WORLDVIEW/RELIGION ANALYSIS: MORMONISM

Transcription

1 WORLDVIEW/RELIGION ANALYSIS: MORMONISM David Condon Introduction to Apologetics APOL 500-D07 December 3, 2011

2 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION... 2 SUMMARY OF MORMONISM. 2 CRITIQUE OF MORMONISM...4 WITNESSING STRATEGY FOR MORMONISM 6 CONCLUSION.8 BIBLIOGRAPHY 1

3 INTRODUCTION As one of the fastest growing pseudo-religions in history, Mormonism is a force to be contended with. 1 This paper will focus on the history, beliefs and criticisms of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It will also present a strategy for witnessing to those who hold to the Mormon faith. The analysis of this paper will focus on the summary of Mormonism, the critique of Mormonism and the means by which Christian apologetics can be used in conversation with Mormons. SUMMARY OF MORMONISM The history of Mormonism is fascinating, to say the least. The movement began with Joseph Smith ( ), a convicted treasure seeker who used divining rods, talismans, and implements of ritual magic, to seek hidden gold along with his father. 2 Smith allegedly received his first vision at the age of 14 when God appeared to him and told him that all Christian churches were an abomination in His sight and those who profess these religions are all corrupt. 3 Smith claimed that in 1822 (when he was 16 years old) the angel Moroni appeared to him and told him of a cache of gold tablets that were buried near his house. In 1830 Smith published a translation of these tablets which became the Book of Mormon. 4 According to Smith Moroni and his father Mormon (for whom the book is named), were the only survivors of two great nations in the pre-colonized Americas called the Nephites and the Lamanites. 5 These 1 Hindson, Ed and Ergun Caner. The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2008), Martin, Walter. The Kingdom of the Cults (Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1997), Hindson, Bowker, John. The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997), Ibid. 2

4 peoples were descendents of Lehi and later his son Nephi, who had fled Jerusalem by sea in 600B.C. and came to settle in Central America. 6 The Mormon writings claim that Christ visited the Americas and revealed himself to the Nephites, preached to them the gospel, and instituted both baptism and Communion, or the sacrament as Latter-day Saints call it. 7 Smith s movement made progress in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri, and later in Illinois where he was arrested and killed by an angry mob. 8 After Smith s death there were several schisms among his followers, however, most of the Mormons claimed Brigham Young as their new leader. Young led the group to its current headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah. 9 The beliefs of Mormonism clash with Christian orthodoxy on almost every level. However, to be brief, the most basic contradictions can be seen in their view of God. Mormons teach that God was once a man who became the God of earth. Smith preached a sermon entitled, How God Came to Be God in Nauvoo, Illinois on March 9, 1844, where he stated, God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is a great secret If the veil were rent today, and the great God was to make himself visible you would see him like a man in form like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form of a man. 10 Furthermore, at the root of Mormon teachings is a blatant polytheism that flies in the face of orthodoxy. Smith himself stated, I will preach on the plurality of Gods I wish to declare I have always and in all congregations when I have preached on the subject of deity, it has been the plurality of Gods. 11 Other Mormon doctrines that are unorthodox and unscriptural include 6 Hindson, Martin, Bowker, Ibid. 10 Woodson, William What Mormons Believe. The Spiritual Sword 24 (1993), McDowell, Josh and Don Stewart. The Deceivers (San Bernardino, CA: Here s Life Publishers, Inc., 1992), 81. 3

5 the pre-mortal existence of souls, the dependence on works rather than grace to gain salvation, and the possibility of the exaltation of righteous Mormon men to godhood. 12 The scriptures of the Latter-day Saints include the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price along with the King James Version of the Bible. However, the latter writing is seen primarily as a secondary source to the movements own writings which ultimately contradict much of the Bible. In an article entitled Why I Left Mormonism, Weldon Langfield relates, When I asked why there was not more emphasis on the word of God, a deacon cited denominational division and explained, Every time you get the Bible involved you have nothing but trouble. 13 This example shows the inferior place the Bible holds in the hearts of most Mormons. CRITIQUE OF MORMONISM In attempting to find a viable test of the claims of Mormonism one must go no further than the words of their revered leader Brigham Young who wrote, Take up the Bible, compare the religion of the Latter-day Saints with it, and see if it will stand the test. 14 At every turn, the Mormon doctrines regarding God, Christ, man, salvation and eschatology are thoroughly unbiblical in nature. One merely needs to take up Young s challenge in order to see the fallacies in the Mormon beliefs. In Galatians 1:8 Paul writes, But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! This statement condemns the claims of Joseph Smith on several counts. First, that an angel proclaimed to him a gospel that contradicts that of the apostles of Christ. And, secondly, that 12 Trujillo, Kelli B. Searching for Truth: How Christianity Compares to World Religions (Loveland, CO: Group Publishing, 2002), Langfield, Weldon. Why I Left Mormonism. The Spiritual Sword 24 (1993), McDowell, 88. 4

6 Smith claimed that the apostles themselves, namely Peter, James and John appeared to him and Oliver Cowdery in 1829 in Pennsylvania. The purpose of this visitation, they claimed, was to restore the Melchizedek Priesthood, which gives them the power to lay on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. 15 However, as the book of Hebrews asserts, the Melchizedek Priesthood is an office held by Jesus Christ himself forever. 16 Since this is a position held forever there is no need or opportunity for any other to hold such a position. In both the appearance of the apostles and the angels to Smith, they preached a gospel other than the one preached by Christ s apostles and thus were false by Young s own testing. Further, Smith claims to have been visited by John the Baptist who renewed the Aaronic priesthood by instructing him to be baptized in the Sesquihanna River. 17 However, the Mormons cannot hold the Aaronic priesthood because it was limited to the descendents of Aaron. 18 The claims of a polytheistic deity that was once a man but was exalted to godhood also goes against the main claims of the Judeo-Christian monotheism found in Scripture. Jesus, according to Mormon teachings, is not God, but a spirit child of the God and spirit-brother of Lucifer However, perhaps the most unbiblical and heretical doctrine espoused by Mormons is that man can become God. Lorenzo Snow, a Mormon prophet wrote, As man is, God once was, as God is, Man may become. 19 The reason this is so abhorrent to orthodox Christianity is because it echoes the temptation of Satan in the Garden of Eden that caused man to fall. In Genesis 3:5 the serpent deceived Eve by saying, For God knows that when you eat of [the fruit] your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. From that day till 15 Ibid., Hebrews 6:20 17 McDowell, Ibid., Hindson,

7 now Satan has used the same temptation to cause all men to sin by attempting to usurp God and become like God himself. WITNESSING STRATEGY FOR MORMONISM In witnessing to Mormons, it is imperative that one knows the fallacies that they profess. Though the strategies for such a conversation are varied, the main tools that are useful include the evidential apologetics of history, archaeology, and anthropology. Historically, there are several points to which one can allude in order to make an argument against Smith s claims. For instance, in the opening section of the Book of Mormon Smith compiles two lists of witnesses to verify his claims of visions. 20 However, many of these witnesses later changed their testimonies to state that they were not physically present when the manifestation occurred, but in a trance. McDowell writes, The Book of Mormon witnesses have proven their story unreliable by changing their testimony from seeing the angel with golden plates to a vision and entrancement. 21 Further, the issue of Smith s own background in divination and his conviction of witchcraft draws into question his own testimony as to the visions he received. These historical arguments can be tied into the archaeological and anthropological arguments that also rise from the claims of Smith. Archaeological evidence continues to amass itself against the Mormon Church. For instance, there is the account of the Book of Abraham, which was allegedly translated by Smith from rolls of papyrus provided by Michael Chandler in Smith began to translate the hieroglyphics of the papyri and much to our joy found that one of the rolls contained the writings of Abraham, another the writing of 20 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The Book of Mormon. (accessed November 30, 2011). 21 McDowell, 76. 6

8 Joseph of Egypt (History of the Church, 2:236). The resulting translation of one papyri was accepted as scripture by the Mormons, the Book of Abraham. 22 However, in 1967 Egyptologists had their first opportunity to study the papyri that Smith had used for his translation, only to find that not a single word was confirmed. In fact, the papyri had nothing to do with Abraham, but only contained burial instructions for a common Egyptian funeral. 23 Another aspect of archaeological evidence denies the events depicted within the Book of Mormon. According to the story depicted in the book, two great civilizations rose and developed in the pre-colonized Americas. The Book of Mormon declares, for example, that the whole face of the land had become covered with buildings, and the people were as numerous almost, as it were the sand of the sea. 24 However, no archaeological evidence for such a claim has ever been verified. Martin writes, The Mormons have yet to explain the fact that leading archaeological researchers not only have repudiated the claims of the Book of Mormon as to the existence of these civilizations, but have adduced considerable evidence to show the impossibility of the accounts given in the Mormon Bible. 25 Thomas Stuart Ferguson, a former professor at Brigham Young University and founder of its Archaeology department did years of research in an attempt to verify the claims of the Book of Mormon. After twenty-five years of dedicated archaeological research, the department had nothing at all to back up the flora, fauna, topography, geography, peoples, coins, or settlements of the book and, in fact, he called the geography of the Book of Mormon fictional Ibid., Ibid. 24 Mormon 1:7 25 Martin, Ibid.,

9 With the rise of genetics, the field of Anthropology has also shown light on the claims of the Book of Mormon. For instance, Smith claimed that the American Indians were descendents of the Jewish peoples who made their way to the Western Hemisphere by boat in 600BC. However, genetic testing by anthropologists have verified that the American Indians were of Asian, not Semitic descent. Native Americans are considered to be Mongoloid in extraction, not Mediterranean Caucasoids. 27 Thus, scientific evidence in various areas of evidential apologetics reveal the fallacy of Smith s claims. CONCLUSION In conclusion, the assertions of Mormonism continue, through empirical study, to show their mendacity. When one takes up the challenge of Brigham Young to compare their religion to the Bible, one sees the multitude of areas in which it falls short. Further, the extrabiblical evidence against Mormonism continues to pile up in the areas of history, archaeology and anthropology. The question must be asked in light of these revelations as to why the Mormon Church is one of the fastest growing religions in the world? Apart from their strange doctrines, most Mormons are seen as ideal citizens with a strong belief and plan for evangelism. Perhaps the orthodox Christians can learn something from these people who hold so unwaveringly to what they believe. 27 Ibid., 202 8

10 BIBLIOGRAPHY Bowker, John. The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, The. The Book of Mormon. (accessed November 30, 2011). Hindson, Ed and Ergun Caner. The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics. Eugene, OR: Harvest House, Langfield, Weldon. Why I Left Mormonism. The Spiritual Sword 24 (1993): Martin, Walter. The Kingdom of the Cults. Minneapolis: Bethany House, McDowell, Josh and Don Stewart. The Deceivers. San Bernardino, CA: Here s Life Publishers, Inc., Trujillo, Kelli B. Searching for the Truth: How Christianity Compares to World Religions. Loveland, CO: Group Publishing, Woodson, William. What Mormons Believe. The Spiritual Sword 24 (1993):