There are many topics I love to speak about and plenty more I seldom mention. I bet you are the same. The old adage, “It’s not polite to speak on politics, religion or money” seems to be a good standard to hold, if your only interest is in not making waves. But if you don’t mind shaking things up a little, then those are the three you go for. As a pastor, it seems impossible to me to avoid these topics.
When it comes to speaking on money, I think church leaders need to mention it frequently. There are 31,102 verses in the Bible, 2350 are concerning finances. Though it’s not the main topic in scripture, it is a topic that’s addressed. If you want to read about finances this month you’ll have to turn farther back in the newsletter and see the article I wrote there.
Politics is another dandy topic. All you have to say is, “I vote Republican!” and instantly you will have a whole bunch of friends, just as many enemies and a bunch more that want to excuse themselves from the conversation. Of course a popular statement is, “I don’t vote for the party, I vote for the man” (or woman as the case may be). But a declaration like that will alienate the Republicans and Democrats. The results of all this is: it’s bad manners to speak on politics, just as it’s also bad manners to pick a fight. Certainly, a God fearing Bible loving Christian will always take note of Romans 13:1 before they trash talk the elected officials, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” So politics is a dangerous topic. Not only can you lose friends, you can also get God irritated with you.
This takes us to the third topic, religion. I like to speak about the wonders of God’s love for us. I enjoy telling misinformed people that God cares for them, loves them and guides them. I even like to officiate most funerals, because there I can remind people of God’s love and the hope of heaven that lays after this life.
Sadly, it never takes long until the topic of God’s love shifts to man’s religion. One opinion will often have an opposing opinion and the next thing you know you have gob of denominations and a church every two miles.
I don’t like conflict, I enjoy life more when I am without conflict but for the life of me, I cannot figure out how to speak the truth, without at least occasionally mentioning some things that make others angry. I don’t feel particularly bad about this because it seems Jesus had the same problem. Along with saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”1, He also said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves”2. So to model ourselves after Jesus is to know the difference between right and wrong and speak the truth about both.
This leads me to this month’s topic, that Mormons aren’t Christians. Mormons boast that they are Christians, do we take them at their word, or is there more to it than that? The Mormons are also called, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or LDS for short. Since I am writing an article instead of a book, this is not going to be detailed or exhaustive, but it will hit some of the high points and will hopefully prompt you to further research. I know that some will stop reading now because they don’t like the idea of someone (me) slamming someone else (LDS) and I understand why you would. Though the Bible teaches us not to be judgmental, it also teaches us to distinguish the truth from a lie and there are a lot of people who believe the LDS lie. Here’s my list of reasons why I’m not a Mormon:
1. LDS doctrine is like a cable with several twisted strands. Some of the strands are wonderful, like the encouragement of family and the sense of community. Some of the strands are corrupt. Corrupt enough to earn the label of #2.
2. The LDS is a cult. A cult is defined as a group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister. Who gets to decide what’s “strange & sinister? The original group. Just as Christians are not a branch of Judaism, because the Jews won’t have us, Mormons are not Christian because the original Christians won’t have them. What does LDS believe that is “strange or sinister? See #3,
3. Christians are never self-proclaimed, they are biblically defined. That is, a person is not a Christian because they say they are. A person is a Christian because they conform to and follow New Testament teaching. Such teachings as believing Jesus is the Messiah, they have asked Him into their hearts and they have become born-again.
4. LDS believe in the Bible, but only on their terms. To clarify the definition of a Christian various catechisms were written, most in the 16 &1700’s. Some by Catholics, some by Presbyterians, by Lutherans and Orthodox, there are certain variances and there are some decisive similarities. The purpose of the catechisms is to define what the Bible says about Christian beliefs. So in short if you agree with the basics of the catechisms you are a Christian, if not, you are not. For an example #5.
5
6. LDS believe God to be someone or something other than what the Bible teaches. People have no problem saying the Hindus and the Buddhists are not Christian because they believe in different gods. The Mormons also define God as something different. Why? #7.
7. Their sacred writings. According to their 8th Article of Faith, “the Bible is the inspired Word of God in so far as it is translated correctly”. But who gets to decide what’s “translated correctly”? In Protestantism, the individual is encouraged to decide based on their convictions and research, not by edicts passed down from headquarters. That sort of upper echelon control is scary. Why? #8 answers that.
8. More sacred books. Along with the Bible, the Mormons believe that there are four other inspired writings: the Articles of Faith, Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, and Doctrine and Covenants. The Bible has undergone rigorous scrutiny in order to be considered God’s word. The scrutiny included, (1)written by people recognized as prophets and apostles, (2)inspired by God, (3)recognized by men of God and (4)collected and preserved by the people of God. The four LDS books fill none of this criteria. By accepting those books they bring the Bible down to their level, rather than taking their faith up to the Bible’s level. In addition #9.
9. The preeminent view of the KJV. Don’t get me wrong the KJV is a great version of the Bible, but limiting your followers to one version smacks of censorship, if not book-burning. Why trust scholars who were translating in 1611 and not ones who are still alive today? Perhaps the answer is that they wouldn’t like the answer. As in not liking #10.
10. The work of DNA. Mainstream education has taught for years the Native Americans descended from eastern Siberia. It is believed they traveled by way of an ice bridge to Alaska and migrated through the centuries south all the way to Cape Horn. The Book of Mormon has quite another tale, the account of Israelites who traveled to the Americas in 586BC. They sailed south around Africa past Australia and to Central America, over the generations these descendants became the “principle ancestors of the American Indians”3. DNA research has proven the Native Americans descended from Siberia and the foundation of Mormonism to be false.
11. I have heard LDS members say, “read the Book of Mormon, pray earnestly and experience a warm sensation in your heart.” As Christians, we are not called by God to follow feelings of intuition or warm sensations. We are called to follow a living God, who answers prayers and changes lives. Being born-again is not a feeling, it’s an event. It changes everything.
12. One thing I do believe about the LDS is that the angel Moroni did in fact visit Joseph Smith. Sound crazy that I would admit to that? It shouldn’t, it was prophesied in the Bible 2000 years ago. Galatians 1:6-9,
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.”
There we have it, “even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” I just don’t think it can be any plainer than that. Even The Book of Mormon boasts the subtitle, “Another Testament of Jesus Christ” (italics mine).
As a follower of Christ I have sought Him in many places and in many doctrines, that is why I believe what I believe. Not because this is the church I grew up in, but because I have researched it and based my conclusions on that research. LDS twists doctrines, discredit the Bible, accepts other writings above the Bible, believe in a god other than the God of the Bible, their entire faith is crumbled by DNA research, it is based on emotion and discredited by Holy Scripture. The conclusion is not only that I will not follow LDS teaching, but I cannot understand why any literate person would ever believe Mormonism could be credible.
1 Matthew 5
2 Matthew 23
3 Book of Mormon Introduction 2nd paragraph
