by inspiration
of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
for correction, for instruction in righteousness"
2 Timothy 3:16.
"For the prophecy came not in old time
by the will of man: but holy men of God spake
as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" 2 Peter
1:21.
"But I certify you, brethren, that the
Gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
For I neither received it of man, neither was
I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ"
Galatians 1:11-12
"For this cause also thank we God without
ceasing, because, when ye received the Word of
God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as
the word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word
of God, which effectually worketh also in you
that believe" 1Thessalonians 2:13.
|
COMMENT: Why should most of the Mormon leaders
speak disparagingly of the translation of the Bible? And why
should some even question the inspiration of the Bible? Is it
not probable that they do this in order to make people feel
the need of the revelation the Mormons claim to have received
and continue to receive? Are not these aspersions cast upon
the reliability of the Bible in order to make people feel they
must come to the Mormon "prophets, seers and revelators"
to obtain the Word of God, thus bringing them under the power
of the Mormon priesthood? And we have seen that there is no
justification whatever for regarding the Bible as incorrectly
translated or not inspired. Every blessing of so-called "Christian"
civilization has come from the Bible. And millions have found
the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior by reading or hearing
and believing the Bible.
It is tragic indeed that the Mormon people so greatly neglect
the Bible. This is because their leaders have undermined the
faith of their people in the reliability of the Bible. Mormon
missionaries use the Bible only so far as they can get texts
from it which they can present in such a way as to appear to
agree with Mormon teachings. And they use these Bible texts
with those who believe the Bible in order to persuade them to
accept Mormonism. For any other purpose the Bible seems to have
very little weight with the Mormons. They do not by any means
regard it as the final authority in spiritual truth, as do orthodox
Christians. |
Next, let us consider the contrasting views about God.
II. GOD
Mormon View-Many Gods and Polygamous
Q. Are there more Gods than one?
A. Yes, many. 1 Cor 8:5"—Catechism,
by Elder John Jaques, chapter 4, page 13.
"In the Heaven where our spirits were
born, there are many Gods, each one of whom has
his own wife or wives which were given to him
previous to his redemption, while yet in his mortal
state"—The Seer, by Apostle Orson Pratt,
Vol. 1, March 1853, No. 3, page 37, column 2,
paragraph 25, lines 1-6.
"The head God called together the Gods
and sat in grand council to bring forth the world."
"In the beginning, the head of the Gods
called a council of the Gods; and they came together
and concocted a plan to create the world and people
it"—sermon by the Prophet Joseph Smith,
April 6, 1844, recorded in The Journal of Discourses,
Vol. VI, page 5, column 1, lines 9-12; and column
2, lines 18-22.
|
Christian View-One God
"There is none other God but one. For
though there be that are called gods, whether
in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many,
and lords many, But to us there is but one God"
I Corinthians 8:4-6.
Part of the above Scripture is cited by the
Mormon Catechism to prove that there are many Gods.
But a careful examination of this passage and its
context shows that it means the very opposite of
what the Mormons make it out to teach. The apostle
Paul was here contrasting the heathen belief in
many gods with the Christian revelation that "there
is none other God but one."
"For all the gods of the people are idols:
but the LORD made the heavens" I Chronicles
16:26.
"Beside Me there is no God" Isaiah
44:6.
"I am the LORD, and there is none else,
there is no God beside Me" Isaiah 45:5.
"Thou alone art God" I Chronicles
17:26 (Jewish translation of the Bible).
"Shall a man make gods unto himself,
and they are no gods?" Jeremiah 16:20.
|
COMMENT: The belief in many gods is fundamental
to Mormonism and is in utter contrast with the Bible revelation
of but one God. The Mormon "gods" are not only numerous
but also polygamous! |
Mormon View
"God himself was once as we are now,
and is an exalted Man, and sits enthroned in yonder
heavens"—sermon by the Prophet Joseph
Smith, April 6, 1844, recorded in The Journal
of Discourses, Vol. VI, page 3, column 1, lines
46-48.
— God and Man of Same Race
"Gods, angels and men are all of one
species, one race, one great family, widely diffused
among the planetary systems, as colonies, kingdoms,
nations, etc." —Key to Science of Theology,
by Apostle Parley P. Pratt, page 33, lines 19-20.
— Adam Is Our Father and Our God
"Now hear it, O inhabitants of the earth,
Jew and Gentile, Saint and sinner! When our father
Adam came into the garden of Eden, he came into
it with a celestial body, and brought Eve, one
of his wives, with him. He helped to make and
organize this world. He is Michael, the Archangel,
the Ancient of Days! about whom holy men have
written and spoken-He is our Father and our God,
and the only God with whom we have to do"—sermon
by President and Prophet Brigham Young, April
9, 1852, recorded in The Journal of Discourses,
Vol. 1, page 50, column 2, lines 9-21.
|
COMMENT: Here we see that the Mormon Prophets
teach that God was once a man and that the man Adam is the God
of this world. |
Christian View
— God Has Always Been God
"God is not a man, that He should lie;
neither the son of man, that He should repent"
Numbers 23:19.
"I am God, and not man" Hosea 11:9.
"From everlasting to everlasting, Thou
art God" Psalm 90:2.
"The eternal God" Deuteronomy 33:27.
"The first man Adam was made a living
soul" 1 Corinthians 15:45.
"In Adam all die" 1 Corinthians
15:22.
"And unto Adam He (God) said ... dust
thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return"
Genesis 3:17, 19.
|
Mormon View-Men Must Learn How to Become
Gods
"The couplet given by revelation to President
Lorenzo Snow is accepted as doctrine by the entire
church: 'As man is, God once was; As God is, man
may become" 'Leaflet No. 37, Series B, for
use of Ward Teachers in Liberty Stake of Zion,
during September 1924.
"You have got to learn how to be Gods
yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God,
the same as all Gods have done before you"—sermon
by the Prophet Joseph Smith, recorded in The Journal
of Discourses, Vol. VI, page 4, column 1, lines
7-11.
"Each God, through his wife or wives,
raises up a numerous family of sons and daughters;
indeed, there will be no end to the increase of
his own children; for each father and mother will
be in a condition to multiply forever and ever.
As soon as each God has begotten many millions
of male and female spirits, and his Heavenly inheritance
becomes too small to comfortably accommodate his
great family, he, in connection with his sons,
organizes a new world, after a similar order to
the one which we now inhabit, where he sends both
the male and female spirits to inhabit tabernacles
of flesh and bones." —The Seer, Vol.
1, page 37, column 2, lines 11-27; quotation from
Apostle Orson Pratt.
|
Christian View-God Did Not Become God
Satan was the first being who was ambitious
to become a god. He said, "I will be like the
most High." But God said concerning Satan,
"Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell"
Isaiah 14:14-15.
Satan's first lie to man was, "Ye shall
be as gods" Genesis 3:5.
And the Lord Jesus Christ said about Satan,
"He is a liar" John 8:44.
"In the beginning God" Genesis 1:1.
"From everlasting to everlasting, Thou
art God" Psalm 90:2.
"For I am the LORD, I change not"
Malachi 3:6.
"Your Father which is in heaven is perfect"
Matthew 5:48.
"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and
to day, and forever" Hebrews 13:8.
God is perfect and therefore cannot "progress,"
as Mormons teach. Christ, too, is changeless because
He is God. |
COMMENT: Mormons admit that man is a sinner.
Then if "God once was" "as man is," the
God of Mormonism was once a sinner, and he is not the God of
the Bible. For the God of the Bible says, "I am holy"
(Leviticus 11:44). Also, He says, "I change not" (Malachi
3:6). There never was a time when the God of the Bible was a
sinner, and therefore He was never a man. To regard God as having
once been a sinner destroys the realization of the sinfulness
of sin and the holiness of God. It also destroys the realization
that God, the Creator, is infinitely above man, His finite creature.
Man cannot become a god. |
Mormon View
"That which is without body, parts and
passions is nothing. There is no other God in
heaven but that God who has flesh and bones"—A
Compendium, by Apostle F.D. Richards and Elder
J. A. Little, page 287, lines 39-42.
"The Father has a body of flesh and bones
as tangible as man's"—Doctrine and
Covenants, by the Prophet Joseph Smith, etc.,
130:22.
|
Christian View
"God is a Spirit" John 4:24.
After His resurrection, the Lord Jesus said,
"Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I
Myself: handle Me, and see; for a spirit ~hath not
flesh and bones, as ye see Me have" Luke 24:39. |
COMMENT: The Bible uses anthropomorphic terms
such as "eyes, "ears," "hands," "feet,"
etc. to describe to man the actions of God. But the above Bible
quotations tell us that "God is a Spirit" and that
"a spirit hath not flesh and bones." The Bible also
speaks figuratively of God's "wings" (Psalm 17:8)
and "feathers" (Psalm 91:4). Therefore, to be logical,
those who think God's "hands" and "feet"
are literal must believe also that God has actual "wings"
and "feathers"! And if God has a physical body, how
immense it must be, for He says, "Do not I fill heaven
and earth? saith the LORD" (Jeremiah 23:24).
Since God the Father has no physical body, in what sense
then is it true that "God created man in His own image"
(Genesis 1:27)? Is a body all or the main part of a man? Is
not the intellectual, volitional, spiritual and self-conscious
nature of man superior to the body? All animals, even the tiniest
insects, have a body. But it is in thought, will, capacity for
fellowship with God and self-consciousness that man was made
in the likeness of God. When the Lord Jesus said, "He that
hath seen Me hath seen the Father" (John 14:9), He certainly
had no thought of physical resemblance between Himself and God.
If He meant that God had a body, then any man could say, "He
that hath seen me hath seen the Father," for every man
has a body! The Lord Jesus also said, "I and My Father
are one" (John 10:30). It is because Christ and God the
Father are "one" in infinite spiritual nature that
He said, "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father."
A body is physical and can be seen, but Christ "is the
image of the invisible God" (Colossians 1: 15). |
5. What Is Man's Relation to God? |
Mormon View
"I wish to be perfectly understood here.
Let it be remembered that the Prophet Joseph Smith
taught that man, that is, his spirit, is the offspring
of Deity; not in any mystical sense, but actually;
that man has not only a Father in heaven, but
a Mother also"—New Witness for God,
by Brigham H. Roberts, Vol. 1, page 461, lines
16-20.
"Spirits are eternal. At the first organization
in heaven we were all present, and saw the Saviour
chosen and appointed, and the plan of salvation
made, and we sanctioned it"—the Prophet
Joseph Smith in The Scrap Book of Mormon Literature,
Vol. 11, page 10, lines 16-18.
|
Christian View
"God created man" Genesis 1:27.
By nature man is God's creature, not God's child.
"But as many as received Him (Jesus Christ),
to them gave He power to become the sons of God,
even to them that believe on His name: Which were
born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh,
nor of the will of man, but of God" John
1: 12-13.
"Ye must be born again" John 3:7.
Man has been physically born. To be saved he
must be "born again," of the Holy Spirit,
by personally accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as
his Savior. To the "born again" ones,
God is "the Father of spirits" (Hebrews
12:9). |
COMMENT: The Bible does not teach man's pre-existence.
God's question to Job—"Where wast thou when I laid
the foundations of the earth?" (Job 38:4)—instead
of indicating that Job existed when God created the earth, indicates
the very opposite, as the context shows. By this sarcastic statement
God reminds Job that he is finite and did not exist when God
wrought the wonders of creation. Had Job existed when God created
the earth, the inference is that Job would have known how God
effected the creation. And Job had no such knowledge because
he came to be after God created the world. |
6. Is God a Creator or Just an Organizer? |
Mormon View
"The Creator is an Organizer. God created
the earth as an organized sphere; but He certainly
did not create, in the sense of bringing into
primal existence, the ultimate elements of the
materials of which the earth consists, for 'the
elements are eternal' (D. & C. 93:33)"—The
Articles of Faith, by Apostle James E. Talmadge,
1925 edition, page 466, lines 1-5.
"The Gods, organized and formed the heavens
and the earth"—"Book of Abraham,"4:1,
in The Pearl of Great Price, by the Prophet Joseph
Smith, page 38.
|
Christian View
"In the beginning God created the heaven
and the earth" Genesis 1: 1.
"God created man" Genesis 1:27.
"God created and made" Genesis 2:3.
"By the word of the LORD were the heavens
made" Psalm 33:6.
"Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and
He that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD
that maketh all things" Isaiah 44:24.
"For by Him (Jesus Christ) were all things
created ... all things were created by Him, and
for Him: And He is before all things, and by Him
all things consist" Colossians 1:16-17.
|
COMMENT: The Bible teaches that God both created
and made the world. If, as the Mormons teach, God did not bring
"into primal existence, the ultimate elements of the materials
of which the earth consists," then matter is as eternal
as God, and God is not the Creator but merely an artificer.
The Mormon view is that God simply shaped the world out of matter
He found already existing. Mormonism knows no real Creator,
for a Creator is one who brings into existence that which does
not exist. |
And now let us observe the vast difference between the Mormon
and the Christian views of Jesus Christ.
III. JESUS CHRIST
1. Was Jesus Christ Begotten by the Holy Spirit? |
Mormon View
"When the Virgin Mary conceived the child
Jesus, the Father had begotten him in his own
likeness. He was not begotten by the Holy Ghost.
And who is the Father? He is the first of the
human family; and when he took a tabernacle, it
was begotten by his Father in heaven, after the
same manner as the tabernacles of Cain, Abel,
and the rest of the sons and daughters of Adam
and Eve"-sermon by President and Prophet
Brigham Young, recorded in The Journal of Discourses,
Vol. 1, page 50,
"When the time came that his First-born,
the Savior, should come into the world and take
a tabernacle, the Father came himself and favored
that Spirit with a tabernacle instead of letting
any other man do it"—Discourses of
Brigham Young, selected and arranged by Apostle
John A. Widtsoe, page 77, lines 8-11.
"His [Jesus Christ's] unique status in
the flesh as the offspring of a mortal mother
and of an immortal, or resurrected and glorified,
Father"—The Articles of Faith, by Apostle
James E. Talmage, 1925 edition, page 472, last
line, and 473, lines 1-2. This is a quotation
from a statement signed by "The First Presidency
and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt
Lake City, Utah, June 30, 1916."
"Now, remember from this time forth,
and for ever, that Jesus Christ was not begotten
by the Holy Ghost. I will repeat a little anecdote.
I was in conversation with a certain learned professor
upon this subject, when I replied to this idea
— 'if the Son was begotten by the Holy Ghost,
it would be very dangerous to baptize and confirm
females, and give the Holy Ghost to them, lest
he should beget children to be palmed upon the
Elders by the people, bringing the Elders into
great difficulties'"— sermon by President
and Prophet Brigham Young, recorded in The Journal
of Discourses, Vol. 1, page 51, column 1, lines
46-51 and column 2, lines 1-9.
|
Christian View
"The angel of the Lord appeared unto
him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David,
fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for
that which is conceived in her is of the Holy
Ghost" Matthew 1:20.
"Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall
this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel
answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall
come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall
overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing
which shall be born of thee shall be called the
Son of God" Luke 1:34-35.
|
COMMENT: Such blasphemy against the Holy Ghost
as the utterance quoted last above from Brigham Young, President
and Prophet of Mormonism, is astounding and actually indecent.
Translated into plain English, Young taught that Jesus Christ
was the Son of Adam—the first of the human family—by
"the Virgin Mary." |
2. Was Jesus Christ Married? |
Mormon View
"The Evangelists [writers of the four
Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John], do not
particularly speak of the marriage of Jesus; but
this is not to be wondered at, for St. John says:
'There are also many other things which Jesus
did, the which, if they should be written every
one, I suppose that even the world itself could
not contain the books that should be written!'
(John 21:25). One thing is certain, that there
were several holy women that greatly loved Jesus—such
as Mary, and Martha her sister, and Mary Magdalene;
and Jesus greatly loved them, and associated with
them much; and when He arose from the dead, instead
of first showing Himself to His chosen witnesses,
the Apostles, He appeared first to these women,
or at least to one of them—namely, Mary
Magdalene. Now, it would be very natural for a
husband in the resurrection to appear first to
his own dear wives, and afterwards show himself
to his other friends. If all the acts of Jesus
were written, we no doubt should learn that these
beloved women were his wives"—The Seer,
by Apostle Orson Pratt, Vol. 1, No. 10, October
1853, page 159, column 2, lines 6-32.
Further teaching along this line by Apostle
Orson Pratt in which he clearly and definitively
teaches that the Scriptural statements about the
"seed," "generation" and "increase"
of Christ refer to His having actual physical posterity
is found in The Seer, Vol. 1, No. 9, September 1853,
page 135, column 1, line 49, to page 136, column
2, line 19. |
Christian View
Christians do not believe that Jesus Christ was married
at all. His Divine Person (both God and man) and His Mission
— coming into the world to be the Divine Sacrifice for
the sins of all who will accept Him — are utterly incompatible
with the idea of marriage.
The Lord Jesus Christ was and is God incarnate, and the
thought of His marriage to a human woman is wholly incongruous.
If Christ had been married, then the silence of the Bible
about that important matter is inexcusable. The fact that the
Bible is silent about Christ being married is decisive. Christ
was not married.
Mormon missionaries do not tell people that they believe
Christ was married. That teaching is "strong meat"
and is only given to those who are of "full age" in
Mormonism. I have heard Mormon missionaries deny that they believed
Christ was married. But when I proved that they did teach it,
they immediately began to defend this teaching.
Christ's "seed" and "generation" and
"increase" are solely spiritual. See Isaiah 53:8,
10. |
3. Is Joseph Smith Greater Than Jesus Christ? |
Mormon View
Q. Which is the greatest dispensation?
A. The dispensation of the Fullness of Times, opened through
Joseph Smith"—Catechism, by Elder John Jaques, page
73, paragraph 4.
Since the Mormons teach that "the greatest dispensation"
is "the dispensation of the Fullness of Times, opened through
Joseph Smith," it is fair to conclude that Mormonism regards
Joseph Smith as greater than the Lord Jesus Christ. This will
be denied by the Mormon church, but the statement from their
Catechism disproves the denial. |
Christian View
"Wherefore God also hath highly exalted
Him (the Lord Jesus Christ), and given Him a name
which is above every name: That at the name of
Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven,
and things in earth, and things under the earth;
And that every tongue should confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father"
Philippians 2:9-1 1.
The Lord Jesus said, "I am Alpha and Omega,
the first and the last" Revelation 1: 11. (See
verse 18 to prove that it is the Lord Jesus speaking
in verse 11.) |
Mormonism has had a great deal of difficulty deciding
what to teach about the Holy Spirit. Let us now note what
the Mormon church teaches about the third Person of the
Holy Trinity.
IV. THE HOLY SPIRIT
1. Is the Holy Spirit a Substance or a Person? |
Mormon View
— The Holy Spirit Is a "Substance"
"There are several of these subtle, invisible
substances but little understood as yet by man,
and their existence is only demonstrated by their
effects. Some of them are recognized under the
several terms, electricity, galvanism, magnetism,
animal magnetism, spiritual magnetism, essence,
spirit, etc. The purest, most refined and subtle
of all these substances, and the one least understood,
or even recognized, by the less informed among
mankind, is that substance called the Holy Spirit.
This substance, like all others, is one of the
elements of material or physical existence, and
therefore subject to the necessary laws which
govern all matter, as before enumerated"—Key
to Science of Theology, by Apostle Parley P. Pratt,
page38, lines 27-29, to page 39, lines 1-11.
— The Holy Spirit a "Fluid"
"Jesus Christ, a little babe like all
the rest of us have been, grew to be a man, was
filled with a divine substance or fluid, called
the Holy Spirit"-Key to Science of Theology,
by Apostle Parley P. Pratt, page 29, lines 23-25.
— The Personality of the Holy Ghost
"In the light of revelation, we are instructed
as to the distinct personality of the Holy Ghost.
He is a Being endowed with the attributes and
powers of Deity, and not a mere thing, force,
or essence"—The Articles of Faith,
by Apostle James E. Talmage, 1899 edition, page
164, paragraph 6.
— Distinction Made Between the Holy Ghost
and the Spirit of the Lord
"'The Holy Spirit, or Spirit of God,'
both of which terms are sometimes used interchangeably
with the Holy Ghost, 'is the influence of Deity,
the light of Christ, or of Truth which proceeds
forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity
of space and to quicken the understanding of men.'
(Doc. and Cov., 88:6-13.) Prest. Jos. F. Smith.
Care should therefore be taken to discriminate
between the Holy Ghost and the Spirit of the Lord"-The
Scrap Book, Vol. I, page 510, lines 7-14.
|
Christian View
— The Holy Spirit Is a Person
"Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth,
is come, He will guide you into all truth: for
He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever
He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will
show you things to come" John 16:13.
Seven times in this one passage of Scripture,
the Lord Jesus Christ refers to the Holy Spirit
by means of personal pronouns. The Holy Spirit is
a Divine Person — the Third Person of the
Holy Trinity — and He is not a "substance,"
or a "fluid," as is taught by the Mormons.
The Lord Jesus Christ called the Holy Spirit
"another Comforter" (John 14:16), Christ
Himself being one Comforter and the Holy Spirit
"another Comforter." The Holy Spirit was
"another of the same kind" as Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit is as truly a person as is Jesus
Christ.
— Acts Which Can Be Attributed Only to
a Person Are Ascribed to the Holy Spirit:
He knows. I Corinthians 2:1 1.
He wills. I Corinthians 12:11.
He loves. Romans 15:30.
He can be grieved. Ephesians 4:30.
He speaks. Revelation 2:7.
He leads. Romans 8:14.
Personality does not depend upon having a body.
That is corporeality. Personality consists of knowledge,
will-power, feeling and self-consciousness.
— The Holy Ghost Is God
"But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan
filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost ...
thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God"
Acts 5:3-4.
The Bible teaches, and Christians believe in,
the Deity of the Holy Ghost — not merely that
the Holy Ghost has "the attributes and powers
of Deity," as the Mormons teach. The Holy Ghost
is God.
—No Distinction Made Between the Holy
Ghost and the Spirit of the Lord
The Hebrew word ruach, translated "spirit,"
and the Greek word pneuma, translated "spirit"
or "ghost," both mean "wind."
Sometimes the adjective holy indicates that the
Holy Ghost (which is the Holy Spirit) is meant,
and sometimes it is shown simply by the context
of the verse. Any discrimination between the Holy
Ghost and the Spirit of the Lord is utterly foreign
to the Bible. Furthermore, such distinction shows
ignorance of the text and also of the languages
in which the Scriptures were originally written. |
2. Is the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit) Only in One
Place at the Same Time? |
Mormon View
"The actual person of the Holy Ghost
cannot be in more than one place at a time—"The
Articles of Faith, by Apostle James E. Talmage,
1925 ed., page 160, lines 16-17.
|
Christian View
"Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit?
or whither shall I flee from Thy presence? If
I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there: if I
make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there. If
I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in
the uttermost parts of the sea;
"Even there shall Thy hand lead me, and
Thy right hand shall hold me" Psalm139:7-10.
|
COMMENT: The Holy Ghost (the Holy Spirit)
is everywhere at the same time. He is God and is omnipresent. |
3. Is "Laying on of Hands" Necessary for Receiving
the Holy Spirit? |
Mormon View
"After the baptism or birth of water
comes the baptism or birth of the spirit. This
gift from God is conferred by the laying on of
the hands of men called of God and endowed with
authority to perform this sacred ordinance"—President
and Prophet Charles W. Penrose, quoted in The
Scrap Book, Vol. 1, page 217, lines 12-16.
This teaching is simply another attempt to bring
people under the power of the Mormon priesthood.
A little further on we will examine the Scripturalness
of the claims of the Mormon priesthood. |
Christian View
"And because ye are sons, God hath sent
forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts,
crying, Abba, Father" Galatians 4:6.
The Holy Spirit came into the hearts of the
disciples at Pentecost (Acts 2) and on Cornelius
and his household at Caesarea (Acts 10) because
they had accepted Christ, and no hands were laid
upon them. The Holy Spirit comes to dwell in the
heart of every one who becomes a son of God by receiving
the Son of God as his Savior (see 1 Corinthians
3:16; 6:19-20; Ephesians 1:13-14, etc.). |
4. Are Spirit and Matter Synonymous? |
Mormon View
"All spirit is matter, but it is more
fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer
eyes"—Doctrine and Covenants, by the
Prophet Joseph Smith, etc., 131:7.
"Spirit is matter, and matter is full
of spirit"—Key to Science of Theology,
by Apostle Parley P. Pratt, page 43, line 28.
|
Christian View
"The Spirit of God hath made me, and
the breath of the Almighty hath given me life"
Job 33:4.
"Thou sendest forth Thy Spirit, they
are created: and Thou renewest the face of the
earth" Psalm 104:30.
God created matter. Spirit and matter are not
identical but are distinct one from the other. |
We come now to notice the vital contrast between the
teachings of Mormionism and Christianity concerning sin.
V. SIN
1.Did God Plan for Man to Fall? |
Mormon View
"It will be seen from this, in the first
place, that, as we have before stated, God's plan
in relation to man was that he should fall"—Mediation
and Atonement, by President and Prophet John Taylor,
page 187, lines 7-9.
|
Christian View
Not a line can be adduced from the Bible to show that God
planned for man to fall. God plainly warned man of the penalty
of disobedience, saying, "in the day that thou eatest thereof
thou shalt surely die" Genesis 2:17. |
COMMENT: It is a base slander against God
to say that He planned for man to fall. If that were true, which
it is not, God would be a party to the sin of man. And if God
planned for man to sin and punished man for sinning, God would
be utterly unjust. The Bible teaches that God is holy, just
and loving and nowhere even implies that He planned for man
to fall. God hates sin. How, then, could He plan for man to
sin., |
Mormon View
Q. Was it necessary that Adam should partake of the forbidden
fruit?
A. Yes, unless he had done so he would not have known good
and evil here, neither could he have had mortal posterity, and
he could not have cleaved to Eve, as he had promised, after
her fall"—Catechism, by Elder John Jaques, page 30,
paragraph 13. |
Christian View
God gave man a simple test of obedience. Man could not have
had a character that was positively good until he resisted the
temptation to do evil. It was not at all impossible for man
to have resisted Satan's temptation. Man did not need to know
evil by experience. He needed only to obey God. |
3. Is Sin a Cause of Rejoicing? |
Mormon View
"Q. Did Adam and Eve lament or rejoice
because they had transgressed the commandment and
become acquainted with the nature of evil and good?
A. They rejoiced and praised God"—Catechism
by Elder John Jaques, page3l, paragraph 14.
"And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed,
he would not have fallen ... And they would have
had no children; wherefore they would have remained
in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they
knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no
sin"—The Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 2:22-23.
|
Christian View
"And Adam and his wife hid themselves
from the presence of the LORD God amongst the
trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto
Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he
said, I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was
afraid" Genesis 3:8-10.
"For the wages of sin is death"
Romans 6:23.
"For He hath made Him (Christ) to be
sin (sin offering) for us" 2 Corinthians
5:2 1.
"And being in an agony He (Christ) prayed
more earnestly: and His sweat was as it were great
drops of blood falling down to the ground"
Luke 22:44.
|
COMMENT: Sin brought no joy but, rather, is
the cause of all the sorrow and sickness, agony and anguish,
heartache and hell, tears and trials, grief and groanings, injustice
and infamy, with which the world is filled. The sin of man cost
the precious life-blood of the sinless Son of God. There is
not a line in the whole Bible to indicate that man needed to
sin in order to have children or joy or to do good. The logic
of Mormonism would make God out to be a sinner, else He could
have no joy or do no good. Sin has made an eternal hell of torment
necessary and sends men there, if they reject Christ who died
for their sin. |
Finally, let us consider the great gulf between the Mormon
and Bible teachings about salvation.
VI. SALVATION
1. Is Salvation Obtained by Ordinances
and Good Works? |
Mormon View
"The saving ordinances of the gospel
must be administered by men holding the Priesthood,
which is the authority of God delegated to man"—Elder
Nephi Anderson in The Scrap Book, Vol. 1, page
511, lines 4-6.
"The Gospel of Jesus Christ is called
the plan of salvation. It is a system of rules
by complying with which salvation may be gained"—Elder
E. F. Parry, in The Scrap Book, Vol. 11, page
321, lines 26-28.
"Redemption from personal sins can only
be obtained through obedience to the requirements
of the Gospel, and a life of good works"—A
Compendium, by Apostle F.D. Richards and Elder
J. A. Little, page 9, lines 28-3 1.
"Salvation comes to the individual only
through obedience"—The Articles of
Faith, by Apostle James E. Talmage, 1899 edition,
page 93, paragraph 26.
|
Christian View
"The gift of God is eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord" Romans 6: 23.
"For by grace are ye saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of
God: Not of works, lest any man should boast"
Ephesians 2:8-9.
"Not by works of righteousness which
we have done, but according to His mercy He saved
us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing
of the Holy Ghost; Which He shed on us abundantly
through Jesus Christ our Saviour" Titus 3:5-6.
"Christ died for our sins" 1 Corinthians
15:3.
"Be it known unto you therefore, men
and brethren, that through this man (Jesus Christ)
is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:
And by Him all that believe are justified from
all things, from which ye could not be justified
by the law of Moses" Acts 13:38-39.
|
COMMENT: There is a head-on collision between
Mormonism and the Bible as to how salvation is obtained. Mormonism
says it is "through obedience to the requirements of the
Gospel," and by that they mean the observance of all the
rites, forms and ceremonies of the Mormon "revelation"
and that with this observance of what they call "saving
ordinances," there must be "a life of good works."
Thus, Mormonism teaches that man is his own savior by his "obedience."
But the Word of God declares that salvation is "the gift
of God." A "gift" cannot in any way be earned;
otherwise, it is not a "gift." Again and again we
are told that salvation is "not of works," ceremonial
or of any other sort. In fact, God's Word states that salvation
is "not of yourselves," in any sense whatever. All
we sinners can do is to reach out the hand of faith and take
salvation as the free gift of God in Christ. And the blessed
Lord Jesus not only died for Adam's transgressions, but, as
Paul says, "Christ died for our sins." And we are
told that "by Him all that believe are justified from all
things," not merely from our inherited sins or all sins
committed before our conversion, but "all things"—past,
present and future. When we believe this, we so love God that
we never want to sin again. Sin becomes abhorrent to us. We
want to wholly obey God. |
2. Is "Justification by Faith Alone" a "Pernicious
Doctrine"? |
Mormon View
"The Sectarian Dogma of justification
by Faith alone has exercised an influence for
evil since the early days of Christianity"—The
Articles of Faith, by Apostle James E. Talmage,
1899 edition, page 120, lines 29-30.
But the above denunciation is not as strong
as he makes in his 1925 edition of The Articles
of Faith. In the latter, on page 479, lines 33-34,
he calls "justification by faith alone":
"this pernicious doctrine." |
Christian View
"For God so loved the world, that He
gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth
in Him should not perish, but have everlasting
life" John 3:16.
"He that believeth on Him (Christ) is
not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned
already, because he hath not believed in the name
of the only begotten Son of God" John 3:18.
"What must I do to be saved? ... Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved"
Acts 16:30-31.
"Therefore being justified by faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ" Romans 5:1.
"Being justified freely by His grace
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus"
Romans 3:24.
|
COMMENT: Scriptures could be cited in large
numbers which show that according to the Word of God, the doctrine
of "justification by faith alone" is not "pernicious"
but, rather, most precious. Why should it be "pernicious"
to Mormonism? Is it because it destroys the claims of the Mormon
priesthood? The word freely in Romans 3:24 means "gratuitously"—absolutely
free; so are we justified by faith alone in the Lord Jesus.
There is no real conflict between the teachings of the apostles
Paul and James. One who has true faith in Christ unto salvation
will be careful to maintain good works" (Titus 3:8). But
he will do "good works" not in order to be saved but
because he is saved. There is a world of difference between
doing good works to be saved and doing good works because one
is saved. A genuine believer in Christ is saved not by what
he does for Christ but by what Christ, on Calvary's Cross, did
for him. |
3. In This Gospel Age Is There Any Human Priesthood
Between the Individual Soul and God? |
Mormon View
"This people of the last days profess
to have the Priesthood of the Almighty, the power
to act in the name of God, which power commands
respect both on earth and in heaven"—The
Articles of Faith, by Apostle James E. Talmage,
1925 edition, page 204, lines 12-15.
"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; that is, in the sense of being part of the
great governing power that extends throughout
the universe—"A New Witness for God,
by Elder Brigham H. Roberts, Vol. 1, page 187,
lines 13-17.
"The saving ordinances of the gospel
must be administered by men holding the Priesthood,
which is the authority of God delegated to man"—Elder
Nephi Anderson in The Scrap Book, Vol. 1, page
511, lines 4-6.
|
Christian View
"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people;
that ye should show forth the praises of Him who
hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous
light" 1Peter 2:9.
"And [Christ] hath made us kings and
priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory
and dominion for ever and ever. Amen" Revelation
1:6.
"By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice
of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit
of our lips giving thanks to His name" Hebrews
13:15.
"For there is one God, and one Mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus"
1Timothy 2:5.
|
COMMENT: The Mormons claim to have had restored
to them the "Aaronic" and the "Melchizedekan"
priesthoods. Not a line from Scripture can be cited to show
that any such "priesthood" orders ever existed in
the church of Jesus Christ. The "Aaronic" priesthood
belonged to the Jews alone. When the Lord Jesus Christ came
and died on the cross, fulfilling the types of the Old Testament
priesthood and offerings, this priesthood was done away with
forever. Such is the teaching of the whole of the epistle to
the Hebrews. And as to the priesthood "after the order
of Melchisedec" (Hebrews 5:6), the Scriptures show that
none ever held it but the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. It was
never passed on to anyone. There is a royal priesthood of all
true believers in Christ; all are in it, and there is no "greater"
or "lesser" priesthood such as Mormonism has. Both
Mormonism and Romanism teach that there are many priests—mediators—between
God and men. But the Bible teaches that the Lord Jesus Christ
is the one and only Mediator (priest) between God and men. Any
earthly priesthood that claims to come between the soul and
God today is an insult to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Mormons make much of the matter of "proper authority"
to preach and perform ordinances. They say they alone have it.
They quote, "And no man taketh this honour unto himself,
but he that is called of God, as was Aaron" (Hebrews 5:4).
But Aaron was not called to preach. He was the high priest of
Israel. And there was only one high priest at a time! And we
have seen that Christ terminated the Aaronic priesthood by His
death for us, whereby He became our eternal High Priest. This
Scripture has not the remotest reference to "authority."
The Mormons simply imitate the Roman Catholics in making priestly
assumptions for the sake of priestly power over the people.
Every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ is commissioned of Christ
to "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded
you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the
world. Amen" (Matthew 28:19-20).
To every reconciled one, Christ has committed the ministry
of reconciliation. "And all things are of God, who hath
reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to
us the ministry of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:18).
Every true believer in Christ is to be a witness for Christ.
Mormonism claims to be the true church of Christ. President
and Prophet Charles W. Penrose, in his leaflet, "Why I
am a 'Mormon," page 4, lines 25-26, says, "It is the
only religious system that professes to have been established
by direct divine authority." But the Word of God says,
"And the Lord added to the church daily such as should
be saved" (Acts 2:47). The teaching of the whole New Testament
is that every one who is saved by faith in Christ is a member
of Christ's true church. |
CONCLUSION
From our consideration of the authoritative teachings of
Mormonism and the teachings of the Bible, the Word of God, we
have seen that these teachings are as different as day and night
and as far apart as north is from south.
May God keep you, my dear reader, from this awful snare
of Satan if you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal
Savior. And if you are not saved, accept the Son of God as your
Savior immediately. God's Word says, "Now is the accepted
time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians
6:2). "To day if ye will hear His voice, harden not your
hearts" (Hebrews 3:7-8). "He that despised Moses'
law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how
much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy,
who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted
the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy
thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?"
(Hebrews 10:28-29).
We rejoice that God has brought many precious souls out
of the darkness of Mormonism into the light and liberty of the
children of God. If you are now entangled in this false faith,
may the dear Lord deliver you. Again, God's Word declares, "The
entrance of Thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding
unto the simple" (Psalm 119:130). Then spake Jesus again
unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth
Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life"
(John 8:12).
While we have written about the errors of Mormonism in a
clear and straightforward manner, nothing but kindness has been
in our hearts, for we truly desire to glorify God and to see
lost souls come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. We have
not discussed Mormonism fully but have presented enough information
to show that it is not Christianity at all. Christians ought
not to receive Mormon missionaries into their homes. Concerning
false teachers, the apostle John writes: "Receive him not
into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth
him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds" (2 John 10-11).
Do not be deceived by claims of miraculous manifestations
made in support of Mormonism. The Lord Jesus declared, "Many
will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied
in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy
name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto
them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity"
(Matthew 7:22-23).
Iniquity is any departure from or violation of God's own
Word. Christ does not deny that miracles and prophesying were
accomplished in His name, but He calls them "iniquity"
because they were done by Satan's power to endorse that which
was false to Christ's Word. Therefore, He says, "I never
knew you."
No matter what "light" is claimed by false teachers,
the Word of God declares, "If they speak not according
to this Word, it is because there is no light in them"
(Isaiah 8:20).
* Taken from a document published by the Fundamental
Evangelistic Association. |
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