Automatic Transcript Generated:
Speaker 2
I think this yeah.
Speaker 1
Kell is asking, should we read the Book of Mormon? Well, my friend Kelly. Yeah, this is a really great question. And, you know, I want to say something first. I have the most respect for my woman brothers and sisters out there. My personal experience is that one summer I spent an entire month going door to door in Salt Lake City, Utah, and I met hundreds and hundreds of modern families. And I have to tell you, they were some of the most nice, Godly, wonderful people. And I have the utmost respect for Mormon people, as far as family values go, exceptional. They have really great practices in health and modesty, just really great people. I want to begin by saying that I have so much respect for people who have the Mormon faith. But when it comes to the Book of Mormons, I do have some reservations about reading that as a spiritual guide. And this is obviously because when we read in the Bible, in the Book of Isaiah, it says to the law and to the testimony, if it doesn’t speak according to this word to the Bible, it has to be in accordance to the Bible is because there’s no light in them.
Speaker 1
Now, am I saying that all Mormons are bad or no, I’m not saying that. I believe that God only holds us up to the light we’ve been given. And so I would encourage my brothers and sisters who have the Mormon faith to further study their Bible and come to your own conclusion as far as what you believe is truth. But there’s a few things that are in the Book of Mormons that I can say are pretty clearly not in harmony with Scripture. The first thing is from teaching of presidents of the Church by Joseph Smith. This is something that was stated. It says man as a spirit was begotten and born of heavenly parents and reared to maturity in the eternal mansions of the Father prior to coming upon the Earth in a temporal, physical body. Now, the Bible is pretty clear in the Book of Genesis that this is in the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth. And then so it goes through basically God making the Earth in six days. And on the 6th day that God created man in Genesis 27, it says God formed man of the dust of the Earth and breathed into him the breath of life, and man became a living soul.
Speaker 1
And so there’s no mention in the Bible of man ever pre existing before that. And in all honesty, that kind of sounds like the immortality of the soul. And we know that the Bible says that only God has immortality. So I think that’s pretty important to understand as far as understanding of where we come from. As I said in one Timothy, chapter 615 and 16, which in times past, he shall show who is the blessed and only potentate, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. So as God, who only in verse 16, who only has immortality, dwelling in the light. So it’s pretty clear there’s some other things about God that they speak about. One thing is that they talk about having a heavenly mother as part of this having heavenly parents, that there’s a heavenly mother. There’s no mention of that at all in the Bible like it says in one John five seven. I know that verse is somewhat controversial. Some people say, oh, that shouldn’t be part of the Canon, but guess what? It is. So either way, first, John 57 says that there are three witnesses in heaven, basically the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1
And when Jesus says to baptize his people, he says to do it in Matthew 2019 to baptize them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There’s never, ever any mention anywhere in the Bible of a heavenly mother that’s nowhere found in scripture. So that’s another thing. And there’s also a doctrine in the Mormon faith that basically we become gods. And basically you become as God. And I know that there’s a scripture in Psalm that says, oh, you are gods. And Jesus says, repeat that verse, don’t you understand that you are gods? But again, that doesn’t mean that you become God. Like you don’t have creative power as God. Of course not. But you speaking the gospel to other people are representative of God. You are people see you and you reflect in God to them that’s I believe more what the verse is talking about. You become God to other people as you spread the gospel because you’re the only Bible some people ever read. But God is very clear. In Isaiah, chapter 45, verse five, he says, I am God alone. There is none else like there is none beside me.
Speaker 1
So I think that’s pretty clear. And I think that’s bordering on blasphemy to say that we can become as God. I know that there’s been some doctrine that says as far as possible. So maybe, I think it depends on which I’m sure within Mormonism there’s some people that believe some things and some people that believe other things. So I understand that that’s probably something that happens too, because it happens in all churches, even within a Church. Some people I know Baptists, some believe in keeping the Sabbath, some don’t. There’s just different kinds of Baptists, there’s different kinds of people in the same Church, but they have some doctrinal differences. So I know that it can happen as well. But that is definitely something that I don’t think we become God. And the last thing and I hate bringing this up, but I know that in one of their books too, this isn’t as bad, but they talk about baptizing the dead. And I had a friend who was Mormon, he’s like, yes, we have the service where somebody is baptized for all these people who were lost. And so basically because they’re baptized now, these people who were dead and not baptized, now they have Salvation.
Speaker 1
And I’m like, no, because the living know that they shall die, but the dead. No, not anything. And that’s in Ecclesiastes, chapter nine. And so I don’t agree with that. I don’t believe that they have the correct.
Speaker 2
Yeah. Plus, Ezekiel says, we’re judged by our own sins and man will die for his own sins, not for his father’s or anybody else. And that’s also for the good act of nobody else. Can we be saved?
Speaker 1
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2
Through Christ achievements, have we been able to partake in his gift of Salvation?
Speaker 1
Amen. This is something I don’t know. I know it’s controversial and I don’t want to dive too much into it, but I know that there’s been some history in the Mormon Church, and I know this isn’t all Mormons. And so I don’t want to say this is true of all Mormons, but there’s definitely been some doctrine. And this is coming from a good friend of mine who was Mormon. That some belief that the African American race was from a cursed race. And there’s just some racial thing that was actually pretty prevalent.
Speaker 2
Yeah, that was unfortunately prevalent viewpoint across Christianity in general to justify slavery back in early days of the country.
Speaker 1
So I know it’s not just Mormons. I’m not saying Mormons are racist, but I do recall that that was going on anyways. I just don’t agree with racism. I don’t believe all Mormons are racist, but I’m just saying that’s something that. But we have to be careful of in our understanding of the Bible, because the Bible says in Acts, chapter 17 that we are all one blood and God is near to all of us as long as we accept him.
Speaker 2
And I believe they’ve largely abolished that viewpoint.
Speaker 1
I shouldn’t bring it up. I’m sorry.
Speaker 2
Yeah. I don’t think modern day Mormons believe that.
Speaker 1
No, I don’t think so either. Well, I met some that. Do you see that?
Speaker 2
Okay. There’s always exceptions, right?
Speaker 1
Exactly. There’s always exceptions.
Speaker 2
Any denomination probably find those people.
Speaker 1
Exactly. But at large, do I think. No, they probably don’t. But like I said, heavenly parents. Heavenly Mother. No, that one.
Speaker 2
That’s pretty interesting, mother. Because in Jeremiah 718, God talks about how his people are participating in pagan rituals. So he says the children gather wood, the father’s Kindle the fire, and the women need dough to make cakes for the Queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings to other gods that they may provoke me to anger. So that actually was a pagan practice that God said, basically, I don’t like that. That makes me angry. When you worship a Queen of Heaven, there isn’t one.
Speaker 1
Yeah, exactly. So that would be my. I would say, like I said, is all the book Mormon a terrible book? No. Like there’s some really great advice about health. There’s really good failings. But what I consider a source of biblical truth no, I think there’s some inconsistencies. So I would say stick with the Bible because that’s the greatest source of truth we have in the world.
Speaker 2
Yes. And I just want to emphasize what we’re doing is we’re measuring it against the Bible. So for us, we believe the Bible we believe that is the sole measure of truth for us as God has given us and any new truth, any new light needs to be measured against it. So just because the Mormon Church had a person claim to be a Prophet doesn’t mean that’s why we rule it out. We don’t just say, oh, there can’t be new profits nowadays. I’m going to just roll out everything that Josiah came up with. No, that’s not what we’re doing. We’re saying, okay, maybe he could be a Prophet. Let’s check what he said against the Bible and that’s the way we’re going about it.
Speaker 1
Exactly. Again, I have the highest respect for my brothers and sisters in the Mormon Church but yeah, let’s all study the Bible together and come to our own conclusions. And regardless, let’s treat each other with that love and respect that God calls us to. And that’s actually one beautiful thing that I have read in the Mormon Church is that they do consider everybody to be their brother and sister which I agree.
Speaker 2
I do agree with that I have to say I love my Mormon friends and the ones I’ve been around too. I have had only great experiences and I think they really set a high bar for the rest of us to try to live up to in so many ways. Agree.
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BibleAsk Team
