.:CONTRADICTIONS IN MORMONISM — WHO ARE WE TO BELIEVE?
“The Lord will never allow the President of the Church to lead us astray.” (Gospel Principles, 1995, p. 50)
Is it true that the Presidents of the LDS Church have never led Mormons astray? You be the judge:
Are the Father, Son, Holy Ghost One God or Three Gods?
Has God Always Existed, Unchangeable from all Eternity?
Does God Dwell in the Heart of the Righteous?
Is God the Father a Personage of “Spirit” or an Exalted “Man”?
Are There Two or Three Personages Governing the Universe?
Should We Pray to Jesus Christ?
Should We Worship Jesus Christ?
Does God Forgive Us for Murder?
Do Babies Who Die Grow in the Spirit World?
Are the Father, Son and Holy Ghost One God or Many Gods?
BOOK OF MORMON: One God |
PROPHET JOSEPH SMITH: Three Gods |
“And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen.” (2 Nephi 31:21) |
“I will preach on the plurality of Gods … I have always declared God to be a distinct personage, Jesus Christ a separate and distinct personage from God the Father, and that the Holy Ghost was a distinct personage and a Spirit: and these three constitute three distinct personages and three Gods.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 370) |
Has God Always Existed, Unchangeable from all Eternity?
BOOK OF MORMON: YES
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PROPHET JOSEPH SMITH: NO
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“For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity.” (Moroni 8:18) “The Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity.” (Mosiah 3:5) |
“We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea, … he was once a man like us.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 345-346)
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Does God Dwell in the Heart of the Righteous?
BOOK OF MORMON: YES
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DOCTRINE & COVENANTS: NO
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“Because the Lord hath said he dwelleth not in unholy temples, but in the hearts of the righteous doth he dwell.” (Alma 34:36)
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“The idea that the Father and the Son dwell in a man’s heart is an old sectarian notion, and is false.” (Doctrine and Covenants 130:3)
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Is God the Father a Personage of “Spirit” or an Exalted “Man”?
LECTURES OF FAITH and BOOK OF MORMON: “SPIRIT”
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DOCTRINE & COVENANTS and JOSEPH SMITH, JR.: “MAN”
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“The Father being a personage of spirit, glory and power: possessing all perfection and fulness.” (Doctrine and Covenants, 1935 edition, Lectures Fifth of Faith, Section V, p. 52-53) (Note: In 1921, The Lectures of Faith section was removed from Doctrine and Covenants.) “Holy, holy God; we believe that thou art God … that thou art a spirit, and that thou wilt be a spirit forever.” (Alma 31:15, Book of Mormon **) |
“The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s.” (Doctrine and Covenants, 130:22) “God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted Man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens … I say, if you were to see him to-day, you would see him like a man in form — like yourselves, in all the person, image, and very form as a man.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 345) |
Are There Two or Three Personages Governing the Universe?
LECTURES OF FAITH: TWO
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JOSEPH SMITH, JR.: THREE
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“We shall, in this lecture speak of the Godhead: we mean the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There are two personages who constitute the great, matchless, governing and supreme power over all things. … They are the Father and the Son: The Father being a personage of spirit … The Son, who was in the bosom of the Father, is a personage of tabernacle … And he being the only begotten of the Father … received a fulness of the glory of the Father — possessing the same mind with the Father, which mind is the Holy Spirit.” (Doctrine and Covenants, 1935 edition, Lectures Fifth of Faith, Section V, p. 52-53) (Note: In 1921, This Lectures of Faith section was removed from Doctrine and Covenants)
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“I will preach on the plurality of Gods … I have always declared God to be a distinct personage, Jesus Christ a separate and distinct personage from God the Father, and that the Holy Ghost was a distinct personage and a Spirit: and these three constitute three distinct personages and three Gods.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 370) |
Should We Pray to Jesus Christ?
BOOK OF MORMON: YES
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LDS CHURCH: NO
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“Jesus came and stood in the midst … he spake unto the multitude, and commanded them that they should kneel down again upon the earth, and also that his disciples should kneel down upon the earth. And it came to pass that when they had all knelt down upon the earth, he commanded his disciples that they should pray. And behold, they began to pray; and they did pray unto Jesus, calling him their Lord and their God.” (3 Nephi 19:15-18) |
“Elder Bruce R. McConkie clearly explained what our relationship with each member of the Godhead should be, pointing out that some misguided members of the Church may ‘begin to pray directly to Christ because of some special friendship they feel has been developed’ with him. This is wrong, said Elder McConkie. We should pray directly to the Father.”
(“I Have a Question,” Ensign, June 1988, p. 59) |
Should We Worship Jesus Christ?
BOOK OF MORMON: YES
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LDS CHURCH: NO
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“And now behold, I say unto you that the right way is to believe in Christ … wherefore ye must bow down before him, and worship him with all your might, mind, and strength, and your whole soul; and if ye do this ye shall in nowise be cast out.” (2 Nephi 25:29) “I beheld the Son of God going forth among the children of men; and I saw many fall down at his feet and worship him.” (1 Nephi 11:24) “Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him.” (3 Nephi 11:17) |
“We Worship the Father … In an official interpretation of Moses 1:6, the First Presidency (Joseph F. Smith, Anthon H. Lund, and Charles W. Penrose) said: ‘But the sole object of worship, God the eternal Father, stands supreme and alone.’ Who is the sole object of worship? … President George Q. Cannon taught: ‘We know also that our Father in Heaven should be the object of our worship … He will not have any divided worship. We are commanded to worship Him, and Him only.’ (Gospel Truth, 1:135)” (Come Unto Christ —Melchizedek Priesthood Personal Study Guide, 1986, p. 46-47)
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Does God Forgive Us for Murder?
BOOK OF MORMON: YES
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DOCTRINE & COVENANTS: NO
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“And I shall also thank my God, yea, my great God, that he hath granted unto us that we might repent of these things, and also that he hath forgiven us of those our many sins and murders which we have committed, and taken away the guilt from our hearts, through the merits of his Son.” (Alma 24:10)
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“And it shall come to pass, that if any persons among you shall kill they shall be delivered up and dealt with according to the laws of the land; for remember that he hath no forgiveness; and it shall be proved according to the laws of the land.” (Doctrine and Covenants 42:79)
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Do Babies Who Die Grow in the Spirit World?
PROPHET JOSEPH SMITH: NO
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JOSEPH F. SMITH: YES
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“But as the child dies, so shall it rise from the dead. … It will never grow: it will still be the child, in the same precise form as it appeared before it died out of its mother’s arms … Eternity is full of thrones, upon which dwell thousands of children reigning on thrones of glory, will not one cubit added to their stature.” (Joseph Smith, 1844, Journal of Discourses, vol. 6, p. 10)
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“All spirits are in adult form. They were adults before their mortal existence, and they are in adult form after death, even if they die as infants or children (see Joseph F Smith, Gospel Doctrine, p. 455).” (Gospel Principles, 1992, p 290)
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FOR MORE INFORMATION SEE:
Book of Mormon vs. the Bible and LDS Scripture
Significant Changes in the revelations of Doctrine and Covenants
SHOULD WE TRUST THE BIBLE? —A Response to Mormonism’s Attack Upon the Bible’s Accuracy
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** Mormons often argue that, because the context of this Book of Mormon Scripture at Alma 31 speaks of the false doctrines of the Zoramites who denied Christ (verse 16), taught a false concept of election (verse 13 and 16-18), and required their people to pray rote prayers (verse 19-20), they assume that this statement regarding God being “a spirit … forever” at verse 15 was also another false doctrine of the Zoramites. We respond by asking, “If this doctrine was indeed condemned as a false belief along with the other doctrines noted above, why is there no mention in the text of the true Prophet Alma and his brethren being grieved over and trying to correct this so-called false view of God when they grieved over all of their other false beliefs noted above at verses 24-29? If indeed the concept of God being a ‘spirit … forever’ were false, wouldn’t you expect the Prophet Alma to mention this belief as grieving him when he mentioned all the other false beliefs?” On the contrary, not only is the belief that God is a “spirit” affirmed at Alma 31:15, but it is affirmed elsewhere in the Book of Mormon at Alma 18:24-28 and Alma 22:9-11. Thus, we maintain that Alma 31:15 is not taken out of context, nor misrepresentative of the overall teachings of the Book of Mormon in regard to God’s Spirit nature.
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