Questions Mormons ask to draw you into Mormonism part 3

04 April

Image by Kirk Grim

Today we’ll cover questions 5 and 6 of our ongoing series based on the article, ‘51 questions that might lead you to Mormonism’.

Question 5:

“Did we live as pre mortal spirits before we came to earth? (Jer 1:5, Job 38:7)”

Short answer – No, we didn’t.

Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

As many of you may know, Mormons believe all of us, including Jesus and Satan, lived as “spirit children” of God and His goddess wife (wives) in a place called the pre-existence, before being sent to earth in mortal bodies.

Mormons like to use this one verse in Jeremiah as proof that we lived before we were born, however, that’s not the case. This verse isn’t about us so much, as it’s about Jeremiah. It’s speaking of God’s all-knowing cognizance, and of His plan for Jeremiah before he was conceived.

Job 38:7 ‘When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?’

I’m not quite sure where they are going with this reference. If it’s in reference to the part that states “all the sons of God”, again, it’s not about all of us living together as spirits in a different realm before we were ‘reincarnated’ on earth. This verse is talking about angels, not human spirits before they were born.

Question 6:

“Who was “God” talking to when He said “Let us” make man in “our” image and after “our” likeness? (Genesis 1:26-27)”

Genesis 1:26-27 – ‘And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.’

“God” was talking about Jesus and the Holy Spirit. He wasn’t speaking to a council of gods, as Mormon theology would like you to believe. To do so undermines God’s power, and authority to create the world by speaking things into existence.

In Christ,

Melissa Grimes

References:

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2 Responses to “Questions Mormons ask to draw you into Mormonism part 3”

  1. Jo April 5, 2017 at 5:45 am #

    Your “insight” and effort to understand and explain Mormonism is impressive, however, you should ask a Mormon about their believes and not just assume you know what they believe. Unfortunately, you got a few things wrong. As a Mormon, let me share with you that yes Mormons do believe in the preexistence, but unlike what you stated is our take on Genesis 1:26-27, we do not believe he was talking to “a council of gods,” we believe, same as you stated, that he was talking to Christ and the Holy Spirit. In fact, if you were to talk to an endowed Mormon, they would tell you, we put much effort into remembering this as part of the teachings we learn in our temples. As for the statement that “Mormons believe all of us, including Jesus and Satan, lived as “spirit children” of God and His goddess wife (wives) in a place called the pre-existence, before being sent to earth in mortal bodies.” You got it partially right. Like I mentioned above, yes, we believe in the pre-existence, but no we do not believe God has wives. We know God a wife. Just wanted to clarify a few points. Keep on, keeping on.

    • Melissa April 7, 2017 at 3:32 pm #

      Jo,
      Before I get into responding let me first thank you for taking the time to view our site, and comment on our article.

      Now about who the Mormon god was speaking to when he said, “let us”. When I was in the Mormon church I learned that Heavenly Father had a meeting with the gods, a “council the of gods” prior to creating the world. This was based on the teachings from Joseph Smith. Here’s an example:

      “In the beginning, the head of the Gods called a council of the Gods; and they came together and concocted [prepared] a plan to create the world and people it. When we begin to learn this way, we begin to learn the only true God, and what kind of a being we have got to worship. Having a knowledge of God, we begin to know how to approach Him, and how to ask so as to receive an answer.” – Joseph Smith.” (Teachings of Prophet Joseph Smith, pp; 349-350)

      (According to Mormonism) Whether Heavenly Father was speaking to Jesus and the Holy Spirt, or the council of gods at the precise moment he began to create the earth is debatable. However, on thing is for certain, the doctrine of Mormonism teachings that he did confer with other gods prior to creating anything.

      Now when it comes to the god of Mormonism having more than one wife, you need to first remember that polygamy is a foundational doctrine of Church. There have been church leaders who have stated (or at least implied) that he does indeed practice polygamy. Then there are other church leaders who only speak of Heavenly Mother in the sense that we all have the same one. This is why I chose to word it the way I did in the article.

      In his book The Seer Apostle Orson Pratt wrote:
      “We have now clearly shown that God the Father had a plurality of wives, one or more being in eternity, by whom He begat our spirits as well as the spirit of Jesus His First Born, and another being upon the earth by whom He begat the tabernacle of Jesus, as His Only Begotten in this world. (Vol.1, No.11, p.172)”

      Brigham Young also believed the god of Mormonism practiced polygamy.

      “The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of Gods, are those who enter into polygamy.” (Journal of Discourses 11:269).

      Joseph Smith as well believed a man must practice polygamy if he is to achieve godhood, and the highest degree of glory.

      Gospel Through the Ages, pg. 119; “Marriage is not only a righteous institution, but obedience to this law is absolutely necessary in order to obtain the highest exaltation in the Kingdom of God. The word of the Lord came to the Prophet Joseph Smith on this subject as follows: “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).”

      “New and everlasting covenant of marriage”, which at the time was also referred to as plural marriage.

      I hope this clears some things up for you, and helps you to better understand where I was coming from in my article.

      In Christ,
      Melissa Grimes

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