CIM Briefing Papers
C. I. M. Outline #63
Author: Russ Wise
MORMONISM
I. Introduction
A. The cult of Mormonism was founded by Joseph Smith on April 6,
1830 in Fayette, NY. It was known as he Church of Christ.
Later, the church became officially known as The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1834.
B. According to the LDS Church, Joseph Smith was visited by God
the Father and God the Son after praying about which church
he should join. He was told that he should join none of them
because they were all an abomination to God. It was after this
event in 1820 that young Joseph was led by the angel Moroni
to discover the Book of Mormon and later establish the Mormon
Church.
C. The Mormon Church now has a membership of over ten million
and is growing at an unprecedented pace, doubling in size every
ten years.
1. Church membership world-wide: U. S., over 4,800,000;
Mexico, 760,000; South America, 2,100,000; Europe,
380,000; Asia, 610,000; and several hundred thousand
elsewhere in other countries.
2. The Church projects membership to be 23 million by year
2020, and 52 million by 2040.
3. The Mormon Church has a missionary force of over 40,000
members made up of young men, and more recently, older
retired couples who serve in 200 missions around the world.
4. Mormon Temples: There are fifty temples around the world
with more than a dozen additional ones being planned.
5. Temples are utilized for endowment ceremonies, sealing of
men and women together for eternal marriage, and baptism
for the dead. Ninety-eight percent of the activity in the
Mormon Temple is related to baptism for the dead.
(Note: this is the reason why discovery of one's ancestry
is so important to Mormons.)
6. Priesthood: The Mormon Church confers two different
priesthoods on its male membership.
a. Aaronic Priesthood: This priesthood is for young men
twelve years of age. The young priest is allowed to baptize
and assist in sacramental service.
b. Melchizedek Priesthood: This priesthood gives the mature
Mormon male the authority togovern the church and
impart the "gift of the Holy Ghost" by the laying on of
hands.
7. Church structure.
a. Branch: a local congregation of fewer than 200 Mormons
led by a branch president.
b. Ward: a congregation with a membership of as many as
800 members and led by a bishop.
c. Stake: a Stake is the combining of five to twelve Wards in
a given area that is defined by geography.
d. Area: an Area comprises all of the above mentioned
congregations within a given district.
8. Church government.
a. First Presidency: is made up of the Prophet who holds the
highest rank in the Church and two other men as
counselors. All three men are considered to be living
oracles of God.
b. Council of the Twelve Apostles: these men administer the
affairs of the Church throughout the world. The senior
Apostle is the President of the Church and is believed to
actively exercise all the keys of the Kingdom of God on
earth.
c. First and Second Quorums of the Seventy: these men
preside over the international Church and are assigned to a
specific geographical area.
d. Presiding Bishopric: consists of three men who oversee
the Bishops worldwide. They conduct the temporal affairs
of the Church.
II. The Foundation of Mormonism
A. The Vision of Joseph Smith.
Joseph Smith is believed to have had a vision after a spiritual
revival in the early 1820's where he sought the counsel of the
Lord to direct him. There is much confusion regarding this
vision because there are several differing accounts of it.
These varying accounts offer conflicting dates of Joseph's
vision, his age (whether he was 14 or maybe 16 years of age),
and conflicting accounts of who the spiritual personages
were who spoke to Joseph (God the Father and His Son
Jesus, or an Angel).
B. Mormon Doctrine
1. Doctrine is received through two differing sources: the
living prophet and the Standard Works. The Standard
Works are The Bible, The Book of Mormon, The
Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price.
2. The living prophet is the first line of authority for the
Mormon. The present prophet can overturn any prior
teaching of a past prophet, including Joseph Smith.
3. The Book of Mormon is considered to be "another Testament
of Jesus Christ". Surprisingly, TheBook of Mormon is
the most doctrinally orthodox. It also contains many
quotations from the King James Version often without any
attribution. It teaches that the Godhead is one God, whereas
other Mormon writings teach that the Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost are three distinct deities. (See Mormon Doctrine, by
McConkie, Pp. 119-121)
4. The Doctrine and Covenants was written after the Book of
Mormon. According to their beliefs it contains latter-day
revelation, and therefore has greater truth than does the
earlier publication. Most of their bizarre beliefs that
diverge from traditional Christianity come from The Doctrine
and Covenants.
5. The Holy Bible is used by the LDS, but it is believed to have
serious problems of interpretation along with the omission
of "precious truths" (see the 8th Article of Faith)
Therefore, the more correct Scriptures should be used
(see Standard Works #1).
C. Why Mormons reject the Bible
1. Mormons insist that they do not reject the Bible since
they so often refer to it as Scripture. However,
they consider it to be only partially complete.
2. The Church News, a Mormon newspaper, carried this
statement concerning the Bible: "It is the Word of God.
It is not perfect. The prophet Joseph made many
corrections in it."
3. First Nephi 13:26 from the Book of Mormon, states the
following about the Christian Church: "A great and
abominable church which is most abominable above
all other churches; for behold, they have taken away
from the gospel of the lamb many parts which are
plain and most precious."
4. This Mormon view of the Christian Church gives us insight
into how they have come to disregard the Bible. The
Mormon apostle, Orson Pratt, in his book, The Seer, says
this about the Christian community: "Both Catholics and
Protestants are nothing less than the 'whore of Babylon'
whom the Lord denounces by the mouth of John the
Revelator as having corrupted all the earth by their
fornications and wickedness."
5. Orson Pratt also stated that, "No one can tell whether even
one verse of either the Old or New Testament conveys the
ideas of the original author."
6. Joseph Smith makes an attempt to give credibility to the
Book of Mormon in his fourth volume of the History of the
Church when he says: "I told the brethren that the Book of
Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the
keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by
abiding by its precepts, than by any other book."
III. Some observations:
A. The Mormon Church is not within the realm of Christian
orthodoxy. Indeed it is a cult based on the teachings of
a mystic who participated in a variety of occult behavior.
Its message of salvation is based on a doctrine of
works-salvation. It teaches that Satan is the brother
of Jesus and that God the Father is an exalted man.
(See our briefing outline #10 on the Characteristics
of Cults).
B. The secret temple rituals of Mormonism have been borrowed
largely from the secret rites of the masonic lodge.
(See: What's Going On In There? by Chuck Sackett).
C. The Mormon Church makes every attempt to discredit the Bible
as God's infallible Word and to establish Joseph Smith as
God's spokesman presenting another gospel. Joseph
Smith fails every Biblical test of a true Prophet.
D. The Word of God stands alone as God's Truth, the Standard
Works of the Mormon Church, excluding the Bible, have no
credibility whatsoever. We find in Scripture that God's word
will stand forever (Isaiah 40:8), that it will never pass away
even though heaven and earth will someday pass away
(Matthew 24:35).
E. The Book of Mormon does not correspond to what we know
God has already revealed in His Word. The inconsistencies,
the changes in the Book of Mormon, and the heavy
plagiarism of the King James translation bring serious
doubt as to the trustworthiness of the text.
Some examples of plagiarism:
1. 1 Nephi 20:21 Isaiah 48:49
2. 2 Nephi 7:8 Isaiah 50:51
3. 2 Nephi 12:24 Isaiah 2:14
4. Mosiah 14 Isaiah 53
5. 3 Nephi 12:14 Matthew 5:7
6. 3 Nephi 22 Isaiah 54
7. 3 Nephi 24:25 Malachi 3:4
F. The Book of Mormon, in contradiction to the Bible, teaches that
God has a body of flesh and bone, and is an exalted man. They
believe the god they worship is Adam. Brigham Young says:
"He is your Father and our God and the only God with whom
we have to do." Orson Pratt says: "...our Father in Heaven
was begotten on a previously heavenly world by His Father;
and again, He was begotten by a still more ancient Father
and so on, from generation to generation, from one heavenly
world to another still more ancient, until our minds are wearied
and lost in the multiplicity of generations and successive
worlds, and as a last resort, we wonder in our minds,
how far back the genealogy extends, and how the first
world was formed, and the first Father was begotten."
Mormons are polytheists pure and simple!
G. They also believe that there is no eternal hell; man can
become a god; there are three levels of heaven, and
that marriage is for eternity. When a man becomes a
god he is given his own planet to populate. Hence
Mormons believe there are humans on other planets
in the universe. Is it just a coincidence that most
UFO sightings are in the Mormon populated states
of Utah and Nevada?
H. In spite of the convoluted teaching of the Mormon
church we find them in the same camp with
evangelicals on many moral and social issues. The
outward appearance is may be good but the
Mormons perpetuate a false and even pagan worldview
contrary to the orthodox teaching of the Old and
New Testaments.
For Further Study:
Book:
Brodie, Fawn M. NO MAN KNOWS MY HISTORY: THE LIFE
OF JOSEPH SMITH.
Cowdrey, Wayne, Davis, Howard A., and Scales, Donald. WHO
REALLY WROTE THE BOOK OF MORMON.
Decker, Ed. Decker's COMPLETE HANDBOOK OF MORMONISM.
Decker, Ed, Hunt, Dave. THE GOD MAKERS.
Greer, Thelma. Mormonism, Mama, & Me.
Martin, Walter. The Maze of Mormonism.
Reed, Farkas. MORMONS ANSWERED VERSE BY VERSE.
Scott, Latayne C. The Mormon Mirage. nner, Jerald and Sandra. THE
CHANGING WORLD OF MORMOMISM.
Web Sites:
http://www.serve.com/larryi/lds.htm
http://www.watchman.org/mormonm.htm
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