OXYMORmonic of the Week

The Charity of Self Promotion

Wed, 5 Dec 2007 20:08:33 -0500

In “The Sacrifice of Self Promotion” we saw how the LDS Jesus “gave” himself “sacrificially” as an initiation into his father’s fraternity of gods. His death was a deposit into an Eternal Progression fund that he ultimately reaped the rewards of as he progressed to godhood.

Similarly, the LDS system of mandatory tithing is actually very similar in many respects. It boils down like this: 1. You must tithe a full 10% (and more) in order to be deemed ‘temple worthy’
You must be ‘temple worthy’ in order to receive an endowment, be married for time and all eternity, to be sealed to your children, to perform works for the dead, etc.
You cannot reach exaltation (godhood/the highest celestial glory) unless you can do #2 above (and more).

It is not an exaggeration to say that if you were the most devout LDS member, you believed in Jesus and the LDS prophet Joseph Smith, you sustained the LDS Church leadership, you did everything ever asked of you, you followed every command that you could, you loved your family and were a faithful, hard-working LDS member, but if you did not give a full tithing, you could not attain full celestial glory. When the rubber hits the road, paying a full tithe (10% of your total//gross income) is required for you to reach exaltation (live with God, etc).

To this end, part of the annual LDS accounting process is called the Tithing Settlement. They use some computer software (MLS) to track tithing, fast offerings, and other ‘donations’ made by the LDS members. You meet with your Bishop and undergo an interview, state whether you have been a full tithe payer, receive a report, check it for errors, make payments if you are in arrears, etc.

One of the Tithing Settlement outcomes is a report that is given to the LDS member for validation and correction. An example of such a report is below:

A close-up of the ‘Tithing’ column shows the summary/subtotal line listed as “Charitable Subtotal.”

The LDS Church collects tithing from its members, which is required for their exaltation process, and then it is considered “Charitable” giving by the LDS Church!?

Ironically the generally accepted definition of “charitable” is “selfless” -- which means an act or donation that requires personal sacrifice, with no expectation of reward of recompense.

However, as with the LDS Jesus’ ‘sacrifice of self-promotion’ -- the “Charitable” tithing of the LDS faithful is something more resembling investment in an eternal stock market (or extortion, depending on your perspective).

The BOTTOM LINE
The LDS Church teaches that every member must make their charitable tithing donations in order to reach godhood.

Proof Of Apostasy - Part 1

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 07:52:48 -0500

The LDS Church teaches that their ‘Restored Christianity’ was required because of ‘The Great Apostasy’ (which came some time between 90AD and 600AD). Their claim is that the world of men turned their backs on God and Jesus and as a result Jesus removed His Church from the earth.

To prove their claims, the LDS Church uses numerous Bible verses and passages, what are called ‘proof-texts’ by non-LDS, or the plucking of a verse or passage out of the Bible to prove their claim, while ignoring the larger context of the chapter, the book, or even of the Bible as a whole.

LDS Missionaries and LDS materials reference this verse as one proof of the Great Apostasy, banking on the ignorance of the recipient of the information.

Isaiah 24:5 (KJV)
The earth is also polluted by its inhabitants, for they transgressed laws, violated statutes, broke the everlasting covenant.

It does not take much understanding of the Bible or the book of Isaiah to demonstrate how Isaiah 24:5 has nothing to do with Christ’s Church.

Written around 700BC during the rise of the Assyrian Empire and the decline of Judah; Isaiah was foretelling of the fall of Jerusalem and the coming captivity of God's people.

The BOTTOM LINE
Isaiah 24:5 provides a connecting point between the old, broken Abrahamic Covenant and the New Covenant under Jesus, it is not addressing the post-Jesus era.

The Helpy Ghost

Thu, 8 Nov 2007 19:18:36 -0500

Christians who learn to listen to the Holy Spirit are guided through life without the Law; they actually follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit, like following a car to a destination (Galations 5:18).

The LDS claim that they listen to the Holy Ghost, but that isn't good enough for God because he needs more from us -- so the LDS Church claims. So, faithful LDS must also live by all the LDS precepts (temple works, tithing, word of wisdom, abandonment of all sin in this life, etc., etc., etc.,).... more like someone giving you a map to a destination and letting you get there by your own wiles and ability to follow the map.

Christians believe that to be bound to a system of laws, or to be bound to the map, is to be a slave to sin (Romans 6:14). Laws are like guard rails on a road, but the Holy Ghost, in Christian faith, is like a car in front of you that you can follow all the way to the destination -- if you watch, listen and obey His guidance

In LDS tradition and teaching, the Holy Ghost, although "one in purpose" with the LDS god-the-Father, will only help you with some things, but if you don't have the road map (the restored LDS rules for exaltation), you will never make it to the Father with just him inside you. In reality he's just a helper for the LDS godhead.

The BOTTOM LINE
The LDS Church teaches that the Holy Ghost is God -- and while Almighty, he’s just limited in power, limited in scope of work, limited in ability to transform lives, and unable to save souls.

The Same-Old, Same-Old Testament

Sun, 4 Nov 2007 07:00:15 -0500

It is striking to note that the overall tone of the New Testament is breaking down the Law and the legalism of religious zealots, and simplifying our relationship with God to an act of Him reaching down to us -- requiring only our acceptance and obedience in return.

The New Testament removes any notion that works of man can bring us close to God -- but at the same time teaches that as spiritually regenerated beings, Born-Again Christians will give of their time, talents, and resources -- willingly and hilariously -- as the Spirit of God manifests itself in our lives.

Romans makes it clear that the Law was used so that we would comprehend sin -- and accepting Jesus released us from the bonds of sin. Jesus performed major smack-downs on the Pharisees and Sadducees ... those who put the law above the spirit of the relationship that God expressed. Jesus came to show that our hearts are the key to a relationship with Him.

Mormonism tries to reverse the teachings of Jesus and pretend as if the message of the New Testament never came through Him.

Jesus said that if we believe in Him, we are saved.
Mormonism teaches that you don’t even need to profess faith in Jesus or God to be saved.... but you must conform to the rest of the law of eternal progression in order to be exalted.

Jesus said that if we do not forgive others for sinning against us (binding it here on earth), that the Father would not forgive us (bound in heaven).
Mormonism teaches that binding and loosing relates to eternal marriage and that you must conform to the law of eternal marriage in order to be exalted.

Jesus said that He was the eternal fulfillment of the role of the priesthood.
Mormonism teaches that their priesthood is basically godhood on earth and you must participate in the LDS priesthood in order to be exalted to become a creator-god.

At every turn the LDS church twists the message of Jesus (He did all the work) to the message of their church (you must work to complete what Jesus started).

The LDS Church takes the message of the New Testament, inverts it, and amplifies the Law of the Old Testament with it. In many ways Mormonism portrays a religious belief system that acts like Jesus might as well have stayed home with his father.

Mormonism is Twistianity not Christianity!

Atonement = not released from the shackles of sin, but a helpful hand along the way to exaltation.
Sacrifice = not really a sacrifice, but an investment in the exaltation process.
Forgiveness = you are only forgiven if you conform to the law.
Salvation = salvation for all; if you are not doomed to outer darkness as a son of perdition, you are saved.

The BOTTOM LINE
The LDS Church teaches that Jesus came to deliver a sacrifice of self-promotion to exaltation, that reinforced the message of the Old Testament laws and servitude to sin... and they call this Good News (i.e. “gospel”).

The Sacrifice of Self Promotion

Sun, 28 Oct 2007 08:55:33 -0400

It has been a curiosity to many Christians why the LDS reject certain traditional Christian symbolism, particularly the cross. There is not a cross to be found anywhere in modern Mormandom, yet the cross is the very symbol to Christians that reminds of the sacrifice that Jesus made for humankind.

Mormons will accuse Christians of worshiping the cross, in fact taking it to the unholy end of idolatry. Are there some Christians who take the whole cross tradition too far and turn the cross into an idol? Perhaps it is possible, but I have never met one. Be that as it may.

Looking at the question of why no cross, the investigator’s attention is also drawn to the Garden of Gethsemane where the LDS focus Christ’s atoning sacrifice; his weeping of blood, prayer, and submission as a lamb to the slaughter. This is also curious to Christians, as Christendom sees Christ’s death on the cross as the manifestation of the sacrifice, not his time spent in the garden preparing himself.

The missing link in this crisscross of symbology, no pun intended, is the underlying intent of Jesus. In Mormonism Jesus was completing a necessary step in his own exaltation process, earning the rank of god; his atonement was performed in the Garden -- so what came next in the story was a tragedy. This means that the death on the cross was more the work of men, and then the cross comes to symbolize all that is wicked in the world. Whereas for Christians it is a symbol of the sacrifice.

When you transplant the intent of Jesus from the selfless act of dying for the world’s sins, to the personal struggle and intent of a self-fulfilling act of exaltation, it all starts to become clear why the LDS do things the way they do.

In LDS theology, Jesus invested in his own retirement by “giving sacrificially” to a charity organization that assured him of a return on his investment. The OxyMormonic here is that the LDS people cannot seem to comprehend that, in those terms, Jesus’ act was not a sacrifice!

Jesus taught Agape Love (John 15:13) -- an unconditional love toward others that has no conception of a return for the effort. If you expect something in return, your heart is in the wrong place. Ironically, this is also how Christians are directed to give in return for their own abundance on earth -- of our time, talents, and earnings, in a selfless ‘hilarious’ giving. Not as predicated by some law that we are duty bound to follow -- it is truly an issue of the heart.

The truth is that the Jesus the LDS Church teaches about, “gave” himself “sacrificially” as an initiation into his father’s fraternity of gods. This is patently oxymoronic..

The Jesus of Mormonism died on earth to save himself. The LDS members are taught that they have to effectively sacrifice their lives on earth in order to conform to the law, which in turn demands that you will earn favor with God in the hereafter -- and you can literally bank on it!:

Doctrine & Covenants 130:20-21
20 There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated
21 And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.

The Jesus of Christianity gave himself completely as God, to be man; to suffer temptation, to suffer the slings and arrows of men, to reduce himself to a humble servant and live a spotless life in the cloak of humanity -- with the end goal of saving everyone else.

Hebrews 10:10 (KJV)
By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Once, for all. There is nothing that you can give to God that is worthy of Jesus’ sacrifice, save your life.

The BOTTOM LINE
The LDS Church teaches that every member can follow Jesus’ sacrificial plan of self-promotion to earn exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom.

The Elders Who Are Young’ns

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 08:21:53 -0400

In Christian and tribal traditions, church or village elders were those men who, advanced in years, were looked up to as the spiritual leaders of the organization. The assumption is that they are held in high esteem, they have wisdom to be sought, and those below them in the structure of the group are held accountable to discipline from the Elders.

In the LDS Church hierarchy, a male member reaches the position of Elder when they enter the Melchezidek Priesthood -- somewhere around 18 years old. It does not take long to see how the LDS faith system takes another word from Christian history, and turns it inside-out -- at least to anyone, anywhere who has any idea of what a true elder is.

To that end, before the maturing LDS member reaches the station of Elder, they have already progressed through the Aaronic Priesthood, which has four offices: deacon, teacher, priest and bishop.
(The Melchizedek Priesthood has five offices: elder, high priest, patriarch, seventy and apostle)

The BOTTOM LINE
The LDS Church teaches that a young man can be elder way before he is actually elder.

Mono-poly Anyone?

Sun, 7 Oct 2007 08:30:27 -0400

Thanks to the October 2007 General Conference talks, today we are building on the “One or Many, Bruce?” OxyMormonic concept.

The LDS Church leadership is constantly bombarding the public and membership with “we are Christians too” messages, while the true non-Christian teachings of the LDS Church are hidden somewhere under the surface of the finely crafted Christian sounding message.

On October 6, 2007 a host of speakers visited the podium at General Conference, most echoing the theme of the homogenized Conference talks. Every once in a while, if you are really paying attention, you will catch some deceptions that are less subtle than others.

Jeffrey R. Holland said that the LDS church is not guilty of polytheism, but rather of being in accordance with the teaching of Christ.

This flies in the face of the teachings of Joseph Smith Jr., Brigham Young, and indeed the modern LDS church today, that each person has the potential inside to become an ‘almighty creator (big-G) God’ (an OxyMormonic in itself) over their own sphere of creation. The term “God in embryo” is used by LDS teachers to describe fellow LDS members.

The modern LDS Apologetics group FAIR supports this idea wholeheartedly. NOTE: They do not speak authoritatively for the LDS Church, but they do promote the ideas of the general membership.

Joseph Smith Jr. said, “you have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves” (note, the direct quote and context with a Big-G “Gods”). Yet according to the LDS leadership, having, being one-of, or promoting the idea of multiple Gods is not polytheistic, presumably because they claim to only worship their God, “Heavenly Father,” while ignoring the textbook definition of polytheism (courtesy of the Oxford American Dictionary):

The belief IN (or worship) of more than one god.

All the while, LDS people are taught that monotheism means that they only worship one God, yet the ability to become like Him, an Almighty-Creator-God, is not polytheistic. This is patently oxymoronic and hence, an OxyMormonic.

If you believe that you or your husband can become a creator-God, then you are polytheistic.

The Bottom Line
The LDS Church promotes the belief of monotheism, which means that while only worshiping one God, every man must learn to become their own, almighty, creator-God, just like every other worthy LDS priesthood holder ... just like the only God they worship.

The Little Prophet That Could... Almost

Fri, 5 Oct 2007 08:12:26 -0400

The following was written by By Sharon Lindbloom on the Mormon Coffee Blog:

On October 3rd 1918, then LDS Church President Joseph F. Smith received a vision regarding the redemption of the dead. The next day at General Conference:

“President Smith declared that he had received several divine communications during the previous months. One of these, concerning the Savior’s visit to the spirits of the dead while his body was in the tomb, he had received the previous day. It was written immediately following the close of the conference; on October 31, 1918, it was submitted to the counselors in the First Presidency, the Council of the Twelve, and the Patriarch, and it was unanimously accepted by them.” (Doctrine and Covenants, Introduction to Section 138)

Following this endorsement of President Smith’s October 3rd vision by Church leaders, the revelation was published in the December 1918 issue of the Improvement Era magazine and in the January 1919 issue of The Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine.

It wasn’t until 57 years later, at the April 1976 General Conference, that President Smith’s vision was presented to the general membership of the Church to be accepted as Scripture and approved for inclusion in the Pearl of Great Price. In June of 1979 the First Presidency of the Church announced that the vision would be removed from the Pearl of Great Price and added to the Doctrine and Covenants as Section 138, where it remains today.

I find it curious that this revelation — from God to His prophet (from the LDS perspective), written down, regarded as true by top Church leaders, and made public — was not actually presented to members of the Church (to be adopted and accepted) until more than half a century later.

In the commentary, Aaron Shafovaloff added:
It seems that Mormonism implicitly promotes the idea that authors of scripture were “carried along by the Holy Spirit”, but not when they were writing the “prophecy of scripture” itself. All things considered, what you end up having in Mormonism is scripture:
that reports revelation, but isn’t itself revelation;
that reports the word of God, but isn’t the very word of God, i.e. what God is actually “saying” and “telling”;
that fallibly speaks of truth, but can’t be identified as truth;
that reports of inspirational experiences, but isn’t itself inspired.

This is also very interesting in light of the directives 14 Fundamentals of Following the Prophet written by then, soon-to-be LDS President Ezra Taft Benson:
First: The prophet is the only man who speaks for the Lord in everything.
Second: The living prophet is more vital to us than the standard works. ... Fourth: The prophet will never lead the Church astray.
... Sixth: The prophet does not have to say “Thus saith the Lord” to give us scripture.

In practice what this amounts to is a “prophet” whose words relayed from God, unless ratified, are vapors spoken in the wind. The Prophet has to hope that his words strike home with the LDS leadership below him, or he is but a banging gong. He is reduced to being The Little Prophet That Could, thinking, “I think I can! I think I can!” -- because it is not his place to decide the source, frequency, nor the weight or credibility of his revelations, so it is really out of his hands entirely.

The Bottom Line
The LDS Church teaches that their Prophets speak solely for God on this Earth, and their word is absolutely scripture ... at some point.... maybe... sometimes.... not completely, always, mostly, kind of.... almost.

The First Principle ... Confusion

Sat, 9 Dec 2006 09:05:33 -0500

Building on the “Man or Spirit” OxyMormonic, we now look at how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that the first, most important aspect of accepting the LDS faith is to know the nature of God, even though their founder could not identify God’s nature - or even agree with his own writings and ‘translations.’

Joseph Smith Jr. said, as documented in the LDS History of the Church, Vol. 6, p. 302-317 (April 7, 1844):
It is the first principle of the gospel to know for a certainty the character of God, and to know that we may converse with Him as one man converses with another, and that He was once a man like us; yea, that God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ Himself did; and I will show it from the Bible.

If Joseph Smith Jr. said, “It is the first principle of the gospel to know for a certainty the character of God,” how is it that the LDS scriptures and leaders are not in accord? The Bible says that God is a spirit (Colossians 1:15, 1 Timothy 1:17, I Timothy 6:16, John 1:18, Luke 24:39, Romans 1:20), Book Of Mormon says that God is spirit (Alma 11;26-29; 18:24-29;22:8-11), while the Doctrine & Covenants says that God has a body of flesh and bone (D&C 130:22).

So, is God a spirit, or is He flesh and bone?

Please read these following LDS scriptural passages very carefully and thoughtfully:

Alma 11
26 And Zeezrom said unto him: Thou sayest there is a true and living God? 27 And Amulek said: Yea, there is a true and living God.  28 Now Zeezrom said: Is there more than one God?  29 And he answered, No.

Alma 18
24 And Ammon began to speak unto him with boldness, and said unto him: Believest thou that there is a God? 25 And he answered, and said unto him: I do not know what that meaneth. 26 And then Ammon said: Believest thou that there is a Great Spirit? 27 And he said, Yea. 28 And Ammon said: This is God. And Ammon said unto him again: Believest thou that this Great Spirit, who is God, created all things which are in heaven and in the earth? 29 And he said: Yea, I believe that he created all things which are in the earth; but I do not know the heavens.

Alma 22
8 And now when Aaron heard this, his heart began to rejoice, and he said: Behold, assuredly as thou livest, O king, there is a God. 9 And the king said: Is God that Great Spirit that brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem? 10 And Aaron said unto him: Yea, he is that Great Spirit, and he created all things both in heaven and in earth. Believest thou this? 11 And he said: Yea, I believe that the Great Spirit created all things, and I desire that ye should tell me concerning all these things, and I will believe thy words.

Joseph Smith Jr’s Lecture on Faith 5th
[Lec 5:2c] They are the Father and the Son: The Father being a personage of spirit, glory, and power, possessing all perfection and fullness. [Lec 5:2d] The Son, who was in the bosom of the Father, a personage of tabernacle, made or fashioned like unto man, or being in the form and likeness of man - or rather, man was formed after his likeness and in his image. [underlining added for clarity]

D&C 130:22
The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us.

In Joseph Smith’s own writings, the spirit or corporeal state of God the Father was in flux over time -- so how exactly is this knowing for a certainty the character of God? LDS will argue that this is because God provides information a little bit at a time (the same model for their religious disclosure methods), another misapplication of the Bible “line upon line, precept upon precept” (Isaiah 28:10). This practice is applied all over Mormonism whenever something is uncomfortably unexplainable.

The Bottom Line
The LDS Church teaches that first principle of the gospel is to know for a certain whether or not God is a man and a spirit.

Humility, No Faking Allowed!

Mon, 4 Dec 2006 08:50:20 -0500

Jesus Christ did not say, “Blessed are the meek, who are meek without being compelled to be meek, for they shall inherit the earth.’ But what if He had? What would this qualification, “without being compelled to be meek” say about the overall statement,“ Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5)?

Alma 32:16
Therefore, blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble; or rather, in other words, blessed is he that believeth in the word of God, and is baptized without stubbornness of heart, yea, without being brought to know the word, or even compelled to know, before they will believe.

Someone who is “compelled” to be meek or compelled to be humble, is really neither of those things. Meekness and humility are natural, learned or inspired, but someone cannot be forced to be something that they are not -- you are either humble/meek or you are not. Can someone be “compelled to know” something before they believe it? Can you believe something that you don’t know -- or know something that you do not believe?

God knows men’s hearts (1 Kings 8:39, Psalm 44:21, Luke 16:15, Acts 15:8). Of course if someone was faking, or begrudgingly “humble” or “meek” or simply paying lip service to doctrine, following along out of fear or peer pressure, then they are not willingly being so... in orthodox Christian terms this is simply an oxymoron -- but it works in Mormonism.

The Bottom Line
The LDS Church teaches that you will be blessed if you are genuinely humble ... and even though you can be humble against your will, that doesn’t count!

Missionaries Without A Cause

Mon, 6 Nov 2006 13:29:57 -0500

Much is made of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints missionary program. The fact that the members spend 1.5 to 2 years out of their lives dedicated to the service of ‘the kingdom,’ reaching out to the lost, and so on, is referred to time and time again as one of the proofs of the goodness and truth of the LDS religion. Add to that the image of squeaky-clean youth in black slacks, white shirts, ties, name badges, and backpacks on bicycles pervades the collective non-LDS consciousness when imagining what a “Latter-day Saint” looks like.

By all accounts the LDS Church spends a tremendous amount of time and energy on their missionary program, and the body of LDS faithful are behind the program... but the LDS also believe that non-believers have a chance to accept the LDS doctrine in the afterlife by way of temple works for the dead, that is if they had never heard the LDS missionaries’ message in this life. This latter bit of latter-day thinking makes the missionaries mission somewhat redundant.

Add to this, that absent from the missionary message is the disclosure of the implications of Alma 34, as well as teachings of past LDS Presidents such as Spencer W. Kimball (see The Miracle of Forgiveness).

Alma 34 should once and for all disabuse anyone of an after-life salvation idealism, because it says in no uncertain terms that if an individual dies with sin, he/she is sealed to the devil in the afterlife.

Alma 34:32-35
32 For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.
  33 And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed.
  34 Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world.
  35 For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked.

The Bottom Line
The LDS Church teaches that their missionaries are key to spreading the word to save people all over the earth, but they also teach that because of works for the dead that people who die without hearing the message and accepting the LDS doctrine will still have a chance in the afterlife to accept it, unless you don’t die sin-free, in which case you are doomed for eternity (even if you are a practicing LDS!).

No One Can See God’s Face & Live (most of the time)

Mon, 25 Sep 2006 13:22:23 -0400

D&C 84 was penned September 22-23, 1832, covering various topics including the bestowal of the priesthood offices in the LDS Church.

In D&C 84:21-22 Joseph Smith Jr. wrote:
21 And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh; 22 For without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live.

D&C 84:22 says that without the priesthood, no man can see the face of God and live. He makes a veiled reference to Old Testament Bible verses like Exodus 33:20, but ignores the fact that not even Moses saw “God’s face” -- Click here to read it for yourself. Please pay close attention to the whole and context of verse 20 -- where God makes NO exceptions for what he says (i.e. “unless you have the priesthood”) the fact is that not even Moses was allowed to see God’s figurative face, nor His Glory and live to tell about it. Surely Moses’ station in God’s eyes was greater than his brother Aaron -- to whom the LDS attribute such great power.

What’s the problem with this? Joseph Smith Jr. claims to have received the priesthood on May 15, 1829. -- Click here to read it for yourself.

Joseph Smith Jr. earlier claimed to have seen God face to face in 1820 (Click here to read it for yourself), nine years before he claims that he was given the priesthood; nine years before, according to D&C 84, that he would have had the ordinance and power of godliness to be able to see God face to face and live.

The Bottom Line
The LDS Church teaches that the restored priesthood will allow men to see God face to face and live, but it would be impossible without it. At the same time they teach that Joseph Smith Jr. saw God face to face and lived, before he held the priesthood.

The Never-Changing God Who Was Once A Man

Mon, 31 Jul 2006 09:26:49 -0400

The Book of Mormon says repeatedly that God does not change and has been the same forever:

Mormon 9:9-10
9 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?
10 And now, if ye have imagined up unto yourselves a god who doth vary, and in whom there is shadow of changing, then have ye imagined up unto yourselves a god who is not a God of miracles.

Moroni 8:18
18 For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity.

However, LDS Church founder Joseph Smith Jr. taught in the Doctrine & Covenants that the Mormon god is an exalted man:
D&C 130:22a
The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s;

LDS apostle James Talmage wrote:
We believe in a God who is Himself progressive, whose majesty is intelligence; whose perfection consists in eternal advancement -- a Being who has attained His exalted state by a path which now His children are permitted to follow, whose glory it is their heritage to share. In spite of the opposition of the sects, in the face of direct charges of blasphemy, the Church proclaims the eternal truth: 'As man is, God once was; as God is, man may be'
(Articles of Faith, Ch.24, p.430 - p.431).

Joseph Smith Jr. also taught:
God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted Man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens. That is the great secret... It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the character of God and to know...that he was once a man like us. Here, then, is eternal life--to know that only wise and true God, and you have got to learn how to become Gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods have done before you. .. God himself, the father of us all dwelt on an earth the same as Jesus Christ.
(The Prophet Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 342-345, also see Gospel Principles, Chapter 47).

The Bottom Line
The LDS Church teaches that their god never changes and has always been the same, while progressing from a man to become the supreme being, God, Elohim, the Heavenly Father.

Getting Forgiveness is Murder!

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 14:58:38 -0400

Was the sacrifice of Jesus Christ enough to cover all your sins, including the reprehensible act of murder?

Modern Mormons will tell you no, that only atonement good enough to cover the mortal sin of murder is the shedding of your own blood.

This modern belief flies in the face of what is written in the Book of Mormon however. Alma 24:10 says:
10 And I also thank my God, yea, my great God, that he hath granted unto us that we might repent of these things, and also that he hath forgiven us of those our many sins and murders which we have committed, and taken away the guilt from our hearts, through the merits of his Son.

Curiously, Doctrine & Covenants 42:79 contradicts Alma 24:10:
And it shall come to pass, that if any persons among you shall kill they shall be delivered up and dealt with according to the laws of the land; for remember that he hath no forgiveness; and it shall be proved according to the laws of the land.

The Bottom Line
The LDS Church teaches that Jesus’ atoning sacrifice is insufficient to cover the mortal sin of murder, unless you only read the Book of Mormon.

Polygamy, Hated Today... Required Tomorrow

Mon, 3 Jul 2006 15:08:28 -0400

In the LDS scripture, Jacob chapter 2, the LDS “God” sees having multiple wives as an abomination, a “whoredom” and iniquity.
Jacob 2:23-29,33-35 says:
  23 But the word of God burdens me because of your grosser crimes. For behold, thus saith the Lord: This people begin to wax in iniquity; they understand not the scriptures, for they seek to excuse themselves in committing whoredoms, because of the things which were written concerning David, and Solomon his son.
  24 Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord.
  25 Wherefore, thus saith the Lord, I have led this people forth out of the land of Jerusalem, by the power of mine arm, that I might raise up unto me a righteous branch from the fruit of the loins of Joseph.
  26 Wherefore, I the Lord God will not suffer that this people shall do like unto them of old.
  27 Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none;
  28 For I, the Lord God, delight in the chastity of women. And whoredoms are an abomination before me; thus saith the Lord of Hosts.
  29 Wherefore, this people shall keep my commandments, saith the Lord of Hosts, or cursed be the land for their sakes.
...
33 For they shall not lead away captive the daughters of my people because of their tenderness, save I shall visit them with a sore curse, even unto destruction; for they shall not commit whoredoms, like unto them of old, saith the Lord of Hosts.
  34 And now behold, my brethren, ye know that these commandments were given to our father, Lehi; wherefore, ye have known them before; and ye have come unto great condemnation; for ye have done these things which ye ought not to have done.
  35 Behold, ye have done greater iniquities than the Lamanites, our brethren. Ye have broken the hearts of your tender wives, and lost the confidence of your children, because of your bad examples before them; and the sobbings of their hearts ascend up to God against you. And because of the strictness of the word of God, which cometh down against you, many hearts died, pierced with deep wounds.

According to this scripture, having multiple wives is a whoredom, like that of David and Solomon of old, and it brings shame and sorrow to the families of those who commit such iniquities. In Jacob 2, if men have multiple wives they are damned.

Fast forward from 421 B.C. (book of Jacob) to July 12, 1843, and in D&C 132 Joseph Smith says that God now requires that men have multiple wives or they are damned:
4 For behold, I reveal unto you a new and an everlasting covenant; and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory.
...
37 Abraham received concubines, and they bore him children; and it was accounted unto him for righteousness, because they were given unto him, and he abode in my law; as Isaac also and Jacob did none other things than that which they were commanded; and because they did none other things than that which they were commanded, they have entered into their exaltation, according to the promises, and sit upon thrones, and are not angels but are gods.
  38 David also received many wives and concubines, and also Solomon and Moses my servants, as also many others of my servants, from the beginning of creation until this time; and in nothing did they sin save in those things which they received not of me.
  39 David’s wives and concubines were given unto him of me, by the hand of Nathan, my servant, and others of the prophets who had the keys of this power; and in none of these things did he sin against me save in the case of Uriah and his wife; and, therefore he hath fallen from his exaltation, and received his portion; and he shall not inherit them out of the world, for I gave them unto another, saith the Lord.
  40 I am the Lord thy God, and I gave unto thee, my servant Joseph, an appointment, and restore all things. Ask what ye will, and it shall be given unto you according to my word.
  41 And as ye have asked concerning adultery, verily, verily, I say unto you, if a man receiveth a wife in the new and everlasting covenant, and if she be with another man, and I have not appointed unto her by the holy anointing, she hath committed adultery and shall be destroyed.

Verse 41 above says, stated more clearly without the negatives, If a man receives a wife in the new and everlasting covenant, and if she is with another man, and I have appointed her by the holy anointing, she has not committed adultery.

D&C 132 ignores Jacob 2:24. D&C 132 contradicts Jacob 2:24. D&C 132 takes hatred, disgust and shame, and turns it into glory.

Jacob 2:27 says “Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none;”

D&C 132:62 says, “And if he have ten virgins given unto him by this law, he cannot commit adultery, for they belong to him, and they are given unto him; therefore is he justified.”

The Bottom Line
The LDS Church teaches in Jacob 2 that multiple wives are an abomination to God, but in D&C 132 teaches that multiple wives are required for exaltation. The LDS God requires abomination for salvation ... that sounds a lot like something Satan would want.

God, Spirit or Sexual Being?

Fri, 30 Jun 2006 15:14:44 -0400

One of the many amazingly quiet and unchallenged LDS scriptural changes is in the 1977 and subsequent editions of the Pearl Of Great Price, specifically the Book of Abraham facimile 2, where the LDS Church saw a need to add an erect penis to the figure that Joseph Smith referred to as Fig. 7 “Represents God sitting upon his throne...”

Pre-1977 Pearl of Great Price, Book of Abraham, Facimile 2:

Compared to the 1977 Pearl of Great Price, Book of Abraham, Facimile 2:
[highlight added]

One question that comes to mind is simply this: Why?

Why would you change a depiction of God, one the prophet drew with his own hand (reproducing the alleged writing of Abraham).

One reason may be this: Current hypocephalus discs in museums depict that character with a phallus, and the LDS church was probably trying to remove the questions about why their version was missing it. One must wonder why Joseph Smith left it off, but also why the LDS Church decided to add it to their scriptures in 1977.

The following image is from a hypocephalus on display in a British Museum:

The Bottom Line
The LDS Church teaches that their god is one on whose lap you would not want to place your child!

Was Kimball Don Quixote?

Fri, 23 Jun 2006 15:43:50 -0400

Don Quixote sang, “To Dream the Impossible Dream ... to Fight the Unbeatable Foe... to Bear the Unbearable Sorrow...” and LDS Apostle (cum President/Prophet) Spencer W. Kimball taught in The Miracle of Forgiveness, pg 165:

To “try” is weak. To “do the best I can” is not strong. We must always do better than we can. This is true in every walk of life. [emphasis added]
The quotation is from the section “Abandonment of Sin” but as you can see this is not just in regard to repentance, but is to be applied to every walk of life.

LDS doctrine says this command is possible to achieve, or the LDS Lord would not have commanded it; 1 Nephi 3:7 says:
And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

You can ask someone to do better than they are doing, but no one can do more than they can -- by the very definition of what “can” means in this context.

It is an impossibility to do better than we can. A person without eyes will never see, because they can not. They can dream to see, they can perhaps remember what it was like to see, but they will likely never see again, at least not as a result of any work of their own -- since seeing is something that they can not do.

The Bottom Line
The LDS Church teaches that God would not give us commands that are impossible to achieve, but he wants us to always do better than we can.

Forgiveness? Forget About It!

Fri, 16 Jun 2006 23:06:14 -0400

Mormonism sets impossible standards for its members. Members are told that they must strive for perfection. On the road to perfection, an LDS member must stop sinning in this lifetime or, as they are told, they will not be forgiven.

In Doctrine & Covenants 64:7, the reader is told that sinners will be forgiven if they confess their sins and ask forgiveness:
“Nevertheless, he has sinned; but verily I say unto you, I, the Lord, forgive sins unto those who confess their sins before me and ask forgiveness, who have not sinned unto death.” [emphasis added]
However, like many other aspects of Mormonism, forgiveness for your sins is not as easy as that, because in The Miracle of Forgiveness, Spencer W. Kimball writes (page 324):
“Your Heavenly Father has promised forgiveness upon total repentance and meeting all the requirements, but that forgiveness is not granted merely for the asking. There must be works—many works—and an all-out, total surrender, with a great humility and ‘a broken heart and a contrite spirit.” [emphasis added]
In the Doctrine & Covenants, 82:7 the faithful LDS reader finds this caveat for people who cannot stop all sin in their lives:
“And now, verily I say unto you, I, the Lord, will not lay any sin to your charge; go your ways and sin no more; but unto that soul who sinneth shall the former sins return, saith the Lord your God.” [emphasis added]

The Bottom Line
The LDS church teaches that you will be forgiven of your sins if you confess them and ask for forgiveness (D&C 64:7), but forgiveness is not just for the asking, it also requires many works and total compliance with the LDS doctrines, and then all former sin will come back on you if you ever sin again (D&C 82:7).

The Ghost’s Ghost

Sun, 28 May 2006 15:00:18 -0400

The LDS Church performs vicarious ceremonies for the dead, including marriage, baptism and imparting the gift of the Holy Ghost.

LDS Doctrine says that because the Holy Ghost is a spirit personage, He can live within us (us=mortal humans); Doctrine & Covenants 130:22 says:
22 The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us. [italics added]
The Doctrine & Covenants repeatedly explain that the gift of the Holy Ghost is given by the laying on of hands ... that it is a physical act of imparting the Holy Ghost from the priesthood to the person receiving the blessing.

The Bottom Line
The LDS Church teaches that you must receive the Holy Ghost in order to be exalted, and you must receive the Holy Ghost through the laying on of hands. If you are dead you may still receive the Holy Ghost vicariously ... even though you do not have a body, but if the Holy Ghost had a body, you could not receive Him.

One or Many, Bruce?

Mon, 22 May 2006 23:56:24 -0400

Mormon Apostles in this restoration administration do not even agree on how many Gods that Mormons should worship.

Example:
Mormon Doctrine page 576, says that the Father, Son and Holy Ghost are Three separate Gods.
“Three separate personages—Father, Son and Holy Ghost--comprise the Godhead.”
“As each of these persons is a God…”
“…these THREE are the only Gods we worship”

Yet the Doctrine and Covenants (D&C) 20:19 proclaims the only being worshipped.
“...the only living and true God, and that he should be the only being whom they should worship. ”

Mormon Doctrine page 848 indicates that TWO Gods, not ONE God, nor Three Gods are worshipped in Mormonism:
“The Father and the Son are the objects of all true worship”.

One? Two? Three? How many? Flesh and bone or spirit!?

Read the Introduction to the Book of Mormon, it is presented to the ignorant reader that the LDS believe in a single God, God the Father (of the Bible).

The Bottom Line
The LDS Church teaches that there is only one Gods.

How Full is the Fulness?

Mon, 15 May 2006 08:22:11 -0400

The Mormons say on one hand that the Book of Mormon:
Quote:
“It contains the fullness of the everlasting gospel…”
(Mormon Doctrine pages 98, 426 and 427 and see D&C 20:9,42:12,135:3 )

Mormon Doctrine also says:
Quote:
“The fullness of the gospel cannot be preserved in the written word. The scriptures bear record of the gospel, but the gospel itself consists in the power of the priesthood and the possession of the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
(Mormon Doctrine Page 333-334 from President John Taylor Gospel Kingdom p. 88)

The Bottom Line
The LDS Church teaches that the Book of Mormon is the fulness of the everlasting gospel, but the fulness of the gospel cannot be preserved in a book.

Sacret?

Mon, 8 May 2006 01:18:57 -0400

Secret or Sacred? Mormons often claim their temple rites are "sacred not secret:' But Assistant Apostle EIRay Christiansen said, "The ordinances of the temple are so sacred that they are not open to the view of the public ... Their sacred nature is such that discussion in detail outside the temple is inappropriate” (Ensign, January 1972, p. 66).

The Bottom Line
The LDS Church teaches that temple ceremonies are not secret, but they should not be spoken of to non-members.