What has been the Historical Attitude of the Mormon Church towards the Black People?

Historically the Mormon Church has taken a very racist attitude towards the black people. This began to be somewhat modified when a revelation that black men are now eligible for the Priesthood was announced to the church June 9, 1978 by President Spencer W. Kimball. In spite of lifting the ban on black participation in the priesthood, the Mormon church has done nothing, according to the public record, to retract or to atone for the many slanderous statements against blacks.

Early on Joseph Smith, founder of Mormonism, went on record as saying, “Had I anything to do with the Negro, I would confine them by strict law to their own species” (History of the Church, v. 7, pp. 217-218). Admittedly this statement was made during a time of enormous racial injustice in the United States including slavery. But bear in mind that Joseph Smith claimed that as a prophet he had a special connection with God and spoke for God to his followers.

The Journal of Discourses, which contains many of the sermons of the early Church Presidents, records, “You see some classes of the human family that are black, uncouth, uncomely, disagreeable, and low in their habits, wild and seemingly deprived of nearly all the blessings of the intelligence that is generally bestowed upon mankind . . . Cain slew his brother . . . and the Lord put a mark upon him, which is the flat nose and the black skin . . . another curse is pronounced upon the same race—that they should be the servant of servants and they will be until that curse is removed . . . Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African race? If the white man who belongs to the chosen  seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty under the law of God is death on the spot. It will always be so. (c. 7, pp. 290-291)"

Racism has been a terrible blight on Christianity. Tragically it has been widely practiced but there are no grounds for racial prejudice or discrimination in the Bible or in true Christianity. This is but another example of how far the Mormon Church strays from historical, biblical Christianity.

This and many other topics are explored in my new book Mormonism and the Bible.

 

 

 

 

Are Women Resurrected the Same as Men are According to Mormonism? No! They are not!

According to one of the holy books of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the Mormons) those who get married in the temple and who continue to live faithful to the church have a celestial marriage. This means that they will be eternally married and as Gods in the Celestial Kingdom they will eternally procreate spirit children. Celestial Marriage is “often referred to in our day as temple marriage. Such marriages are performed in temples . . . by authorized priesthood holders . . . Worthy couples who are thus married, and who continue to live the gospel faithfully will be married to each other in the next life and continue as a family unit eternally” (Doctrine& Covenants 132:19 & 20).

But are the husband and the wife both raised equally to this state of eternal bliss? Indeed they are not. The men are raised to glory, by Christ, as Gods in the Celestial Kingdom but their earthly wives are not raised at the same time or in the same manner. In order for the wife to be raised to Celestial Glory as the Goddess wife of her (now deified) husband she must be called forth in the resurrection of women by her husband. She remains un-resurrected until and unless her husband chooses to call her forth into the resurrection by calling her by the secret name which was given to her at the time of her temple endowment. If the husband chooses not to call her up by her secret temple name she will still eventually be resurrected but to a lesser glory, and not as a Goddess nor as the wife of her now glorified husband. She will experience lesser glory eternally because she did not please her husband sufficiently for him to elect to call her forth at the resurrection.

“One must be married in the LDS temple and then obey all of the Mormon regulations to get to the highest degree of heaven. The first time a Mormon attends the temple endowment ceremony he or she will be given a new name (usually a Bible name like Peter or Mary or the name of European royalty). These will be their names in eternity. The wife must tell her husband her new name, and no one else, as he is supposed to call her up in the resurrection. If he does not call her up she would still resurrect, but not as his wife” (Tanner, S. undated. How the LDS Husband Hopes to Resurrect his Wife, p. 1)

This makes the Mormon husband, rather than Christ, the savior of the Mormon wife. “. . . the Mormon husband is the . . . savior of the Mormon woman. He alone has the authority to call her forth in the resurrection” (Anderson, E. 1973. Inside Story of Mormonism. p. 89).

Is this idea biblical? It is not on two grounds. In Matthew 22:30 Christ said, “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.” Christ excludes the idea of Celestial Marriage. Furthermore St. Paul wrote to the Galatians that Christ values all equally and does not give preference to anyone based on gender or anything else. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ (3:28)." Although the Bible certainly does recognize different roles for man and for women in the home and in the church, there is no place in Christian theology for valuing women as being less to God than men are.

Can you imagine the emotional blackmail power this gives the Mormon husband over his wife if he is inclined to use it? His wife must live with the constant knowledge that unless she pleases her husband sufficiently, so that he will choose to call her forth in the resurrection, she will eternally pay the price for this failure as a wife. This is not biblical.

            This and many more topics are discussed in my new book Mormonism and the Bible.

Does the Book of Mormon Contain the "Fullness of the Everlasting Gospel?"

The Mormon Church proudly proclaims that the Book of Mormon contains the “fullness of the everlasting gospel” and is the “most correct book in the history of the world." Mormon leader W. Arid MacDonald further stated that the Book of Mormon is “the only book in the world . . . which was brought to earth by an angel from the throne of God. . . . The angel made 15 round trips to this planet from the throne of God to see that this book was properly translated and printed, so that it might be given to the world” Taking this statement at face value one would naturally expect that the Mormons’ most precious doctrines would certainly be revealed in the pages of this Book of Mormon. However, upon reading the book we find that at least 15 key doctrines which the Mormons proclaim are not mentioned at all. These omitted doctrines include: (1) pre-existence of man in the spirit world, (2) the importance of genealogies in the plan of salvation, (3) baptism for the dead, (4) celestial marriage, (5) three degrees of heaven--Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial, (6) godhood as man’s right and destiny, (7) hell being a kind of purgatory from which all will eventually be released, (8) eternal progression for man into ever higher levels of deification, (9) the Melchizedek Priesthood, (10) the Aaronic Priesthood, (11) plurality of Gods, (12) plurality of wives—although this doctrine has been officially set aside, (13) the existence of a Heavenly Mother who is the wife of God the Father, (14) God’s progression from being an ordinary mortal man to being the exalted deity he now is, (15) and the Word of Wisdom. All of these key doctrines are absent, yet together they make up the core of Mormon beliefs.

As a Christian can you image the Bible omitting such doctrines as the reality of sin, the virgin birth, the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, the literal resurrection of the body, heaven, hell, and the life everlasting?

This is one of the reasons why Mormon “truth” is always in a state of flux. There is no final authority of the Book—any Book--to the Mormons. Final authority is always what the Church, through its priesthood, happens to say today.

This is discussed at length in my soon-to-be-released book Mormonism and the Bible.

How Many Wives Did Joseph Smith Have?

Joseph Smith had 33 wives! Early in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Smith declared that God had given him—and only him—the right, even the obligation, to take many wives. Before long this word from God was modified so that other leaders of the church and eventually ordinary church members could take multiple wives. Polygamy was only stopped by the Church under great pressure from the United States government. It is still practiced by some Mormon groups, only not as openly as in Smith’s day

Does the Bible speak specifically and directly to the issue of polygamy? What are we to conclude from the polygamy practiced by even some godly people in the Old Testament—such as King David and King Solomon?

God expected the leaders of Israel in Old Testament times to be examples of godliness in every area of their lives, including in their domestic lives. There was a clear commandment in Deuteronomy 17:17: “Neither shall (the king) multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away.” We have the names of eight of David’s wives and it appears he had more than that. Solomon may have been the most married man in human history with 700 wives (plus 300 concubines). How many wives could the king have without “multiplying” them? Only one.

Perhaps the passage from Acts 17:30 applies here, “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent” (although Paul was at the time addressing polytheistic heathen worship). Regardless of the ignorance these men may have had they were living in contravention to the command of God clearly spelled out in the Law.

In the New Testament, the leaders of the church were to model godly living in their lives. Paul wrote of bishops in I Timothy, “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach.” (3:2). Further on in the chapter he wrote of deacons, “Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well”  (3:12). The leaders were to set the example—one man, one wife.

This is in keeping with Jesus’ words in Mark 10:6-8: “But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ⁷ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh.”

King David and King Solomon were sinning when they had more than one wife. Men in St. Paul’s day who had more than one wife were sinning. God’s plan has always been one man and one woman united in marriage for life.

Joseph Smith was grievously sinning when he took 33 women as wives. Besides being a moral evil it was also illegal. This evil was compounded by his marrying 11 women who were at the same time married to other men. He also exploited some children as young as 14 to be his wives. These are not the actions of a man of God.

JOSEPH SMITH’S MARRIAGES

Wife	Date	Age	Husband*
Emma Hale Fanny Alger Lucinda Morgan Harris Louisa Beaman Zina Huntington Jacobs Presendia Huntington Buell Agnes Coolbrith Sylvia Sessions Lyon Mary Rollins Lightner Patty Bartlett Sessions Marinda Johnson Hyde Elizabeth Davis Durfee Sarah Kingsley Cleveland Delcena Johnson Eliza R. Snow Sarah Ann Whitney Martha McBride Knight Ruth Vose Sayers Flora Ann Woodworth Emily Dow Partridge Eliza Maria Partridge Almera Johnson Lucy Walker Sarah Lawrence Maria Lawrence Helen Mar Kimball Hanna Ells Elvira Cowles Holmes Rhoda Richards Desdemona Fullmer Olive Frost Melissa Lott Nancy Winchester Fanny Young	Jan 1827 1833 1838 Apr 1841 Oct 1841 Dec 1841 Jan 1842 Feb 1842 Feb 1842 Mar 1842 Apr 1842 Jun 1842 Jun 1842 Jul 1842 Jun 1842 Jul 1842 Aug 1842 Feb 1843 Spring 1843 Mar 1843 Mar 1843 Apr 1843 May 1843 May 1843 May 1843 May 1843 Mid 1843 Jun 1843 Jun 1843 Jul 1843 Mid 1843 Sep 1843 1843 Nov 1843	22 16 37 26 20 31 33 23 23 47 27 50 53 37 38 17 37 33 16 19 22 30 17 17 19 14 29 29 58 32 27 19 14 56	NONE NONE George W. Harris NONE Henry Jacobs Norman Buell NONE Windsor Lyon Adam Lightner David Sessions Orson Hyde Jabez Durfee John Cleveland NONE NONE NONE NONE Edward Sayers NONE NONE NONE NONE NONE NONE NONE NONE NONE Jonathan Holmes NONE NONE NONE NONE NONE NONE
* Living Husband at the time of    Marriage to Joseph Smith

                                                                      http://www.wivesofjosephsmith.org/ retrieved 09/16/14

Check out the hyperlinks!

 

Is Joseph Smith God to his followers?

Within the context of Mormon Theology it is unremarkable that Joseph Smith should be considered a deity. All devout Mormons believe that there are millions of Gods and also believe that they too may become Gods in the afterlife. Certainly their great Prophet Joseph Smith made the cut. This teaching is downplayed when Mormons are attempting to win a convert but once a newcomer is within the Mormon fold it is an accepted truth.

The following quotes from Mormon sources illustrate this teaching:

Prophet Wilford Woodruff, fourth President of the LDS church wrote: “Some have said that I was presumptuous to say that Brother Brigham (Young) was my God and savior, Brother Joseph was his God and the one that gave Joseph (Smith) the keys of the Kingdom was his God which was Peter. Jesus Christ was his God and the Father of Jesus Christ was Adam” Journal of Wilford Woodruff, April 10, 1852

“Whoever confesseth that Joseph Smith was sent of God . . . that Spirit is of God; and every spirit that does not confess that God has sent Joseph Smith and revealed the everlasting gospel to and through him, is of Anti-Christ” (Journal of Discourses, 1886 v. 8, p. 176).

 Second Church President Brigham Young wrote: “Joseph Smith will be our final judge. No man or woman in this dispensation will ever enter into the celestial kingdom of God without the consent of Joseph Smith. From the day that the Priesthood was taken from the world to the winding up scene of all things, every man and woman must have the certificate of Joseph Smith, Junior, as a passport to their entrance into the mansion where God and Christ are.” Journal of Discourses, 1886 v. 7, p. 289

What does the Bible have to say about this? In Isaiah 45:5 we read, "I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God besides me." Again In Isaiah 42:8 " I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another."

To regard anyone other than the God of the Bible as divine is to worship false gods. This we must not do.

Was the Coming of Joseph Smith Prophecied in Genesis?

I am continuing to discuss some material from the book Mormonism and the Bible. Our Mormon friends see Joseph Smith as rightly taking his place among the great historic prophets, including such figures as Moses and Jesus (who of course was much more than a prophet!). In the King James Version of the Bible the 50th chapter of Genesis ends with verse 26, but in Joseph Smith's Inspired Translation he adds in another 12 verses some of which are posted below.

The following verses are highlighted to illustrate how, according to LDS church teaching, the sacred books of Mormonism (including the Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price, and the Doctrine and Covenants) as well as the coming of Joseph Smith himself were foretold--even to stating that his name would be Joseph after the name of his father. Of course there is no textual evidence for these additions in any existing ancient documents or manuscripts.

 Genesis 50:31 Wherefore the fruit of thy loins shall write, and the fruit of the loins of Judah shall write; and that which shall be written by the fruit of thy loins, and also that which shall be written by the fruit of the loins of Judah, shall grow together unto the confounding of false doctrines, and laying down of contentions, and establishing peace among the fruit of thy loins, and bringing them to a knowledge of their fathers in the latter days; and also to the knowledge of my covenants, saith the Lord. 32 And out of weakness shall he be made strong, in that day when my work shall go forth among all my people, which shall restore them, who are of the house of Israel, in the last days.
 33 And that seer will I bless, and they that seek to destroy him shall be confounded; for this promise I give unto you; for I will remember you from generation to generation; and his name shall be called Joseph, and it shall be after the name of his father; and he shall be like unto you; for the thing which the Lord shall bring forth by his hand shall bring my people unto salvation.

Great Article!

Professor Clay Jones has written an excellent blog post on relativism. It addresses the problem of modern culture in failing to recognize absolute truth. It's worth reading!

Another gospel brought by an angel from heaven

Over the next few days I will be discussing some of the information in my new book, Mormonism and the Bible which is being released by Tate Publishing shortly.

The Mormons proudly proclaim that through the truths revealed in the Book of Mormon, they are proclaiming another gospel of Jesus Christ. They teach about how an angel, Moroni, made 15 round trips from Kolob (the planet God lives on) to ...earth to supervision the translation and production of the Book of Mormon.

Does the Bible have anything to say about this? Indeed it does! The Apostle Paul warned the Galatians: “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you let him be accursed.” Gal. 1:8.

We should love and pray for our Mormon friends and certainly should not be taken in by "another gospel of Jesus Christ" brought by an angel from heaven!

The Purpose and Meaning of Life According to the Mormons

What is the purpose of life? What gives it meaning?

According to the Westminster Confession Larger Catechism, "Man's chief and highest end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever."

The Psalmist wrote, "Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterwards receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none on earth that I desire besides thee." (Psa. 73:24-25) Also Jesus in his great high priestly prayer petitioned the Father, "That they all may be one as thou Father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us." (Jn. 17:21) John the Revelator wrote of the final end of the redeemed in Revelation 21:3, "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, 'Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them, and be their God.'" This, then. is the final end of the children of God and should be the conscious goal and central purpose of life--enjoying and glorifying God.

Mormonism teaches something quite different. The true goal of the devout Mormon is to become a God. According to Joseph Smith and his followers man has existed co-eternally with God in the past as unembodied intelligences inhabiting the spirit world. Then man exists as  pre-mortal spirit children and literal offspring of God and one of his goddess wives. After living a mortal life of faithfulness to the LDS church the good Mormon hopes to dwell in Celestial Glory and share heavenly bliss in a state of complete equality with God. In this blissful state the exalted Mormon hopes to have a planet of his own and to rule over this planet with his goddess wife or wives eternally reproducing spirit children. The focus is on human glorification, gratification, and joy.

The Bible teaches that everything that exists does so for the honor and glory of Christ, while Mormonism teaches that everything exists for the honor and glory of man.

The next time a pair of Mormon missionaries comes knocking on your door consider seeing these individuals for what they are--lost souls in  need of a Savior. Lovingly share the good news of Jesus Christ with them!

Come to think of it maybe you could even give them a copy of my book, Mormonism and the Bible!

New Book

My new book, Mormonism and the Bible, is off to the publisher! This work has been two years in the preparation and I'm delighted it is done. I have covered approximately 100 major Mormon doctrines and cited from more than 100 different sources. This is a reference book and it would be especially useful to pastors and anyone who wishes to witness to Mormons. I recommend it for Christian school libraries and church libraries. It should come off the press in approximately 60 days.