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Generally speaking, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are model citizens. They are devout in their beliefs, family-oriented, are clean in language and appearance, eschew smoking, drinking, and carousing, and are active in the PTA, as well as in politics. Mormons are often the first to show up on your doorstep with a fresh-baked loaf of bread when you move next door to them. They are hard-working and honest people. LDS kids, for the most part, are the kind of kids parents like their own children to "hang out" with because they tend to stay out of trouble and have strong moral values. The question then begs to be asked, "So what is the problem? They sound like good Christian people."
The problem exists in the fact that the "gospel" as defined by Mormonism is a false gospel founded on the teachings of a false prophet and false "apostles." Furthermore, Mormonism is not just another denomination of Christianity. Rather, it is a quasi-Christian religion that is not founded on Biblical truths, but on untested revelations given to LDS Church leaders. This comes as a bold statement and one to which Mormons would most likely take offense. What are the reasons then, for making such an assertion and why is it important and urgent for a true Christian to know?
The importance and urgency for Christians to be equipped with the truth concerning Mormonism is two-fold;
1) We are commanded to preach the gospel of salvation, for God is willing that no one should perish (Mark 16:15-16, 2 Peter 3:9).
2) We are to keep watch over ourselves, our families, and other believers, for "grievous wolves will come in" among us and "not spare the flock" (Acts 20:28-29)
Mormons use Christian terminology and sound very Biblical, but they define those terms differently than Christians who understand the Bible do. Just as a chameleon can, by the change of his color, appear to be a part of its surrounding environment, Mormonism can appear at first glance to look like Christianity. On close inspection, however, one can see that it is not. Instead, one finds a false gospel that leads its followers far from God and His saving truth. The god worshiped by Mormons is not the God of the Bible.
Did you know according to Mormon Doctrine:
•That God was once a man who earned godhood through works and worthiness? 1
•That early LDS prophets taught that Jesus was conceived through sexual relations between God the Father and Mary, one of his Celestial wives? 2
•That Christ's atonement doesn't cover all sins? 3
•That "As man is, God once was; as God is, man may become?" 4
•That the LDS temple ceremony was taken from Masonic temple rituals? 5
•That no one can enter the “Celestial Kingdom” (where the Father and Jesus dwell) without the express permission of Joseph Smith? 6
Remember the acronym E.Q.U.I.P. to help you in your witness to those lost in false religions. Here is a brief overview:
E = Evangelize Share your testimony of Jesus Christ and salvation by grace through faith alone. Tell how much you have been blessed by knowing you are going to heaven to live with Jesus forever. Bear your testimony of the inerrancy of the Bible and the completeness of Christ's work on the cross.
Q = Question Ask the person about his own beliefs so you know where s/he is coming from.
U = Understand Familiarize yourself with key terms/teachings of theparticular counterfeit Christian religion you are addressing. Don't be caught unaware or unprepared. Be as the Bereans that the apostle Paul commended in Acts 17:11. They received the word in all gladness, but then checked it against the scripture to see if what was being taught wascorrect.
I = Instruct Share with theindividual whatGod has revealed in the Bible. Take the opportunity to teach Biblical truth.Share the salvation found in Jesus Christ alone and invite the personto trust on Jesusof the Bible as their personal Savior.In order to do that, you must know how to lead someone to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
P = Protect Protect your family against false teachings. Don't assume that because you send your kids to Sunday school they are learning everything they need to know about God! If they aren't familiar with the genuine article (Who God is, His purpose, His plan of redemption, His word), how will they recognize a counterfeit?
Interesting facts:
Almost all converts to Mormonism come from a nominal Christian background.
Mormon missionaries do not evangelize (preach the "Good News" that salvation comes through Jesus Christ alone), they proselytize (to recruit or convert especially to a new faith, institution, or cause).
Mormonism is one of the wealthiest churches per capita on earth. "In business terms, the [LDS] Church is an $8-billion a year conglomerate that employs about 10,000 people." (Time Magazine, July 29, 1991) It is estimated that the LDS Church has $25-$30 billion in assets as of 1999 (Mormon America, Richard & Joan Ostling, 1999, Appendix B, pp. 395-400)
"The Mormon empire runs several large international corporations like PepsiCo and the Marriot Corporation, several colleges...factories, and businesses" (Fast Facts on Mormonism, John Ankerberg & John Weldon, 2003, p.13-14) They owned (and still may) 315,000 acres of land outside of Disney World, and are fast accumulating property throughout the Midwest. Marriot Hotels place a Book of Mormon in each room. It is interesting that the Church owns stock in Pepsi, yet prohibits caffeine drinks; and it preaches over the pulpit against pornography and alcohol, yet Marriot Hotels have bars and offer the Playboy channel on cable for a fee. Or is it all right to compromise one's values for the greater financial good of the Church?
"The Mormon Church is the single largest sponsor of Boy Scout Units in the United States, and Mormon officials have admitted this is an effective manner in which to share the faith." (Fast Facts on Mormonism, John Ankerberg & John Weldon, 2003, p. 15)
"Far more persons convert to the Mormon Church from other churches or from a status of no religious affiliation than leave." (This People [Mormon periodical], spring 1990, p. 21) Once people "check in" to the Mormon religion, few are able to "check out."
As you will learn from your examination of Mormonism, it is extremely difficult for members to leave the organization. Fear plays a major part in a Mormon's failure to resign membership. There is fear of damnation, loss of relationships, loss of business (in predominantly LDS communities), loss of job (when employed by other Mormons), loss of reputation, fear that if Mormonism is not true, nothing else may be true. There is so much fear of "apostasy" among LDS that the majority of them will refuse to look into the problems of their religion. Many will even refuse to look at their own church's history or writings by early Mormon leadersfor fear it might "shake their testimonies of the truthfulness of the [Mormon] gospel." Indeed, current LDS leaders have gone so far as to intimidate members with the warning that they should not "study themselves out of the church" and should only read the "faith-promoting history" of Mormonism.
Footnotes:
1. "God undoubtedly took advantage of every opportunity to learn the laws of truth and as He became acquainted with each new verity He righteously obeyed it...As He gained more knowledge through persistent effort and continuous industry, as well as through absolute obedience, His understanding of the universal laws continued to become more complete. Thus He grew in experience and continued to grow until He attained the status of Godhood." (Milton R. Hunter [LDS Apostle 1958], The Gospel Through the Ages, Deseret Book, pp. 114-115)
"God is a perfected, saved soul enjoying eternal life" (Marion G. Romney, [LDS Apostle] "How Men Are Saved," Ensign [an LDS magazine], Nov. 1974, p. 38)
2. "God the Father is a perfected, glorified, holy Man, and immortal personage. And Christ was born into the world as the literal Son of this holy Being; he was born in the same personal, real, and literal sense that any mortal son is born to a mortal father. There is nothing figurative about his paternity; he was begotten, conceived and born in the normal and natural course of events, for he is the Son of God, and that designation means what it says." (Bruce R. McKonkie, [LDS apostle] Mormon Doctrine, 1966, p. 742)
3. "If a man commit adultery, he cannot receive the Celestial kingdom of God. Even if he is saved in any kingdom, it cannot be the Celestial Kingdom." (History of the Church, Vol. 6, p. 81)
"Murder...is a 'sin unto death,' (1 John 5:16-17) a sin for which there is 'no forgiveness' (D&C 42:79, meaning that a murderer can never gain salvation) ...He cannot join the Church by baptism; he is outside the pale of redeeming grace." (Bruce R. McKonkie,Mormon Doctrine, 1966, p. 520)
4. Quoted from Lorenzo Snow [LDS prophet], Millennial Star, vol. 54, p.404
"Here, then, is eternal life---to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be gods yourselves..." (History of the Church, Vol. 6, p. 306)
"The whole design of the gospel is to lead us onward and upward to greater achievement, even, eventually, to godhood." (Gordon B. Hinckley[LDS prophet],"Don't Drop the Ball," Ensign, Nov. 1994,p. 84)
It is highly interesting that three years after saying the gospel leads to godhood, President Hinckley could not recall being familiar with the teaching. Time Magazine reporter, Richard Ostling, interviewed Mr. Hinckley. On whether the LDS Church holds that, "God the Father was once a man, he [Hinckley] sounded uncertain, ‘I don’t know that we teach it. I don’t know that we emphasize it ... I understand the philosophical background behind it, but I don’t know a lot about it, and I don’t think others know a lot about it.’" (Time Magazine, August 4, 1997, p. 56)
5. There are many resources available proving the connection between Masonic temple rituals and Mormon temple rituals. They are too extensive to quote here, but a very good article on this can be found at: http://www.utlm.org/onlineresources/mormonkingdomvol1ch13masonicinfluence.htm#MASONRY%20IN%20TEMPLE%20RITUAL
6. "...every man and woman must have the certificate of Joseph Smith as a passport to the entrance into the mansion above where God and Christ are...I cannot go there without his consent" (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 7, p. 289)
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