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A Respectful Word to Mormons
If you are a Mormon, you may take offense at some of my materials; I used to be a Mormon. It is not my intention to slander you or your beliefs. But since you probably consider yourself to be a 'believer', consider the warnings to believers in the Bible:
- "do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John. 4:1).
- "If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing" (1 Tim. 6:3-4).
- "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves" (2 Cor. 13:5).
- "you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false" (Rev. 2:2).
- "Prove all things, hold fast that which is good" (1 Thess 5:21).
Listen also to the admonitions of your own leaders:
- "Convince us of our errors of doctrine if we have any, by reason, by logical arguments, or by the word of God, and we will be ever grateful for the information, and you will ever have the pleasing reflection that you have been instruments in the hands of God of redeeming your fellow beings from the darkness which you may see enveloping their minds." (Orson Pratt, The Seer, p. 15-16, 1853).
- "If Joseph Smith was a deceiver who willfully attempted to mislead the people, then he should be exposed; his claims should be refuted and his doctrines shown to be false, for the doctrines of an impostor cannot be made to harmonize in all particulars with divine truth" (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 1:188).
As I've mentioned before, no one but God should presume to tell you whether or not you are a Christian. But you cannot call yourself a Mormon if you do not believe the fundamental doctrines taught by the LDS church. Likewise, you cannot expect to be considered a Christian if you do not believe even the same basic truths that Christians believe (those shared by all orthodox denominations). Certainly, LDS Apostle Bruce McConkie and LDS President Gordon Hinckley wouldn't agree with you:
- McConkie wrote: "virtually all the millions of apostate Christendom have abased themselves before the mythical throne of a mythical Christ" (Mormon Doctrine, p. 269).
Hinckley stated: "The traditional Christ of whom they [non-Mormons] speak is not the Christ of whom I speak" (LDS Church News Week 6/20/98, p.7).
This is just one of many such statements by nearly all of the LDS presidents, including Joseph Smith. LDS teachings differ radically from orthodox Christian doctrine on most major issues: go back and read section 3 of my materials to prove this to yourself. If you are in the Mormon church, you will be exposed to these unorthodox doctrines sooner or later, overtly or subtly, and you will inevitably begin to accept them, even if you do not now.
Are the sermons, texts, and books that I have quoted simply aberrant teachings by obscure Mormon leaders, or transitional teachings that were never considered official LDS doctrine or revelation? You are deceiving yourself if you believe this. The large majority of the material that I quote was written or stated by LDS Prophets, Presidents, and General Authorities and transcribed by LDS officials. As I've documented, your church makes some very bold and unique claims about the authority of its leaders. No one in orthodox Christianity has been recognized to have this type of authority since Jesus and his apostles.
Furthermore, if the founders and leaders of the LDS church taught doctrine that was contrary to God's previous revelation in the Bible, how can they have been led by God to receive other 'truthful' revelation from Him?' How can you know which are truthful and which are not?. This takes you back to the Biblical mandate (at the top of this page) to investigate on your own. You must use materials other than (or at least in addition to) those given to you by the LDS church. Above all, use the Bible (Acts 17:11); the evidence for its accuracy and reliability is overwhelming16.
[ Michael Davis' Virtual Office | Michael Davis' Mormonism Homepage | Mormonism Topical Index ]
If you are a Mormon, you may take offense at some of my materials; I used to be a Mormon. It is not my intention to slander you or your beliefs. But since you probably consider yourself to be a 'believer', consider the warnings to believers in the Bible:
- "do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John. 4:1).
- "If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing" (1 Tim. 6:3-4).
- "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves" (2 Cor. 13:5).
- "you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false" (Rev. 2:2).
- "Prove all things, hold fast that which is good" (1 Thess 5:21).
Listen also to the admonitions of your own leaders:
- "Convince us of our errors of doctrine if we have any, by reason, by logical arguments, or by the word of God, and we will be ever grateful for the information, and you will ever have the pleasing reflection that you have been instruments in the hands of God of redeeming your fellow beings from the darkness which you may see enveloping their minds." (Orson Pratt, The Seer, p. 15-16, 1853).
- "If Joseph Smith was a deceiver who willfully attempted to mislead the people, then he should be exposed; his claims should be refuted and his doctrines shown to be false, for the doctrines of an impostor cannot be made to harmonize in all particulars with divine truth" (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 1:188).
As I've mentioned before, no one but God should presume to tell you whether or not you are a Christian. But you cannot call yourself a Mormon if you do not believe the fundamental doctrines taught by the LDS church. Likewise, you cannot expect to be considered a Christian if you do not believe even the same basic truths that Christians believe (those shared by all orthodox denominations). Certainly, LDS Apostle Bruce McConkie and LDS President Gordon Hinckley wouldn't agree with you:
- McConkie wrote: "virtually all the millions of apostate Christendom have abased themselves before the mythical throne of a mythical Christ" (Mormon Doctrine, p. 269).
This is just one of many such statements by nearly all of the LDS presidents, including Joseph Smith. LDS teachings differ radically from orthodox Christian doctrine on most major issues: go back and read section 3 of my materials to prove this to yourself. If you are in the Mormon church, you will be exposed to these unorthodox doctrines sooner or later, overtly or subtly, and you will inevitably begin to accept them, even if you do not now.
Are the sermons, texts, and books that I have quoted simply aberrant teachings by obscure Mormon leaders, or transitional teachings that were never considered official LDS doctrine or revelation? You are deceiving yourself if you believe this. The large majority of the material that I quote was written or stated by LDS Prophets, Presidents, and General Authorities and transcribed by LDS officials. As I've documented, your church makes some very bold and unique claims about the authority of its leaders. No one in orthodox Christianity has been recognized to have this type of authority since Jesus and his apostles.Furthermore, if the founders and leaders of the LDS church taught doctrine that was contrary to God's previous revelation in the Bible, how can they have been led by God to receive other 'truthful' revelation from Him?' How can you know which are truthful and which are not?. This takes you back to the Biblical mandate (at the top of this page) to investigate on your own. You must use materials other than (or at least in addition to) those given to you by the LDS church. Above all, use the Bible (Acts 17:11); the evidence for its accuracy and reliability is overwhelming16.
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