To the Latter-day Saint, Our Religions Contradict

Edited by Cole Morganti

Introduction

To the Latter-day Saint, who believes Christianity and the religion of the LDS Church are the same,

As an ex-member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I appreciate how willing you are to pursue truth, no matter where it takes you. If you’re reading this, then it means you are looking at positions other than the LDS Church. Your personal spiritual experiences are important, but we must measure them all through the lens of 1 John 4 “testing every Spirit”. While experience is important, It can’t be the end all be alI because I also have a testimony of the grace of Christ as a Christian. I testify that there is no work I could do to earn my way into heaven, it is on Christ and only on Christ. My past zeal as a Latter-day Saint I count as a loss for the sake of knowing Christ (Philippians 3:8). One way we can test these spiritual experiences we have is God’s Word: through scripture. Many members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints liken works like Bruce R. McConkie’s book Mormon Doctrine to just a book about a particular kind of Mormon doctrine. I think this is an unfair comparison since Bruce R. McConkie was an official church leader, ordained by God. Though it is also a fair point to argue that he did not have the revelator keys, only the prophet did (and does). To avoid further confusion with authoritative sources, I have worked to pull information from current and active LDS doctrine sources, such as the Gospel Topic Essays.

The goal of this essay is to show true contradictions between the Bible and Latter-day Saint doctrine.

Inquiry

Here is my first inquiry into the Church's position on the nature of God and his beginnings as a man:

“What kind of a being is God?” he asked. Human beings needed to know, he argued, because “if men do not comprehend the character of God they do not comprehend themselves.” In that phrase, the Prophet collapsed the gulf that centuries of confusion had created between God and humanity. Human nature was at its core divine. God “was once as one of us” and “all the spirits that God ever sent into the world” were likewise “susceptible of enlargement.” Joseph Smith preached that long before the world was formed, God found “himself in the midst” of these beings and “saw proper to institute laws whereby the rest could have a privilege to advance like himself” and be “exalted” with Him. Joseph told the assembled Saints, “You have got to learn how to be a god yourself.”

If the Church's official Gospel Topics referencing the first prophet of the Church in his most famous speech, the King Follett sermon isn’t doctrine, what is? Now here is where we must really ask ourselves: are we pursuing truth, no matter where it leads? I must hold myself to this standard as well. This idea of God being like us, is echoed by former prophet, Lorenzo Snow, as you know, “As man now is, God once was: As God now is, man may be”.

In Romans 1:22-23 Paul writes, “Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.” This seems like an odd comment for Paul to make if God was once a man who became exalted. Even in the Book of Mormon we read, “For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variableness neither shadow of changing?” (Mormon 9:9). This is a strange message from the Book of Mormon, about which, Joseph Smith himself said, “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.”

At the very least this shows two different ideas being presented, with only one being able to be right as they are contradictory statements (God progressing to exaltation being in conflict with God being unchanging). In Numbers 23:19, it states: “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” This is in stark contrast to what the LDS church has taught. One might say, “Okay fine, this is where the Bible is full of errors and I choose the LDS Church's stance, that contradicts the bible”. I say “Fine,” but don’t be surprised when extremely few mainline Christians consider Latter-day Saints fellow Christians, because of reasons like that. I personally think every Latter-day Saint has to decide for themselves at some point in their life between the Bible and Book of Mormon, since having to say they harmonize with another requires extensive mental gymnastics.

Requirements for Exaltation

Another contrary doctrine that the LDS Church makes in contrast to Christianity is its requirements for exaltation. In the official Church Gospel Topic on Exaltation, it writes one of the benefits of being exalted as “They will live eternally in the presence of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ”

So, it is clear to live eternally with God and Jesus Christ one must be exalted. Another strange benefit is, “They will become gods (see D&C 132:20–23)”. In Isaiah 44:6 it says, “I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides Me”. This is a recurring message and theme in the Bible. There is no other god besides the God of Abraham. Of course, you might argue the case for lowercase ‘g’ gods versus God, but even in the realm of Christianity, Christians unanimously are in agreement that there is only one uncreated God who created all and has no one side by side with Him in glory and power.

Temples

Warning:

*The next paragraph contains some information about the LDS temple endowment ceremony; we want to respect Latter-day Saints as they view this ceremony as sacred. But, we want to bring light to what we believe is not from God. You may skip forward in the article if you wish*

A requirement for exaltation is to be endowed, “We must receive the temple endowment." To me, as a Biblical Christian, this is perhaps the biggest “red flag” of the LDS Church. To be exalted and live forever with Jesus we need to know “signs and tokens” that, to be very blunt, consist of Masonic handshakes, the Masonic Five Points of Fellowship, Masonic symbols, aprons and more (since this is a sensitive topic, I have linked Sandra Tanner’s summary of major Temple Endowment changes on page 7,though more research is needed than here to confirm all these claims, I encourage anyone listening to do so; more about masonry and the Mormon temple can be found in the book Joseph's Temples). Even until 1990, the endowment consisted of Masonic “blood oaths” that involve the act of cutting your own throat. This is alarming to me as a Christian when I read biblical passages such as: “I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not said to Jacob’s descendants, ‘Seek me in vain.’ I, the LORD, speak the truth; I declare what is right” (Isaiah 45:19), or “What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs” (Matthew 10:27).

I argue that the New Testament makes a case against temples, well, LDS temples to be exact. With Jesus having fulfilled the Law of Moses, there is no longer a need for these temples. Also, if you are not an Israelite (by this I mean Jewish origin), the question of, “Are temples for today?” does not even apply to you. In 1 Corinthians Paul writes, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple,” (1 Corinthians 3:16–17). We can also see in Revelation, “I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple” (Revelation 21:22). Acts 7:48, “However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands”. There are so many scriptures that reference the fulfillment of temples. Jesus himself tells of the destruction of the temple, “Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down” (Matthew 24:1-2). I believe it is evident to see this fulfillment in 70AD when the temple in Jerusalem actually fell.

Another requirement for exaltation from the gospel topic is, “We must be married for eternity, either in this life or in the next”. I find this odd because in the gospel of Matthew I see, “Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven” (Matthew 22:29-30). This is in reference to the Sadducees who asked who would be a woman’s husband in the next life, since she had married many men in succession. Again, at the very minimum, you must admit this a clear contradiction between the teachings of Jesus, and what the LDS doctrine teaches. Usually when presented with seeming contradictions a lot of my Latter-day Saint friends usually tell me this is just my interpretation of this passage, not necessarily the right interpretation. Many LDS Church members will claim that all this passage says is that people will not be given in marriage, i.e. marriage ceremonies and new marriages will not be made in heaven. Old Mormon Apostle Bruce R. McConkie makes this same claim in his Doctrinal New Testament Commentary in Volume 1 pages 604-605. But notice the last thing Jesus says: they are as angels of God in heaven. What does this phrase mean? What does it mean to be like angels in heaven (or in some translation ‘appointed’)?

For the sake of argument and to show even the internal contradictions between Mormonism and itself, I will use what some Latter-day Saint authorities and sources tell us. What really would be needed is to know if angels are married in heaven or not. It seems like the whole argument Jesus is making here hinges on that, if we are going to say Jesus' first sentence regarding no marriages isn't clear enough. Fortunately for us, Brigham Young (the 2nd prophet of the LDS Church following Joseph Smith’s murder) actually gave us great insight on this very subject. Responding to another passage in the Bible about humans being created “a little lower than the angels”, Young states that the reason this is the case is because angels did not live up to their calling on earth and because of this they are single, without families or kingdoms to reign over (Page 102) Wow! So, if Jesus’ words are true, using this definition of angels, we actually would be single. I can’t see a clearer contradiction than this. The only solution would be to either throw Jesus’ words under the bus or Brigham Young’s. You decide.

Faith vs Works

Now, my final point on exaltation. I will talk about the distinction between faith and works in the two religions. This hits to the wider umbrella of a works-based salvation that the LDS church believes in. In the Bible, time and time again we read how it is our faith that reconciles us to God, not anything we do. As early as Genesis, “Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness,” (Genesis 15:6). Also in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast”.

A common argument some Latter-day Saints will make is, “Well we are all saved but being sanctified is different,”. I write to you saying the Bible does not make this distinction, that when you have faith in Jesus Christ alone, you are credited as righteous. Jesus told the thief on the cross in Luke, “Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!” And Jesus said to him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). Was he baptized or endowed? Did he know signs and tokens? Through faith in Jesus, he was able to live with Jesus in heaven. You can see in the Gospel Topic I presented earlier that you must be exalted to live forever with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ according to the Latter-day Saint Church. Only one of these can be true, they are contradictory positions. To live with Christ in eternity, either you have to be sealed in marriage for time and eternity or you don’t. A Latter-day Saint may say then, “Well, he can accept the ordinances while he waits for the resurrection. Also, there are three levels of celestial glory; you don’t have to be married to get there.” To this I say, yes and I understand. But notice what Jesus said: Today you will be with me in Paradise. If today means today, then it seems like there would be no time to accept any proxy ordinances. Also, to even enter the Celestial Kingdom, this thief would have to have been righteous in some way, shape, or form. From what we can tell, he wasn’t, given that he was being crucified for his crimes. He didn’t keep the law, yet Jesus gave him kingdom entry? Why? Because of his faith.

The Bible argues our faith is what makes us whole and reconciled to God. In the gospels we can read about Jesus healing people and telling them their faith has saved them, “And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (Luke 7:50). The LDS Church’s stance of in order to live forever with God we need Jesus Christ and our works, I argue that this is not biblical. In the book of Galatians, Paul references this exact idea, writing to those who were “spying on the freedom in Christ” (Galatians 2:4) who went into Galatia preaching that you are saved by Jesus Christ and circumcision. Paul calls this no gospel at all. This idea of our works (baptism, endowment, sealing, etc.) playing a part in us living forever with God is explicitly rebuked by Paul in Galatians.

“I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” (Galatians 2:21)

If one is believing in any sort of work reconciling us to God in order to acquire the righteousness of God, Paul says then Christ died for nothing. I ask you; do you believe that you, right now, are seen as righteous as Christ in God’s eyes? 2 Corinthians 5:21 states, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” If you are not seen as righteous as this, what would make you? Paul states that God put our sin on Jesus as a propitiation for all that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). But to do this we must be born again! John tells us how, believe in the one God has sent (John 5:24). This righteousness comes through faith. Romans 3 states, "But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe," (v. 21-22). When Jesus went on the cross he took our sin so that through faith in Him, we would gain the righteousness of God. This is what Christians call "imputed righteousness". Jesus takes your sin, you gain His righteousness and are therefore justified before God and seen as righteous!

Your choice as a Latter-day Saint, is to choose between Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God”. Or 2 Nephi 25:23, “for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do”. These are two very different pictures.

Last Remarks

I cannot write the gospel more plainly, I beg that this be your chance to receive the true Christ in your life. I know God is pursuing you. There are so many more holes within the LDS Church and its theology. What I have outlined are only but a few. From three Nephites being saved from death, but the priesthood still being somehow lost, to the Church’s long standing tradition of changing revelation based on the times (this is more for another time). Old Testament style rules on food/coffee/etc.. Not only was this only for Israelites under the Law (so once again if you’re not Jewish, this isn’t even a question),but in scripture we see this being fulfilled in the New Testament, “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink” (Colossians 2:16). Or Romans 14:17, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”.

There are numerous false prophecies from Joseph Smith. For example, Smith prophesied a temple would be built in Independence, MO, in a single generation. To this day, is still an empty lot. Many Latter-day Saints will claim that by "generation", Joseph Smith did not mean a literal generation, but perhaps a millennium or these "latter days". Some even say that this wasn't a prophecy at all. Unfortunately, those that hold these interpretations are in direct opposition to how following Latter-day Saint authorities interpreted this revelation (Prophet Heber C. Kimball 1857, 1861; Apostle George A. Smith 1861; Apostle George Q. Cannon 1864; Apostle Orson Pratt 1870 [1, 2], 1875; LDS Scripture: Doctrine and Covenants [1918 ed.] Deleted Footnote; Prophet Joseph Fielding Smith 1931) It wasn't until 1963, when Prophet Joseph Fielding Smith admitted no one living at the time the prophecy was given were still alive (Answers to Gospel Questions Vol. 4, pg. 112).* This is important when reading these quotes in light of Deuteronomy chapter 18 which states if a prophecy is wrong, the prophet is not from God!

*I found the majority of these quotes regarding Joseph Smith's temple prophecy from J. Warner Wallace's ColdCaseChristianity.com

If the only result of this letter is for you to say, “Okay, Mormonism and Biblical Christianity” are different, and have contradictions, then I praise God. But do not let the working of the Holy Spirit stop there!

Conclusion

I say to you the only boasting there should be is in the cross of Jesus Christ. I write all of this in love, and with utmost respect to you. I leave you with Apostles Paul and John’s words:

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:6-9).

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. (John 6:47)

The Bible is Enough, Jesus is Enough

Your friend,

Jordan