THE MORMON TESTIMONY
AND BRAINWASHING
HOW THE LDS DETERMINES TRUTH
The LDS church has an extremely effective indoctrinational system
that is second to none. Right at the very start their members are
persuaded to determine the truthfulness of Mormonism in the
following manner:
They are shown exclusively LDS scriptures that assure them that if
they pray to God and ask Him to reveal the truthfulness of the Book
of Mormon to them, He will give them confirmation through a warm
feeling in their bosom (Book of Mormon, Moroni 10:4; Doctrine &
Covenants 9:8). And they are urged to do just this. (If they don't
experience this feeling, the insinuation is that they couldn't
have been sincere in their prayer.)
But discerning truth by using our feelings as a gauge is very dicey
thing to do. Feelings are not facts. So there is no logic in
this at all. What is more, feelings are notoriously unreliable, as they
are easily influenced by virtually anything and everything that goes
on around us. Psychologists tell us that auto suggestion is an
extremely powerful thing, as it's all too easy to imagine that
something we really want to happen has actually happened.
The situation here is that Mormons have been persuaded (in such a
way that at the time it seemed to be the right and proper thing to do),
to lay aside common sense and sound judgment in favour of emotional
convictions.
But the Bible tells us exactly the opposite to what the LDS church
teaches. It warns us that the heart is deceitful and cannot be
trusted. And for that reason we need to prove all things:
The heart is deceitful above all things ..... (Jeremiah
17:9, KJV)
He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool ..... (Proverbs 28:26,
KJV).
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good (1 Thessalonians
5:21, KJV).
These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they
received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the
scriptures [i.e. the Bible] daily, whether those things were so.
(Acts 17:11, KJV) (Italics inserted by author.)
When confronted with the undeniable fact that reliance upon one
feelings is neither a logical nor a trustworthy means of discerning
truth, and that the Bible teaches us not to trust our feelings, the
LDS leadership justifies this practice by insisting that Mormons
don't merely rely on their feelings alone, as they are also
encouraged to study. However, this excuse is invalidated by the
fact that they are exhorted to study only literature that is
supportive of Mormon teachings and to avoid anything that is
critical of either their beliefs or their history. And the LDS's
interpretation of the Bible is neither valid nor accurate. Added to
that, they are notorious for their habit of sanitizing, covering up
or even denying outright anything that could cast a negative light
on their church or on their teachings, both present and past. They
even have a name for this. They call it "Lying for the
Lord." So we are right back to square one, indoctrination.
Indoctrination is subtle, and it works at a subconscious
level.
Once they have gained a testimony they are encouraged to bear it,
and are even given the approximate wording that it should take:
"I believe that Joseph Smith is the true prophet of God, that
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church
of God, and that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."
(Editor's comment: Their God is not the God of the Bible, and
nor is their Christ — see the relevant articles listed on the
home page of this site.)
Somewhere along the way the testimony about the Book of Mormon has
transformed itself into a testimony about everything else in
Mormonism as well. And once they have it, Mormons are warned both
about the dire consequences of losing their testimony and of the
necessity of nurturing and safeguarding it. If anything makes
them question their faith in the LDS church, in Mormonism, or in
Joseph Smith, they are taught to regurgitate their testimonies.
They are told not to listen to or to read anything that is critical
of Mormonism. And their missionaries are instructed to immediately
bear their testimonies if anyone opposes the LDS gospel on their
rounds. This effectively reinforces their minds with the data that
Mormonism is the truth and at the same time nullifies anything
that may have suggested otherwise.
Then too, on the first Sunday of every month, members of the
congregation are expected to stand up individually at the Fast and
Testimony Meeting and bear their testimonies to the truthfulness
of the Mormon gospel. Once again, and this time on regular
monthly basis, and for quite a lengthy stretch of time, they all
reinforce their minds collectively, over and over again with the
LDS mantra that Mormonism is the truth, that Joseph Smith is the
true prophet of God and that the LDS is the only true church.
Eventually, for most Mormons, it becomes second nature to rely on
their testimonies each time there is any kind of doubt about, or
opposition to LDS beliefs.
The way they have been taught to discern truth, the fact that they
are encouraged to bear their personal testimonies at every
opportunity, the ongoing repetition of testimonies at Fast and
Testimony Meetings, and the very effective system of
indoctrination used by the LDS church, gets their membership to
the place where, even if they are confronted with sound evidence
to the contrary, the majority will generally ignore it for the
simple reason that they "know" that Mormonism is true.
They no longer feel the need, or have the desire, to use their
God-given discernment or common sense. Right or wrong, their
faith is firmly fixed on the LDS church.
PRAYING AGAINST GOD'S REVEALED WILL
God has given us the Bible as His standard of truth against which
to measure all else. In Ephesians 6:10-17 the Apostle Paul refers
to it as a spiritual sword to be used as a weapon to protect
ourselves against spiritual deception.
Besides contradicting the biblical doctrine of justification by
grace through faith (2 Nephi 25:23, c/f Ephesians 2:8-9), the
Book of Mormon also declares that anyone who thinks the Bible of
itself is adequate as a spiritual guide is a fool (2 Nephi 29:6, 10).
That derogatory statement is a direct attack on the Bible. And it
automatically places the Book of Mormon firmly into the category of
spiritual deception, because God has already told us not only that
His Word is adequate, but that we should use it as our standard of
truth against which to test all other spiritual teachings. So
there is no need for us to have to pray to Him in order to find
out whether or not the Book of Mormon is true. We already have the
answer. The fact that it denigrates the Bible and contradicts
its teachings, tells us that it is a tool of deception.
In light of the above, asking God to give us confirmation of the
truthfulness of the Book of Mormon is equivalent to telling Him
that we would rather trust in Joseph Smith and his Book of
Mormon, than trust in what He Himself has already told us in the
Bible that He gave us for our spiritual guidance and protection.
There's a theme running through the Bible to the effect that when
we ignore what God has told us, He "gives us over" to
our own foolishness. In Psalm 81:12 He puts it like this: "So
I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart".
And God is no different today. When we insist on relying on
our own feelings and fulfilling our own desires rather than
relying on and following His Word, He gives us over to the
stubbornness of our hearts. This is what happened to the
nation of Israel. Each time they were out of His revealed will,
God took His hand of guidance and protection off of them and
left them to their own disastrous devices. And in the
same way, folk who trust in doctrines and literature that
oppose what God has already revealed to us so clearly in the
Bible, open themselves up to deeper and deeper involvement in
spiritual deception and error.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF MORMON INDOCTRINATION
To illustrate just how effective Mormon indoctrination is and also
how God gives us over to our own devices when we ignore His
warnings in the Bible, the following is an extract of an email I
received from a Mormon missionary who had been sent home from his
mission on sick leave. He wrote to tell me that I couldn't have
been sincere in my prayer life, otherwise I would have known that
Mormonism was true. He went on to say:
"I have found that I must pray over and over until I am
definite that what I am feeling is right and in accordance to the
teachings of the [Mormon] gospel. Just as in schoolwork, you
can't be studying for a math test and expect to memorize formulas
perfectly if you only study it one time. It takes repetition
......." (Italics inserted by editor.)
This poor Mormon soul prays over and over again until his feelings
eventually fall into line with LDS teachings; a perfect example of
the fruit of successful brainwashing. He no longer has the desire
to think logically or freely, and when the truth stares him in the
face, he smothers it to death.
Bear in mind that one cannot reason with a person who refuses to
think logically. But isn't this the whole objective of
brainwashing — the control of the minds of its victims?
DETERMINING WHAT IS OR IS NOT TRUTH
The logical way to determine whether a supposed historical record
is "true" would be to conduct a proper investigation
into its origins, and to consider whatever credible evidence
there is, that gives support to the content of the book. For
instance in the case of the Bible, there is overwhelming
archeological and historical evidence revealing that the animals,
plants, rivers, races, tribes, individuals and cities mentioned
actually existed, that the battles claimed to have been fought
actually took place, and so on. Ancient coins, artifacts, ruins
and other evidences are discovered at regular intervals, on an
ongoing basis. (Some of the cities mentioned in the Bible are
still in existence.)
But not a solitary thing has ever been discovered that lends any
credence at all to the Book of Mormon having been a factual,
historical record. The existence of certain animals, plants and
metals mentioned, as well as the ancestry of the American Indians,
have all been proved to be false. And animals that are known to
have existed during BOM times are not even mentioned in the Book
of Mormon. Furthermore, despite the length of time this book has
been in existence, no archeological evidence has ever been
discovered to verify its claims, even although it describes an
advanced civilization of millions of people, who had spread
themselves out over the entire continent, who had a magnificent
temple similar to Solomon's, advanced architecture and
industries, and also a monetary system that used coins. No
evidence has ever come to light either concerning any of the the
cities mentioned or that proves the existence of any of the
characters mentioned. (See the link at the end of this page to a
relevant article.)
But none of this means a thing to the Mormon, as they
"know" the Book of Mormon is true, as they had
confirmation of its truth through a warm feeling in their bosom.
Although zealous members of the LDS church have come up with what
they describe as proof of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon,
in reality this evidence relates to a much later civilization
than that of the Book of Mormon. Because of the vast amount of
false information being circulated amongst members of the LDS,
in the mid 1970s President Spencer W. Kimball made a statement
that was published in The Church News, to the effect that
people should stop looking for archeological evidences for the
Book of Mormon, as there were none. And the following statement
was issued by LDS Professor Dee Green:
The first myth we need to eliminate is that Book of Mormon
archaeology exists. Titles of books full of archaeological
half-truths, dilettante on peripheries of American archaeology
calling themselves Book of Mormon archaeologists regardless of
their education, and a Department of Archaeology at BYU devoted to
the production of Book of Mormon archaeologists do not insure that
Book of Mormon archaeology really exists... no Book of Mormon
location is known ..... (Dialogue, Summer, 1969, pages 74 to 78.)
Not only is there no proof that the Book of Mormon is what it is
claimed to be, but scholars and Egyptologists also agree that the
Book of Abraham is also fraudulent. (A link to an article on this
subject is provided at the end of the page.)
JAMES 1
Frequently Mormons will argue the validity of a warm feeling in the
bosom as God's confirmation of the truthfulness of the Book of
Mormon, by citing the following scripture:
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all
men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
(James 1:5, KJV)
But this scripture has been taken completely out of context. James
is not talking about praying in order to discover through our
feelings whether something is truth or whether it's spiritual
deception. God has already given us a different way to discern the
difference between truth and error, in other parts of the Bible.
James is merely discussing the problems encountered when going
through trials and temptations, and the wisdom needed in order to
both withstand and overcome adverse circumstances.
Regarding spiritual discernment between truth and deception, God
has instructed us to use His Word, the Bible as our standard of
spiritual truth. The sections that deal with this are Ephesians
6:10-17, 2 Timothy 2:15 and 3:13-4:3 (c/f Psalm 119:89, Matthew
24:35, 1 Peter 1:25, Isaiah 40:8, Proverbs 30:5, John 17:17). We
are instructed to use the Bible as a spiritual sword to discern
truth and to protect us from deception, and are also told to use
it for doctrine, reproof, correction and so on. Nowhere in the
Bible does God ever tell us to discern spiritual truth through
our feelings, only through His Word, the Bible.
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not
to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:14,
KJV)
When Satan tempted the Lord Jesus spiritually with his lies in
Matthew 4, Jesus answered him by quoting verses out of the Bible.
He didn't pray to God for a warm feeling in his bosom to confirm
whether or not what Satan said was true. Instead, He relied solely
on the written Word of God, the Bible.
CONCLUSION
When members confront the LDS leadership with the uncomfortable
facts concerning the Book of Mormon (and, therefore, the method
of obtaining their testimonies about it), they are urged to have
more faith as without faith they cannot please God, or to pray
more about it, or are told that the reasons for these problems
will be revealed to us later, and so on.
Unfortunately being sincere doesn't guarantee us that we won't
be spiritually deceived. And there comes a time when we need to
seriously take into account the mounting evidence against the
likelihood that the Book of Mormon is true, that Joseph Smith
is the true prophet, and that the LDS church is the true church.
The following links lead to fully referenced, relevant
articles:
The Book of Mormon and the Witnesses Who Never Saw the Gold
Plates
The Book of Mormon Exposed
The Book of Abraham and its Rejection by Egyptologists and
Scholars
Joseph Smith, the Latter-day False Prophet
Copyright 2007, Mormonism and Biblical Truth. All rights reserved.