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.
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