INTRODUCTION

Joseph Smith, the prophet and founder of the LDS church, maintained that God had revealed to him that the early Christian church had gone into complete apostasy, that the Bible had been incorrectly translated, and that evil people had removed covenants and important teachings on salvation. He said he'd been instructed by God to restore the true gospel to the earth. So he brought into being what is now known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in 1830.

However, Joseph did not have a spotless reputation. In his youth he had earned his living by deception. He had claimed to be able to reveal the whereabouts of buried treasure by peering into an occultic seer stone (for a fee). But the treasure never ever materialized, and eventually he was prosecuted in a court of law (c/f Justice Albert Neely's Bill and Constable De Zeng's Bill ).

According to available information, the common consensus is that although he was found guilty of the charges, because of his youth (he was twenty) and the fact that this was his first offence, he was let off with a caution.

Many books and articles have been written on his involvement with the occult, animal sacrifice and spiritism. In 1995 The Mormon History Association named one such article, Joseph Smith and Kabbalah: The Occult Connection by Lance S. Owens, as the recipient of their annual award for the best article in Mormon studies. (Owen's article was published in Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon thought, Volume 27, No. 3, Fall, 1994.) Mormon historian D. Michael Quinn wrote a book entitled Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, (Signature Books, 1987), and this subject is also dealt with in Mormonism Unvailed, written by Ed Howe and published in 1834. Former LDS seminary teacher, Grant Palmer wrote a highly recommended book entitled An Insider's View of Mormon Origins, that documents the Smith family's occultic beliefs and practices.

Joseph also maintained that he was receiving revelations from God through the same occultic stone that he had used to look for buried treasure. But the Bible places the occult in the same category as witchcraft, spiritism and idolatry, as they all have spiritual powers behind them that oppose the purposes of God. Nowhere in the Bible did God ever communicate with anyone at all, let alone his prophets, through an occultic stone.

David Whitmer, a foundational member of the LDS, mentions that Joseph had questioned God about why a particular revelation telling him that he would sell the copyright to the Book of Mormon in Canada, had been false. This is how he put it:

"(I Joseph) enquired of the Lord about it, and behold, the following revelation came through the stone: Some revelations are of God: some revelations are of man: and some revelations are of the devil." (Page 31, An Address to All Believers in Christ by David Whitmer.)

It seems that Joseph was unable to discern whether his revelations came from God, from the devil, or from his own fertile imagination.

Some time after his court trial, he claimed to have had visitations from an angel named Moroni, whom he said had handed over to him some ancient records engraved on gold plates, that he had translated into the Book of Mormon. This later became the foundational book of scripture used by the LDS church. However, the first printing of the Book of Mormon gave his name as both the author and the proprietor of the copyright. Only after his utter failure in his efforts to sell the copyright, did Smith remove his name as the author. As everyone knows, a translator has no legal right to claim to be the author of his work. But it seems that Joseph Smith had no scruples about such matters. Deception was a way of life for him.

According to his scribes (one of whom was his wife), he used his occultic stone to "translate" the Book of Mormon, without even looking at the supposed inscriptions on the elusive gold plates, that nobody else ever saw either. His procedure for "translation" had been to put his occultic stone into the base of his hat, place his head over it and then read out the words he said he saw emanating from the stone, whilst the plates containing the inscriptions that he was supposed to have been translating, were always carefully hidden away. (See the article The Book of Mormon Witnesses Who Never Saw the Gold Plates and The Book of Mormon Exposed .) So he wasn't being truthful when he said he'd translated the Book of Mormon from inscriptions engraved on gold plates.

Although members of the LDS have been honest enough to admit that Joseph Smith had many faults, their argument is that all the main characters in the Bible also had faults, yet God used them. We have to agree that we all belong to a fallen race. None of us is perfect. And the Bible tells it like it was. There were occasions when men of God sinned. But not a single one of the prophets that God used in a great way was a habitual liar who practised deception as a way of life. They were all godly men. So the LDS's excuse for Smith's lack of character is invalid.

The LDS is forced to concede that Smith carried on lying after he'd brought the church into being. He lied constantly about numerous matters, including about the many women he had polygamously married behind his wife's back (some of whom he'd known full well, were still married to other men), before he came up with a revelation from God to cover polygamy, in order to get himself off the hook. (See In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith, Todd Compton; and No man Knows My History, Fawn Brodie.)

As an excuse for his immoral behaviour, he came up with a tall story about having been "forced against his will" into polygamously marrying all these woman, by an angel with a drawn sword who had threatened him with death or rejection by God if he did not both practice polygamy himself and teach the church to do the same (c/f Prophet Joseph Smith, Contributor, Volume 5, page 259). The following are other references:

When that principle was revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith ..... he did not falter, although it was not until an angel of God, with a drawn sword, stood before him; and commanded that he should enter into the practice of that principle, or he should be utterly destroyed, or rejected, that he moved forward to reveal and establish that doctrine. (Prophet Joseph F. Smith, "Plural Marriage for the Righteous Only - obedience Imperative - Blessings Resulting," Journal of Discourses, Volume 20, pages 28 to 29)

An Angel of God Stood by him (Joseph Smith) with a drawn Sword and told him he should be slain & Cut off from the Earth and the kingdom of God if he did not obey that Law (of polygamy). George Q. Cannon was of the same opinion, that a man must have more than one wife at a time in order to obey that Law. (LDS Prophet and President Wilford Woodruff, Wilford Woordruff's Journal, Vol. 8, page 235)

This same Joseph Smith was responsible for formulating the doctrines and beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that Mormons are taught to believe is the only true church with "authority", and on whom their salvation rests.



JOSEPH SMITH'S FIRST VISION

When it comes to Joseph's famous first vision that the LDS currently uses in their missionary endeavours, and on which they claim Mormonism was founded, this vision was never mentioned at all by the early LDS church, for the simple reason that nobody knew anything at all about it. Instead they claimed visitations from the Angel Moroni to promote the Book of Mormon in their missionary outreach. The official version of his first vision (there are nine differing and contradictory versions) was completely unheard of, even by his nearest and dearest, until at least eighteen years after the event was supposed to have taken place (see Joseph Smith's First Vision and the Controversy Surrounding It ). Nobody knew about it. Yet he later maintained that he had been bitterly persecuted at the time he'd had the vision, for having related it (Joseph Smith — History 1:22). Strangely, there is no record in any publications (including those of the LDS) during that time period, of this vision ever having occurred at all, or of any persecution whatsoever of the then fourteen year old Joseph as a consequence.

Joseph Smith fills all the criteria of a false prophet (see Joseph Smith, the Latter-day False Prophet ).



THE BIBLE AND SPIRITUAL DECEPTION

The Bible warns us over and over again to beware of false prophets and their destructive heresies. The problem is that we are only flesh and blood, so we are no match against the wiles of the evil one and his servants, who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ in the same way as Satan disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:13-14). And that is why God, in His wisdom, gave us the Bible to use as our standard of truth. In Ephesians 6:10-17 the apostle Paul equates the Word of God with a spiritual sword, as it is capable of protecting us against both spiritual attack and deception. He also reminded Timothy that evil men and seducers will wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived; and instructed him to counter this by continuing in the things that he'd learned and had been assured of through the sacred writings, i.e. the Bible (2 Timothy 3:13-14).

Consequently, warning bells should have rung out loud and clear when Joseph Smith announced that the very Bible that God had given us to safeguard us against deception had been corrupted, that the church that Christ had died for had gone into total apostasy, and that he was God's latter-day prophet, chosen to restore the true gospel.

As a matter of interest, Christ Himself set the example for us concerning using the Word of God as a spiritual weapon. When Satan tempted Him to deviate from the plan God had for His life, he answered these temptations by quoting from the scriptures (see Matthew chapter 4). Satan then left him. And when Paul preached the news that Christ was the Messiah the Jews had been waiting for, the residents of Berea checked their scriptures daily to see that if what Paul was proclaiming lined up with it (Acts 17:10-11).

However, it seems that Joseph was never at a loss when it came to talking people into believing his fantastic claims. And it appears that after having convinced his followers that the Bible wasn't completely reliable, it was an easy matter for him to persuade them to judge its correctness by comparing it with his own teachings, which he claimed had been revealed to him by God. To this day Mormons are instructed to use their own scriptures and revelations as a means of gauging the accuracy or otherwise of the very Bible that God gave to us as our standard of truth:

"The most reliable way to measure the accuracy of any biblical passage is not by comparing different texts, but by comparison with the Book of Mormon and modern-day revelations." (Church News, June 20, 1992, page 3, quoting a letter from the First Presidency [Presidents Benson, Hinckley and Monson] dated May 22, 1992, to all of the Church)

But this is exactly what God has warned us not to do. He has told us to protect ourselves against false prophets and their heretical teachings, by using the Bible as our standard of truth.

In any event, our common sense tells us that if a self-proclaimed prophet is truly a messenger from God, he will either build upon what God has already revealed to us in His Word, or else amplify it. But Joseph Smith's teachings do the opposite. They contradict what God has already told us in the Bible. So his "revelations" couldn't possibly have come from God. The main ingredient of truth is its consistency. It never contradicts itself. And concerning his claims about the Bible having been corrupted, why should a God of unimaginable power, omniscience, goodness and righteousness give us the Bible as a standard of truth to protect us against spiritual deception, and then permit it to become corrupted? To suggest that He allowed this to happen is an insult to His person, as it insinuates either that He didn't really care about our spiritual welfare, or else that the forces of evil have far more power than He does. And we all know that this is not so.

The LDS leadership teaches its followers that God would never permit them to go into error. Why then do they insist that He permitted the church that Christ died for, to go into complete apostasy? That doesn't make sense.

It is not the scope of this article to go into Smith's false allegations mentioned above, as these have already been dealt with in some detail, in the following articles: The Apostasy is a Mormon Fallacy, Corruption of the Bible is an LDS Smokescreen and The LDS Authority Teaching Has No Basis.



BIBLICAL TERMS USED FOR UNBIBLICAL DOCTRINES

Although their doctrines have their origins in Joseph Smith's "revelations," and not the Bible, the LDS nevertheless uses biblical terms to describe them. And unless one is aware of this deceptive practice, it would be easy to gain the false impression that Mormonism is biblical.

For instance, they apply the biblical term salvation by grace to their teaching on universal resurrection, which does not require faith in Christ and even includes those who are the enemies of God. And nor does it cover forgiveness. All it guarantees is a place in the lowest degree of heaven, which is not where Christ and God are. According to Mormonism, Christ's atonement has two parts. The first provides for universal resurrection regardless of our beliefs. The second part, forgiveness for personal sins, can only be attained through obedience to LDS laws and ordinances (c/f the 3rd LDS Article of Faith). And their idea of eternal life will only be achieved by those who attain to the top section of the highest degree of glory in heaven, But the Bible doesn't say that. It tells us over and over again that Christ bore our sins in His body on the cross, and that if we put our trust in Him as our sin bearer and Saviour, our sins will be forgiven and we will be granted the free gift of eternal life (John 3:14-15, 2 Corinthians 5:19, Ephesians 2:8,9; Romans 11:6, 3:14; Titus 3:5; Acts 10:43). (See the article, The LDS Version of the Atonement is not Biblical .)



ETERNAL PROGRESSION

The basic doctrine of Mormonism is eternal progression. To put it in a nutshell, this means that God, Christ, mankind, the angels and the demons, all had the same origins, and have progressed to the various stages where we are at now. In other words, during his journey of eternal progression God was once a mortal man, who earned his right to godhood through obedience to the same laws and ordinances that are now followed by Mormons. But that teaching will not be found in the Bible. It is outright heresy. And if our doctrine on God is wrong, then it stands to reason that all our other doctrines will be wrong too, because they all stem from our understanding of God.

Eternal progression encourages an elevated idea of who man is, and a lower understanding of who God is.

When Smith introduced eternal progression, all their other doctrines had to be amended to fit in with it, including those on deity, man, the atonement, salvation, the gospel and so on. It is a fact that Mormonism of today bears little resemblance to Mormonism of its early years. And this is not indicative of a church that teaches the truth. Truth never changes. It remains truth eternally. That's why we can trust it. It always stands firm. The fact that major LDS doctrines have been changed over the years indicates that they don't fall into the category of truth.



"ANOTHER" GOSPEL

Mormonism has been designed in such a way that it would be impossible for its followers to come to a saving knowledge of the true, biblical Christ, or to lay hold of the salvation provided for us by God Himself. Their gospel is centered on eternal progression, whereas the biblical gospel is centered on the plight of sinful, fallen man and the fact that the cross of Christ is the answer to his dilemma. The vast gap between Mormonism and biblical Christianity is made all the more obvious by the LDS's outright banning of the cross on any of their premises. Mormons need to ask themselves why it was that the primitive church had such a different attitude towards the cross, and such a very different teaching on salvation.

But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ ..... (Galations 6:14, KJV).

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18, KJV)

But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. (1 Corinthians 1:23-24, KJV)

Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10, KJV)

... Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood (Revelation 1:5, KJV)

And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross (Colossians 2:13-14, KJV)

THE CONSEQUENCES OF MORMON DECEPTION

Joseph Smith was a false prophet. And the aim of a false prophet is to draw his followers away from the truth. His ultimate goal is to foster a mindset that will alienate his victims from the true gospel of Jesus Christ, thereby ensuring their eternal ruination.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12, KJV) (Emphasis by editor)

Joseph Smith's followers have been taught to worship a different, previously unknown God, who is not a spirit being but has a body of flesh and bone, was once an ordinary mortal man and had to earn his way to godhood. They also follow a different Jesus to the Christ of the Bible i.e. a man who had the same origins as they claim that we did, and who had the same parents as they say that we did in a pre-existence. And to top it all, they teach a different gospel, despite the warnings in the Bible about the deceptiveness of false prophets. To put it in a nutshell, they have a different God, a different Saviour and a different gospel.

Many important points touching the salvation of men, had been taken from the Bible, or lost before it was compiled. (Joseph Smith, History of the Church, Volume 1, page 245)

..... All their (the Christian churches') creeds were an abomination in his (God's) sight ..... (Joseph Smith, History 1:19).

The doctrine that God was once a man and has progressed to become a God is unique to this church. (Official LDS Lesson Manual, 1997, page 34, "The Teachings of Brigham Young")

"We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea and take away the veil that you may see. It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God ..… that he was once a man like us ..... Here, then, is eternal life — to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods have done before you, namely by going from one small degree to another" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, compiled by Joseph Fielding Smith, 1976, pages 345-346 c/f "Times and Seasons," Volume 5, pages 613-614). (Italics inserted by editor)

In bearing testimony of Jesus Christ, President Hinckley spoke of those outside the Church who say Latter-day Saints do not believe in the traditional Christ. "No, I don't. The traditional Christ of whom they speak is not the Christ of whom I speak. For the Christ of whom I speak has been revealed in this the Dispensation of the Fullness [sic] of Times. He together with His Father, appeared to the boy Joseph Smith in the year 1820, and when Joseph left the grove that day, he knew more of the nature of God than all the learned ministers of the gospel of the ages ("The LDS Church News," week ending June 20, 1998, page 7) (Italics inserted by the writer.)

There is no salvation outside The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (LDS Apostle Bruce McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, page 670).

There is no salvation without accepting Joseph Smith as a prophet of God, (Doctrines of Salvation, Volume 1, page 188.)

Redemption from personal sins can only be obtained through obedience to the requirements of the [Mormon] gospel, and a life of good works ..... The Sectarian Dogma of Justification by Faith Alone has exercised an influence for evil (Mormon Apostle James Talmage, Articles of Faith, pages 478-479)

Mormonism is a deception. It is designed to lead its followers in the worship of a false God, and on a different route to the path of salvation described by Christ and His apostles, in the pages of the Bible.



CONCLUSION

The typical response of a Mormon, when confronted with information such as is provided above, is that no matter how much proof there is to the contrary, it will make no difference to his beliefs, as he "knows" through his feelings, that Joseph Smith is the true prophet of God and that the LDS church is the only true church. The problem here is that every single splinter group of Mormonism, of which there are a great many, all have that very same testimony about their own individual churches being the only true church. And what is more, they all obtained their testimonies in exactly the same way as did the Salt Lake City Mormons, i.e. through trusting in their feelings after prayer. But feelings are not facts. Trusting in one's feelings is a very dicey way of discerning truth. (See the article, The Mormon Testimony and Brainwashing .)

The end result is that the LDS church is filled with lovely, sincere people who are worshipping a fictitious God, have faith in a fictitious Christ, and are following the false prophet, Joseph Smith's path of eternal progression, which has a different gospel to the way of salvation that God has revealed to us in the pages of the Bible.

Although it is true that Mormons have been genuinely deceived, the Bible is filled with warnings about false prophets who will present false Christs and false gospels, exactly as Joseph Smith has done. Nevertheless Mormons have chosen to believe Joseph Smith's claims rather than heed the warnings God has given us in the Bible. And sadly they will be faced with the eternal consequences of their choice.

But it is not too late, and I would encourage any Mormon who is reading this article to start reading God's Word, the Bible, prayerfully, on its own, on a regular, daily basis. (It's easier to start with the New Testament, and then go back to the Old.) The truth contained in its pages will set you free from deception. (See this testimony of an ex-Mormon: The Amazing Power of the Word of God, by Dan Slyter .)

In my own case, because of all those years of Mormon indoctrination, it wasn't easy for me to grasp what the Bible was actually teaching. I kept remembering the LDS's interpretations. So trying to discover what God was really saying, was rather like finding my way out of a maze. But He is a God of the impossible, and He opened my blind, spiritual eyes. Through the light of His Word, the Bible, He revealed Himself to me and led me to the true Jesus. And He will do the same for you. I want you to know that my life has never been the same since then, and I long for all Mormons to experience the joy of walking through life with their hand in the hand of the One who loved them and who selflessly gave Himself for them, to free them from the guilt of the past, the fear of the future; and the penalty and the power of sin.

You may find the following articles helpful:

What is Biblical Salvation?

The Bible and its Reliability as a Spiritual Weapon

To access a comprehensive index of fully referenced articles comparing various aspects of Mormonism with what the Bible teaches, click on the "home" button at the bottom of this page.

The editor may be contacted at reply@bibtruth.com

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