UnMasking Mormonism!

Unmasking Mormonism!

(The Truth About the Church of Jesus Christ LDS!)

By Patrick Schatzline

(To hear the complete teaching on world religions listen to the apologetics message “The Only Way” on mercyseatministries.com/podcast.php.)

Is Mormonism a Cult? My goal in this blog is to share the truth and to help mature Christians understand what it is that Mormons believe. Last weekend I was in Salt Lake City, Utah speaking at a men’s conference. It is the Mormon mecca of the US. Many evangelical pastors in Salt Lake City would assure you that Mormonism is a cult. I am reminded of what John the Baptist said in John 1:23, “John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, I am the voice of one calling in the desert, 'Make straight the way for the Lord.’’ Let me say up front I believe we should use wisdom and show respect to everyone regardless of their religious affiliation.

It is my heart that our nation be blessed!

Psalms 33:12, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance." That is a promise we must remember during this season of hot political debate. Recently, religion took center stage once again. This was due to the rise of prominent Mormons such as TV personality Glenn Beck, and the two Mormon presidential candidates Mitt Romney and John Huntsman. At a recent political gathering for candidate Gov. Rick Perry a Baptist Pastor named Robert Jeffress declared that “Mormonism is a cult!” He spoke these words as he introduced Candidate Rick Perry, and was referring mainly to Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney. The pastor spoke the truth, but according to the media and other candidates he was wrong to say those words. Political correctness is the rule of thumb in our nation. But when it comes to Christianity Jesus declared in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

We must be very careful of walking in ignorance concerning all religions:

Romans 12:2, (MSG Bible) “Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”

Rather than share opinion only I will share some facts from my study on world religions series called “Taken- Apologetics for a generation!” Let me be very clear that I am a values voter. I will vote for the person who protects life, sanctity of marriage, declare the protection of Israel, and whom I believe will best lead our nation. However, I do believe that we must look at a persons religious affiliation. It is not politically correct today to discuss religion with politics, but I do not believe you can separate the two. In politics many times people use God to win votes and then rule by way of secularism. There also are a lot of leaders who claim to be Christian, but their values in office do not reflect the bible.

Here is what President Barak Obama has stated in 3 different speeches: "Somehow, somewhere along the way, faith stopped being used to bring us together and started being used to drive us apart. It got hijacked. Part of it's because of the so-called leaders of the Christian Right, who've been all too eager to exploit what divides us,"

Romans 16:17-18- “I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. ¹⁸ For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.”

As a member of the “religious right” I realize that I might be the enemy when it comes to speaking the truth. Nevertheless, I still believe that truth when smashed to the ground will arise undaunted! The media and most of the candidates have tried to paint the pastor as a bigot. I believe that Pastor Jeffress spoke the truth! I also know that many of the Mormons I have met are very kind people.

The truth about Mormonism:

The Mormons are very good at sounding like Evangelical Christians. The “Mormon Machine” is very powerful in America and other nations. Their commercials and rhetoric sound very hotdog and apple pie on the surface. In fact Mormonism has a very dark past that is deliberately ignored. They didn’t even believe African Americans could go to heaven until Sept. 30, 1978. Their founder and Prophet Joseph Smith and Brigham Young believed that all blacks were a cursed race. Mormonism is a highly financed religious organization that is backed by some of the largest companies in the world from Marriott to Coca-Cola.

American fact: 72% of Americans believe the Mormon Faith is the same as Christianity.

Fact: The doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) are very peculiar. Most of the 'odd' mandates of Mormonism are not initially taught to potential converts. Instead, "they are revealed later as one matures and gains the ability to accept them."

Fact: Mormonism started 1800 years after the birth of Christianity, and the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Fact: The LDS Church tries to make its official doctrines appear Christian but what underlies those Christian sounding terms is far from Christian in meaning.

Fact: Mormons believe Mormonism is the restoration of the gospel.

Fact: The Mormons believe that their chosen prophets can change their doctrinal bi-laws when God speaks to them. To date the book of Mormon has had 666 amended changes made to its original doctrine.

Fact: Mormons believe Joseph Smith is the one true prophet.

More Facts as taken from Mormon Doctrines:

1. Atonement- Jesus paid for all sins while in the garden of Gethsemane.

2. Salvation- "One of the most fallacious doctrines originated by Satan and propounded by man is that man is saved alone by the grace of God; that belief in Jesus Christ alone is all that is needed for salvation," (Miracle of Forgiveness, Spencer W. Kimball, p. 206).

3. Baptism for the dead- (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. II, p. 141). This is a practice of baptizing each other in place of non-Mormons who are now dead. Their belief is that in the afterlife, the "newly baptized" person will be able to enter into a higher level of Mormon heaven.

4. Bible- "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly. . ." (8th Article of Faith of the Mormon Church).

5. The book of Mormon- The book of Mormon is more correct than the Bible, (History of the Church, 4:461).

6. The Devil- was born as a spirit after Jesus "in the morning of pre-existence," (Mormon Doctrine, p. 192).

a. Jesus and Satan are spirit brothers and we were all born as siblings in heaven to them both, (Mormon Doctrine, p. 163).

b. A plan of salvation was needed for the people of earth so Jesus offered a plan to the Father and Satan offered a plan to the father but Jesus' plan was accepted. In effect the Devil wanted to be the Savior of all Mankind and to "deny men their agency and to dethrone god,"

7. God- God used to be a man on another planet, (Mormon Doctrine, p. 321;)

a. "The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s..."

b. God is in the form of a man, (Joseph Smith, Journal of Discourses, vol. 6)

c. "God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens!!! . . . We have imagined that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea and take away the veil, so that you may see," (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 345).

d. God the Father had a Father, (Joseph Smith, History of the Church, vol. 6, p. 476; Heber C. Kimball, Journal of Discourses, vol. 5, p. 19; Milton Hunter, First Council of the Seventy, Gospel through the Ages, p. 104-105).

e. God resides near a star called Kolob, (Pearl of Great Price, p. 34-35;)

f. God had sexual relations with Mary to make the body of Jesus, (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, vol. 4, 1857, p. 218; vol. 8, p. 115). - This one is disputed among many Mormons and not always 'officially' taught and believed. Nevertheless, Young, the 2nd prophet of the Mormon church taught it.

8. You as a god- After you become a good Mormon, you have the potential of becoming a god, (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 345-347, 354.)

9. Jesus- The first spirit to be born in heaven was Jesus, (Mormon Doctrine, p. 129).

a. Jesus and Satan are spirit brothers and we were all born as siblings in heaven to them both, (Mormon Doctrine, p. 163; Gospel Through the Ages)

b. Jesus' sacrifice was not able to cleanse us from all our sins, (murder and repeated adultery are exceptions), (Journal of Discourses, vol. 3, 1856,)

Closing thoughts:

So should we vote for a Mormon? I believe that our nation is in a very serious place in history. I would actually vote for a leader who is Mormon if they are the nominated candidate that promises to protect the unborn, the sanctity of marriage, and declares that they will back and protect Israel.

We must remember amidst all of the noise in our culture that Gods word does not change:

Galatians 1:9, As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!

We must remember that God does not deal kindly with those who add or take away from Gods word.

Revelation 22:18-19, I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.