THE LDS GOSPEL
CONTRASTED WITH THAT OF THE BIBLE
But the word of the Lord endureth for ever.
And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto
you.
(1 Peter 1:25, KJV)
The object of this article is to show how wide the difference is,
between the Mormon gospel and the gospel preached by the apostles
of the primitive Christian church, as recorded in the Bible.
WHAT IS THE "GOSPEL?"
The word "gospel" means good news. And the good news
of the New Testament was that the promised Jewish Messiah had come
in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ; and that by His shed blood,
on the cross at Calvary, He had ratified a New Covenant of grace.
This New Covenant covered the forgiveness of all the sins of
whosoever trusts in Him, as well as the gift of eternal life.
And that was the gospel the apostles and the other followers of
Christ, were commanded to preach. In other words, Christ told them
that He Himself was to be their gospel. It was to be all about
Him.
And he [Christ] commanded us to preach unto the people, and to
testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of
quick and dead. To him [Christ] give all the prophets witness, that
through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission
of sins. (Acts 10:42-43, KJV)
And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to
teach and preach Jesus Christ. (Acts 5:42, KJV)
But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock,
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)
For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by
us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus (2 Corinthians 1:19, KJV)
For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and
ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. (2 Corinthians 4:5, KJV)
However, the LDS preaches another gospel, where the heroes are
Joseph Smith, the angel Moroni and the LDS church. Although their
church bears the name of Jesus Christ, He is not the one on whom
their preaching is centred. In other words, rather than preaching
Christ crucified in the same way that the primitive church did,
they preach themselves, claiming that salvation is only possible
through membership of the LDS church (Mormon Doctrine, LDS
Apostle Bruce McConkie, page 670). Their third article of faith
states that through the atonement of Christ all mankind may be
saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of [the LDS]
gospel.
Although they honour Christ, they believe that he had the same
origins as we did, and that he was our full brother in a previous
existence (i.e. He is our brother in eternal progression). Their
teaching is that His atonement provided for universal resurrection,
thereby enabling us to return to our original, biological father,
who is the LDS God, i.e. an exalted man with a body of flesh and
bone:
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")
WHY WAS THE BIBLICAL GOSPEL GOOD NEWS?
Under the Old Covenant, Israel was bound by the law, which was
a harsh taskmaster. The penalty for disobedience was death (Romans
6:23). And if they disobeyed so much as one commandment, it would
have had the same consequence as if they had disobeyed all.
For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point,
he is guilty of all. (James 2:10, KJV)
The law portrayed the righteous standards of God. Consequently, the
Israelites agreed that it was good, and they vowed that they would
keep it. But in spite of their good intentions, they were never
able to do so.
But God had known all along that fallen man would not be able to
keep the law. Nor did he have the wherewithal to earn the right to
forgiveness of his sins. (God knows us better than we know
ourselves.) So He provided a way out through the sacrificial
system in a practice known as "substitutionary sacrifice."
When a man had sinned he took a perfect, unblemished animal to the
altar. And there, in front of the priest, the guilty sinner would
lay his hand on the innocent animal's head to identify himself with
it and to indicate that it would die, in his place, to cover the
penalty for his sin (Leviticus 1:4, 4:29,33). God was teaching them
the seriousness of sin, and its terrible cost.
The Bible is the most amazing book. The Old Testament uses
"pictures" to explain the New. And the sacrificial
system was a picture of the promised Messiah, the sinless Lamb of
God, who would come in the fullness of time and, once for all bear
the sins and the shame of all those who trust in Him, by sacrificing
His own life in our place on the cross at Calvary. John the Baptist
was a Jewish prophet. So he was all too familiar with the messianic
promises, as well as with their sacrificial system. And when the
Lord Jesus appeared on the scene, John announced:
Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
(John 1:29, KJV)
In his epistle to the church at Galatia, Paul explains that mankind
was never expected to prove his righteousness through the Old
Covenant of law. Instead God used the law to convince fallen man
that he is incapable of living according to His standards of
righteousness and purity. The constant plume of smoke arising from
the sacrificial altar bore witness of this fact.
Don't forget that the Israelites had the perfect set-up. They were
God's chosen people and as such enjoyed His favour, guidance and
protection. Furthermore, they had actually covenanted to keep His
law (Exodus 24:6-8). Nevertheless, in spite of all their advantages
and their good intentions, sooner or later they found themselves
slipping up in word, thought and deed. And we are no
different.
The problem with Laws and Ordinances is that they don't have the
power either to change us or to save us. All they do is reveal the
holiness of God on the one hand, and the innate sinfulness of
fallen man on the other.
Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if
there had been a law given which could have given life, verily
righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath
concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ
might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were
kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards
be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto
Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that
faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. (Galations
3:21-25, KJV) (Emphasis by editor)
Because of our inability to save ourselves through obedience to laws
and ordinances, God has provided a different way, under a New
Covenant of grace, through faith in Christ as our Saviour. But the
LDS believes that they have a better way:
"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).
The first effect [of the atonement] is to secure to all mankind
alike, exemption from the penalty of the fall [death], thus
providing a plan of General Salvation. The second effect is to
open a way for Individual Salvation whereby mankind may secure
remission of personal sins. As these sins are the result of
individual acts, it is just that forgiveness for them should be
conditioned on individual compliance with prescribed
requirements, obedience to the laws and ordinances of the [LDS]
Gospel. (LDS Apostle James Talmage, Articles of Faith, page
87). (Author's italics)
That by keeping the commandments they might be washed and cleansed
from all their sins ..... (Doctrine and Covenants 76:52)
If it had not been for Joseph Smith and the restoration, there would
be no salvation. (Mormon Doctrine, Bruce McConkie, page
670.)
"Immortality is assured to all of us through the atonement
of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. But eternal life is a
personal responsibility we must earn and be worthy of."
(LDS Apostle Delbert L. Stapley, Member of the Quorum of the Twelve,
in The Path to Eternal Glory, Ensign, July 1973, page 99.)
(Emphasis inserted by editor.)
And in spite of the fact that no matter how hard he tried, fallen
man was unable to live according to the laws of the Old Covenant
without sinning in thought, mind and deed, the LDS church has added
more laws and ordinances of their own. And they insist that through
the authority of their church, fallen man can become worthy,
through his own efforts, even to the extent of progressing to
godhood (Mormon Doctrine, LDS Apostle Bruce R. McConkie,
page 237.)
THE NEW COVENANT
When reading the gospels we need to bear in mind that they
were written during a transitional period between the Old and New
Covenants. The New Covenant was only ratified by His shed blood
and His death, so Christ lived under the Old Covenant.
Under the New Covenant of grace Christ became our substitutionary
sacrifice and paid the full penalty for all our sins, in our place,
on the cross at Calvary. The Old Covenant sinner had to identify
himself with his substitutionary sacrifice that was to die in his
place in order to cover his sin, by placing his hand on the
animal's head. And we identify ourselves with Christ, our
substitutionary sacrifice, by repenting, turning from self-reliance,
or reliance on anything else at all, and putting our faith in Him
alone. The moment we do that He becomes our Saviour, and we are
counted as being "in Him."
The New Covenant was tailor-made for the fallenness of man, in that
it caters for every eventuality and possibility. No longer does our
salvation depend upon our own inadequate efforts, but on the grace
of God and the sinlessness, the courage, the selflessness, the
sufficiency and the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. He took our
sins upon Himself and paid the full penalty for those sins, in our
place, on our behalf, in order to earn our forgiveness.
Solely because of His undeserved mercy towards us, and not because
of any merit in ourselves, whosoever trusts in Christ will receive
forgiveness of, and cleansing from sin, freedom from guilt, eternal
life, and reconciliation with God. No matter how inadequate they may
think they are, as long as they are trusting in Him, they will be
saved; because salvation is through His power, not ours. As the
Apostle Paul exclaimed, "O the depth of the riches both of the
wisdom and knowledge of God!" (Romans 11:33, KJV) We all stand
on level ground at the foot of the
cross.
..... God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not
imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the
word of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:19, KJV).
Lest the reader gain the wrong impression, although we cannot earn
salvation through our works, once a person has been saved his
salvation will bring forth the fruit of good works. But good works
is the fruit of his salvation and not the reason for it. On the
other hand, this doesn't guarantee that he will never ever sin
again. It is a sad fact that because of the weakness of our flesh,
there is a possibility that a saved person could still slip and
fall. But God knows this, so He has made provision for the
fallenness man, in that the gospel includes a safety net. John,
Christ's apostle, explains:
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have
fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son
cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive
ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he
is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:7-9, KJV)
BIBLICAL TERMS OF SPEECH
We aren't all that familiar with the terms of speech used in
biblical times, so we'll need to take a little detour here, to gain
a better understanding of salvation through the atonement.
Although some of Paul's teachings that we are going to talk about
here are deep, once we grasp them, they will enhance our
understanding of salvation tremendously. And it will show in our
spiritual walk. Consequently, our gratitude and devotion to our
Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, will grow in leaps and bounds.
In Genesis 3:16, God explains that although the woman's desire would
be to rule over the roost, her husband would rule over her.
And the Bible sometimes uses the term "husband," to
illustrate the fact that God is our ruler:
For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name;
(Isaiah 54:5, KJV)
That is precisely why in the Old Testament, God refers to
idolatry as adultery and/or harlotry:
And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel
committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of
divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and
played the harlot also. (Jeremiah 3:8, KJV)
But God's intention for a husband wasn't merely to rule over his
wife. (Our dictionaries tell us that meaning of the word
husband implies something much deeper than that. For
instance, in farming husbandry means the nurture, oversee and
general care of the land.) By God calling Himself Israel's husband,
He was identifying Himself as the One who loved them, protected
them, laid Himself down for them, fought their battles for them,
and gave them His law so that He could nurture them in holiness and
so on.
Because of his God-given role described above, the husband
is responsible for his wife's welfare. So although it was Eve who
fell into sin first, and who then persuaded Adam to follow her
example, Adam was held responsible. They were husband and wife, and
it was Adam's responsibility to look after Eve; to love, safeguard,
protect and nurture her both physically and spiritually. But he
failed in his role as her husband. And God considered this so
serious that to this very day that first sin in the Garden of Eden
is known as "Adam's sin," not as Eve's, in spite of the
fact that she was one who had first disobeyed God and sinned,
resulting in the fall of the whole of the human race (see
Genesis 3:6).
God goes a bit further in the meaning of the term husband,
when in the Book of Ephesians He teaches us that husbands are to
love their wives as Christ loves the church, i.e. to lay their
lives down for their wives, nurture them, build them up
spiritually and so on. (And in turn the wives respect their
husbands and submit to them.)
For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head
of the church: and He is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the
church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own
husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ
also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might
sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having
spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy
and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own
bodies. (Ephesians 5:23-28, KJV)
Do you see what Ephesians is telling us? The church is the bride of
Christ (Revelation 19:7). Consequently, Christ loves, protects,
nurtures, sanctifies us (makes us holy) and cleanses us. He has
taken upon Himself the responsibility for purifying and cleansing
those who are His. Salvation is not of ourselves; it is all of Him.
He is our Saviour. Nowhere does the Bible tell us that we must save
ourselves. Fallen man does not have the ability to lift himself up
by his bootstraps or to cleanse himself from sin. If he had, there
would have been no need for a Saviour.
According to the above verses in Ephesians, the day will come
when those who are genuinely trusting in Christ for salvation will
be holy and without blemish; not through any merit of our own, but
solely because of His work for us and in us and through
us. (And remember that He who has promised is
faithful.) What an encouraging teaching!
I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is
given you by Jesus Christ; That in everything ye are enriched by
him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; Even as the testimony
of Christ was confirmed in you: So that ye come behind in no gift;
waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall also
confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our
Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the
fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
(1 Corinthians 1:4-9, KJV) (Emphasis by editor)
Along those lines, Paul uses the analogy that under the Old
Covenant we were "married" to the law and its penalties.
But because Christ represents those of us who have faith in Him;
when He paid the full penalty for our sins according to the demands
of the law, it was the same as if we were paying the penalty for our
sins. As He represented us, we were "in Him." So when
He died it was the same as if we had died too, "in Him,"
to the law and its penalties. (Once you have paid the penalty you
are set free.) And when He, still representing us, arose to new
life, we arose too "in Him." Our penalty or obligation to
the law was fulfilled, in Him. So legally, the law is dead
to us, and we have died to it, in Christ (Romans 6:8-9).
Why then should the LDS church teach in their third article of faith
that through the atonement of Christ mankind may be saved by
obedience to [their] laws and ordinances? Christ is the Saviour,
not the LDS church or their laws and ordinances. In Christ we
have been redeemed. The Old Covenant of law became obsolete in
Christ Jesus (Hebrews 8:13). Christ's shed blood ratified a New
Covenant of grace. And instead of being "married" to the
law (to use Paul's jargon), believers have become the bride of Christ
(Revelation 19:7):
Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how
that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? For the
woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so
long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from
the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she
be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but
if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is
no adulteress, though she be married to another man. Wherefore, my
brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ;
that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised
from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. (Romans
7:1-4, KJV)
For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the
head of the church: and He is the Saviour of the body. (Ephesians
5:23, KJV)
What Paul is saying here, is that we either fall under the Old
Covenant of law with its penalties, or else under the New Covenant
of grace, with Christ as our Saviour. It cannot be both; we cannot
have two husbands; it has to be one or the other. In other words we
are either trying to earn our salvation by obedience to the law, or
else we have been saved from the dominion of the law, and from its
consequences for sin, by grace through faith in Christ. (Not that
it ends there. As Ephesians 5 intimates, and as the old hymn,
Rock of Ages puts it, Christ "saves from wrath
and makes me pure." But justification and sanctification
are another subject.)
To put it another way, this doesn't mean that Christians are not
to live according to the ten commandments, or God's other commands.
His ideas of righteousness didn't change one iota when the New
Covenant of Grace came into being. So in Romans 7 Paul is not
saying that we can live lawlessly. The meaning he is bringing out is
that a Christian does not earn his salvation through obedience to
the law, but through faith in Christ. And if we are truly trusting
in Christ for salvation, obedience will surely follow:
For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but
Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I
live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself
for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness
come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. (Galations 2:19-21,
KJV)
(This subject is also addressed from another angle, in the article
Mormonism's Individual Salvation Falls Short
.)
Serving the LDS church faithfully by living in obedience to their
laws and ordinances (which includes full tithing) cannot
contribute one iota to our salvation, because salvation is not
through laws and ordinances, but through Christ alone.
THE GOSPEL OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST
The gospel (good news) of the primitive Church of Jesus Christ
was that Christ had ratified a New Covenant of grace for the
forgiveness of sins by His shed blood on the cross at Calvary,
where He had defeated sin, Satan, death and hell on our behalf. He
also rose from the grave after three days, proving that He was
whom He said He was. And whosoever puts their faith in Him will
receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name
whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. (Acts
10:43, KJV)
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must
the Son of Man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:14-15, KJV)
Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come
unto God by him ..... (Hebrews 7:25, KJV)
..... even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be
justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law:
for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
(Galations 2:16, KJV)
This was the most amazing, liberating news. All the Old Covenant had
ever done was to prove that fallen man could not live up to God's
standards of righteousness. But now the promised Messiah had
come down to earth and vicariously died to save us from both the
consequences of our sins and the power that sin has over
us. This meant that Satan had lost his hold on mankind, and
that we were able, through Christ Jesus, to live the way that God
intended us to live. Furthermore, the burden of guilt and the
resulting fear of death and judgment was to be no more!
After His resurrection Christ appeared to His disciples,
instructing them to be witnesses of His death on the cross, and
of His resurrection three days later. He also commanded them to
proclaim in His name, repentance and the forgiveness of sins:
Then He opened their understanding that they might understand the
Scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it
behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day.
And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in
His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are
witnesses of these things. (Luke 24:45-48, KJV). (Italics
inserted by writer.)
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)
But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto
us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory
in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:30-31, KJV)
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in
Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1, KJV)
(The italics in the above scriptures have been inserted by the
writer.)
THE MORMON GOSPEL
It must be stated that the LDS church does teach that salvation is
through the atonement of Christ. And as far as that goes, they are
being biblical. But in other teachings they go on to qualify this
statement by maintaining that salvation is only through membership
of their church and furthermore that it is only attainable through
obedience to LDS laws and ordinances, plus good works.
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).
There is no salvation outside The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints. (Bruce McConkie, Mormon Doctrine,
page 670).
There is no salvation without accepting Joseph Smith as a prophet
of God, (Doctrines of Salvation, President and Prophet
Joseph Fielding Smith, Volume 1, page 188.)
If it had not been for Joseph Smith and the restoration, there would
be no salvation. (Mormon Doctrine, Bruce McConkie, page
670.)
But the gospel preached by the apostles in the primitive church was
centred on Christ, the New Covenant of grace that He had ratified,
and the forgiveness of sins that He had earned on our behalf on the
cross alone. In contrast, the LDS has banned the symbol of the
cross on their premises and their gospel is centred on Joseph Smith,
the angel Moroni, the LDS church and their claim to having the sole
authority for the gospel.
This was precisely the sort of thing that Paul was warning us about
in Galations. In reality the Mormon gospel is "another
gospel." Nowhere in the Bible do the apostles ever teach
that "authority" is necessary to preach the gospel or that
forgiveness of sins has to be earned through membership of an
"authorized" church organization or by obedience to its
laws and ordinances. That's not what the gospel was about. Mormon
claims are in the main all "smoke and mirrors" designed
specifically to distract us from the plain teaching of the Bible.
Although the LDS calls their gospel, "the gospel of Jesus
Christ," it is in reality the gospel of Joseph Smith. The
"good news" that their missionaries proclaim
from door to door is that God allowed the church that Christ had
died for, to go into total apostasy and that He also permitted the
Bible, the standard of truth that He'd given us for our spiritual
guidance and protection, to become corrupted and unreliable. They
then go on to claim that their prophet, Joseph Smith, has restored
the "true" church in these latter days, and that
salvation can only be attained through obedience to their laws
and ordinances.
Christ is effectively sidelined, His atonement is deprecated
and Joseph Smith and his LDS church are given the glory that
belongs to Christ alone.
Considering that under the Old Covenant nobody was ever able to
satisfy God's demands for righteousness by obedience to laws and
ordinances, the Mormon gospel places its followers in a precarious
position. Not only that, they have trampled underfoot the precious
blood of Christ that He so selflessly and heroically shed in order
to pay the ultimate price for the forgiveness of all our sins:
For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not
according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's
righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness,
have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that
believeth. (Romans 10:2-4, KJV)
In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of
sins, according to the riches of his grace. (Ephesians 1:7, KJV)
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved
from wrath through him. (Romans 5:9, KJV)
Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own
blood, (Revelation 1:5, KJV)
ADDENDUM
The LDS gospel discussed above is the version they give out to the
general public as part of their evangelistic efforts. Their full
gospel is the story of the eternal progression of man, whom they
maintain had originally existed in the form of intelligent matter,
then progressed to existence in a spiritual being, and whose ultimate
progression is to godhood. However, their exclusive doctrines are
only disclosed to those who have been baptized into membership of
their church. You can read about their doctrine of eternal
progression by clicking on this
link:
Mormonism's Law of Eternal Progression
I would love to hear whether this article has helped you in your
understanding of the gospel. My email address is
response@bibtruth.com
The following links lead to a few other articles on various aspects
of salvation:
What is Biblical Salvation?
Mormon Salvation Exposed to the Light of the Bible
Mormonism's Deceptive Teaching on Eternal
Life
To access a comprehensive index of articles comparing various
aspects of Mormonism with what the Bible teaches, click on the
"home" button at the bottom of this page.
Copyright 2010 by Mormonism and Biblical Truth. All rights
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