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
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
Adam-God: Joseph Smith’s successor, Brigham Young, taught that Adam (Eve’s husband) is God—the only God worshiped by Mormons. The
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
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
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
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
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
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.)
Love Mormons and help humanity by knowing what Mormons teach and what is true according to Scripture.
4 comments:
Thank you Pastor Jason, for addressing a controversial subject with love and Truth.
For a great resource on how to witness to Mormons, go to:
http://www.watchman.org
(If you get a chance)I encourage you to read (if you haven't already) the speech that Romney delivered on faith.
I think he gave the speech in an effort to ease evangelical tensions about voting for a Mormon.
It's interesting to look specifically at the cautious mentioning and careful wording of his personal, and his churches beliefs about Jesus Christ.
Here's the link...
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16969460
Thanks for this Matt. I pulled this quote from his speech.
"There is one fundamental question about which I often am asked. What do I believe about Jesus Christ? I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of mankind. My church's beliefs about Christ may not all be the same as those of other faiths. Each religion has its own unique doctrines and history. These are not bases for criticism but rather a test of our tolerance."
He's right. What he and Mormons believe is completely different what Bible believing Christians believe. He is also right that we as Americans are called to be tolerant of each other's faith. That does not meant that we will accept one another's faith, but certainly that in love we will respect each other's beliefs.
My concern is that the language of his Mormon belief is so close to my Biblical belief, but the belief is so different. It requires each of us for conscience sake to stand for what we believe in a loving honorable way. Mr. Romney, as a Mormon, believes that I and all other religious or moral people will not go to hell. He just believes his experience will be better than mine and others who are not of the LDS cult. It's easy for him to let religion be nothing more than a casual superstition because in the end everybody somewhat moral is ok.
As a Bible believing Christian, I do not believe Jesus became God. I believe He is the eternal God who became flesh to save all who believe in His grace by faith. I believe, like most Bible believing Christians, that those who do not receive grace by faith receive justice. Justice means that a sinner will receive the lifelong and eternal punishment their sin demands. That means that Mr. Romney and all others who do not believe Jesus to be the eternal 2nd person of the trinity who provided a penal subsitutiary atonement for sin have to count on themselves to be holy to stand before God and to live in His holy presence. Mitt, like me and all people who have ever lived on this planet other than Jesus, has sinned and the wages of sin is eternal death to God (Romans 6.23).
That is not acceptable to me. I must with love help him and the world know the truth of what God has offered us in Christ. This is not a matter of difference and everybody still wins. This is determines the difference in a life lived without God and a life that is eternally justly sentenced to an eternity without God. Yes, I must respectfully allow Mitt and others to reject Christ as eternal God who became flesh to die as a substitute for the sin of those who believe. But I cannot just stand idly by and do nothing anymore than if Mitt and others were standing next to a bomb about to go off. I cannot make him or anyone else believe in Christ, but I and all believers must share what we know.
My prayer, "Lord, I am unworthy to know your Son and to be adopted into your family. Lord, I am no better than anyone else on this planet with me. I deserve damnation, but you have pardoned me by giving my punishment to your Son. Oh, Father, let others know you through faith in your Son. Save Mitt Romney from his sin by allowing him to see who Jesus truly is and the true condition of his soul. Lord, let the Mormons be free from the lies they've been taught about Jesus, hell, the role of races and genders, and so many other lies that have led them down the wide road that leads to destruction. Have mercy on them as you have me and so many others for your glory and your Name’s sake. I ask this in the name of Jesus, the eternal Word who was and is and is to come. Amen."
Post a Comment