MORMONISM'S
FOUNDATION OF DECEPTION
Because the LDS church uses biblical terminology it's all too easy
to assume that they are Christian. Their title, "The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," also gives that impression.
But nothing could be further from the truth. Mormons worship a
different God, their gospel is different and so is their salvation.
And although they do everything "in the name of Jesus
Christ," the Christ they believe in is not the biblical
Christ, a fact which their leadership admits. (This subject is dealt
with in depth, with references provided, in the article "The
LDS Jesus Christ is Not the Saviour of the Bible," listed on
the home page.)
Not only do they have a foundation of deception, but Mormonism
itself is a religion of deception. In order to give the illusion
that their doctrines fit in with what the Bible teaches, they have
consistently applied dishonest meanings to biblical terms.
One such example is "salvation by grace," which according
to the Bible means that we are forgiven and saved from the penalty
of our sins by the grace of God through faith in Christ, because
of His atoning sacrifice on the cross at Calvary. However, the
LDS maintains that we have to earn the right to forgiveness of
sins. And they apply the biblical term, "salvation by
grace," to universal resurrection without the forgiveness of
personal sins, resulting in damnation. But you will not find
this anywhere in the Bible. It opposes what the Bible teaches and
is exclusive to Mormonism.
Another example of this type of dishonesty is the LDS's definition
of the biblical term "Eternal God." Our dictionaries
define the word "eternal" as meaning "without
beginning or end of existence, everlasting, ceaseless and
unchangeable." And in line with this, the Bible teaches that
God is unchanging and that He always has been God, eternally.
But the LDS maintains that the word "eternal" is only
meant to be God's title in the same way as the word "Mr."
is a title when it is used in front of someone's surname.
They somehow feel that this dishonest tactic gives them the right
to use the term "eternal God" for their Mormon deity who
has not always been a God, but was once an ordinary, sinful man in
need of salvation.
Their ongoing subterfuge indicates that in spite of the fact
that Mormonism bears no resemblance to Christianity, and that it
opposes every major doctrine taught by the Bible, it has
nevertheless been deliberately dressed up in the guise of
biblical Christianity.
At the moment the LDS is pulling out all the stops to get
themselves included in the Christian fraternity.
As there is freedom of religion in America, one cannot help but
wonder what their motive is in maintaining a Christian
facade, when their religion is anything but Christian. (The
articles listed in the index of the home page of this site give
clear and overwhelming evidence, with references from their own
literature, of Mormon opposition to everything that biblical
Christianity stands for, apart from the morality issue.)
The only conclusion one can reach is that Mormonism is a
deliberate counterfeit of Christianity.
THE FOUNDER OF THE LDS CHURCH
Prior to founding the LDS church, Joseph Smith had a well
documented history of deception. There are court
records, affidavits and other documents still available that
provide ample proof of this, as well as of his deep
involvement in both the occult and spiritism. He came from a
family of occultists, and his father was the one who taught
him the art of using an occultic seer stone.
It seems that Joseph kept up with his occultic activities
until the day he died. LDS photographs taken during the time
he was leading their church show him wearing an occultic ring on
his finger. And after his death his mother asked if she could
have the occultic talisman coin he'd always carried in his
pocket, to keep in remembrance of Him. Furthermore, he
openly admitted that his revelations from God had come to him
through his occultic seer stone (c/f "An Address to
All Believers in Christ" by David Whitmer).
The Bible puts the occult into the same category as
witchcraft, spiritism and idolatry, because the spiritual
powers behind them are opposed to the purposes of God.
Evidence indicates that Joseph Smith was a persuasive orator,
which explains why so many folk fell prey to his deceptions.
As a youth he frequented the local juvenile debating club.
He also became an exhorter in the evening meetings of the
Methodist Church (c/f History of the Pioneer Settlement of
Phelps and Gorham's Purchase, 1851, page 214, The Amboy Journal,
Amboy, Illinois, April 30 and June 11, 1879, page 1).
Records reveal that after attending their meetings for some
time, Joseph Smith eventually joined the Methodist church in
June, 1828. Yet he later claimed that eight years prior to this
date, in 1820, God had told him in a vision not to join any of
the churches as they were all apostate and their creeds were
an abomination in His sight, citing the Methodist Church,
amongst others, by name.
If God Himself had genuinely appeared to Smith in a vision in
1820 with such a clear message, why would he after that have
attended the Methodist's evening meetings, and exhorted others
to follow their teachings? Why didn't he rather tell them about
his vision and warn them that the Methodist church was apostate
and that their teachings were wrong, instead of encouraging them
to follow Methodism? And then to top it all, why would he have
gone on to deliberately disobey God to the uttermost, by
actually joining the Methodist Church in June, 1828?
The only conclusion one can come to is that his later claim about
God having spoken to him in a vision eight years prior to this,
was yet another of his deceptions. This is confirmed by the
fact that he couldn't stick to his original story. Each time he
related what had happened, he came up with a different version of
the story, i.e. it had occurred at a different time, in a
different place, his age was different, the being or beings who
appeared to him were different, and the content of the vision was
different.
There are nine known contradictory versions of his supposed
first vision. And one of these, written in his own handwriting,
invalidates the official version that is printed in the Pearl
of Great Price. (The full story is given in the article
"Joseph Smith's First Vision and the Controversy
Surrounding It," listed on the home page.)
Because of complaints made to the Minister of the Methodist
Church after Joseph had become a member, he was warned that his
questionable way of earning a living and his occultic practices
were contrary to what the church stood for. He was exhorted to
repent and to change his way of life, or else to leave the
church. But it seems that he was unwilling to give up his
unethical lifestyle, because he chose rather to resign from
membership of the Methodist church. Within two years he had
founded his own church, which eventually became known as The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
JOSEPH SMITH AND THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
In founding his new church, Smith claimed that God had revealed
to him that the early Christian church had become apostate and
that their teachings were an abomination in His sight. He also
maintained that because of their apostasy, God had removed His
authority for the gospel from the earth, but that in these
latter days He had given Joseph the task, as His prophet, of
re-establishing the true church and restoring the gospel. This
provided a reason for the existence of his new church.
However, one cannot but help wonder whether Smith started
up his own church purely because of the malice he bore towards
the Christian church as a whole, due to his having been so
severely reprimanded by the Methodists.
The article on this site entitled "The Apostasy is a
Mormon Fallacy," gives ample proof that there never ever
was a complete apostasy of the early church. And another
article, "The LDS Authority Teaching Has No Basis,"
meticulously examines the biblical record, revealing that
Christ's apostles were never given any so-called authority
when it came to the gospel. Nor was the church ever told that
authority was needed in order for it to function as a body.
We can only conclude that both the apostasy and the authority
stories were deceptions perpetrated by Smith, in an endeavor to
justify himself for starting up his own church.
The first layer of deception that formed the foundation of
the LDS church was Smith's claim that the early church of Jesus
Christ had gone into total apostasy, that the LDS was the
restored, true church and that he was the true
prophet of God.
JOSEPH SMITH AND THE BIBLE
Smith knew that the theological ideas he'd begun to formulate
in his mind for his own church wouldn't stand up to the light
of the Bible. So he came up with the story that God had
revealed to him that the Bible was unreliable as it had been
incorrectly translated and that large sections had been
removed by evil people. This gave him a free hand to
introduce whatever doctrines fitted in with his own personal
agenda, regardless of whether or not they agreed with the
Bible.
Smith's supposed revelation about the Bible having being
corrupted was the second layer of deception that formed the
foundation of his new church.
However, the biblical record has been under constant
investigation ever since it was completed — more so
than any other book in the entire history of the world.
Archeologists have unearthed overwhelming,
irrefutable evidence proving both its truthfulness and its
accuracy. And as the years go by they continue to
provide us with yet more and more evidence of its
reliability. On the other hand, not once have they ever
found anything that disproves it. Then too, we have
thousands of documents, including those that are secular,
that also back up the claims of the Bible. (An article on
the home page, entitled "Corruption of the Bible is an
LDS Smokescreen," gives all the proof one could need
concerning the reliability of our Bible.)
Compare this with the Book of Mormon. Although it describes
a thriving, populous and advanced civilization with
architecture, industries and a monetary system, not one
iota of proof has ever been found to verify its truthfulness.
Yet virtually every time archeologists dig a hole in Israel,
they come across evidence of some kind that proves the
biblical record to be both true and accurate.
The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered in 1947 in a cave at Quram,
were dated as far back as the second century before Christ.
And although many of these were in fragments, those that they
have been able to piece together agree with our modern
translations of the Bible. (They have portions from every
book in the Old Testament, except Esther.) An entire copy of
the book of Isaiah has been pieced together, and this also
agrees with our translations. In spite of this compelling
evidence, the LDS church still insists that the book of
Isaiah has been incorrectly translated. (It contradicts their
doctrines.)
Reason alone tells us that if the Bible had been corrupted
as Smith claimed it had been, then some evidence would have
come to light, somewhere, during all these years, to back up
his contention. But instead, all we find is proof of its
validity.
Tragically, because of Smith's false claims about the
unreliability of the Bible, members of the LDS church were
deprived of the protection against spiritual deception that is
afforded when one uses the Bible as one's standard of truth.
This meant that they had no way at all of checking up on whether
or not what Joseph Smith was teaching them was truth, error,
deception, or whatever, because he was taking them into
unchartered waters. Instead of trusting in the Bible for
guidance when it came to spiritual truth, they were persuaded
by Smith to trust in his claim that he was God's true,
latter-day prophet, and to accept that when he spoke it was
the same as if God had spoken.
In much the same vein, Mormons of today are discouraged from
questioning any of the LDS's unbiblical teachings or beliefs,
or the many contradictions in their scriptures. They are
assured that God would never allow their leadership to teach
them error or to lead them astray. However, the fact that
they have worshipped three different Gods at various times in
their history tells us that at least two of their leaders must
have taught them error. (See the article, "The
Mormon Gods, Past and Present," listed on the home page.)
THE BOOK OF MORMON
When it comes to the Book of Mormon, we are only concerned here
with the deception perpetrated. The full story, with references,
is in the article on this site entitled "The Book of Mormon
and the "Witnesses" Who Never Actually Saw the Gold
Plates."
Smith maintained that an angel had been sent by God to give
him some gold plates inscribed with the record of the Book of
Mormon, together with the Urim and Thummim (two stones in silver
bows fastened to a breastplate), for the purposes of translation.
However, each of the scribes who assisted in writing down the
so-called "translation" of this book, has
independently given the same story, without any variations or
contradictions. And that is, that Joseph Smith never ever looked
at the gold plates at all during his entire so-called
translation. Nor did he use the Urim and Thummim.
In fact, nobody ever saw the gold plates. So we have no proof
that they had ever existed. Smith maintained that God had told him
that if anybody, including himself, so much as looked at them,
they would be struck dead. He must have been a very convincing
and persuasive liar for them to have believed this story. Because
it doesn't make any sense that God would go to all the trouble of
having an angel deliver these engraved gold plates to him for the
purpose of translation, together with instruments to aid him in
translating them, and then forbid him to look at them, for fear
of being struck dead.
His scribes all testified (again without any contradictions) that
his method of "translating" was to use the same occultic
seer stone that he'd used in his pre-LDS days, when he had made a
living by conniving people into believing he could divine the
whereabouts of buried treasure. He placed his seer stone into the
base of his hat and put his face over it, pulling up the sides to
exclude the light. Then he read out a sentence, which he claimed
to see in the seer stone, so it could be recorded by his scribe,
before going on to the next sentence.
But then why didn't he admit that the Book of Mormon was
written through visions that came to him via his occultic seer
stone, instead of claiming that he'd actually translated it from
inscriptions engraved on gold plates given to him by an angel
sent by God? Why did he deliberately lie?
The only possible answer to this question is that it was because
the Book of Mormon was a scam. And he lied about the way he had
"translated" it because he was perpetrating yet another
of his long string of deceptions. He wanted folk to believe one
of the biggest lies of the century, i.e. that he had actually
translated his Book of Mormon from engravings on gold plates
given to him by an angel of God. And in fact this is what the
LDS church teaches. Whenever they illustrate him translating the
Book of Mormon, they invariably reinforce his deception by
showing him seated at a table, examining the gold plates that
are lying in front of him. But it never happened that
way. His scribes all insisted that the mysterious plates
were always concealed, with his scribe seated at the table
recording Joseph's words whilst he sat with his face stuck
inside his hat, peering at his occultic seer stone.
The fact that nobody ever saw either the gold plates or the Urim
and Thummim and that Smith never once even so much as glanced at
them during the entire time of his translation, leads us to
believe that they had never existed other than in Joseph Smith's
own fertile imagination. They seem to have been nothing more than
an invented "prop" dreamed up in order to make his Book
of Mormon appear to have some sort of validity, with miraculous
and spiritual overtones.
We also have concerns about the testimonies of the two groups of
witnesses given in the front of the Book of Mormon. Evidence
reveals that Joseph composed their testimonies on their
behalf. At first none of the witnesses were willing to
sign the statements, as they felt that Smith's wording gave
the false impression that they had actually seen the gold plates
visually, when that wasn't the case. They had only seen them by
faith, in a dreamlike or visionary way. (Don't forget that Joseph
had told them all that if anybody ever looked at the gold plates
they would die. And he'd also warned them that for the purpose of
their testimony they would have to see the gold plates by faith
and not by sight.) But he was eventually able to persuade
them all, against their wills, to sign the misleading
testimonies anyway.
The witnesses freely admitted in affidavits and/or interviews,
that they had not seen these gold plates by sight. And by 1847
all eleven of the then surviving witness had left the LDS church.
Yet their so-called testimonies, that were nothing more than a
deliberate, premeditated and connived deception on the part of
Joseph Smith, continue to be displayed in the front of the Book
of Mormon.
The Book of Mormon was printed at the start of the LDS church.
Mormons were told that unlike the Bible, it was "the most
correct book on earth." And because of Smith's claim that
the Bible had been corrupted, they were taught to use their own
scriptures, i.e. the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith's
revelations (now called Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of
Great Price) as the standard of truth against which to test the
Bible's accuracy.
The Book of Mormon was the third and final layer of
deception that formed the foundation of Mormonism.
When Mormons joined the church they did so having been convinced
that the Bible could not be relied upon as it had been corrupted,
that the Christian church had become apostate in its early days,
that God considered the teachings of Christian denominations to
be an abomination, that Joseph Smith was the true prophet of
God, that the LDS had God's sole authority for the gospel, and
that the Book of Mormon was the most accurate book on
earth.
THE BOOK OF ABRAHAM
Because Joseph Smith wrote the book of Abraham some time after
the LDS church had been established, it is not included here as
one of the deceptions in the foundation of Mormonism. However,
it was a deception and is part of the LDS canon of scriptures
and of their belief system. And it adds to the evidence
confirming that Smith's lifestyle was one of deception. Every
single Egyptologist who has had the opportunity of comparing
the Book of Abraham with the papyri from which Smith maintained
he'd translated it, has declared it to be fraudulent. You can
read about this in the article listed on the home page,
entitled, "The Book of Abraham and its Rejection by
Egyptologists."
THE REASON FOR MORMONISM
The Christian gospel is a message intended for all the
inhabitants of the entire world, regardless of belief, race
or creed. It tells of the amazing, indescribable love of a
holy and righteous Creator God for the sinful, fallen and
wayward race of mankind. In order to rescue us from both the
power of sin and its terrible eternal consequences, and also to
reconcile us to His righteous rulership, God (in Christ) came
down to earth and took on a body of flesh, so that He could
qualify as one of us in order to be our Redeemer. Then He
became our substitute sin-bearer. Although He Himself knew no
sin, He voluntarily paid the terrible price for our sins, on
our behalf, in our place, on the cross, so that we could go
free. He only laid down one condition. In order to qualify we
have to identify ourselves as being "in Christ" by
trusting in Him. This means that everyone, no matter what our
past may have been or what may be our station in life, stands
on level ground at the foot of the cross. And so there is hope
for all. What a Saviour!
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life. (John 3:16, KJV)
God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing
their trespasses unto them (2 Corinthians 5:19, KJV).
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree (1 Peter
2:24, KJV)
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we
might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21,
KJV).
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the
unjust,
that he might bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18, KJV)
Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own
blood
..... to Him be the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
(Revelation 1:5,6, KJV)
But the LDS gospel is not like that at all. Mormonism was designed
specifically to draw folk away from biblical Christianity and
salvation. We know that this is so because firstly, as explained
earlier on, they have dressed themselves up in the guise of biblical
Christianity; and secondly because their gospel is aimed solely at
Christians or at folk who have been brought up in a Christian
society. Very roughly, their gospel goes something like this:
In a vision God revealed to Joseph Smith that the church for which
Jesus Christ had died, had became apostate shortly after the death
of His apostles, Their teachings were an abomination in God's sight,
so he removed his authority from the earth. But in these latter
days He has restored both the true gospel and his authority to the
earth, through his prophet, Joseph Smith. And as they alone have
God's authority for the gospel, salvation is through the LDS alone.
As can be seen, the Mormon gospel would make no sense to anyone
other than those with some sort of a Christian background or with
at least a knowledge of Christianity. It's whole purpose
is to create an environment where we turn away from God's way of
salvation and the truths given to us in the Bible, to the deceptions
taught by their false prophet, Joseph Smith.
Furthermore, if Mormons do eventually become aware of the
contradictions and errors in LDS doctrines, the majority of them
have been so thoroughly indoctrinated that they continue to
avoid the Christian church like a plague and to consider the Bible
as being unreliable. So even then Mormonism still serves its
purpose. Whether he stays or whether he goes the Mormon has been
indoctrinated to the extent that he is reluctant to have anything
to do with what happens to be the true, biblical gospel. And what
is more, because of having been so thoroughly deceived by the LDS
church, he feels he can never trust anyone else again in the
spiritual arena.
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)
CONCLUSION
If the reader is a Mormon I want to encourage you not to give up
in your search for the truth.
Your best way forward is to begin reading the Bible in a new way,
with a new attitude, giving yourself permission to accept that it is
God's proven standard of truth. It's better to start with the New
Testament, either with the gospels or else with one of the epistles,
such as Philippians or Colossians, and to prayerfully read each book
that you tackle from beginning to end, before going on to another,
asking God to help you to understand what he wants you to learn from
your reading for each day. It's also helpful to keep a notebook,
marked with the dates and the passages read, together with what you
feel God has taught you from each particular reading.
You are welcome to write to this site. The email address is at the
bottom of the home page.
The following are links to some of the articles referred to above:
Corruption of the Bible is an LDS Smokescreen
The LDS Jesus Christ is Not the Saviour of the Bible
Joseph Smith's First Vision and the Controversy Surrounding It
The Apostasy is a Mormon Fallacy
LDS Authority Teaching Has No Basis
The Book of Mormon and the Witnesses Who Never Saw the Gold Plates
The Mormon Gods, Past and Present
The Book of Abraham and its Rejection by Egyptologists
Copyright 2008 by Mormonism and Biblical Truth. All rights reserved.