Are
Mormons Christians?
A Look at Their Scripture
By
You
can tell a lot about a person by looking at their bookcase. If you see shelves full of medical books, it
may be safe to assume that they are in the medical field; law books/legal
profession; etc. For example, if you
were to look at my bookcase, you would see three broad types of books –
business and economics, religion, and spy novels. From that you may conclude that I am a
religious man that makes his living managing investments and when I want to
escape, a Tom Clancy novel is a great choice!
The
same can be said of world religions. If
you want to know their core beliefs, look at the writings they hold
sacred. What do they call “scripture?” To understand Judaism, read the Torah; Islam, read the Koran; Jehovah’s Witnesses, read the Watchtower; Church of Scientology, read
L. Ron Hubbard; Christianity, READ THE BIBLE! In like manner, if you want to understand
Mormonism, there are four primary works they consider to be ‘scripture:’ The Book of Mormon, The Doctrines and Covenants, The
Pearl of Great Price, and the Bible. In addition, they accept the words of their
prophets (both past prophets, and the present living prophet) as “scripture.”
Herein
lies the question, how can Mormons claim Christianity if their own sacred
writings both usurp the authority of the Bible
(the foundation of the Christian faith) and contradict its teachings?
To understand the Mormon scriptures, I have once again turned to their Gospel Principles ©1997, Intellectual Reserve, Inc. This is the book they would use to teach their children the teachings of the Mormon Church. First, their teaching on the Bible – “We believe the Bible to be the word of God, as far as it is translated correctly.” (Articles of Faith 1:8) pg. 53, Gospel Principles. The phrase “as far as it is translated correctly” goes to the Mormon teaching that in the early first
|
century Church, the Bible
was corrupted. Major points were either lost, or changed. Therefore, the Mormon Church would say what
we have of the Bible is probably correct, but we can’t be sure.
In contrast, Matthew
24:35 says, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My
words shall not pass away.” And,
Psalms 119:152 says, “Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of
old that thou hast founded them forever.”
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS Church)
teaches that Joseph Smith’s role was to restore
the gospel. Therefore, they recognize
his writings and revelations as ‘scripture.’
Joseph Smith taught the Book
of Mormon is “the most correct of any book on earth and the keystone
of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its
precepts, than by any other book.” (History
of the Church 4:461)
pg 53, Gospel Principles. |
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Book
of Mormon is the most correct book, then why does it contain untruth?
The Book of Mormon teaches
that American Indians are of Jewish origin, yet modern DNA studies show this
to be untruth. (See the video, DNA Vs. The Book of Mormon).
The Book of Mormon teaches
of great civilizations and great battles, yet archeology has yet to find one
strand of evidence to support such claims. If the Book of Mormon draws you nearer to God,
then which God? The god of Mormonism, or the God of the Bible? (See previous article in the May 2004 issue of MetroVoice, Before
Me There Was No God Formed.)
For the sake of time and space, discussion of The Doctrines and Covenants and The Pearl of Great Price will be brief here. The Doctrines and Covenants contain many of the more radical teachings that are unique to the Mormon Church such as, baptism for the dead (D&C 128), and three degrees of heaven (D&C
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131).
The Pearl of Great Price contains the Book of Moses and the Book of
Abraham and Joseph Smith History. It is interesting to note that Joseph Smith
claimed to have translated the Book
of Abraham from some ancient Egyptian papyri found buried with an
Egyptian mummy. However, modern
linguists have studied the papyri and through accurate translation of
ancient Egyptian, have discovered that the writings were burial instructions
for the mummy.
Finally, the LDS teach that the words of the living prophets
are “scripture,” as stated best in the Gospel
Principles, pg 55, “In addition to these four books of scripture,
the inspired words of our living prophets become scripture to us.
Their words come to us through conferences, church publications,
and instructions to local priesthood leaders. ‘We believe all that God
has revealed, all that he does now reveal, and we believe that he will
yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom
of God’ (Articles of Faith 1:9).”
Back to the question, are Mormons Christians?
If we are to answer this question by looking at their “scriptures,”
then let’s compare. Christianity teaches the Bible
is the inerrant Word of God, Isaiah
40:8, “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but
the word of our |
God shall stand forever.” Mormonism
teaches the Bible has been corrupted.
Christianity
teaches sole reliance, sole authority, and sole sufficiency of the Bible. Second Peter 1:20-21 reminds
us that God’s Word is not revealed to us through one man’s idea, “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private
interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but
holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy
Ghost.” In addition, II Timothy 3:16
declares its total authority and sufficiency, “All Scripture is given by
inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness:” Mormonism teaches we need the writings
and teaching of Joseph Smith and other Mormon prophets to have the “fullness of
the gospel.”
The goal in this newspaper article is
not to do an exhaustive study on the inerrancy of Scripture. There are many, many fine books on that
subject that can do a far better job than space here will allow. My goal is simply to raise the question, “How
can Mormons claim Christianity and yet, usurp the authority of the Bible with their own ‘scriptures?’ They can’t!
In
this election year, if I were to tell you I believe in everything the Democrats
stand for, but I consider myself to be a Republican. What would you think I
am? Politically confused, trying to fool
myself, or possibly trying to pull the wool over your eyes?
The
same goes for Mormonism. They can’t
claim biblical Christianity in one breath and in the next breath say that the
teachings of Joseph Smith and of their other prophets usurp the authority of
the Bible. Are they doctrinally
confused, trying to fool themselves or trying to pull the wool over our eyes?
We
need to pray that our Mormon friends will meet the Jesus of the Bible through an honest study of the
inerrant Word of God. When speaking with
your Mormon friends, repeatedly reinforce to them the authority of God’s Word
and its sufficiency for them.
