Mitt and the Mormon Thing

Politics are not my forte. It is in sharing Jesus and the Christian faith where I tend to make a contribution. But now that the known Mormon, Mitt Romney, has sought a presidential bid this year and then stepped aside last week, the Mormon cult has been thrust into the national spotlight and the comments of its leaders and the seeming acceptance of the media of them is alarming me.

On Tuesday I heard a news report on NPR about Mitt and Mormonism and one the leaders of Mormonism was talking about how the Mormons were now victims of bigotry. He said that there had been slanderous statements made about their founder and about the “Christian” beliefs they hold.

Before I speak to what he said I want to make it clear that I love Mormons. I do not believe what they believe, but they are people made in the image of God. I even believe that in general most of them want for the US what I would want this nation. They seem and sound as though they are pro-family, pro-life, and pro-individual responsibility. That may be why many of the conservative evangelical leaders I respect supported Mitt’s presidential bid. One of the people interviewed in the report I heard on Tuesday spoke of how well the Winter Olympics of 2002 went because of the Mormon support. She said, “It seems to me that they are good family people who want to help others.” That is great. I hope that’s true. I believe that is also what most of the Hindus, Buddhist, Taoist and Christian Scientists I know would want. But that doesn’t make their beliefs true.

And this is my concern. Mormons use a lot of the language of the Christian faith, but please research and consider the fact that Mormonism is a cult. You say, “What makes them a cult? How are they different that orthodox Christians?”

The Mormon leader said that they were being slandered for their “Christian” beliefs. Here’s a brief listing of their beliefs. They are not CHRISTIAN.

Adam: Mormonism identifies Adam as Michael the Archangel prior to coming to earth and as the Ancient of days. He is expected to come again to the earth in power and glory as the patriarch of the human family before the second coming of Christ. He had flesh and bones but no blood before the fall.

Adam-God: Joseph Smith’s successor, Brigham Young, taught that Adam (Eve’s husband) is God—the only God worshiped by Mormons. The LDS Church leadership today publicly repudiates this doctrine, and most Mormons are unaware that Brigham Young actually taught it throughout his presidency.

Apostles: On February 14, 1835, Joseph Smith selected twelve men to fill the office of the Twelve Apostles, and successors have been appointed over the years when vacancies occurred. Mormons teach that their having “The Twelve” in their organization is one of the marks of the one true church. (The three members of the First Presidency [the President and Prophet, the top leader and his two counselors] are also apostles; therefore, they have a total of fifteen.)

Baptism: Besides the baptism of believers, the LDS Church also teaches baptism for the dead; relatives, ancestors, and others long dead can be saved by proxy baptism performed on their behalf in Mormon temples. Massive underground vaults store genealogical records involving millions of such baptisms.

Bible: Members believe the Bible to be the word of God “as far as it is translated correctly.” In the Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 13:26–29 says that “plain and precious” parts have been removed from the Bible. The uncanonized Joseph Smith Translation adds and rewrites many passages, and Mormon leaders reinterpret others in the light of alleged latter-day revelations.

Blacks: Viewing dark skin as a curse from God, Mormonism banned black men from the priesthood until a doctrinal reversal on this matter was announced in 1978.

Elohim: This is the name of God the Father, an individual distinct from Jehovah, who is the Son of Elohim.

Eternal Progression: Originally, all people existed as intelligences in the timeless past, as eternal as God himself. Then they were born into the spirit world through resurrected parents of flesh and bone. After living for a time in the spirit world, each person was eventually given a body at human birth. Our goal in this life should be to secure our resurrection as a God, in which capacity the resurrected will continue to progress, just as God did.

Exaltation: Beyond resurrection from the dead, Mormons hope to enter the highest of three heavens, the celestial kingdom, and there in the highest level of the celestial kingdom to be exalted to the status of Gods.

God(s): God the Father was once a man and still has a resurrected body of flesh and bones. Humans have the goal of becoming Gods. The basic difference between God and humans is simply that he has achieved exaltation before they have. Creation accounts in Mormon scripture speak of “the Gods” accomplishing the things Genesis says God did.

Heaven: Rather than a place where only believers go after death to be with the Lord, heaven is for virtually everyone, but consists of three distinct levels: telestial for nonbelievers, terrestrial for religious non-Mormons and backslidden Mormons, and celestial for good LDS Church members only.

Hell: The wicked go to a hell of torment, but all are eventually resurrected and pass into the telestial kingdom. Only “sons of perdition” who have given themselves over to Satan remain in hell forever.

Jehovah: This is the preincarnate name of Jesus Christ, who is one of the Gods, one of the sons of the God Elohim.

Jesus Christ: According to Mormonism Jesus Christ was one of the spirit sons of the God Elohim. Jesus was Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament. God the Father visited Mary and had marital relations with her so that Jesus could be born with a human body. Jesus redeemed all mankind to “general salvation”—secured their resurrection from the dead—but exaltation to the celestial kingdom will depend on a person’s being a zealous and obedient Latter-day Saint.

Marriage: The institution of marriage is an essential cornerstone of Mormonism. Marriage partners sealed in a temple ceremony will be together for time and eternity, in this world and after death.

Michael: Michael the Archangel is the same person who was called Adam in the Garden of Eden, and who is also called the Ancient of days in the Old Testament.

Polygamy: Joseph Smith and some of his close associates practiced polygamy, starting about 1835, while publicly denying it. Later the practice was supported by alleged divine revelation and was made public. An obstacle to Utah statehood, and finally the target of a federal law enforcement crackdown, plural marriage was officially discontinued in 1890.

Salvation: Because of Christ’s atonement everyone will partake of what Mormons call unconditional or general salvation, resurrection from the dead. Conditional or individual salvation involves entering the celestial kingdom and is a complex matter depending on such things as membership in the LDS Church, obedience to its ordinances, and so on. Even beyond this is full salvation, available only to faithful Mormons who have gone through temple ceremonies; those who obtain it are exalted and become Gods.

Temple: While local Mormon Church buildings, called chapels, are viewed in much the same way as Christians view theirs, the large Mormon temples are accorded special status. Temple ceremonies are off limits to nonmembers and even to Mormons who do not possess a “temple recommend” from their leaders. These ceremonies include celestial marriage, baptism for the dead, endowments, and other sacred rites.

Women: Barred from the priesthood and from the LDS hierarchy, women depend on men even for their heavenly exaltation. Without a Mormon husband in good standing, a Mormon woman has no hope of exaltation to the level of Goddess; nor can a man become a God without a faithful Mormon wife. But, if their marriages are sealed in temple ceremonies, women may continue to have spirit children throughout eternity. (David A. Reed and John Farkas, R., Mormons : Answered Verse by Verse, electronic ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1997, c1992, 22.)

So friends, don’t be fooled by the commercials. Mormonism is bad news for humanity. Don’t be lulled into a politically correct stupor. Stand your ground and help others to realize what Mormons believe and what they are doing. Realize that many of the adherents of Mormonism don’t understand or believe what Mormonism teaches. Why? That is the cult playbook. This is what cults do. Here is their strategy. Get accepted by people. Build an audience of people. Cover up the controversial stuff. Keep people in the dark and lead them to destruction.

Love Mormons and help humanity by knowing what Mormons teach and what is true according to Scripture.

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