Mormon Doctrine- Part 2- The Cornerstones

First a small disclaimer. Our time in the SAD group is limited and there are many areas of Mormon history and doctrine that we just didn't have time to touch on. I do try to give more information in the blog but as I have said before Mormonism is a huge field of study and one that takes up considerable time, I make no claims to be any sort of expert and my function both in the group and in the blog is purely to glean information and present it in a concise form. So please don't look on this material as groundbreaking or exhaustive, it's very far from that.

The Chorley Temple

Cornerstones
Just as with it's huge temple edifices Mormonism is built upon certain cornerstones, its distinctive doctrines which despite the best attempts of the LDS to dress them up as Christian, in fact set Mormonism far outside the realm of anything that we can even remotely call Christian.

If ever there was a single statement that could condense the whole of Mormon doctrine into just a few words it would surely be the words of a former Mormon Church President Lorenzo Snow (left) in 1840 (President is the highest rank in the LDS, they are viewed as direct successors of Joseph Smith and Prophets in their own right, in essence a Mormon Pope, their word is binding in its authority)

"As man is God once was; as God is man may be"

The God of the LDS
The God of Mormonism bears no relation to anything that we can recognize in historical Christian Theology. The 'God the Father' of Mormonism was once just an ordinary man like you and me but through righteous living he is now elevated to the position of godhood occupying the highest of heavenly spheres 'The Celestial Kingdom' and living near a star/planet called Kolob along with his many wives! This is not the God of the Bible this is a god with a physical body a god who is bound by limitations, a god who like us is still in the process of development. It is this path to godhood that Mormonism wants us to aspire to tread. Through Baptism, Priesthood, and various ceremonies coupled with works of righteousness we too can one day ascend to the position of gods ruling over other worlds alongside our many wives and populating these worlds with our spiritual children, who in turn repeat the whole process again.

With such a god as this at the heart of LDS theology we need not be surprised when Mormons enthusiastically embrace 'Open Theism' and Arminian views of human nature.

Free will- and Satan the Spirit brother
They reject any idea of an all knowing God, a God that governs by his eternal decrees and operates according to his good pleasure. In the Mormon world as in the world of the Arminian 'Free Will' is god. Infact part of Mormon narrative is the teaching that Jesus and Lucifer are spirit brothers children of God the Father and God the Mother! A war broke out in heaven as a result of Jesus and Lucifer's differing plans of Salvation for the human race Jesus upholding the fee will of humans while Satan wanted to force people into belief and submission, needless to say Jesus won the argument war broke out Satan got thrown out along with his angelic supporters.

It's obvious from all this that a Calvinistic world view is utterly incomprehensible to the Mormon mind. I have even heard a Mormon on one occasion defend the idea that the wandering Israelites sent out missionaries to the cities of Canaan to preach the gospel in order to allow them the opportunity to choose to believe in the God of the Israelites, the fact that there was no scripture to support such an idea was irrelevant, what mattered was that there was no way that a loving God could punish sinners for their willfully perverse and debauched lifestyle at least not without the power of free will reigning supreme!

Mormonism- Polytheistic & Anti-Trinitarian
What becomes self evident is that Mormonism is not even a monotheistic religion. Mormons will insist that they believe in one true God and in a Godhead just like you do but again beneath what seems theologically orthodox language lies a totally different meaning; For the Mormon the Godhead is not the Trinity as we would understand it but rather a gang of god's working together or a divine club for gods who rule over and operate in this world. God the Father is one of these gods and Jesus is his son a separate god in his own right and God the Holy Spirit which Mormons despite their dismissal of the idea of these gods as spirit beings still seem to end up with the Holy Spirit as a spirit being in all but name. As mentioned previously these gods rule over this realm of the earth but that is not to say that there are not a myriad of other gods ruling over other worlds.

A mormon would say:-"Oh yes we believe in one true god, just as you do, god the father is the one true god for this world!"

The God who emerged
So here is the god of the Mormon world, a god who has a wife, apparently she isn't mentioned in the bible so as to spare her being dishonored by unbelievers. This is a god who entered into sexual relations with his wife and she bore him spirit children, amongst these are Jesus and Lucifer and somewhere in there is Michael, though trying to follow the divine lineage is confusing. In fact the birth of Jesus was the result of a sexual relationship between god the father and Mary. While most of us who are evangelical find all this stomach churning; Think about the fact that here we have a church which embraces this blasphemous nonsense and at the same time is more than happy to dress up in glitzy Christmas garb and sing to us with a full orchestras accompaniment 'The Virgin Mary had a baby boy!' Who is kidding who? The only thing more daunting in scale than their temple edifices, is the scale of their hypocrisy and deliberate attempts to deceive and hoodwink a generally gullible and ignorant audience.

This then is a god who didn't form the universe rather he emerged from preexisting matter. He in turn made our planet from that same preexisting matter, what we have then is a god who is just as subject to the forces of the universe as we are. The man Elohim attained godhood and in so doing created the world by 'organizing' this matter, both the eternally preexistent inorganic matter and the preexistent primal intelligences from which human spirits are made.

The Adam God Theory
Brigham Young who emerged as Smith's successor, took the Mormon doctrine even further with his 'Adam God Theory'.

When our father Adam came into the garden of Eden, he came into it with a celestial body, and brought Eve, one of his wives, with him. He helped to make and organize this world. . . . the seed was brought from another sphere, and planted in this earth. . . .He is Michael, the Archangel, the Ancient of Days about whom we have written and spoken-He is our father and our god, and the only god with whom we have to do...
When Adam and Eve had eaten of the forbidden fruit, their bodies became mortal from its effects, and therefore their offspring were mortal" (Journal of Discourses 1:50, emphasis in original).


Brigham Young

Many Mormons today would seek to distance themselves from such a bizzare concept, but in so doing they place themselves in a difficult situation, because as a president of the LDS Brigham Young would claim to posses the same infallible prophetic voice that his predecessor Joseph Smith had. Of course they can say that successive prophets have brought further light with them, but surely this makes nonsense of the so called 'infallibility' that is meant to underpin the doctrines of the LDS.

Mormon Salvation
We could spend a great deal of time examining the world of Mormon ritual, its system of priesthoods its hierarchy, the pseudo polygamous practices of 'Celestial Marriage', A system of theology which is built around the concept of a second chance after death and its practice of baptism for the dead. However we should get to the hear of the matter what sort of salvation does Mormonism offer? What is it's gospel?

It is a religion of righteousness through works, the constant effort to attain to an eternal dwelling place in the Celestial Kingdom the highest of the Mormon worlds.

Mormons believe themselves to have pre existed as spirit children their memories having been wiped clean in the vale of forgetfulness they now pursue through mortal bodies the state of eternal godhood Only those who comply rigorously with Church doctrine, unswerving loyalty, diligent and meticulous observance of rules and regulations can attain a status of being declared officially 'Temple Righteous' and be allowed into the hallowed sanctuary of the various Mormon Temples dotted around the world. Through Celestial Marriage they can guarantee the salvation and status of their partner or as the case maybe 'partners'. Righteousness involves the 2 years of missionary service, careful attention to modest dress and a diet devoid of stimulants, (Mormons are well known for their avoidance of Caffeine,) The importance of Family life is promoted, despite this Utah has a higher than national average rate of divorce and teen suicide. Family Life and the wholesome image of the loyal all American Mom, apple pie and all, is again a powerful propaganda tool in easing the still prevalent suspicions that many Americans have towards the LDS.

Mormons believe that the death and resurrection of Christ guarantees eternal life to all, the issue is at what level will we live out our eternal existence? In effect none but the worst of the worst are truly eternally lost, even dictators and tyrants may yet experience salvation if there are those who will undergo baptism for them the gospel can yet be offered to them. Those of us who they account as honourable but not believers ( I presume that includes well meaning non critical apologetic evangelicals who attend conferences like 'Friends Together') We can live in the glory of the terestial kingdom, of course we will be ruled over by our Mormon gods.

Conclusions

What have we learned together over our 3 sessions? Surely we have driven home the point of how gullible unregenerate human nature is. We scratch our heads and wonder how it is possible for intelligent people to be duped by such a charlatan as Smith, yet we must realize that were it not for the Grace of God we could have easily succumbed to any number of erroneous religions or even secular beliefs.

Disturbing
Mormonism leaves me feeling disturbed. Here is a religion that is bent on pulling the wool over our eyes, perhaps it is not surprising really, after all it's founder was a convicted charlatan and the effective methods of deceit are just as much in use today as it was in the 1830's.

Mormonism has a disturbing history, the character of Smith is embarrassing to an organization that wants to garb itself with a cloak that is whiter than white. It is tainted with brutal violence and much bloodshed, behind closed doors polygamous practice reigned, persecution was real, but such bizarre beliefs and immoral practices played into the hands of those with a grudge against a tight knit and relatively prosperous community.

The LDS is not an organization to tangle with, it has pursued through the courts those who have sought to challenge its teaching in evangelistic outreaches. It is a sinister organization with ambitions, coupled with considerable financial clout the LDS is keen to gain influence in the political sphere and Mitt Romney will be the man to watch.

Numerous evangelicals are being caught off guard with LDS offers of 'friendship' it is important that we realize that the LDS is no friend but rather an enemy to be faced up to, resisted, challenged with the truth of the Gospel, but while we abhor the organization we must feel sorrow and concern for the millions who are imprisoned by it's teaching many sincere, kind and diligent individuals embarking on a futile course of works righteousness, when you meet a Mormon, don't laugh at them or ridicule them, talk to them show them from God's word that the god of Mormonism is not the God of the Bible. Talk to them about what salvation really means, reveal to them the person of Christ his unique claims and his finished work.

Wittnesing to Mormons

My thanks for Your Thanks!

My appreciation for the kind thanks that some of you have expressed both for the blog and the presentations. I make no claims to stunning originality with either the blog or the presentations, I am indebted heavily to the research and the writings of others who specialize heavily in this area, and as you can judge from the blog I would make little headway as an academic writer. I will provide a list on the blog of people and resources that I have used in gleaning my info when I have finished the 'Doctrines ' section.

As already hinted at I will continue to finish off the notes on the 'Doctrines of Mormonism' our next SAD group meeting will be God willing 10th December when I hope to make a start on looking at the role of Media and Advertising.

SAD Group Mtg 26-11-06 - 'Bible v Book of Mormon'- video

Thanks to all of you who attended and to the Almand Smith family for the kind use of their laptop!

We wrapped up our series on Mormonism by watching a video which is down loadable from Google Video, produced by Living Hope Ministries, this is a church based ministry in Brigham, Utah, formed mostly from ex-Mormons and ministering an outreach to those in the Mormon community.

The video is both well produced and informative. We watched 'The Bible V The Book of Mormon' there is also another video made by them called 'DNA V The Book of Mormon'. Those of you who were not able to attend can either access the videos direct at:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2123385090702569026&q=mormonism
For 'Bible v Book of Mormon'
and

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9143153898478873054&q=mormonism
For 'DNA v Book of Mormon'

If broadband connections are a problem I can happily give you the files on a CD, you will need to have either Adobe flash player or Google Video Player, they are free downloads, again if this is a problem I can supply these on the disk as well.

Mormon Doctrine- Part 1- First Impressions

The first thing that any Mormon missionary that you might meet is going to do, is to convince you that he is as every much a Christian as you are!

"Hey you believe that the Bible is the Word of God... so do we! We love the Bible as every bit as much as you do."

"You love the Lord Jesus Christ, you worship and esteem him as God, well that's exactly what we do, hey after all we call ourselves 'The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints'.

In fact Mormons are so keen to appear to be Christian that to refer to them as Mormon is almost insulting, They are much happier to be identified as the LDS.

This drive to appear to be 'just another branch of Christianity' manifests itself in various forms The Book of Mormon now has a subheading on it's front cover 'another testament of Jesus Christ' there are some who believe that in years to come this will assume the position of full title for the Book of Mormon.

Another useful vehicle to promote this veneer of Christianity is the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. This is a choir of world famous renown, who perform not only at the Tabernacle in Salt Lake City but in venues all over the world. They have also sung at US Presidential inaugurations. You need but look at the albums that they have recorded to see that they perform a useful function in the 'Christianization' of the Mormon image. Christmas albums seem to be a specialty, certain traditional Christmas songs applied with the tinsel of a Christmas card scene and most undiscerning individuals will feel more than happy to take Mormonism at face value.

What is so sad is that there are prominent evangelicals who are also being suckered by this veneer of 'Christian Orthodoxy'. An 'Evening of Friendship' was recently organized in Salt Lake City by an organization known as 'Standing Together' this organization is dedicated to building bridges between Mormons and Evangelicals and the evening was attended by Ravi Zacharias, 'an evangelical apologist of considerable note' and Richard Mouw President of Fuller Theological Seminary, (Zacharias is a man who shares conferences and platforms with individuals like R.C.Sproul, John MacArthur, and Al Mohler.)

Among the statements made was Richard Mouw's apology
“I am now convinced that we evangelicals have often seriously misrepresented the beliefs and practices of the Mormon community. Indeed, let me state it bluntly to the LDS folk here this evening: we have sinned against you. The God of the Scriptures makes it clear that it is a terrible thing to bear false witness against our neighbours, and we have been guilty of that sort of transgression in the things we have said about you. We have told you what you believe without making a sincere effort first of all to ask you what you believe... Indeed, we have even on occasion demonised you, weaving conspiracy theories about what the LDS community is really trying to accomplish in the world, and even at our best, we have, and this is true of both our communities, talked past each other, setting forth over-simplified and distorted accounts of what the other group believes.”

I'm sure if he were around a hearty 'amen' would come from Joseph Smith and his thirty wives! Not forgetting those murdered by Brigham Young's followers at Mountain Meadows, I'm sure they would be the first to say 'Ah yes it was all just a little misunderstanding' you didn't really mean to murder women and children, you've just been misunderstood by those terrible narrow minded bigoted evangelicals!"

How about this for a statement from a director at Biola University

Craig Hazen, director of the MA in Christian Apologetics program at Biola University, hailed the event as one “that will be featured prominently in history books 100 years from now.”

Hazen holds out hope that this might mark the beginning of a process of integration of Mormonism into the mainstream of Protestant thought, though he conceded, “it’s not going to happen overnight.”

You can read a review in full at http://www.existence-of-god.com/ravi-zacharias-addresses-lds.html



Ravi Zacharias at the 'Evening of Friendship'
Such statements bear testimony to an alarming naivety and a puzzling, dare we say deliberate ignorance of LDS history and belief. In the next part we shall look at some of the cornerstones of Mormon doctrine.

What will perhaps be most shocking is not so much what Mormons believe, though that is shocking enough, but that in the light of their beliefs any evangelical in their right mind could ever entertain the thought that Mormons are in any way even remotely Christian.

Mormon doctrine - Introduction

"But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you let him be accursed!" Galatians 1:18

We've spent a considerable amount of time looking at Mormon history, the reason for this is that the whole giant edifice of the Mormon religion is built upon the foundation of the supposed historicity of Joseph Smith's visions. His further revelation of the 'gospel' what Mormons tend to refer to as 'The Restoration' are the historical cornerstone of Mormonism.

If the character and the history of Joseph Smith falls, into disrepute then to a very large extent Mormonism crumbles with it. So you can well imagine that there has been a considerable amount of material produced over the years either defending or exposing Smith and Mormon history. I hope though that we've shown that despite the best efforts of the LDS to paint Smith (interesting to note that most artwork and paintings of Smith are almost 'Disnyesque' with his seemingly glowing angelic face) as a whiter than white prophet and saint, (in effect a new Messiah), the facts are pretty clear and incontestable that at best he was screwed up by eccentric, superstitious parents with a taste for the bizzare, at worst he was a ruthless ego maniac looking to make a quick fortune, seemingly blessed with charisma, charm and good looks. These he exploited to great effect, the rest is history! Mormon history!

By all accounts those who work amongst Mormons say that if you ever want to end your conservation with a Mormon just start to wander onto the issues of their history, you'll find your interview soon gets wrapped up.

While any cult is happy for growth, Mormonism is out to do nothing less than save the world thus it is a religion with a desire to see it's influence spread whether in the political or the financial realm . A case in hand is the real possibility of the USA finding itself with it's first Mormon president in the form of Mitt Romney currently the retiring governor of Massachusetts, a leading contender for the republican nomination in 2008.

Mormonism is keen to be seen as a powerful force for good especially in the local community, examples of this can be seen in areas like Blackpool where they have grabbed media attention for some of their local projects.

(Popular portraits of Joseph Smith)

They need good PR! When we begin to look at some of their doctrines it will become obvious as to why they are desperate to appear as just another main line denomination in the Christian Church but the reality is in fact both shocking and disturbing! I trust that our study and these few notes will help you to see what lies under the mask. Sadly more and more evangelicals are failing to see that to admit Mormonism into the fold of 'Christian orthodoxy' is to have nothing short of a wolf in our midst.

SAD group meeting for 12/11/06

Hope to carry on looking at Mormonism, concentrating on their key doctrines.
Hope to see you there.

Mormonism- a brief history -Pt.4

The slow meandering movement of the Mormons from east to west was in part fuelled by Smith’s continuing ‘revelations’ 135 in total and his desire to establish an earthly Mormon ‘Zion’. The other motivating factor was the increasing tension between Mormons and existing local communities, These were often fed by disturbing stories of bizarre sexual practices amongst the Mormons, It was allegations that Smith had made sexual advances to a 17 year old girl in Kirtland, Ohio that had in part led to Rigdon and Smith being ‘tarred and feathered’ earlier.

The Mormons in Nauvoo

With increasing tension between Mormons and the citizens of Far West, Missouri, the Mormons found themselves one more facing attack. Smith tried to raise a small army in Ohio and come to the rescue, but by the time he arrived he was outnumbered 10 to 1 and instead ended up in jail. In 1839 the Mormons leave Missouri, cross the Mississippi and enter the State of Illinois. Smith left behind in jail eventually manages to bribe the Sheriff with whiskey and $800 to release him and joins the rest of the Mormon community. They build the first great Mormon metropolis in Nauvoo. The State of Illinois showed great hospitality due to the fact that local politicians now saw the Mormons as a powerful lobby whose votes they could use to further their own political ambitions.

As part of their attempt to win the Mormon vote Smith was appointed Mayor of the town and to further flatter him the State conferred upon him the military rank of lieutenant and gave him responsibility over the Nauvoo militia.

Smith’s eventual downfall

The power that Smith now had at his disposal inevitably began to go to his head and the true scale of his ego began to show. Instead of being content with the honorary rank of lieutenant, Smith decided to dress himself as a Lieutenant General. There was no greater pleasure for him than to indulge himself in dressing up and inspecting his troops.

The Power fantasy kicked up a further gear when in 1844 Smith decided to run for the office of President of the United States with Rigdon as his Vice President. (Smith would be dead before the election)

Though Smith seemed to be riding the crest of a wave, in reality his position within the church was becoming increasingly difficult he was arguing and having bitter fall outs with his once close friends and supporters, ‘The Three’ who had given their backing to the Book of Mormon all left and denounced Smith. The other issue that contributed to tensions within the Mormon community was Smiths desires towards the opposite sex. He was known to have a certain irresistible charm which women already conditioned to think of him as a great prophet found hard to resist. His push for the Mormons to take on board the practice of Polygamy provided him with ample excuse and opportunity to pursue other women.

(Smith parading himself before his troops)

The Mormon doctrine of ‘Celestial Marriage’ further fuelled Polygamous practice. This was the idea that these were marriages beyond our mortal earthly existence and that they would last throughout eternity and would be the means of populating other planets of which Mormons who were ‘Temple worthy’ would rule over as gods! (more about this when we look at Mormon doctrine). This meant that not only could Smith take other women but that he could also indulge himself with married women.

The crunch came at Nauvoo when Smith decided that he would take to himself the wives of some of the prominent Mormon leaders at Nauvoo.

The aggrieved husbands left Smith, and through the pages of the local newspaper The Nauvoo Expositor began to denounce him exposing his bizarre lifestyle. Smith was outraged and decided to take matters into his own hands he gathered a select band of men from the militia and promptly burnt down the Newspaper offices destroying the presses. The State of Illinois decides things have gone too far, Smiths actions are a violation against free speech, and sends a small group of men to take Smith into custody, They decide to gently persuade Smith to come along with them, the State was nervous of the strength of Mormon opinion and wanted to avoid another ‘Mormon war’ situation at all costs. Smith his brother Hyrum and others of his loyal supporters find themselves in jail at Carthage, Illinois charged with riot and treason. Smith must have had an easy time of it as he had weapons smuggled into him.

However on June 27 1844 a vigilante mob descend on the jail determined to bring retribution upon Smith and his followers. A gun battle breaks out which sees Smith discharging his six shooter killing two and seriously injuring another. Out of bullets his brother Hyrum shot dead through the face, Smith makes for the window but is shot in the back falls out, probably dead by now, but
has a further number of shots put into him.

The founding father of Mormonism lay dead, brutally murdered at the age of 38.

(above: The jail in Carthage, and a painting depicting Smiths death)

Mormonism- a brief history Pt.3

The establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1830 unleashes a barrage of missionary activity; One of the early star converts was Sidney Rigdon, a Baptist minister who on reading the Book of Mormon "saw the light" and "converted" into the Mormon faith, he brings with him the majority of his congregation baptizing hundreds of former members into the new faith.

The Kirtland Temple
Rigdon becomes Smith's closest friend and ally and soon emerges as the number two authority in the young church, alongside Smith he helps to pioneer early Mormonism, The church moves from Fayette New York State to Kirtland, Ohio where numbers increase to 16,000, Here they build the first Mormon temple and establish their HQ

Rigdon is given to using highly inflammatory language in his sermons and a backlash occurs with the local population, hence the move to Ohio. From there they intend to take the Mormon gospel into the frontier state of Missouri, but things go badly wrong and both Smith and Rigdon have to endure being 'tarred and feathered' by angered locals.

Smith became keen to move out from the Ohio area, not just because of 'persecution' but it seems too many people knew too much about the reputation of the Smith family.

Sidney Rigdon


"They were considered destitute of moral character, and addicted to vicious habits"- Mormonism unveiled, Zanesville, Ohio 1834, p.261 (part of a signed statement by 62 residents of Palmyra)

From Kirtland Ohio Smith moves to Far West, Missouri, and establishes a new Church HQ. However Rigdon preached an inflammatory sermon using the words of Jesus about salt and light from Matthews Gospel. Rigdon had more or less invited the congregation to do battle with the locals. (The Gentiles) This sermon later became known as 'The Salt Sermon' its effects were to prove disastrous.

From 'The Salt Sermon' rippled out a series of events which would eventually culminate in what became known as 'The Mormon Wars' and led to the eventual expulsion of the Mormons from Missouri. Amidst rumors of bizzare sexual practices and Smith's polygamous relationships. They settled in what was to become their first great Mormon metropolis Nauvoo, Illinois.

Recently re-built Temple in Nauvoo

It is here in the setting of Nauvoo that the true character of Joseph Smith, (rather than the whiter than white picture painted by the LDS today), is revealed and recorded.

Mormonism- a brief history -Pt.2

Joseph Smith Jr

(One of the few know photographs of Joseph Smith taken shortly before his death)

Joseph Smith Jr was born in Sharon, Vermont Dec.23 1805 4th child born to Joseph Sr. and Lucy Smith. Much of what follows with Joseph Smith Jr finds its roots in what can only be described as his 'bizzare' upbringing under the influences of his highly eccentric parents. His Father Joe senior was a man with a reputation for being a highly dubious mystic. He blew his $1000 dowry on trying to sell wild Vermont Ginseng to the Chinese (a case of 'trying to sell coal to Newcastle'). The failure of this crazy venture meant having to move to Palmyra New York State, where he spent his time in digging for treasure, convinced that by the power of 'Peep Stones' (Hollowed out stones that were supposed to have magic properties when placed inside a hat and then looked into.) he would be able to locate the fabulous pirate treasure horde of Captain Kidd! When he wasn't indulging himself in this fantasy he turned to a spot of coin forgery which very nearly landed him in jail. Lucy Smith was a woman given to extreme religious views and also obsessed with superstition, in later years she authored (with the help of a ghost writer) a biography of Joseph Smith Jr, this proved to be a huge embarrassment to the Mormon Church of the day and led to Brigham Young the successor of Joseph Smith in taking action to have the book banned. It would seem that Mummy Smith was giving away information that was perhaps less than flattering!

(Smith home in Palmyra)

Joseph Smith Jr's Vision

In 1820 the 14 year old Joseph Jr claimed that while walking in woodland near his home in Palmyra he saw a vision of God the Son and God the Father both in bodily form. Joseph claimed that he was at the time in turmoil as to which church or denomination to throw in his lot with, (he was raised with a Methodist background). The divine beings told him that all the Christian denominations were apostate and accursed and that he was to be anointed as the Lord's anointed prophet and bring in the restoration of the true gospel.

Despite this supposedly profound and apparently life changing event, it didn't stop Smith from developing a similar obsession as his father's, using peep stones in an attempt to locate buried treasure, and indulging in the illegal practice of 'money digging'. Smith in later years claimed that he had been duped by others into assisting them in searches for a long lost silver mine, and that he had been unfairly tarred with the same brush by malicious and slanderous individuals. History however is quite clear that Smith had acquired a reputation for all sorts of mystical hocus-pocus. Later in March 1826 he was found guilty in a court of law of money digging and of having duped others into assisting him in this activity.


The Angel Moroni or was that Nephi?
Back to his visions. In 1823 Smith claims to have had a vision of the Angel Moroni by his bedside, the first of a series. (later on the story gets changed to another angel the Angel Nephi- the inconsistency in the story is still an embarrassment to Mormons today) Moroni leads Smith to the Hill Cumorah where he reveals to him buried the golden plates upon which are written the forgotten history of the ancient people of God in America (more later on this subject).
He is told initially to leave the plates where they are but a few years later in a further revelation he is given a pair of special spectacles 'The Urim and the Thumim! Putting these on he begins to translate the 'Reformed Egyptian' hieroglyphics which make up the Book of Mormon (there is no such Egyptian language known to scholars)

Others also become involved in this great translation work one such prominent name in Mormon circles is Oliver Cowdery.

Heaven is so excited at this great work that the Apostles Peter, James and John send John the Baptist back to earth to personally baptize Smith and Cowdery and to confer upon them the restored Aaronic Priesthood!

Monument erected at the Hill Cumorah celebrating Smith's discovery of the plates.
Smith attracts the help of a Martin Harris to publish the translation of the plates, Harris re-mortgages his house to raise funds and sends copied samples of the plates to a Professor Charles Anthon of Columbia University, New York, a leading specialist of the time in Egyptology, Harris claims that the Professor vouched for the authenticity of the work however there is a published letter on record from Professor Anthon where he states most emphatically that he never made any such claim and that in his opinion the whole thing was a wretched hoax played on Harris by Smith.

As well as the visions of Moroni to Smith it is later claimed that Moroni appeared to a select group of three: Martin Harris, Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer. (all three would later leave the LDS and denounce Smith) These three men would give their personal backing to the genuineness of the plates and the vision this became known in Mormon history as 'The witness of the Three' later they would be joined by a further 8 individuals, strangely enough these 8 all seem to be related to or connected to Smith in some way, amongst the 8 was Joe Smith Sr. these bacame known as 'The witness of the eight' something which you will still find find in the introduction of the Book of Mormon today.

In 1830 The Book of Mormon is published and copyrighted and in April of that year 'The Church of Christ' later to become The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints comes into being. Mormonism is born.

Mormonisn- a brief history Pt.1

Introduction

You may ask why bother looking at a cult like the Mormons in the first place?

There are some obvious answers. Firstly such cults as Mormonism promote falsehood and error that enslave millions and will ultimately fail them, leaving them to face a lost eternity. I am reminded of the Lord’s words regarding the work of the Pharisees “Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte and when he is won you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. Matt 23.15.

I believe it is also important to study such a subject because it can serve us as a solemn warning. Many of these cults were founded by individuals who came from orthodox backgrounds. Why did they ditch truth for error? Is there ever a risk that we could do the same? What are the signs of such a drift? There are even today groups of evangelicals that have centred themselves around a powerful and dominating personality or have put an unhealthy and unbiblical emphasis on a particular practice or custom. An American colleague of mine once described American fundamentalists as “orthodoxy with a cult mentality”. So I don’t want us to sit on the sidelines pointing fingers at the Mormons and shaking our heads thinking ‘Oh how ridiculous that any one would believe such things’ We need to remind ourselves that but for the grace of God we might well have been sucked up into a false religion or a cult.

Mormonism a formidable force

For something we know so little about we need to wake up and realise that in Mormonism we face a formidable and powerful organization.

There are 9 million Mormons worldwide

Over 300 congregations in the UK, 180,00 members with a strong presence in the north of England

50,000 missionaries 75% of whom are male

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (That is the name by which they wish to be known by and later we shall see why) has assets in excess of $30 billion its annual gross income is in the region of $6 billion, that is more money than the State of Utah generates in a year.

They are a powerful presence in the corporate world. They own Americas largest producer of nuts, a huge media corporation ‘Bonneville International, also the worlds largest beef ranch and citrus plantation ‘Deseret Cattle and Citrus Ranch’ outside Orlando, Florida; sitting on 312,000 acres and worth $850 million.

Mormonism places a strong emphasis on education and unlike other cults that target the gullible Mormonism is interested in capturing the educated and extending its influence through such individuals.

The LDS has experienced rapid growth in third world countries and in poorer parts of Europe fueled in part by their offering to converts of scholarships to study in the United States. One particular unlikely country that has seen a very large Mormon presence is Mongolia where the ‘education bait’ has proven very successful for them.

Joseph Smith and his history next

New email contact

If you would like to be able publish to the blog as opposed to just have the right to reply please make a note of the new email address by which to contact me: sadgroup@ntlworld.com

Today's Meeting on LDS history

Thanks for all of you that were there. There was a lot of material to cover, LDS history is a real rollercoaster of a ride! I do hope to post my notes and summary as soon as I can. Thanks again.

(Picture: Salt Lake City Temple)

SAD Group 29-10-06- A brief history of the LDS

Tomorrows meeting is God Willing going to be looking briefly at the begginings of the LDS Church and its founder Joseph Smith.

Hope to cover a little on his family history, his claim to have had visions, and the mysterious golden plates.

Let's also think a little about what cults are and how they operate.

Young People Today!

Following on from Sunday's discussion, and trying to come up with one word descriptions that encapsulate youth and youth culture today; I thought I might make it a bit easier for you rather than one word, perhaps you've read a book, a poem, listened to a song, watched something that's left you with a lasting impression of where young people are today. What was it? And what did it reveal to you? Perhaps it was something that was instrumental in the providence of God to awaken you and show you not only the state of those around you but of your own heart?

SAD group authorship

If you would be interested in having the ability to post a subject on the blog rather than just the ability to reply to a previous post, please email me your email address to sadgroup@btinternet.com

Interesting Testimony

I managed to catch Radio 4's 'Profile' programme on Saturday evening looking at the life of General Sir Richard Dannatt. He is in fact head of the British Army, recently in the news over comments about the British army presence in Iraq. Little did I know that he is a believer and president of SASRA the Soldiers and Airmen's Scripture Readers Association. If you'd like to hear the programme again you can get access to it on the BBC's Listen again web page.

Brief summary of Sunday 15th October Meeting

We discussed the proposed programme I presented (see previous post), Seemed to go down OK with the group, let me know if I was kidding myself on that one?

Then we asked if there was one word or a couple of words that you would use to describe youth today, We had Mel open up with 'spoilt' and he described to us the fact that we live in a society where we can have just about anything we want.

We spent the last half hour discussing an observation of British society from a US perspective, commenting on the incredible break neck speed at which we have turned ourselves into a secular post christian society, with all the subsequent problems that brings. The comparison between the break down of the Roman Empire and the decline into moral anarchy of Western Europe was also discussed.

We ended with a sobering point asking ourselves 'what will fill the void if society collapses?' among the answers put forward was the rise of militant Islam.

We closed as usual with a time of prayer.

The Blog is yours!

As I said at this afternoons meeting, the blog is yours to do with as you please (within the bounds of Christian courtesy). We will keep a watch on any lunatics invading our space.

Feel free to give feedback on the meetings or any other issues that have been raised in your mind.

All in all I hope we will find it a blessing.

SAD group programme October 2006 to January 2007

A brief guide to
‘The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints’.

Their history, doctrine and challenge.

Mormonism has 12.5 Million followers worldwide and is growing rapidly in some developing parts of the World. They have 365 congregations in the UK alone and have a very active presence in Manchester and the NW. The chances of being approached by a Mormon Missionary in a shopping centre or at your door are quite high, would you know enough about then to engage with them in conversation and Gospel witness.

The Lust of the flesh, The Lust of the Eyes and the Pride of Life

The world of Media and Advertising

Its pressure and influence on Society and the Christian.

We are bombarded by advertisements day and night, confronted by images of what is promoted as desirable and the norm. The world is gullible to these things but are Christians too?

The Message of a Modern Story Teller

The Work of M. Night Shyamalan

Looking in particular at ‘Signs’ and ‘The Village’ and perhaps others depending on time.

This will not be a lame excuse for worldly indulgence But rather an opportunity to bring a Christian World view to bear upon the work of this most influential director and to scrutinize through the lens of Scripture.

Welcome

The blog's aim is to keep members of the discussion group up to date with what's going on, also to give an opportunity to discuss further issues that you feel are relevant.