Mormonism Christianity

Great Apostasy? There was a complete and universal apostasy.

There must have been a complete and universal apostasy where the gospel and authority of God was lost from the earth in order to justify the claim that the LDS Church is the only true Church "restored" on the earth for these latter days (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 42-46; Doctrines of Salvation 3:265-326; and History of the Church 1:XLII-XLIII). There was never and never will be a complete and universal apostasy.

Though there are obviously times of apostasy in its history, the Church, the gospel, and the authority of God continue throughout all generations. Thus, though there may be times of reformation, there will never be a time of restoration for the Church (Psalm 12:6-7; Isaiah 9:6-7; 40:8; Mat. 16:18; 24:35; John 10:35; Eph. 3:20-1; and 1 Peter 1:25).

What is divine salvation? Divine salvation is unconditional for resurrection and conditional for eternal life.

In one sense, salvation is universal immortality and resurrection to live in one of three degrees of glory and this is by grace alone. It is given to everyone except certain apostates who really knew better. In another sense, salvation is making it into the highest kingdom--the celestial kingdom. The latter is dependent on grace through faith and one's works (2 Ne. 25:23; D&C 76:40-4; and Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 669-71, and 746). Divine salvation is always conditional.

Divine salvation is always from sin and its consequence of separation from God. This salvation is always conditioned upon faith. Until this occurs, God considers the individual dead. When this salvation occurs, one has eternal life and there is nothing separating the believer from God's fellowship (Jn. 5:24; Romans 5; Eph. 2:1-10; and 1 Jn. 5:10-3).

Baptism for the dead? Baptism for the dead is required.

Baptism in place of the dead is an essential ordinance done in LDS temples on behalf of those who died not receiving the benefit of LDS baptism (D&C 128 and Gospel Principles [2011], 233-9). Prophet Joseph Smith said, "The greatest responsibility in this world that God has laid upon us is to seek after our dead" (Fielding Smith, The Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith [1977], 356). Prophet Joseph Fielding Smith said, "[I]f we willfully neglect the salvation of our dead, then also we shall stand rejected of the Lord, because we have rejected our dead; and just so sure their blood will be required at our hands. ...But the greatest and grandest duty of all is to labor for the dead. ...[B]ecause we cannot be saved without them" (Doctrines of Salvation 2:145 and 149). Baptism for the dead is not required.

The only biblical passage that mentions baptism for the dead was most likely done by those outside of Christianity, since the Apostle Paul made a contrast between what "they" do and what "we" do. Paul said that even those who do baptism for the dead believe in the resurrection. How much more should we, who do not baptize for the dead and are led by apostles who were eyewitnesses of Christ's resurrection, believe in the resurrection (1 Cor. 15:29-30).



Even if some of the Corinthians were performing baptisms for the dead, there is no reason to think the practice was understood to be a means of salvation. Further, even though baptism is normal and a believer should be baptized, it is not essential for salvation since individuals have obviously been saved without it (e.g., Lk. 23:32-43; Acts 10:44-8; and 1 Cor. 1:17).



Finally, there is no second chance for salvation to those who reject it in this life (Lk. 16:19-31; and Hebrews 9:27).

The Trinity? The Trinity means three separate Gods, who are one in their nature and become one in purpose.

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three separate gods, who are one in purpose and nature, but not in a being they share eternally (Ibid; Fielding Smith, The Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith [1977], 372). There was a time when the person of the Father (Elohim) was without the person of the Son (Jehovah) as His Son. Thus, there was a time in which Elohim was not the Father. The Trinity means three inseparable Persons, who are eternally God in purpose, nature, and being.

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three distinct or different persons, who are eternally and inseparably one in purpose, nature, and being (Ibid.; Isa. 48:12-7; Mt. 3:16; 4:10; and 28:16-20). So the Father is not the same person as the Son, and the Son is not the same person as the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is not the same person as the Father, but nonetheless, each Person eternally makes up the only Being of God there is.

Does God in His nature have flesh and bones? God is an exalted man with flesh and bones.

God the Father and Jesus Christ have tangible bodies of flesh and bones, but the Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit. Personages of spirit are still material with a certain form or shape, but they are not as tangible as the bodies of those who are sent to a mortal planet (Ibid.; D&C 130:22; 131:7-8; and "Spirit" in the LDS Bible Dictionary).



Apostle James Talmage taught that "the Father is a personal being, possessing a definite form, with bodily parts. ...It has been said, therefore, that God is everywhere present; but this does not mean that the actual person of any one member of the Godhead can be physically present in more than one place at one time. ...His powers of transferring Himself from place to place are infinite; plainly, however, His person cannot be in more than one place at any one time. ...If God possesses a form, that form is of necessity of definite proportions and therefore of limited extension in space. It is impossible for Him to occupy at one time more than one space of such limits" (Articles of Faith, 41-3). Prophet Brigham Young made a similar, but more succinct statement when he said, "Some would have us believe that God is present everywhere. It is not so" (Journal of Discourses 6:345). God is not an exalted man with flesh and bones.

Since He is the Creator of all things outside of Himself (e.g., the entire material universe), God is not limited to a body. He created matter, and does not need a body or anything else to operate anywhere in all of creation. He is all powerful, and as such, He can take any type of form or nature to show up any way He wants to (1 Kings 8:27; Jer. 23:24; Luke 3:22; and Jn. 4:21-4).

Can humans become Gods for other worlds as God is God for this world? Humans may become Gods for other worlds as God is God for this world.

Worthy Mormons may become gods to create, rule over and receive worship from their own worlds some day. They will do this exclusively as the god or the team of gods for that world or that set of worlds (like the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are for this world or this set of worlds), and thus the God of this world will not perform those functions there (Ibid; D&C 76:50-8 and 95, 132:15-23, 29, and 37; The Latter-day Saint Woman: Basic Manual for Women, Part A, Lesson 10: Eternal Marriage; Becoming Like God; and Gospel Principles [1997], 302).



Prophet Joseph Smith taught, "When men begin to live by faith they begin to draw near to God; and when faith is perfected they are like him; and because he is saved they are saved also" (Lectures on Faith 7:8). Apostle Bruce McConkie taught, "This Holy Man, the Father of us all, who reigns supreme and is a saved being, ordained and established a plan of salvation so that his Firstborn and all his spirit children might advance" (A New Witness for the Articles of Faith, 704). Humans cannot become Gods for other worlds as God is God for all worlds.

When all believers become what some Christians such as C. S. Lewis call "gods" in heaven (although the Bible never uses this language of glorified individuals), they are still dependent and human "gods," and not God by nature, who alone is eternally the Author and Sustainer of literally all that is outside Himself. He is the only God in this fundamental sense of the term (Ibid.; Lewis, Mere Christianity, vi, 160, 172; and Robert M. Bowman, Jr., Ye are Gods? Orthodox and Heretical Views on the Deification of Man).

Was the God of this world once a man who became God? The God of this world was once a man who became God.

God is an exalted man, who needed to do certain things in order to become God for this world (Ibid.; and James Talmage, Articles of Faith, 430). Prophet Joseph Smith clearly taught, "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 today, you would see him like a man in form--like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as a man; ...I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea, and take away the veil, so that you may see (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith [1977], 345). The God of this world is the God for all worlds, so He never was a man who had to become God.

God has always been God, and thus is not so needy (Ibid.).

Does the Father have a Father? The Heavenly Father has a Heavenly Father before Him.

Prophet Joseph Smith clearly taught that God the Father has a Father whom He followed as Jesus had followed His Father in order to become a god (Fielding Smith, The Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith [1977], 373). Apostle Orson Pratt said, "We were begotten by our Father in Heaven ; the person of our Father in Heaven was begotten on a previous heavenly world by His Father; and again, He was begotten by a still more ancient Father and so on, from generation to generation, from one heavenly world to another still more ancient. ...But why does man seek for a first, when revelation informs him that God's works are without beginning? ...[W]hy, then, do you seek for a first personal Father in an endless genealogy ? or for a first effect in an endless succession of effects?" (The Seer, 132). There was no Heavenly Father before the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

There is no other God before God. He is not so weak that He needed to serve and receive counsel from some other God in order to become God; He always was God (Ps. 90:2; Isa. 40:12-26; 43:10; and Rom. 11:33-6).

Does God need a wife to become God? God needs a wife to become God.

God the Father has at least one wife that He needed in order to become exalted to Godhood, and by at least one wife we on this world were all literally born as spirit children prior to taking on our tangible bodies of flesh and bones via our mortal parents (McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 516-7; Young, The Journal of Discourses 1:50; Gospel Principles [2011], 8-12; Mother in Heaven; and the popular hymn "O My Father"). God does not need a wife to become God.

Since God is not a man by nature it is impossible for Him as the eternal God to even enter into a human marital relationship that He would need to become God and sexually produce us. It is just as impossible for God to lie. He does not need anything, let alone a wife, to become God.



If it were even possible for the Father to strive to exaltation, then we would expect God's courtship and marriage to be a perfect one in which He received counsel from the other partner(s). But what kind of God would this be? As the All Perfect Being by nature, it is also impossible for God to receive any counsel (Ibid; 1 Kings 8:27; and Heb. 6:18).

Did humans exist prior to this earthly life? Humans existed prior to this earthly life.

Humans were all born to heavenly parents in the celestial kingdom prior to this earthly life (Abraham 3:22–6). Humans did not exist prior to this earthly life.

With the exception of Jesus, humans are not from heaven or from above, but from the earth or below, and have never seen the Heavenly Father (Jn. 1:1-3, 14-18; 3:13, 28-31; 6:38-46; and 8:23).

Is there anything that the Father did not create? There are things that the Father did not create.

Thus God the Father did not create the planet that His Father had already created. No God for any world created all worlds. No God for any world created intelligence, matter, or the laws that govern them. These are eternal. Any person, including a God for any world, eternally existed as intelligence, and not as God (Fielding Smith, The Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith [1977], 373; D&C 93:29-35; 131:7-8; and Abraham 3:18-28). This is why the Prophet Joseph Smith taught that "God never had the power to create the spirit of man at all. God himself could not create himself. Intelligence is eternal and exists upon a self-existent principle. It is a spirit from age to age, and there is no creation about it" (The Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith [1977], 354). There is nothing that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit did not create.

There is only one Being who created and rules over everything in existence. LDS simply devalue and weaken God when they think that He did not create something like some other world (Gen. 1:1; Deut. 4:39; Isa. 40:12-26; 43:10; 44:6, 8, and 24; Jn. 1:1-3; Acts 17:24-8; and 1 Cor. 8:6).

Is there anything that the Son did not create? There are things that the Son did not create.

Jesus being the literal son of exalted human gods obviously did not create all things either. For example, He did not create the planet He was born on as a spirit child (Ibid.; Gospel Principles [2011], 13-6; and 22-5). There is nothing that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit did not create.

Prior to becoming man, Jesus existed as "the only begotten God" (Jn. 1:18, New American Standard [NAS] and in the best Greek manuscripts). As such, He created everything that was ever created from the very beginning (Jn. 1:1-3, 14 and 1 Cor. 8:6).



When LDS relativize His creation to only concerning the things of this world or this set of worlds--i.e., not literally all worlds, this devalues and cheapens Jesus, who has not only the nature of man (1 Timothy 2:5), but also the nature of "God over all blessed forever" (Rom. 9:5, emphasis added).

Has Jesus always been God? Jesus has not always been God.

Jesus, like all other gods before Him, had to become a God. He is the literal Son of God like we are children of God, but He's without sin (Fielding Smith, The Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith [1977], 346-7). Jesus has always been God.

Jesus has always been the only God there is along with the Father and Holy Ghost (Ibid; Isa. 43:10; Mt. 28:19; Jn. 1:1-3 and 14; and 8:56-9).

Was Jesus born of a virgin? Jesus may not have been born of a virgin.

Even though Mormons are usually quick to say they don't know how the conception of Jesus took place and allow for the possibility of something like artificial insemination, they all claim that Jesus had the Heavenly Father and Mary as parents. So the Father's seed was somehow implanted into Mary, His spirit-daughter.



Mormon general authorities on the other hand have claimed that the conception of Jesus was perfectly natural despite the Book of Mormon teaching that Mary was a virgin when Jesus was born (1 Ne. 11:18-21; Alma 7:10; The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young 1:321; Young, The Journal of Discourses 1:50-1; 8:115; Heber C. Kimball, 211; Orson Pratt, The Seer, 158-9; Family Home Evening Manual [1972], 126; and McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 546-7, and 742-3). Jesus was born of a virgin.

Just because Jesus was eternally the Son of the Father does not entail that Jesus was not the Son of the Holy Ghost when He was born of Mary. The act of conception was of the Holy Ghost, and not of a man. Mary was with child and still a virgin (Mt. 1:18-25; and Lk. 1:26-35).

Who is the Holy Ghost? The Holy Ghost is a man and son of God.

"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that the Holy Ghost is a spirit man, a spirit son of God the Father. It is fundamental Church doctrine that God is the Father of the spirits of all men and women, that Jesus is literally God's Son both in the spirit and in the flesh, and that the Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit separate and distinct from both the Father and the Son. The Holy Ghost is the third member of the Eternal Godhead, and is identified also as the Holy Spirit, Spirit of God, Spirit of the Lord, and the comforter" (Encyclopedia of Mormonism 2:649; cf. D&C 130:22-3; "Holy Ghost" in the LDS Bible Dictionary).



The gift of the Holy Ghost is only given to those who have been baptized and are confirmed by the laying on of hands (Gospel Principles [2011], 120-4). The Holy Ghost is God by nature.

Since the Holy Ghost is the inseparable third person of the only Being of God there is, He is not a man by nature that became exalted into a separate god for a Godhead team (2 Samuel 23:2-3; Mt. 28:19; Acts 5:3-4; and 13:2).



Gentiles clearly received the gift of the Holy Ghost prior to being baptized. They simply believed and spoke in tongues without the laying on of hands (Acts 10:44-8).

Racism? God curses certain individuals with dark skin.

Up until recently, the races were thought to be determined by how worthy individuals were prior to this mortal life. Blacks were not as faithful in their first estate (Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation 1:61-7; McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 527-8; 1st Presidency Statement, August 17, 1949).



The Book of Mormon still teaches white superiority. Here God cursed certain Israelite American Indians with dark skin, and this was meant to keep them from interbreeding with their white brethren. This scripture also teaches that God blessed some who repented with white skin (Alma 3:6-9; 1 Ne. 12:23; 2 Ne. 5:21-4; Jacob 3:8; and 3 Ne. 2:14-6).



The Book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price teaches that the curse of Cain was a seed of blackness. This seed was excluded from Zion, the future abode of God (Moses 7:8, 21 and 22).



Nothing concerning the LDS "revelation" in 1978 to give "all worthy males members" the priesthood invalidates these beliefs. However, LDS.org (the official website of the Church) now states, "Today, the Church disavows the theories advanced in the past that black skin is a sign of divine disfavor or curse, or that it reflects unrighteous actions in a premortal life; that mixed-race marriages are a sin; or that blacks or people of any other race or ethnicity are inferior in any way to anyone else. Church leaders today unequivocally condemn all racism, past and present, in any form" ("Race and the Priesthood"). God does not curse anyone with dark skin.

God blesses humanity with different colors of skin, and no skin color is more favorable to Him than another. Race is not the real issue anyway, for we are all one in Christ (Gal. 3:28). "God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him" (Acts 10:34-5). Since this is true, there was no good reason to not allow blacks to attend BYU in the 1960s or exclude blacks from holding the priesthood until 1978.



The mark of Cain was not a curse, but a blessing. It was for his good to protect him from anyone who wanted to kill him. Nothing is said about this mark being passed onto his descendants, nothing is said about it being a color of skin, and nothing is said about it barring him or his seed from Zion, the future abode of God (Gen. 4:15).



Finally, dark skin is never changed into white upon repentance (Jer. 13:23).

Polygamy? God approves of polygamy in the Old and New Testaments, but has temporarily suspended the practice.

Holy men were allowed to practice plural marriage in times past only upon the Lord's command (Fielding Smith, The Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith [1977], 346-7; and Jacob 2:27-30). These who kept this command, as well as other commands, became gods in the celestial kingdom (D&C 132).



Brigham Young taught that the only ones who became gods are those who enter into polygamy (The Journal of Discourses 11:269). This explains why early leaders of the LDS Church were all polygamists. Joseph Smith had 34 wives, 11 of whom were currently married to living husbands at the time he took them as wives (WivesOfJosephSmith.org; and FamilySearch.org).



Even though the Salt Lake City based Mormon Church suspended the practice in 1890, the late General Authority Bruce McConkie said it would obviously "commence again after the Second Coming of the Son of Man" (Mormon Doctrine, 578).



However, temple-worthy LDS widowers may still practice plural marriage today by getting sealed for "time and all eternity" to another temple-worthy woman who is not sealed to another. So it's still practiced today with only 1 living wife (e.g., LDS Prophet Russell M. Nelson and Apostle Dallin Oaks). God always disapproves of polygamy even when He allowed it.

Simply because something is the case doesn't entail that it ought to be the case. So just because individuals were polygamists in the Bible doesn't entail that they should have been. People murdered in the Bible, but that doesn't justify murder.



The ideal of the one-flesh unit was given from creation (Gen. 2:24), and there are various indications in the Old Testament against polygamy. Nonetheless, God may have at times accommodated Himself to a temporary, fallen Near Eastern social structure (Paul Copan, Is God a Moral Monster?: Making Sense of the Old Testament God [Grand Rapids: Baker, 2011], 58-62, and 110-7). Similar to Jesus' teaching on divorce, it was given due to the hardness of their hearts (Mat. 19:8).



Regardless of the Old Testament practice, the New Testament is clear that the church leaders, who we are called to emulate, are to be husbands of one wife (1 Tim. 3:2, 12; and Titus 1:5-6). We are still in the New Testament, and thus, there is no excuse for Mormon Church leaders entering into polygamy.



Finally, Jesus taught that we won't be married in the afterlife anyway, but will be like the angels (Mat. 22:23-30).

The Priesthood? The Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthoods are offered to worthy male members.

There are two forms of the priesthood: the Aaronic (the lesser one) and the Melchizedek (the greater one). Without the authority of the priesthood, no man can see God and live.



It is available for all worthy male members of at least a certain age, who desire to act legally in the name of the Lord. This was extended to those males with black ancestry in 1978 (D&C, Official Declaration--2; 84:6ff.; and Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation 3:80). The Aaronic priesthood was done away at the cross and the Melchizedek priesthood is unique to Christ.

The Aaronic priesthood was done away at the crucifixion of Christ, since He has become our permanent high priest. There is no more need for Levitical priests to offer imperfect sacrifices on behalf of the people in the temple.



Jesus alone is worthy to hold the Melchizedek priesthood. He is our great High Priest that continues to intercede for us before the Father.



Any believer today who has been called out of darkness into the light, regardless of age, race, or sex, is a member of the holy and royal priesthood. The believer operates in the highest authority that is offered today, viz., that of being a child of the Lord Omnipotent. Christians have the true priesthood, since they have the true God who gives it to them (Jn. 1:12; Gal. 3:26-9; 1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 4:14; 5:9-10; 7:11-8:2; 9:24; 1 Pt. 2:5 and 9; and Rev. 1:6; 20:6).

The Temple? The temple functions today.

"The temple, or the house of the Lord, is the place where we go to prepare for exaltation in the celestial kingdom. There we learn more about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. We make covenants with Them, and They promise wonderful blessings to us. ...Today, the members of the Church are counseled to become worthy to attend the holy temple " ( Endowed from on High: Temple Preparation Seminar Teacher's Manual ) .



Temple rites include washing and anointing of each patron, clothing them in the temple garment to be worn "night and day" ( Temple rites include washing and anointing of each patron, clothing them in the temple garment to be worn "night and day" ( Temple Recommend Questions ), and participation in an endowment ceremony to learn tokens (handshakes), oaths, and names at the veil. In addition to these rites, special ceremonies are offered, which include baptisms for the dead (see above), eternal marriages, and eternal sealings of parents to children. The temple does not function today.

The function of the temple was for the Old Covenant and no longer applies in the New Covenant. In the latter, the Body of Christ, which is made up of believers, is the temple of God (1 Cor. 6:19-20 and 2 Cor. 6:16).



God tore the veil in the temple ("top to the bottom" in Mat. 27:51), which represented the completion of the Old Covenant sacrificial system. The point of this system was to foreshadow the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world (Heb. 9-10).



There was only one temple, the work was always for the living, not the dead, there was no endowment ceremony, nor were there any marriages or sealings. Christ's death put an end to the law for those who believe (Rom. 10:4). As a result, He did not institute a new external law of temple requirements.