Records reveal that Joseph Smith joined the probationer's class of the Methodist church in June, 1828, eight years after the date that he later claimed he'd received a vision from God instructing him not to join any of the churches, as they were all corrupt and their teachings were an abomination in His sight. (See "Joseph Smith — History;" History of the Church, Volume 1, chapters 1 to 5),

(The LDS publications, "Dialogue," Autumn 1966, pages 30-31 and "Saints' Herald," June 29, 1959, page 21 both confirm that there had been no knowledge of the official version of his first vision until eighteen years after the vision had supposedly occurred. Furthermore, pages 30-34 of "Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought," Autumn 1966, reveal that the general church membership did not receive any information about it until the 1840's, a full twenty years after the supposed event.)

Shortly after he'd joined the Methodist church, the minister was approached regarding Smith's bad reputation, as well as his involvement in the occult. (He had "earned" his living by deception, claiming to have the ability to divine the whereabouts of hidden treasure through an occultic stone.) The minister explained that if he wanted to stay in the church he would have to repent and change his ways. But rather than give up the unethical type of lifestyle to which he was so strongly drawn, Joseph chose to resign.

Within two years of his exit from the Methodist church, Joseph had started up his own church (the LDS), claiming that the Christian church had become apostate shortly after the death of Christ's apostles, that their teachings had been declared to be an abomination in the sight of God, and that He had appointed him, as His latter-day prophet, to restore the true church to the earth.

Many of Smith's opponents believe that the official story of his supposed first vision was nothing more than a vindictive attempt to get back at the Christian churches of the day, as a direct consequence of his experience with the Methodist church.

In backing up their claim of the complete apostasy of the early church, some Mormons quote 2 Thessalonians 2:3, "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition (KJV)." However, the subject matter here is the day of the Lord, i.e. the second coming of Christ, prior to which the anti-Christ will be revealed. And that hadn't yet happened at the time Joseph Smith made his claims. (Nor has it happened yet.) And to back up the fact that a falling away doesn't necessarily indicate complete apostasy, note the following scripture:

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils (1 Timothy 4:1, KJV) (Emphasis by editor)

There are a great many scriptures, some of which are quoted below, that refute Smith's claims of the complete apostasy of Christ's church, which leaves the LDS without a valid reason for the establishment of their "only true" church.



THERE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A REMANANT OF FAITHFUL BELIEVERS

One of the themes that runs steadfastly throughout the Bible is that although there have been times when there have been partial apostasies, God has always kept a remnant of faithful believers. The following are some of the scriptures that bear this out:

Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him. (1 Kings 19:18, KJV)

Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah. (Isaiah 1:9, KJV).

And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt. (Isaiah 11:16, KJV).

Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved. (Romans 9:27, KJV)

Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. (Romans 11:5, KJV)

Ever since the inception of the Christian church they have been subjected to ongoing persecution, as well as to attacks by false prophets, false teachers and the like. History records a long line of Christian martyrs who have embraced sacrifice, suffering, torture and death rather than compromise their biblical beliefs. And it is a fact that Christians are still being persecuted and martyred today in various places in the world, for the same reason.

Contrary to Joseph Smith's claims, there has always been a remnant of faithful believers.

Shortly before his martyrdom, the apostle Peter warned the church against false prophets and false teachers (2 Peter 2:1), but then a few verses later he went on to assure them that the Lord always providentially protects those who are His own, against temptation and apostasy:

The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations ..... (2 Peter 2:9, KJV)

In his book "The Trail of Blood," Dr. J. M. Carroll traces the line of martyrs of the church of Jesus Christ from its inception right up to the present times.

Then too, history also records that there always has been a faithful remnant who refused to compromise. Many of them paid for this privilege with their own blood.

What about all the infamous, cruel and bloody religious inquisitions? History reveals that faithful followers of Christ have been persecuted, tortured and killed for refusing to compromise the gospel throughout the ages, right up to this present moment in time. Remember all the burnings at the stakes in England, of Christians who refused to recant their biblical beliefs and who remained faithful even in the face of torture and death by burning?

Fox's Book of Martyrs, still in print, should be a graphic eye-opener to members of the LDS church when it comes to the faithful remnant of Christ's true church. Mormons are encouraged to read this book, if they can bear to do so.



CHRIST MADE SPECIFIC PROMISES TO HIS CHURCH

Christ promised that the gates of Hell would not be able to overpower His church, that He would always be with them, that He would protect them from temptation and that no one would be able to pluck them from His hand:

... upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it. (Matthew 16:18, KJV).

For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. (Matthew 18:20, KJV)

..... And, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. (Matthew 28:20, KJV)

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. (John 10:27-29, KJV) (Italics by editor)

..... I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain (John 15:16, KJV) (Italics by editor)

..... I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it. ..... I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world ... (Revelation 3:8, 10, KJV) (Editor's italics)

Mormons need to choose whether to believe the words of Jesus Christ, or the words of Joseph Smith.



OUR HEAVENLY FATHER HAS THE POWER TO PROTECT THOSE WHO ARE HIS

The Bible teaches us that God is omnipotent and all powerful, so much so that He can sway even a king's mind:

The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will. (Proverbs 21:1 KJV)

God's unlimited might and power were exhibited very clearly when He led the Israelites out of Egypt, into their promised land. They had been slaves for 400 years, and as such had no experience in warfare. What is more they had very little in the way of weapons. On the other hand, their enemies had the most sophisticated weaponry of the day, as well as horses and chariots, whilst the Israelites had to fight on foot. But God assured them that He would give them victory over their enemies. And He did just that:

For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath. (Joshua 2:10-11, KJV)

But the LDS presents a completely different picture of God. They expect us to believe that He wasn't powerful enough to protect the early church that Christ had died for, from going into total apostasy, or to protect the Bible that He had given us for our guidance and spiritual protection, from being corrupted. Yet strangely they regularly assure their membership that God will always protect the LDS church from going into error.

We have a problem with this claim, because truth never changes. Its main ingredient is its consistency. And if God truly has the power to protect Mormons from going into error, then He must also have had the power to protect the church that Christ had died for, from going into error. But the truth is that the story about the total apostasy of the early church is a deception that was used by Joseph Smith to justify his starting up a new church that would fit in with his own personal agenda. And this is proved by the fact that after all these years of maintaining that the Christian church is apostate, and worse, the LDS is now claiming to be a Christian denomination. You can read all about it by following this link:

Mormonism's Claim to be a Christian Denomination

There is still a vast amount of evidence available, indicating that Joseph had earned his living through the use of deception since his youth. The cherry on the top was a free ride for life, through the LDS church. To complicate matters, he was heavily involved in both the occult and spiritism. [See LDS seminary teacher Grant Palmer's book, An Insider's View of Mormon Origins (SLC, Signature Books, 2002); Mormonism Unvailed, by Ed Howe (downloadable for free off the Internet); No Man Knows My History by Fawn Brodie.]



CONCLUSION

There has always been a faithful remnant of the church of Jesus Christ. And don't be confused by numbers. The Lord Jesus said:

Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. (Matthew 7:14, KJV)

The following links will lead you to articles relevant to the discussion above. (A link is also provided to an excellent article about the Book of Mormon):

The Book of Mormon Exposed

Corruption of the Bible is an LDS Smokescreen

The Bible and its Reliability as a Spiritual Weapon

Joseph Smith's First Vision and the Controversy Surrounding It

By clicking on the "home" button at the bottom of this page you will arrive at a comprehensive index of fully referenced articles, comparing various aspects of Mormonism with what the Bible teaches.



You are welcome to write to the editor at response@bibtruth.com



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