NASHVILLE, Tenn., 10/26/07
-- What the Bible says about Jesus vs. what Mormonism says about Jesus:
The Bible
--He is the virgin-born Son of God,
conceived by the Holy Ghost (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:34-35).
Mormonism
--Jesus "was born in the same
personal, real and literal sense that any mortal son is born to a mortal
father." (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon
Doctrine, pp. 547, 742)
--"Let it not
be forgotten, that He is essentially greater than any and all others, by reason
(1) of His seniority as the oldest or first born; (2) of His unique status in
the flesh as the offspring of a mortal mother and of an immortal, or
resurrected and glorified, Father …" (James E. Talmage, Articles of Faith,
p. 426).
The Bible
--Satan is a created - and fallen -
angel (Isaiah 14:12).
Mormonism
--"Lucifer - this
spirit-brother of Jesus desperately tried to become the Savior of mankind."
(Milton R. Hunter of the First Council of Seventy, The Gospel Through the
Ages, p. 15)
The Bible
--Jesus did not marry.
Mormonism
--"Jesus was the bridegroom at
the marriage of Cana - We say it was Jesus Christ who was married, to be
brought into relation whereby he could see his seed." (Orson Hyde,
apostle, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 2, p. 82)
The Bible
--Jesus is the foundation of the
true church (Matthew 16:18; Acts 4:11-12; Colossians 1:18).
Mormonism
--Joseph Smith: "I have more
to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to
keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the
whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. The
followers of Jesus ran away from Him, but the Latter-day Saints never ran away
from me yet." (History of the Church, Vol. 6, pp. 408-9)
The Bible
--Jesus is the judge of all (John
5:22).
Mormonism
--"No man or woman in this
dispensation will ever enter into the celestial kingdom of God without the
consent of Joseph Smith … Every man and woman must have the certificate of
Joseph Smith, Junior, as a passport to their entrance into the mansion where
God and Christ are." (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, vol. 7,
p. 289)
The Bible
--Jesus is the one who resurrects
all (John 5:28-29).
Mormonism
--Joseph Smith will receive the
keys of the resurrection. "If we ask who will stand at the head of the
resurrection in this last dispensation, the answer is - Joseph Smith, Junior,
the Prophet of God. He is the man who will be resurrected and receive the keys
of the resurrection, and he will seal this authority upon others, and they will
hunt up their friends and resurrect them." (Brigham Young, Discourses
of Brigham Young, p. 116).
The Bible
--Jesus is the eternal Son of God,
the Creator, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and Holy Spirit (John
1:1-14; Colossians 1:15-20; Philippians 2:5-11; Hebrews 1:1-13).
Mormonism
--A "council of the Gods"
created the world. "In the beginning, the head of the Gods called a
council of the Gods; and they came together and concocted a plan to create the
world and people it … In all congregations when I have preached on the subject
of the Deity, it has been the plurality of Gods." (Joseph Smith, History
of the Church, Vol. 6, pp. 308, 474).
What the Bible says about the
Holy Spirit vs. what Mormonism says about the Holy Spirit:
The Bible
--The Holy Spirit is the third
Person of the triune Godhead (Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19-20).
Mormonism
--Joseph Smith taught that the
Father, Son and Holy Spirit "constitute three distinct personages and
three Gods." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 370)
The Bible
--The Holy Spirit is co-equal and
co-eternal with the Father and the Son (Acts 5:1-11).
Mormonism
--The Father has a body of flesh
and bones. So does the Son. But the Holy Ghost is "a personage of
spirit." (Doctrines and Covenants 130:22)
The Bible
--The Holy Spirit and the Holy
Ghost are two Biblical names for the same person.
Mormonism
--"The Holy Ghost … is a
personage distinct from the Holy Spirit. As a personage, the Holy Ghost cannot
any more than the Father and the Son be everywhere present in person."
(John A. Widtsoe, Evidences and Reconciliations, p. 76).
The Bible
--The Holy Spirit/Holy Ghost is God
(Acts 5:3-4).
Mormonism
--"The Holy Ghost is yet a
spiritual body and waiting to take to himself a body as the Saviour did or as
the gods before them took bodies." (Joseph Smith, April 6, 1843; see Discourses
on the Holy Ghost compiled by N.B. Lundwall, p. 73)
What the Bible says about the
Gospel of Jesus Christ vs. what Mormonism says about the Gospel of Jesus
Christ:
The Bible
--Christ’s death at Calvary paid
our sin debt and purchased our salvation so that everlasting life is received
by grace through faith in the Person and work of Jesus (John 3:16, 5:24; Romans
4:4-5; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5).
Mormonism
--Jesus’ death, burial and
resurrection made it possible for mankind to be resurrected, but "men will
be punished for their own sins." (Article of Faith #2 by Joseph
Smith). Through the atonement of Christ "all mankind may be saved, by
obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel." (Article of Faith
#3 by Joseph Smith)
--"There is no salvation
outside The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." (Bruce McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 670)
--"Baptism … is for the
remission of sins … (and) is the gate to the celestial kingdom of heaven."
(Bruce McConkie, Mormon Doctrine,
p. 70)
--There is "no salvation
without accepting Joseph Smith … No man can eject that testimony without
accepting most dreadful consequences, for he cannot enter the kingdom of
God." (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. 1, p.
188)
The Bible
--The Bible teaches that at death,
man’s eternal destiny is fixed in one of two places: heaven or hell (Luke
16:19-31).
Mormonism
--Virtually all men are saved in
"General Salvation … meaning resurrection." (Contributions of
Joseph Smith by Stephen L. Richards, p. 5)
--Then, based on works, all men
will spend eternity in one of three levels of heaven - telestial, terrestrial
or celestial. A few "sons of perdition" will not be
saved/resurrected.
The Bible
--All men are sinners by nature and
by volition (Romans 3:23, 5:12; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22).
Mormonism
--There is no such thing as
original sin. All men are gods in embryo. "God and man are of the same
race, differing only in their degrees of advancement." (Apostle John
Widtsoe, Rational Theology, p. 61)
The Bible
--There is no second chance for
salvation after death (Hebrews 9:27).
Mormonism
--Mormons may be baptized on behalf
of the dead for their salvation. "If a man cannot enter the kingdom of God
without baptism, then the dead must be baptized." (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines
of Salvation, Vol. II, p. 141)
The Bible
--Once a person is justified, his
or her salvation is eternally secure, based on the finished work of Christ at
Calvary and the faithfulness of God (John 5:24, 10:27-30; Romans 4:21, 8:28-39;
Hebrews 7:25, 10:14; 1 Peter 1:1-5).
Mormonism
--Believers must do works to earn a
level of heaven and risk losing their position in that heaven if they are not
faithful in service. For example, failure to marry in an LDS church will "damn"
persons so that their eternal progression will be stopped short of godhood.
(See Doctrine and Covenants 132:16-20)
The Bible
--Each individual is a unique
created person whose beginning came at the moment of conception; after death,
that person retains his or her personhood and spends eternity in heaven or
hell.
Mormonism
--Each individual has four stages
of life (eternal progression): 1. Eternally existing intelligence. 2.
Pre-mortal spirit born by procreation of God and one of his wives. 3. Mortal probation
(present life on earth). 4. Post-mortal status that depends on works done in
this life. Eternity is spent in one of three heavens: telestial (everyone makes
it at least this far); terrestrial (good and religious folk make it here); and
celestial (only Mormons who have fulfilled the requirements for godhood make it
here).
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