IS MORMONISM FROM GOD?
(Latter Day Saints' Doctrine Versus Itself)
By T. D. and Mark Roberts
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
(LDS) is one of the fastest growing religions in the United
States, perhaps even in the entire world. It offers its people
clean living, a zealous missionary program and wholesome
families. But this alone does not prove it is from God.
With an open mind, we must candidly examine these
questions: Is the Book of Mormon really an inspired book, to be
revered and believed as Scripture? Is the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints actually the church that measures up to the
specifications and standards of being the Body of Christ? Should
everyone cease their current religious practices and become a
member of the LDS church?
We believe the answer to these questions is no. In
this tract we will set out to prove that the LDS church is a
creation of man, not of God. This will be done in three parts.
First, we will conclusively prove that Joseph Smith was not a
spokesman or prophet of Jehovah. Secondly, LDS teaching will be
set against itself showing that it is inconsistent and
contradictory. Finally, LDS teaching and the Bible will be
compared and shown to be completely incompatible.
Before we proceed further we should desire to remind
our LDS friends of the obligation they have to refute error and
destroy false teachings about the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints. Merely walking away by saying, "Your mind is
closed" will not satisfy the commands given to LDS members by
their own leaders. Note what is said in Doctrines and Covenants
71:7-8: "Wherefore, confound your enemies; call upon them to
meet you in public and in private; and inasmuch as ye are
faithful their shame shall be made manifest. Wherefore, let them
bring forth their strong reasons against the Lord." We
respectfully remind our LDS friends that they must answer the
things we will bring "against the Lord" in order to be found
"faithful."
An effective way of studying LDS doctrine is to
study LDS doctrine and to let it speak for itself. This is
exactly what the LDS scholar and apostle Talmage advises in the
Articles of Faith, p. 273. He puts forth the following as the
way the LDS church can be checked to see if it is really from
God:
"Authenticity of the Book of Mormon... is based on
the following proofs:
1. The general agreement of the Book of Mormon with
the Bible in all related matters.
2. The fulfillment of ancient prophecies accomplished
by the bringing forth of the Book of Mormon.
3. The strict agreement and consistency of the Book
of Mormon with itself."
When we use the criteria that this LDS scholar gives
us, we will see that the LDS church is not from God.
JOSEPH SMITH - PROPHET OF GOD?
Because Joseph Smith is the foundation of The LDS
church, their chief prophet, we begin with criteria #2. Did
Joseph Smith make amazing prophecies that have come to pass,
thus showing himself to be the spokesman of God and his book
worthy of acceptance as inspired? If he is really a prophet of
God, then his books and teachings must be followed. If it can be
shown that Joseph Smith is not God's spokesman then let all,
including those presently members of the LDS church, reject him
as a fraud. Thus the entire LDS church rests upon his shoulders.
How might we determine whether Mr. Smith really
spoke for God? Many people have come forth claiming to have a
message from the Lord; how do we know Mr. Smith's message is
genuine? Fortunately, the Bible provides us with the necessary
criteria in Deuteronomy 18:19-22: "But the prophet, that shall
speak a word presumptuously in my name, which I have not
commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other
gods, that same prophet shall die. And if thou say in thy heart,
How shall we know the word which Jehovah hath not spoken? When a
prophet speaketh in the name of Jehovah, if the thing follow
not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which Jehovah hath not
spoken: the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously, thou shalt
not be afraid of him." As the Bible is accepted by both LDS
members and Christians as inspired, we will use this criteria to
examine Joseph Smith.
The first prophecy of Joseph Smith's that we wish to
examine is found in Doctrines and Covenants 87. This chapter
contains Smith's famous Civil War prophecies. D & C 87:1 says,
"Verily, thus saith the Lord concerning the wars that will
shortly come to pass, beginning at the rebellion of South
Carolina, which will eventually terminate in the death and
misery of many souls." Verse 3 makes it even clearer, "For
behold, the Southern States shall be divided against the North
States...." There can be no doubt that the war Smith was
speaking of was the Civil War. This prophecy cannot be construed
as to speak of some future conflict because
verse one says, "shortly come to pass." LDS
missionaries often cite these passages to prove that Smith was a
true spokesman of God. We might note that many people of Smith's
time were predicting a war between the states, but that is
beside the point. A closer study of D & C 87 shows some notable
points about these prophecies that are often not mentioned by
LDS members. To begin with, verse 2 of the chapter says "war
will be poured out on all nations." This simply didn't happen.
The civil war was a conflict confined to the United States.
Smith also said, "remnants would be marshaled... to vex the
Gentiles" (v. 5). LDS members of the time claimed that this
meant Indians would fight in the Civil War. Again, another event
prophesied by Smith did not occur. Perhaps even more notable
than this failure is that Smith prophesied that the Civil War
would "make a full end of all nations" (v.6). This is evidently
not so, as nations still stand today.
So while many LDS people are deeply impressed with
Smith's speaking of the Civil War before it occurred, they may
not be so impressed when they realize that many of the details
of Smith's prophesies simply didn't come to pass. Remember, the
criteria of Jehovah is to see if what the prophet says comes to
pass. When it does not we must know that he is not a true
prophet.
In D & C 114:1 Joseph Smith instructed David W.
Patten to prepare himself for a special mission to take place
the following spring. Unfortunately, Mr. Patten died before he
could go (see History of the Church, Vol. 3, p. 171). Did God
not know that Mr. Patten was going to die?
In D & C 52:22 two men, Thomas B. Marsh and Ezra
Thayre, are instructed to preach. The prophecy is dated June 7,
1831. Yet, in D & C 56:5 the commandment is "revoked" only a few
days later! Why does God reverse Himself like this?
Let's note one other prophecy of Joseph Smith's that
has proved extremely embarrassing to the LDS church. In
Doctrines and Covenants 84:5 we read, "this generation shall not
pass away until a house shall be built unto the Lord." Verse
three identifies this spot as the famous "temple lot" in
Independence, Missouri. The heading on the chapter says 1832.
Hundreds of Mormons believed the prophecy, yet all died and more
than one hundred and fifty years have passed. The temple?
It is yet to be built on the spot that Joseph Smith
prophesied would contain one. Some Mormons have claimed that God
excused Joseph Smith from building the temple due to great
persecution that was breaking out against Mormons (see D & C
124:49). Yet the Doctrines and Commandments tell us plainly that
God will not do such a thing: "What I the Lord have spoken, I
have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and
the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all
be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my
servants, it is the same." (D & C 1:38). "The works and the
designs and the purposes of God cannot be frustrated, neither
can they come to naught... Remember, remember that it is not the
work of God that is frustrated, but the work of men." (D & C
3:1,3). "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father:
I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I
know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of
men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may
accomplish the thing which He commandeth them." (1 Nephi 3:7)
What will LDS members say about this clear and
obvious failure? Mr. Smith claimed to be a spokesman for God,
and yet on this count he obviously was not speaking for the
Lord, or the temple would have been built. It is not enough to
cite the persecution of the times, less one be willing to admit
that God's enemies were able to frustrate God's plans for a
temple. The two passages from D & C 1 and 3 cited above
correctly state that such is impossible with God. Smith must
have been wrong. There can be no other possible conclusion.
The question then must be asked, "If Smith was wrong
on this point, how do we know he wasn't wrong on many points? If
he was wrong about the Temple how can he be a spokesman for an
unerring and infallible God?" Remember the criteria Deuteronomy
18 gives us to determine whether or not a prophet is really from
Jehovah. Mr. Smith cannot meet this test, nor the test that
Talmage proposes.
ADDITIONAL NOTES ABOUT TIME FRAMES IN PROPHECY
In discussions with Latter Day Saints about these
matters an attempt has been made to explain Smith's failures by
turning to places in the Bible where Jesus said "I am coming
soon" or "I come quickly (Revelation 2:5, 16: 3:11; Matthew
24:34). The point is made that if Jesus can delay His coming
then Smith's expression "shortly come to pass" or "this
generation" can also be used to cover a great span of time. This
reply fails for three reasons. First, there would be no need for
D & C 124's pardoning the failure to construct the Temple if
"shortly come to pass" means a long, long time. Why would there
be a word from God excusing it unless there really was a failure?
D & C 124 forever seals the case against Smith,
proving that he made the prophecy and expected it to come to
pass within the time frame that he set: that generation. When it
didn't he began scrambling for excuses, but as we have seen,
other LDS scriptures deny his rationalizations. Second, a close
examination of the texts where Jesus says He will come soon
shows that He is speaking of a coming in judgement, not a
literal, bodily return. For example, Revelation 2:5 tells the
church at Ephesus, "...or else I will come to you quickly and
remove your lampstand." Jesus was not lying or deceiving the
Ephesian church. He meant what He said, and said what He meant!
If they did not repent He would come (in judgement) soon. In
Matthew 24 Jesus is prophesying His return in judgement on the
wicked Jews who rejected Him, as a close comparison with Luke 21
(note especially verse 20) clearly shows. This chapter begins
with the apostles asking Jesus about the destruction of
Jerusalem that He had just foretold (see Matthew 24:2) and Jesus
answers their questions about destruction and judgement by
saying it will happen before that generation passed away.
Indeed, in 70 AD all that Jesus prophesied came to pass, as
Roman armies crushed the Jewish resistance and burned Jerusalem
with fire. Jesus did not lie, or deceive people. He specifically
dated His words with a term ("generation") that meant a specific
length of time, and His prophecy came to pass in that time
frame. Therefore, there is no refuge in trying to parallel
Smith's words to Christ's because when Jesus said "soon,"
"quickly" or "generation" He meant it!
Third, notice that this argument really is saying,
in effect, "Smith was wrong but that is okay but Jesus was wrong
too." As we have seen, Jesus was not wrong, but even if He was
this would not excuse Smith, but rather indict them both as
false prophets. The other common attempt to explain away Smith's
failure says that "generation" can mean a long period of time.
This will not work because no English dictionary so defines the
term. Webster says, "the average period (about thirty years)
between the birth of one generation and that of the next"
(Webster's New World Dictionary, Third Edition, p. 562). The
term "generation" simply cannot be made to cover a period of
over 150 years because that is not what the word means, period.
A close examination of D & C 84 shows that Smith knew this, and
did not use the term "generation" to mean hundreds of years.
This is certain because D& C 84:3 tells us that Smith expected
to dedicate the temple by his own hand! This forever settles the
time frame question. Smith planned to be alive when this
prophecy was fulfilled. There is no doubt that "generation" in D
& C 84:5 meant the people living at that time, including Joseph
Smith. Either Smith used the wrong word (but he was inspired and
so could not), did not mean what he said (but this is an
inspired prophecy), or was not speaking by God (the only choice
left).
DOES THE BOOK OF MORMON AGREE WITH THE BIBLE?
Let's now examine the first proof of the LDS church
that Talmage gives us, the "general agreement of the Book of
Mormon and the Bible." Please note this small sampling of
contradictions:
1. 1 Nephi 10:19 says the "mysteries of God shall be
unfolded... in these times as in times of old." (Dated as
600-592 B.C.). Yet the Bible says in Ephesians 3:3-5, "How that
by revelation he made known unto me the mystery... Which in
other ages was not made known unto the sons of men."
2. 1 Nephi 7:22 and 2 Nephi 5:26 has non-Levites
serving as priests and sacrificing unto God in 592-600 B.C.
Numbers 16:1-35 specifically forbids this.
3. Alma 7:10 has Jesus born in Jerusalem, while
Matthew 2:1 says He was born in Bethlehem.
4. Alma 46:15 says the name Christian was taken in 73
B.C., but the Bible says, "the disciples were called Christians
first in Antioch" (Acts 11:26), some 100 years later!
5. Helamon 14:20, 27 claims that darkness would cover
the face of the whole earth for three days when Christ died.
However, Matthew 27:45 shows that the darkness lasted only three
hours.
6. The LDS church claims the Bible is incomplete and
needs the additional works of Joseph Smith to be complete (1
Nephi 13:39-41). Yet the Bible claims completeness without any
other book (2 Timothy 3:15-16; Jude 3).
7. Doctrines and Covenants 77:12 says man was created
on the seventh day. The Bible says God made man on the sixth day
(Genesis 1:27, 31).
8. 2 Nephi 2:21 teaches that people are lost due to
their parents' transgressions. Ezekiel 18:20 says this is not so.
9. Perhaps most importantly, the Bible says that it
is complete and needs no additions or other revelations (2 Tim.
3:15-16; Jude 1:3; Galatians 1:8-9). The Book of Mormon mocks
this teaching (2 Nephi 28:29-30; 29:7-10), claims that parts of
the Bible have been lost (1 Nephi 13:29), and presents itself as
an additional revelation of God. How can these obvious
contradictions be reconciled?
DOES THE BOOK OF MORMON AGREE WITH ITSELF?
The final criteria that Talmage gives us is to see if
the Book of Mormon is in "strict agreement...with itself." A
close examination will show that it is not, and that it
contradicts other LDS teachings.
1. 1 Nephi 1:3, 19:6 and 2 Nephi 25:7 have the writer
jumping back and forth from claiming infallibility and thinking
the record is sacred.
2. Doctrines 132:1 sets forth the principle of
eternal wives. Verses 3-4 tell believers that they, "must
obey...everlasting covenant, and if ye abide not that covenant
then are ye damned." In verse 38 the reader is told "David also
received many wives and concubines... And in nothing did they
sin." But Jacob 1:15 condemns David for having many wives:
"Wicked practices such as David ...desiring many wives and
concubines."
3. God is unchangeable in 1 Nephi 10:18-19 and Mormon
9:10,19 but in the Articles of Faith God is eternally
progressive (p. 530).
4. God is a Spirit (Alma 18:24, 28) but in the Keys
of Salvation (42-46) He has a body like a man.
5. There is only one God (Alma 11:28-31; 14:5) versus
there are many Gods (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, VII,
133).
6. Ether 2:3 says bees came to the New World in 2000
B.C., but history tells us that Spanish explorers brought bees
to America.
7. Ether 6:5,8 says the Jaredites built barges that
were driven by a "furious wind" that "did never cease to blow,"
yet it took 344 days to cross the Atlantic. At only 3 knots per
hour they could have gone around the entire earth in 344 days!
LDS friend, we have no ill will toward you. In fact,
we go into this lengthy study because we love you. We care about
your soul and your spiritual destiny. Both of us cannot be
right. One of us are in error. In truth, your chief prophet is
no prophet, according to Deuteronomy 18. Furthermore, the very
criteria that a LDS scholar puts forth to test the LDS church
proves that it is not from God. We plead with you to reject this
work of men, and accept simple New Testament Christianity!
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