MORMONS A CULT?

Once again the issue of "religion" has come to the political arena, and once again the media is "having a cow" - so to speak.  Terms like "bigot" and "intolerance" and "political correctness" are again filling the airwaves!  The issue of former Governor Mitt Romney being a Mormon came to the surface four years ago, when he was running for the Republican nomination for President.  Now it comes again!

I am old enough to remember the debate back in the 60's when John F. Kennedy was running for President, and the church world debated whether Kennedy, being a devoted Catholic, would submit all his decisions to the Vatican or not.  Well, Kennedy won the election and became our President, and the Pope had little to do with anything he decided (as far as we could see).

What lit the fuse this time was a comment made to a reporter by Dr. Robert Jeffress, the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas.  When asked as to whether or not he thought Mormons were "Christian" he replied that he thought the Mormons were a "theological cult".  There's that buzz word -- CULT!   Webster defines "cult" as "a system of religious worship or ritual and a devoted attachment to a  person, especially regarded as a fad...."  In other words, a religion's attraction to a man, versus a devotion to a God.  You can watch Dr. Jeffress being interviewed by Fox News at this link below.

http://youtu.be/0TsnSYw-wHU

Let's talk about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) - commonly known by the word, "Mormon". In the Newsweek cover story, pictured above, in the article entitled, "Mormons Rock" by Walter Kim, he states that the LDS church "resembles a sanctified multinational corporation -- the General Electric of American religion, with global ambitions and an estimated net worth of $30 billion."

When talking with a Mormon, you will quickly discover that they use similar terminology as Christians, but, however, you will soon note that they have different definitions.

SIMILAR TERMINOLOGY BUT DIFFERENT DEFINITIONS

The Church of Latter Days Saints (LDS) was established by Joseph Smith, a man born in Vermont in 1805, and grew up in Palmyra, NY.  He loved to hunt for buried treasure as a lad.  In 1820, while praying in the woods, Smith said that two "personages" appeared to him - he said it was the "Father and the Son", and told him all other religions are corrupt, and he was to start a "true church".  Mormons teach that they are the ONLY true religion and church - all others are corrupt.

On September 21, 1823, Joseph Smith asked for a vision, and reportedly an angel called "Moroni" appeared to him and told him that there were "gold plates" buried nearby which contained information from 'former inhabitants' of America.  Three years later, "Moroni" tell him where the 'plates' are hidden.  He then set about to translate these plates, which he said were written in "reformed Egyptian hieroglyphics," by using a 'seer stone'  (he called it the 'Urim' and 'Thummim' - from Biblical times).

An image of this supposed "angel" - named "Moroni" sits atop every Mormon temple in the world, and there are 135 of them, with more being planned and built right now.

This "translation" Joseph Smith made became the "Book of Mormon".  LDS respects four "standard" works:  The Book of Mormon, Doctrines and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, and the Bible.  It should be noted that since Smith believed all other religions were corrupt, then he translated his own version of the Bible.  So when the Mormons talk about the Bible -- watch out -- it's Smith's translation.  Interestingly enough, Smith never studied Hebrew or Greek (the languages which the Bible were written in) - but he qualified himself to translate the Bible!

Smith claimed that the translation of the Book of Mormon from those buried "gold plates" was from writings of ancient civilizations -- but in the Book of Mormon there are entire sections and chapters from the book of Isaiah (from the Bible) which he plagiarized!  Smith claimed that the Book of Mormon was the most "correct" and "complete" book, yet he "revised" it three years later with the book that became known as "Doctrines and Covenants".

Mormon Tabernacle in Atlanta, GA  (34,500 sq. ft)

WHAT DO MORMONS BELIEVE?

I don't want to bore you -- so I'll just list a few highlights - and you be the judge as to whether or not Mormons are "Christians" (as we define Christians).

To the members of LDS, God is NOT the eternal, self-existent, all-powerful God of the universe!

God is nothing more than a man, who became a god -- and any Mormon can become God too!

[side bar:  God is a man who became a god.  Jesus is God, and became a man]

"According to Mormon theology, after the current Father God was created, he grew up as a man on another planet and then became God.  He then had sex with the Mother God and had 'millions' of spirit children. The firstborn of these spirit children was Jesus, and the second-born was Lucifer. The Father God came up with a plan for the rest of his spirit children to populate and live on earth and be tested only to return to him after death (this is why you'll hear Mormons sometimes refer to Jesus as the 'elder brother')."

WORLD RELIGIONS AND CULTS 101

by Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz   p. 99

World Headquarters of LDS

Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, Utah

What about Salvation?

To the members of LDS, you are NOT saved by believing in Jesus and accepting Him as your Savior. All people are saved eventually!  You are saved individually by doing GOOD WORKS and obeying "the laws of the Gospel" (LDS version).

Heaven??

Mormons believe in 3 heavens:  "Celestial", "Terrestial", and "Telestial"

Really good non-Mormons and not-so-good Mormons go to "Terrestial" heaven.

Mostly bad people go to "Telestial" heaven.

NOTICE -- EVERYBODY GOES TO SOME KIND OF HEAVEN!

THE TEST OF TRUTH

"Oftentimes when confronted with the truth and teaching of the Bible regarding God, Jesus, and Salvation, Mormons will become very subjective.  They will say that the ultimate test for truth is an 'inner feeling' or a 'burning in the bosom' that tells them that the LDS church is the one true church, and Mormonism is the one true belief system"

WORLD RELIGIONS AND CULTS 101

by Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz   pp.105-106

I heard on the news just this week, the long-time Senator from Utah, Senator Orin Hatch, defended the word "Mormon" by saying "we are the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints."  

What he was emphasizing is the the Mormons are "Christians"!

I beg to differ.

NEVER has the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints (LDS) been considered to be a part of the main stream of Christianity.

Even though they have 135 temples, a membership in access of 14 million, with over 53,000 missionaries, and near 29,000 congregations, that does not qualify for Christianity.

Think with me:

• Christianity founded in AD 33 by Jesus Christ the Son of God (incidentally, GOD, not a man who became a god from another planet).  Mormons, established in the 1800's by a mere mortal man, Joseph Smith.

• The Bible, written by 40 individuals over a period of 1600 years -- "holy men move by the Holy Spirit" - without fault and error.

The Book of Mormon, a translation of some "gold plates" written in picture language of Egypt, by Smith using a "seer stone" and some revelation from an angel named Moroni, who reportedly is the son of another man named Mormon.  Of yea -- those mysterious plates were taken up by Maroni -- no record of them -- but, we've got manuscripts and archeology finds to prove the Bible.

• Salvation by grace alone in Jesus Christ vs. salvation by works.
• Heaven to those who believe in Jesus Christ as their ONLY savior vs. salvation for everybody no matter what they do.

So you decide!  I already know the truth!