Mormons Still Deceived by Joseph Smith

21 October

Life of Joseph the Prophet, pp 436-437; “ Adam The Patriarchal God of The Earth— … “The priesthood was first given to Adam; he obtained the first presidency, and held the keys of it from generation to generation. He obtained it in the creation, before the world was formed, as in Genesis 1:20, 26, 28. He had dominion given him over every living creature. He is Michael the archangel, spoken of in the Scriptures. Then to Noah, who is Gabriel. He stands next in authority to Adam in the priesthood. He was called of God to this office, and was the father of all living in his day, and to him was given the dominion. These men held keys first on earth and then in heaven. …

“The priesthood is an everlasting principle, and existed with God from eternity, and will to eternity, without beginning of days or end of years. The keys have to be brought from heaven whenever the gospel is sent. When they are revealed from heaven it is by Adam’s authority. Daniel vii., 7, speaks of the Ancient of Days. He means the oldest man, our father Adam, Michael…” * * * – Edward W. Tullidge, 1878

Titus 3:3-6; “For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. 4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, 5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour.”

In an e-mail exchange with a dear friend yesterday, I expressed the pain in my heart I have for the Mormon people. I also told her that I would’ve walked away from ministry long ago had it not been for the incessant, but gentle reminders, the Lord gives me whenever I’m dealing with the Mormon people.

Today’s Mormon reference is the poster-child of living in a constant state of confusion, and a good example of what hurts my heart for them.

Edward Wheelock Tullidge’s life was a picture of ambiguity. He joined the Church in England, and soon became enamored with the theory a restoration was indeed necessary if Christianity were to continue. In the beginning of his life as a Mormon, Tullidge became a missionary, then an editor for the Millennial Star under the guidance of Orson Pratt.

While in Utah to gather information on the Saints, he became convinced the Church was headed in the wrong direction under Brigham Young. He then teamed up with other like minded individuals and founded the first periodical paper west of the Mississippi. This paper (Utah Historical Quarterly) was always seen as ‘anti-Mormon’, and after many remakes and revisions, it eventually became what is still around today: The Salt Lake Tribune.

Old habits die hard as the saying goes, and no better example can be found than what we see in the Trib today. They seem to be holding the torch of Tullidge’s ambiguity.

The reference above came from one of the many books he wrote, ‘Life of the Prophet Joseph’. The Church still uses this as a go-to resource when they want to publicly adore their founder. Tullidge wrote this  in 1878, long after he left the Church back in the early 1860’s.

The passage we pulled from the book is considered a standard doctrine in Mormonism, even though their prophet Spencer W. Kimball, denounced the Adam-God Theory decades ago.

Growing up in Utah Mormonism, I had always been taught that Adam was Michael the Archangel, and Gabriel is Noah. You can imagine all the stuff Mormons have to sift through when making an exodus!

As always, we’re asking the body of Christ to pray for these dear people! The tricks of Satan are many, and keeping Mormons in a state of flux is one of them.

Reference:

Edward Wheelock Tullidge, The Mormons’ rebel historian, by William Frank Lye

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