Reasons starting with P

Reasons Starting with P


p1Paid Clergy

What of the Mormons, pg. 19; What of the Mormon clergy? It is, to say the least, unusual by present day standards. There is no paid or professional ministry. Thirty-two general officers and the presidents of missions are given allowances…” – Gordon Hinckley

1 Corinthians 9:9-12; For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen?10 Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope.11 If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?12 If others be partakers of this power over you, are not we rather? Nevertheless we have not used this power; but suffer all things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ.

Allowances?  Aren’t allowances the same as a salary?

Paul the Apostle

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, pg. 1069; The Prophet Joseph Smith gave a description of Paul: about five feet tall, dark hair, penetrating eyes, and a powerful orator (TPJS, p. 180; WJS, p. 59). He also indicated that Paul was acquainted with Enoch (TPJS, p. 170) and that Abel “was sent down from heaven unto Paul to minister consoling words, and to commit unto him a knowledge of the mysteries of godliness” (TPJS, p. 169).

Acts 9:1-5; And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.  3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?  5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

Isn’t it interesting the Church doesn’t believe in total grace, the very thing Paul preached on the most?  Paul gloried in the cross and the Mormons despise it.  They believe all murderers should have their own blood shed for atonement.  They obviously don’t agree with Paul who said not to consort with spirits.  And suddenly Smith knows what Paul looks like.

Peace

Doctrines of Salvation 3:48;NO PEACE AGAIN UNTIL CHRIST COMES. Peace has been taken from the earth, and it will not return until Christ comes to bring it. When that day arrives, he has promised to “send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity,” but when that day comes, he further says, “then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”

John 14:27; Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Either the Mormon Church is lying or Jesus is – you pick.

Pearl of Great Price

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, pg. 1071; “One of the four standard works accepted as scripture by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Pearl of Great Price includes various documents known as “Selections from the Book of Moses,” “The Book of Abraham,” “Joseph Smith-Matthew,” “Joseph Smith-History,” and “The Articles of Faith.”

Isaiah 40:8; The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

The Mormons believe the Pearl of Great Price has more authoritative power than the Bible.

Peculiar People

Journal of Discourses 16:230-231; I will make a few remarks upon the idea of our being a peculiar people. You know that we are regarded as such, and if we look upon ourselves from a proper point of view, we shall readily admit that in this respect outsiders have given us an appropriate name; for we are a peculiar people whom God has chosen to serve and honor him.” – Orson Hyde, Salt Lake City, October 5, 1873.

1 Peter 2:9-10; But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

The word “peculiar” in the Greek is actually a primary preposition meaning “to or into (indicatins the point reached or entered) of place, time or purpose.

The Mormons are peculiar because they believe they can become polygamous gods and for practicing polygamy at that time (and sometimes even today).

Suggestion:  if you’re going to pick up phrases and words from the Bible to employ them to  yourself, do it in context.

Perfection is a Command

Ensign, November 2009, pg. 33; The Lord does not expect that we do what we cannot achieve. The command to become perfect, as He is, encourages us to achieve the best of ourselves, to discover and develop the talents and attributes with which we are blessed by a loving Eternal Father, who invites us to realize our potential as children of God. He knows us; He knows of our capacities and our limitations. The invitation and challenge to become perfect, to achieve eternal life is for all mankind.” – Jorge F. Zeballos

Matthew 5:48; Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

The Greek word for perfect is “teleios”.  It means growth, mental and moral character, with completeness to full age.

Perfection, God Attained

Distinct Doctrines of the Pearl of Great Price, pg. 69; Such a Being is our Father and our God, and we are following in His footsteps. He has attained to perfection. He has arisen to kingdoms of power.” – Hyrum Andrus

Psalm 90:2; Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

God didn’t “attain” perfection.  God has always been perfect just as David proclaimed in Psalms.

Perfection Necessary

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, pg. 1074; Mormons believe that Jesus Christ provides the means for all humans to become perfect. He is “the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by [him]” (John 14:6). Through his atoning sacrifice all men and women can repent and become perfected by having their sins and errors and the desire for sin removed. Ultimately, eternal life and godly perfection are gifts of God (D&C 14:7), rooted in the grace of God, redemption, individual righteousness, and being born of God. Human effort falls short; God’s gift of grace compensates for this shortcoming, “for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (2 Ne. 25:23).

Matthew 5:48; Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

To summarize – it is only after you’ve done absolutely everything  you possibly can in life then perhaps God’s mercy will might be able to fill in the gaps for what you missed.

Philosophy of Mormonism

Living the Gospel, pg. 18; “…the teachings of the leaders of modern Israel are based upon the same religious philosophy, of which striking example was given when President Heber J. Grant said: “There is but one path of safety to the Latter-day Saints, and that is the path of duty.  It is not a testimony, it is not a marvelous manifestation, it is not knowing that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true, that it is a plan of salvation – it is not actually knowing that the Savior is the Redeemer, and that Joseph Smith was His prophet that will save you and me; but it is the keeping of the commandments of God, living the life of a Latter-day Saint.”  (April General Conference, 1915.)…Living the Gospel day by day, not merely understanding or believing it, is what counts ultimately.” – Gerrit DeJong, Jr.

John 8:23-24; And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.  24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

See “Testimony of Gospel Needed” below for comparison in Mormon teachings.

That’s right, keep your head in the sand, and don’t pay attention to what’s going on around you or to what God wants for you to know…

Piercings and Tattoos

General Conference, October 2000; “Likewise the piercing of the body for multiple rings in the ears, in the nose, even in the tongue. Can they possibly think that is beautiful? It is a passing fancy, but its effects can be permanent. Some have gone to such extremes that the ring had to be removed by surgery. The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve have declared that we discourage tattoos and also ‘the piercing of the body for other than medical purposes.’ We do not, however, take any position ‘on the minimal piercing of the ears by women for one pair of earrings’ – one pair.” – Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley

Lev. 19:28; Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.

So is it bad or not?

Plan of Salvation Sanctioned by Us

Teachings of Harold B. Lee, pg. 19; The plan of salvation is the everlasting covenant. The Prophet Joseph said: “At the first organization in heaven we were all present, and saw the Savior chosen and appointed and the plan of salvation made, and we sanctioned it” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1938], p. 181).

Isaiah 40:13-14; Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him?  14 With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?

Lie:  we did not sanction anything with God because we weren’t present with God when He created the earth.

Lie:  we’ve never seen the Savior.

Plan of Salvation Campaigned for by Lucifer

Neal A. Maxwell Quote Book, pg. 11; When God brought before us His plan of salvation, Jesus was there, volunteering meekly and humbly, “Here am I, send me” (Abr. 3:27), saying, “Father thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever” (Moses 4:2). The Father, ever anxious that all be free to choose, even gave Lucifer opportunity to campaign. (Ensign, November 1987, p. 32.)

2 Corinthians 5:21; For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

The Mormons lifted the phrase “Here am I, send me” from Isaiah 6:8.  “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.”

Think this is a “coincidence”?  Isaiah was written around 700 BC.  The Pearl of Great Price – 1830 AD.

Polygamous Wives

J. Golden Kimball: The Story of a Unique Personality, pg. 19; Mother married Heber C. Kimball at Nauvoo, Illinois, and she knew not her number as one of his polygamous wives. I don’t know either. Mother didn’t have any idea, as father never told her. My mother was no concubine, but an acknowledged wife. She was a wife and mother. And not many lived who, to my mind, were quite so good.”  How very sad.

1 Kings 11:3; And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.

The point here isn’t the number of wives or concubines there are.  The point is that these men had more than one wife.  Look at the result.

Polygamy Abominable

Jacob 2:24; “Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord.

Deuteronomy 17:17; Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.

The Book of Mormon claimed that polygamy was a sin so why did they call it salvation?

Polygamy – Broken Promises, False Prophecies

Edmunds-Tucker Act of 1890, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, pg. 52; In 1890 after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the seizure of Church property under the Edmunds-Tucker Act in The Late Corporation of the Mormon Church v. United States and the Idaho test oath in Davis v. Beason, it became clear that plural marriage was leading toward the economic and political destruction of the Church. Shortly after these decisions, a revelation was received by President Wilford Woodruff, who then withdrew the requirement for worthy males to take plural wives and announced the manifesto, formally stating his counsel to Latter-day Saints to abide by antibigamy laws (see D&C Official Declaration-1). The Manifesto ended the legal confrontation between the U.S. government and the Church.

Deuteronomy 13:1-2; If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, 2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them.

If polygamy was an “everlasting covenant” then why is it no longer a commandment?

If polygamy was truly from God then why isn’t still from God?

Polygamy, Denial of

Times & Seasons 4:143; We are charged with advocating a plurality of wives, and common property. Now this is as false as the many other ridiculous charges which are brought against us. No sect have a greater reverence for the laws of matrimony, or the rights of private property, and we do what others do not, plactice [sic] what we preach.

1 Samuel 12:24-25; Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.  25 But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.

By the time the above LDS quote was made in November of 1842 by Joseph Smith, he had seventeen wives ranging in ages from 16 to 53.  When he was shot and killed in June 1844 he had a whopping 34 wives.

http://www.wivesofjosephsmith.org/home.htm

Polygamy Denied by Joseph Smith

Discourses of Joseph Smith, pg. 270; Do the Mormons believe in having more wives than one?”  No, not at the same time. But they believe that if their companion dies, they have a right to marry again.

Zechariah 13:2; And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.

At the time Smith made this announcement it was 1838.  He was already practicing polygamy with three wives.  Also see History of the Church 3:28-29.

http://www.lifeafter.org/wives

Polygamy, Eternal

Doctrines of Salvation 2:67; We believe that the family will go on. I get a great deal of comfort out of the thought that if I am faithful and worthy of an exaltation, my father will be my father, and I will be subject to him as his son through all eternity; that I will recognize and know my mother and she will be my mother in all eternity; and my brothers and sisters will be my brothers and sisters for all eternity; and that my children and my wives will be mine in eternity. I don’t know how some other people feel, but that is a glorious thought to me. That helps to keep me sober.

John 10:7-11; Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.  8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.  9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.  10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

Who else would you want to impress or see in heaven other than the King Himself?  What a joy we have set before us!

It will be nice to see those we know here on earth, yes, but all that pales in comparison to this very God I worship.

I was like one of those unsaved people in the Bible from a foreign tribe, not knowing the God of Abraham and worshipping a false god in the myriad of false gods.  What an honor to finally know Him, pray to Him and bow my knee to Him, the Only Wise God and Savior, Christ Jesus.

Polygamy is Godhood

D&C 132:19-21; “And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of this priesthood; and it shall be said unto them—…Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.  Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye abide my law ye cannot attain to this glory.

Lev. 18:18; Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time.(Also see Is. 45:5)

I remember watching a special on television about the wives in a polygamous marriage.  One of them said it is the hardest thing to watch her husband with another…she also said it is difficult to not feel jealousy and I’m wondering if she’s ever read this verse in the Bible.  God is trying to protect us with His law and we throw it right back in His face.

Polygamy is Mandatory

Journal of Discourses 11: 269; It is the word of the Lord, and I wish to say to you, and all the world, that if you desire with all your hearts to obtain the blessings which Abraham obtained, you will be polygamists at lest in your faith, or you will come short of enjoying the salvation and the glory which Abraham has obtained…The only men who become Gods, even the sons of God are those who enter into polygamy.” – Brigham Young, August 19, 1866, Salt Lake City

1 Corinthians 6:9; Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind.

Now what?  If what Brigham said is true we’re all in deep trouble.

Polygamy is Salvation

D&C 131:1-4; In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees; And in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood [meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage]; And if he does not, he cannot obtain it.  He may enter into the other, but that is the end of his kingdom; he cannot have an increase.

Deuteronomy 28:58, 65-66; If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD; 65 And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: 66 And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life.

Interestingly enough, the Church has NOT removed this passage from their “scripture” yet….if it’s true then they’re sinning.  If it’s not true Joseph Smith gave a false prophecy.

Polygamy is Solution to Adultery

The Seer, pgs. 123-124; To be moral is to be innocent of crime: to be immoral I to be guilty of crime.  It can neither be shown from reason nor the word of God that plurality is criminal, and hence it cannot be immoral, and therefore the morals of society are not in the least endangered by its practice.  On the contrary, plurality is a great and powerful antidote against immorality…Because of the vast numbers of un-virtuous females with which the nations are curded, many young men neglect marriage, and seek to gratify their sexual propensities by unlawful and sinful connections.  If no public female prostitutes existed, or if they rarely could be found, the natural consequences would be, that young men, instead of abandoning themselves to prostitution, would seek to unite themselves in honorable marriages with partners of their choice…if the cause be destroyed the effect ceases.” – Orson Pratt

1 Cor. 6:16-20; What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.  17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.  18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.  19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?  20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

“Plurality” meant polygamy obviously.  And why is Pratt blaming all the single women in the world for his unholy thoughts and behavior?

Polygamy, No

D&C 42:22; Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else.

Lev. 18:18; Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time.

I’m confused.

Polygamy, Rome 1st to Outlaw

Journal of Discourses 12:262-263; Just ask yourselves, historians, when was monogamy introduced on to the face of the earth? When those buccaneers, who settled on the peninsula where Rome now stands, could not steal women enough to have two or three apiece, they passed a law that a man should have but one woman. And this started monogamy and the downfall of the plurality system. In the days of Jesus, Rome, having dominion over Jerusalem, they carried out the doctrine more or less. This was the rise, start and foundation of the doctrine of monogamy; and never till then was there a law passed, that we have any knowledge of, that a man should have but one wife.” – Brigham Young, Salt Lake City, August 9, 1868

Genesis 6:18; But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife” – Brigham Young, Salt Lake City, August 9, 1868

Job 1:1, 2:9; There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.  Then said his wife unto him

Deuteronomy 17:17;Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.

Righteous men, one wife each…

Polygamy, Speaking Against it is of the Devil

Journal of Discourses 5:204; Some quietly listen to those who speak against the Lord’s servants, against his anointed, against the plurality of wives, and against almost every principle that God has revealed. Such persons have half-a-dozen devils with them all the time. You might as well deny “Mormonism,” and turn away from it, as to oppose the plurality of wives.” – Heber C. Kimball, October 12, 1856, Salt Lake City

Matthew 19:8-9; He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.  9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.

Please Lord; allow them to see with their hearts.  Open their eyes, confess their sins, and come to You.

Polygamy, Those Who Oppose it Will go to Hell

Journal of Discourses 17:225; Now I want to prophecy a little. It is not very often that I prophecy, though I was commanded to do so, when I was a boy. I want to prophecy that all men and women who oppose the revelation which God has given in relation to polygamy will find themselves in darkness; the Spirit of God will withdraw from them from the very moment of their opposition to that principle, until they will finally go down to hell and be damned, if they do not repent.” – Orson Pratt, October 7, 1874, Salt Lake City

1 Kings 11:6; And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father.

There are some people who’ve come face to face with one of Satan’s cohorts.  I’ve had the unfortunate experience of that happening in my life and knew it immediately.  I’m just as certain Mr. Pratt fits that description as well.

Polytheism

D&C 121:32; According to that which was ordained in the midst of the Council of the Eternal God of all other gods before this world was, that should be reserved unto the finishing and the end thereof, when every man shall enter into his eternal presence and into his immortal rest.

Isaiah 45:5; I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me.

The teachings and prophecies in the D&C are from the pit of hell.

Polytheism

TPJS, pg. 370; I will preach on the plurality of Gods. I have selected this text for that express purpose. I wish to declare I have always and in all congregations when I have preach on the subject of the Deity, it has been the plurality of Gods. It has been preached by the Elders for fifteen years.

Amos 2:4-8; Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked: 5 But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.  6 ¶ Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes; 7 That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name: 8 And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.

In the beginning of Joseph Smith’s life he preached with a monotheistic message.  As time went on I am convinced he went crazy.  This excerpt came from the infamous “King Follett Discourse” when he unleashed a barrage of ungodly teachings.

Power of God Unto Salvation

Gospel Doctrine, pg. 97; I thank God for “Mormonism,” so-called; it is the power of God unto salvation. It is the duty of every Latter-day Saint to know of its truth and to exemplify it. Its destiny is to overwhelm error and supplant it with righteousness and peace.—From a sermon, given in Logan, Feb. 2, 1909.

Romans 1:16; For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

So we hate and disparage the Bible but lift passages and phrases from it?

Praise to the Man

LDS Hymn #27;

“Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah!  Jesus anointed [sic] that Prophet and Seer.

Blessed to open the last dispensation, Kings shall extol him and nations revere.

Hail to the Prophet, ascended to heaven!  Traitors and tyrants now fight him in vain.

Mingling with Gods, he can plan for his brethren; Death cannot conquer the hero again.

Praise to his mem’ry he died as a martyr; Honored and blest be his ever great name!

Long shall his blood, which was shed by assassins, Plead unto heav’n while the earth lauds his fame

Great is his glory and endless his priesthood.  Ever and ever the keys he will hold

Faithful and true, he will enter his kingdom, Crowned in the midst of the prophets of old.

Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven; Earth must atone for the blood of that man.

Wake up the world for the conflict of justice.  Millions shall know “Brother Joseph” again.

Obadiah 1:4; Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD.

That Mormon hymn is so evil…

Pray to Jesus

3 Nephi 19:18; And behold, they began to pray; and they did pray unto Jesus, calling him their Lord and their God.

James 1:5-6; If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.  6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

Jesus is not the God of Mormonism.  Jesus is the elder spiritual brother in Mormonism as is Satan.  Elohim/Heavenly Father is the name of God to the Mormon and he is an exalted man who was once on an earth much like this one.

Additionally, Mormons do not pray to Jesus.  They pray to their “Heavenly Father” in the name of Jesus, but never directly to Jesus.

Pray; Don’t Pray to Jesus

1982 BYU Speech by Bruce McConkie; I shall express the view of the Brethren, of the prophets and apostles of old, and of all those who understand the scriptures and are in tune with the Holy Spirit…We do not worship the Son, and we do not worship the Holy Ghost. I know perfectly well what the scriptures say about worshipping Christ and Jehovah, but they are speaking in an entirely different sense…There are those deluded cultists, and others who, unless they repent, are on the road to becoming cultists, who choose to believe we should worship Adam. They have found or should find their way out of the Church…

Another peril is that those so involved often begin to pray directly to Christ because of some special friendship they feel has been developed…This is plain sectarian nonsense.

Our prayers are addressed to the Father, and to him only. They do not go through Christ, or the Blessed Virgin, or St. Genevieve or along the beads of a rosary. We are entitled to “come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

Proverbs 8:27, 35-36; When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: 35 For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD. 36 But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.

As mentioned earlier, this is classical Mormon theology.  The Mormons do not have a personal relationship with Jesus although they live their lives to try and emulate what He did by always doing good works with a twist – they do it for their salvation because they don’t live by grace.

The words of McConkie are the typical diatribe you hear from the leaders in the Church who truly hate the real Jesus.

Prayer Language

Answers to Gospel Questions 2:15; Question: “In our Sunday School class..The question is this: Is it important that we use the words, thy, thine, thee, and thou, in addressing Deity; or is it proper when directing our thoughts in prayer to use the more common and modern words, you and yours? Our bishop and our stake president have told us that the older words should always be used, but we seek further information on the question.”

Answer: Your bishop and stake president have given you proper advice which should be followed strictly. Our Eternal Father and his Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, should never be approached in prayer in the familiar expressions so commonly used in addressing human beings…In the days when the Bible was translated into English it was common for men and women to greet each other using the pronouns thy and thine, thee and thou. As time went on and men and women became more worldly minded, such a custom was discontinued…Prayer and poetry certainly would miss much of their value if this were changed.””

Psalm 57:7-11; “7 My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.  8 Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.  9 I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations.  10 For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.  11 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.

Do you honestly believe that Moses or even Jesus used “thee and thou” when they prayed to the Father?  What about Daniel when he went home and kneeled three times a day asking for God’s protection?  Was he speaking 1611 English?  Do you speak proper 1611 English today?  1611 English contains more words than just “thee” and “thou”…

It wasn’t until after I left the Church that I learned I could incorporate prayers from the Bible into my personal prayer life.  The conversations I now have with God are sweet beyond description.  The example from Psalm 57 is one of my favorites.

Prayers; Be Careful What You Pray For

Encyclopedia of Joseph Smith’s Teachings, pg. 219; The Lord once told me that what I asked for I should have. I have been afraid to ask God to kill my enemies, lest some of them should, peradventure, repent.

Matthew 5:43-46; Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.  44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.  46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

This isn’t even remotely funny.

Prayers, Method of

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, pg. 1118; “…”In all our prayers, it is well to use the pronouns thee, thou, thy, and thine instead of you, your, and yours inasmuch as they have come to indicate respect”…Unnecessary repetition of God’s name is avoided, as are idle clichés. Prayers close by stating that the prayer is offered in the name of Jesus Christ, concluding with amen…When someone prays in behalf of a group, the members customarily repeat the final “amen” aloud…In private, the individual or family members kneel with bowed heads and closed eyes. In public, the one praying usually stands, but also observes behavior appropriate to prayer. A prayer’s length is determined somewhat by the occasion, but generally prayers are reasonably concise…

Matthew 6:5-6; And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.  6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

We’ve used the KJV in all of our examples on the site, but honestly do you really believe this is the way to pray?  Why would you need to use 1611 English thrown in with modern day English?  Is God not able to recognize your vocabulary if you don’t speak in seventeenth century English?  What about all those who don’t even speak English?

This is yet another difference between Mormons and Christians in their prayer life.  The Christian churches actually have prayer meetings.  To the horror of what the Mormon must think sometimes Christian prayer gatherings can go on for hours.

Pre-existence; Before Creation of Mankind

Journal of Discourses 4:216; There is not a person here to-day but what is a son or a daughter of that Being. In the spirit world their spirits were first begotten and brought forth, and they lived there with their parents for ages before they came here. This, perhaps, is hard for many to believe, but it is the greatest nonsense in the world not to believe it. If you do not believe it, cease to call Him Father; and when you pray, pray to some other character.” – Brigham Young, Salt Lake City, February 8, 1857

Genesis 2:7; And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Don’t you worry Mr. Young, I’m definitely praying to someone else.

Pre-existence, Choices in

Melvin Joseph Ballard, Sermons and Missionary Services, page 247; “Now, my brothers and sisters, I would like you to understand that long before we were born into this earth we were tested and tried in our pre-existence, and the fact that of the thousands of children born today, a certain proportion of them went to the Hottentots of South Africa; thousands went to the Chinese mothers; thousands went to Negro mothers; thousands to beautiful white Latter-day Saint mothers: You cannot tell me that the entire group was just designated, marked, to go where they did, that they were men and women of equal opportunities. There are no infant spirits born. They had a being ages before they came into this life.” – 1949

1 Cor. 15:44; “It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

Two things of import here.  Hottentots?  I just cannot imagine referring to someone in such a degrading way.

Mr. Ballard may not have been convinced here on earth that God actually created us but I am certain he figured it out when he met his Maker.

Pre-existence, Everything Learned in

Answers: Straightforward Answers to Tough Gospel Questions, pgs. 5-6; Every truth of salvation, that is, every doctrine or principle that we must accept and live in order to be saved, was taught to us before we were born. We came into this life knowing but having forgotten these sacred truths.” – Joseph Fielding McConkie

1 Corinthians 15:45-47; And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

How convenient.  Here we are presented with a no-fail belief system wanting us to believe this nonsense.  We already knew all this stuff but forgot?  This type of theology mimics Hinduism.

Pre-existence, Free Agency in

Life Before, pg. 91; God gave his children their free agency even in the spirit world, by which the individual spirits had the privilege, just as men have here, of choosing the good and rejecting the evil, or partaking of the evil to suffer the consequences of their sins. Because of this, some even there were more faithful than others in keeping the commandments of the Lord. Some were of greater intelligence than others, as we find it here, and were honored accordingly….The spirits of men were not equal. They may have had an equal start, and we know they were all innocent in the beginning; but the right of free agency which was given to them enabled some to outstrip others…” – Brent Top

John 8:23; And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.

If the Mormon leaders spent half the time studying the Bible that they do making stuff up they’d be amazing theologians.

Pre-existence, Free Agency to Choose Heavenly Parents in

For Behold Ye are Free, pg. 42; …as intelligences, we voluntarily agreed to the proposed action of God the Eternal Father and his companion – we consented to our being born as sons and daughters of them, understanding the laws and consequences of obedience and disobedience to those laws that obtained in that kingdom…Now as spirit sons and daughters of God, after we had taken that step to become the literal offspring of celestial Parents, we read in the Doctrine and Covenants, an item pertaining to our freedom of choice as spirit beings.  “…for, behold the devil was before Adam…”” – Lynn A. McKinlay

Gal. 3:4-7; But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 6And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Tell me… how we could ever take steps to become the children of our parents?

Pre-existence, Jesus Only

Ensign, November 1997, pg. 65; Only One who was with God, and was God, can answer the deepest and most urgent questions of our soul.” – Jeffrey R. Holland
Psalm 42:1-7; As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.  2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?  3 My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?  4 When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday.  5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.  6 O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar.  7 Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.

This time the Church was absolutely right.  Why can’t they see the errors of their ways?

Pre-existence:  None

Moses 3:7;  “And I, the Lord God, formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul, the first flesh upon the earth, the first man also; nevertheless, all things were before created; but spiritually were they created and made according to my word.

Gen. 2:7; And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Okay here we go.  The Mormon verse above is akin to saying “I walked to work while I drove my car”.  Does that make sense to you?

How could God form man from the ground, breathe life into him and yet man has always existed?

Pre-existence of Man, Gods in Embryo

Teachings of John Taylor, pg. 1; What is [man]? He had his being in the eternal worlds; he existed before he came here. He is not only the son of man, but he is the son of God also. He is a God in embryo, and possesses within him a spark of that eternal flame which was struck from the blaze of God’s eternal fire in the eternal world, and is placed here upon the earth that he may possess true intelligence, true light, true knowledge,—that he may know himself—that he may know God—that he may know something about what he was before he came here—that he may know something about what he is destined to enjoy in the eternal worlds.

Psalm 8:4; “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

If only the Mormon leaders could see the error of their ways.  It’d mean they’d have to be humble and for the Mormon, that’s a hard pill to swallow.

Pre-existence of Man, Plan of Salvation

Saviors on Mt. Zion, pg. 7; The Father called all spirits before him at the creation of man, and organized them. . . . At the first organization we were all present, and saw the Savior chosen and appointed and the plan of salvation made, and we sanctioned it. We came to this earth that we might have a body and present it pure before God in the celestial kingdom. The great principle of happiness consists in having a body…This was the teaching of the Prophet Joseph Smith…” – Archibald Bennett

Job 11:7-12; Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?  8 It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?  9 The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea. 10 If he cut off, and shut up, or gather together, then who can hinder him? 11 For he knoweth vain men: he seeth wickedness also; will he not then consider it? 12 For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass’s colt.

In the New American Standard Bible it says this in verse 12; “An idiot will become intelligent When the foal of a wild donkey is born a man.”

After reading the passage in Job does it stand to reason the Mormon teaching is trustworthy?

Pre-existence Once Taught in Bible

Way to Perfection, pg. 29; That we had a pre-existence and dwelt in the presence of our Eternal Father and his Son Jesus Christ is revealed to us in the Scriptures. This doctrine is to be found in the Bible, but, in the present mutilated form in which this doctrine comes to us through that volume, it is difficult for those who have not been enlightened by other revelation to comprehend it.” – Joseph Fielding Smith

2 Timothy 3:1-5; This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.  2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

Alert, alert, alert!!!  Take special notice here in what this man has said.  He has attacked the Bible and offered nothing to back up his claims of where and when this took place.  If the Bible is in a presently mutilated form and no one can comprehend it then WHY are they using it?  Good grief people.

Pre-existence, Spirits had No Beginning

Life Before, pg. 42-43; Applying this same concept to the eternal nature of man, Elder Penrose went on to sag that “the individual, the organized person may have had a beginning, but that spirit of which and by which they [were] organized never had a beginning….The primal particles never had a beginning. They have been organized in different shapes [as individual entities]; the organism [individual spirit] had a beginning, but the elements or atoms of which it is composed never had….The elementary parts of matter as well as of spirit, using ordinary terms, never had a beginning.”” – Brent Top

John 3:13; And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

The Mormon Church thinks it’s so wise and has all the answers, but in reality all they’re doing is tearing down God because they don’t have an answer to how He operates and they don’t like it.

Pre-existence, Spiritually Begotten in

Mormon Doctrine, pg. 590; Unless God the Father was a personal Being, he could not have begotten spirits in his image, and if there had been no self-existent spirit element, there would have been no substance from which those spirit bodies could have been organized.

Romans 9:11; “(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;).

Again here they are trying to demean God and what He’s done.  They cannot accept the fact they can’t be like Him and pride is literally killing them.

Pregnancies in Heaven

The Seer, pgs. 38-39; If we admit that one personage was the Father of all this great family, and that they were all born of the same Mother, the period of time intervening between the birth of the oldest and the youngest spirit must have been immense…But as heavenly things are, in many respects, typical of the earthly, it is altogether probable that the period required for the formation of the length as that required in this world for the organization of the infant tabernacle.” – Orson Pratt

Galatians 5:16-17; This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.  17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

Ed Decker and I did a lot of investigating into this subject matter on what the Mormons believe.  After doing all the math and researching the LDS perspective Ed wrote a great article for our site.  It’d take billions of years to achieve the coveted status of Mormon godhood if you believe everything the Church has to say.  Here’s a link to the article http://www.lifeafter.org/babies

Priesthood, Deny it and You’re a Liar

History of the Church 6:478; All men are liars who say they are of the true Church without the revelations of Jesus Christ and the Priesthood of Melchisedek, which is after the order of the Son of God.

Hebrews 7:24-25; But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.  25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

According to their analysis that would have to mean God as well.

Priesthood Enlarges the Soul

Aaronic Priesthood, pg. 116-117; The gospel of Jesus Christ serves to make bad men good and good men better. We are magnified by the word and the power. Priesthood enlarges the soul and ennobles our natures. It “administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God.” (D&C 84:19.) And, finally, “all they who receive this priesthood receive me, saith the Lord.” (D&C 84:35.)” – Oscar McConkie

Matthew 23:12; And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

The only “thing” that makes any of us better is the work of the Holy Spirit within us.  “I must decrease so He can increase” – John 3:30.

Priesthood; Eternal Priesthood vs. Eternal Gospel

Doctrines of Salvation 3:80-81; Eternal Nature of Priesthood…All men who assume authority, but who have not been properly called, will have to answer for their acts in the day of judgment. Nothing that they perform in the name of the Lord is valid, for it lacks the stamp of divine authority.

Revelation 14:6, 12-13; And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.  13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

Amen.  Your work will definitely not pass the test Mr. Smith.

Priesthood Given/Man of Sin is Anti-Christ

Life of Joseph F. Smith, pg. 45-46; On the 3rd of June, the Elders from various parts of the country where they were laboring, came in; and the conference before appointed, convened in Kirtland, and the Lord displayed His power to the most perfect satisfaction of the Saints. The man of sin was revealed, and the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood (i.e. office of High Priest) was manifested and conferred for the first time upon several Elders.” – Joseph Fielding Smith

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4; Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

It makes you wonder who the man of sin was in that meeting and why is this group of grown men doing things like this?

Priesthood, Jesus Shares His

Jesus the Christ, pg. 30; It now becomes our purpose to inquire as to the position and status of Jesus the Christ in the antemortal world, from the period of the solemn council in heaven, in which He was chosen to be the future Savior and Redeemer of mankind, to the time at which He was born in the flesh.” – James Talmage

Hebrews 7:24; But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.

Why would they have to inquire of what was going on before creation if they’ve already figured it out?

Jesus the Christ is an 800 page book first published in 1915 by the Church about all the characteristics of the Mormon Jesus and his purpose.  It is one of the most heretical writings about God that I’ve ever had the misfortune to read.

Priesthood, Levitical Forever Hereditary

TPJS, pg. 319; Here is a little of law which must be fulfilled. The Levitical Priesthood is forever hereditary—fixed on the head of Aaron and his sons forever, and was in active operation down to Zacharias the father of John. Zacharias would have had no child had not God given him a son. He sent his angel to declare unto Zacharias that his wife Elizabeth should bear him a son, whose name was to be called John.

Matthew 5:17; Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

Okay the latter part of his teaching really has nothing to do with what his main point was about.

The Levitical priesthood was indeed hereditary but the Law was bankrupt, thus Jesus coming to fulfill all righteousness…

BTW – John the Baptist was not qualified to be a priest because of his lifestyle.  Hair, clothing and his dietary intake disqualified him.

Priesthood, Melchezidek Holds All Authority

TPJS, pg. 166; There are two Priesthoods spoken of in the Scriptures, viz., the Melchizedek and the Aaronic or Levitical. Although there are two Priesthoods, yet the Melchizedek Priesthood comprehends the Aaronic or Levitical Priesthood, and is the grand head, and holds the highest authority which pertains to the priesthood, and the keys of the Kingdom of God in all ages of the world to the latest posterity on the earth; and is the channel through which all knowledge, doctrine, the plan of salvation and every important matter is revealed from heaven.

Hebrews 5:5-6; So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.  6 As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

Only TWO people ever held the Melchisedec priesthood.  Melchisedec and Jesus.

Priesthood Needed for Salvation

History of the Church 5:259; Whenever men can find out the will of God and find an administrator legally authorized from God, there is the kingdom of God; but where these are not, the kingdom of God is not. All the ordinances, systems, and administrations on the earth are of no use to the children of men, unless they are ordained and authorized of God; for nothing will save a man but a legal administrator; for none others will be acknowledged either by God or angels.

Hebrews 8:5-6; Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.  6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.

This is such a bald faced lie.  The Kingdom of God is in us.  Jesus instituted it, not Joseph Smith, not the Mormon Church and certainly not some “legal administrator”.

The Mormon Church tells their people they must follow the Law, but this is death to their souls.  No one can follow the Law and be saved.

Priesthood, Requirements for

Doctrines of Salvation 3:247; “”There is the fact revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith, who was of the lineage of Joseph through the loins of Ephraim, that the majority of the people who have been first to receive the gospel and priesthood of the latter-day dispensation, are descendants of some of the house of Ephraim scattered among the nations, and therefore, the stick of Joseph-the Book of Mormon-is in their hands.”

Exodus 28:1; And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.

There are no living descendants of Ephraim upon the face of the earth today.  Read Obadiah.

Principles of God is Obedience to Law; Brings Holy Spirit

Conference Report April 1904, pg. 97; The principles God has revealed for the redemption of His people do not manifest themselves to the people suddenly, but the man who conforms to the first principles, having faith in the Lord Jesus, repenting of his sins, going down into the water and being baptized for the remission of his sins, receives the Holy Ghost, which will lead him into all truth…but when he becomes derelict in his duties, and begins to neglect his prayers, and speak evil of the servants of God, criticising those who bear the Holy Priesthood who preside ever him, then the light begins to wane again, and the Spirit of God withdraws until he is left entirely to himself.” – David Cannon

Matthew 23:4; For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.

The verse in Matthew is what I think of whenever I see something in Mormonism that tells the people you have to work to receive the Lord’s presence and help in life.  People like my own mother will not accept His love or His free gift of salvation.  She has to take responsibility for her behavior but it is from the teachings of the Church that keeps her where she is.

Procreation, Act of is Man’s Highest Trait

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, pg. 1157; Latter-day Saints have an exceptionally positive view of procreation. After God commanded Adam and Eve to “multiply and replenish the earth” (Gen. 1:28), he pronounced all of his creation, including the power of procreation, “very good” (Gen. 1:31). President Joseph F. Smith noted, “The lawful association of the sexes is ordained of God, not only as the sole means of race perpetuation, but for the development of the higher faculties and nobler traits of human nature, which the love-inspired companionship of man and woman alone can insure” (IE 20:739).

Psalm 8:5-6; For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. 6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet.

I don’t even know what to say to the degrading and ignorant thought process of this teaching.  Mormonism has always been based upon two things; sex and godhood.

Pro-creation is Exaltation

New Witness for God 1:461-462; What a revelation is here! As I have remarked elsewhere, instead of the God-given power of pro-creation being one of the chief things that is to pass away, it is one of the chief means of man’s exaltation and glory in that great eternity, which like an endless vista stretches out before him! Through it man attains to the glory of the endless increase of eternal lives, and the right of presiding as priest and patriarch, king and lord over his ever increasing posterity.” – B.H. Roberts

John 8:41-42; Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.  42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.

Here’s the proof of what I’ve claimed in the previous entry.  God help them, please.

Prophecies, All in D&C Will be Fulfilled

D&C 1:37; Search these commandments, for they are true and faithful, and the prophecies and promises which are in them shall all be fulfilled.

Deuteronomy 13:1-3; If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, 2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; 3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

This is obviously a false prophecy.  Polygamy is gone, Oliver Granger died before he could go on a mission, the Civil War prophecy was only partially correct which also means it was partially wrong, the temple lot fiasco, the Kirtland Banking Society, the Kinderhook plates, the race issue in 1978…

Prophecies aren’t Wrong

Follow the Living Prophets, pg. 247; “The Presidency, in directing the Church and its affairs and in counseling the people, do so under the directing power of this “light and truth.” When a man and the Presidency are both directed on the same subject by “light and truth,” there can be no conflict. And so, my brethren, all who are out of harmony in any degree with the Presidency have need to repent and to seek the Lord for forgiveness and to put themselves in full harmony…In response to a contention that to follow such a course is tantamount to surrendering one’s “moral agency,” suppose a person were in a forest with his vision limited by the denseness of the growth about him.”” – This statement was originally given by Marion Romney.

Jeremiah 17:9; The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

I remember several months before my exodus of Mormonism I was thinking about this statement and others like it.  After an afternoon walk with my two year old I came home, opened my Bible and Triple Combination and began doing a side-by-side comparison.  It had to be one of the scariest things I’ve ever done in my life.

When I minister to Mormons now that scenario is what I think of every time.  I know it’s scary, it takes determination and it takes a strong desire to know the truth no matter the results.

Prophecies of Joseph Smith Might be Evil

Comprehensive History of the Church 1:165; In that view of the case we have here an alleged revelation received by the Prophet, through the “Seer Stone,” directing or allowing men to go on a mission to Canada, which fails of its purpose; namely, the sale of the copyright of the Book of Mormon in Canada. Then in explanation of the failure of that revelation, the Prophet’s announcement that all revelations are not of God; some are of men and some even from evil sources.

Proverbs 22:3; A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.

Here we have the Church admitting that not everything coming out of the mouth of Joseph Smith is godly and that sometimes his revelations are from Satan.

Would you trust this man after hearing that?

Prophecy, All Nations Will Tremble

D&C 133:42; O Lord, thou shalt come down to make thy name known to thine adversaries, and all nations shall tremble at thy presence—” – August 27, 1843

Revelation 1:7; Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

Indeed the Lord will return and all nations, including Mormonism, will tremble.  Smith convinced his followers that everyone but the Mormon Church is the enemy of Jesus.

Prophecy, False

D&C 112:15; Exalt not yourselves; rebel not against my servant Joseph; for verily I say unto you, I am with him, and my hand shall be over him; and the keys which I have given unto him, and also to youward, shall not be taken from him till I come.

Acts 8:9-20; But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one…20 But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

The scenario in the book of Acts and the warning about the false prophet Simon reminds me of Joseph Smith so much that I couldn’t let it go by quietly.  Simon was a false prophet selling the opportunity to have the Holy Spirit with people.  Man if that doesn’t sound like Joseph Smith I don’t know what does!

Prophecy, Smith Will Not be Overthrown

History of the Church 5:554;I [Joseph Smith] prophesy and bear record this morning that all the combined powers of earth and hell shall not and cannot ever overthrow or overcome this boy, for I have a promise from the eternal God. If I have sinned, I have sinned outwardly; but surely I have contemplated the things of God.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14; Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Joseph Smith was shot and killed by his enemies in June 1844.

Prophecy, Smith Will Overcome All Enemies

D&C 127:2; “…for to this day has the God of my fathers delivered me out of them all, and will deliver me from henceforth; for behold, and lo, I shall triumph over all my enemies, for the Lord God hath spoken it.” – September 1, 1842

Deuteronomy 18:9-12; When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.  10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,  11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.  12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.

Joseph Smith was killed by his enemies in June 1844.

Prophets, False LDS

Gospel Standards, pg. 15; JOSEPH SMITH AND MORMONISM. I have met hundreds of men who have said: “If it were not for Joseph Smith I could accept your religion.” Any man who does not believe in Joseph Smith as a prophet of the true and the living God has no right to be in this Church. That revelation to Joseph Smith is the foundation stone. If Joseph Smith did not have that interview with God and Jesus Christ, the whole Mormon fabric is a failure and a fraud. It is not worth anything on earth.” – Heber Grant

Deut. 18:20-22; But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. 21And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? 22When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.

Mr. Grant was right.  If you accept the Book of Mormon you have to accept Joseph Smith, they go hand in hand.  Without Smith Mormonism is nothing.

Prophet, Follow the

Teachings of Harold B. Lee, pg. 451; Keep your eye on the prophet. If you can impress nothing else upon a youth, tell him if he wants to be safe in this day to keep his eyes upon the President of the high priesthood of this church, and then you set him the example by doing likewise.

2 Peter 2:1-3; But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.  2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.  3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

You might also want to share Matthew 15:14 – it talks about the blind leading the blind and they both fall into the pit…

Prophet, Following the

Doctrines of Salvation 3:203;Every man who writes is responsible, not the Church, for what he writes. If Joseph Fielding Smith writes something which is out of harmony with the revelations, then every member of the Church is duty bound to reject it. If he writes that which is in perfect harmony with the revealed word of the Lord, then it should be accepted.

2 Thessalonians 2:8-9; And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders.

The above teaching by the LDS Church contradicts what they tell their adherents in the 11th of “Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet” which says “The two groups who have the greatest difficulty in following the prophet are the proud who are learned and the proud who are rich.”

Prophet is Constitution of Church

Answers: Straightforward Answers to Tough Gospel Questions, pg. 214; First, good doctrine will always sustain the idea that the living prophet, not scripture or any other document, is the constitution of the Church. The Church is not governed by canon law, we have no creed to which we must pay allegiance, nor do we have a written constitution.

Galatians 4:9; But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?

Uh, what about the Bible or maybe Jesus or God?

Prophet is Pre-eminent

Doctrines and Covenants Institute Student Manual, Section 90, The Oracles of God; Counselors can do everything their presiding officer directs them to do, as if the president were personally acting. In this sense they are equals. However, they have no power to act independent of the president. Both Sidney Rigdon and Frederick G. Williams received their ordination from the Prophet Joseph Smith, who held the keys. Since these two men received their authority from Joseph Smith, it follows that they were not equal to him in every sense. Elder John A. Widtsoe observed that “the pre-eminence of the President of the Church was maintained. . . . The Counselors do not possess the power of the President and cannot act in Church matters without direction and consent of the President. “All this defined clearly the position and authority of the President of the Church.” ( Joseph Smith, p. 303.)”

1 Timothy 4:7; But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.

http://institute.lds.org/manuals/doctrine-and-covenants-institute-student-manual/dc-in-081-90.asp

The above link takes you directly to the quote and the link below takes you to a dictionary.  Pre-eminence is the act of being preeminent.  Preeminent means to be supreme, dominant, distinguished, peerless…

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Pre-eminent

So they’re trying to tell the followers that Smith is peerless?  Wow.  If that’s not worshipping the guy I don’t know what is.

Prophet, Man Has Right to be False

History of the Church 6:304; But meddle not with any man for his religion: all governments ought to permit every man to enjoy his religion unmolested. No man is authorized to take away life in consequence of difference of religion, which all laws and governments ought to tolerate and protect, right or wrong. Every man has a natural, and, in our country, a constitutional right to be a false prophet, as well as a true prophet.

Matthew 7:15; Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Yes Mr. Smith you do have the right to be a false prophet for now.  And you did fulfill that mission quite well.

Prophet, Test of a True

Evening and Morning Star 2:105; The only way of ascertaining a true prophet, is to compare his prophecies with the ancient word of God, and see if they agree, and if they do and come to pass, then certainly he is a true prophet: For it is not possible that the Lord will suffer FALSE prophets, to bring forth the truth, moved upon by the Holy Ghost, for it is written that the Holy Ghost dwelleth not in unholy temples. By their fruits shall they be known.

Jeremiah 23:32-40; Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD.”  (Also see vs. 33-40.)

Actually bad people do tell the truth at times or they’ll give you part of the truth mixed with a healthy dose of lying.

Prophet, We Thank Thee o God for a

LDS Hymn #19; We thank thee, O God, for a prophet To guide us in these latter days.
We thank thee for sending the gospel To lighten our minds with its rays.”

Psalm 119:104-105; Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.  105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

John 16:26-27; At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: 27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.

Why would you believe that a man other than Jesus gave you the gospel?  And why would you believe that a man is the one who would open your minds?  This is a lot like the Masonic Lodge.

Prophetic Fruits

New Witness for the Articles of Faith, pg. 15; The prophetic fruits of Joseph Smith are many and varied. All are as delicious as manna and as overflowing with goodness as the fruits of Eden. Volumes have been and will yet be written about them. They have not grown in secret nor been harvested in the night.” – Bruce McConkie

John 12:48-49; He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.  49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.

Everyone that accepts the teachings of Joseph Smith have totally rejected Jesus Chrsit and walk in darkness.

Prophets Words Outweigh Scripture

Conference Report, October 1897, pg. 18-19; “…when compared with the living oracles those books are nothing to me; those books do not convey the word of God direct to us now, as do the words of a Prophet or a man bearing the Holy Priesthood in our day and generation. I would rather have the living oracles than all the writing in the books.’ That was the course he pursued. When he was through, Brother Joseph said to the congregation; ‘Brother Brigham has told you the word of the Lord, and he has told you the truth.

Hebrews 2:1-3; Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.  2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; 3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him.

The Bible is nothing to this man?  Why would anyone wanting to know Jesus say such a thing?

Proselytizing

LDS Church News, Saturday, September 5, 2009; During a historic 16-day tour of Africa on Aug. 16-31, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve dedicated Cameroon and Rwanda for the preaching of the gospel. In so doing, he became the first known apostle to ever set foot in either nation.

2 Timothy 4:2; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.”

One of the people we’ve mentored has asked why it’s necessary to bless a “land” before they can share the gospel with the people.

Purpose of Life to Obtain Bodies

Joseph Smith, Seeker After Truth, pg. 160; By the “fall,” death of mortal bodies had come into the world. Yet the main purpose of earth-life is to secure a material body for eternal association with the spiritual body.” – John Widtsoe

Luke 10:20; Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

There are countless reasons God created us and not one of them is what the Mormon Church would have you believe.

Life is so very precious as is God.  Why would your existence be focused upon just you and your workings?  Where is God in that?

Also see:

Psalm 96:3; “Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people.”

Ephesians 2:10; “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

Isaiah 12:4; “And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.”

Isaiah 43:6-7; “I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;7 Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.”

Romans 12:4-8; “For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.”

1 Corinthians 12:22-24; “Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:23 And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.24 For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked.”

 

Reasons Starting With Q