Are Mormons
Christians?
Who Do They Worship?
By
If
you spend any time at all with Mormons, you will hear about their beloved
Joseph Smith. This past summer I
traveled to Nauvoo, Illinois, the city on the Mississippi River that Joseph
Smith built just prior to his death at the Carthage jail. When I watched their “passion play,” City of Joseph, it reminded me of an
Easter passion play I once stayed up all night to watch. The Easter play started with the birth of
Christ and ended with His resurrection on Easter morning with a cast of
hundreds. As the sun came up on Easter
morning, you felt as if you were there that glorious day 2,000 years ago.
That is similar to the experience
a Mormon might have at the City of Joseph
pageant. But, the pageant isn’t about
Christ, it’s about Joseph Smith. It
begins with his first vision and covers his life and the development of Nauvoo,
Illinois, the city Joseph built. Why
would hundreds of cast members travel hundreds of miles to perform a “passion
play” about Joseph Smith? Why would
thousands of faithful Mormons travel hundreds of miles to attend this “passion
play?”
The best answer I can give you is
a quote from a tour guide at the Carthage Jail.
In the room where Joseph Smith was shot, she said, “This place is to
Mormons as Calvary is to Christians.”
Did you get that? She equated Joseph Smith’s death to the death
of Christ on the cross of Calvary! So,
to answer the question, “Why do Mormons spend so much time talking about Joseph
Smith?” The answer is simple – they
worship him! But, don’t take my word for
it – take theirs. Joseph Smith himself said, “I have more to boast of than ever
any man had. I am the only man that has
ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the whole have stood by
me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did
it. I boast that no man ever did such a
work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him; but the Latter-day Saints
never ran away from me yet.” (History of
the Church, Volume 6, Chapter 12 pp 408-409 – as documented on www.mormonquotes.com.)
Joseph Smith just said he was
greater than all the apostles and that he had done a greater work even than
Jesus. What was that greater work? He claimed
to have restored the gospel that
Christ and his disciples could not hold together! He also said: “Nothing less
than a complete apostasy from the Christian religion would warrant the
establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” (History of the Church, Volume 1, p. xl – as documented on www.mormonquotes.com.)
Now, it is one thing for a man to
boast of himself, but it is yet another for others to boast of him. For that,
let’s turn to Brigham Young (the second Mormon 
Prophet)
and Bruce R. McConkie (the late Mormon Apostle). McConkie
put it this way, “The true gospel of Jesus Christ was restored to the earth
in the last days through the instrumentality of Joseph Smith. It is found only in The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints.” (Mormon Doctrine,
p. 334 – as documented on www.mormonquotes.com)
Young said, “I am a witness that
Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God. What
an uproar it would make in the Christian world to say, I am an Apostle of
Joseph. Write it down, and write it back to your friends in the east, that I am
an Apostle of Joseph Smith. He was a man of God and had the revelations of
Jesus Christ, and the words of Jesus Christ to the people. He did build and
establish the kingdom of God on the earth, and through him the Lord Almighty
again restored the priesthood to the children of men.” (Journal of Discourses, Volume 3, p. 212 – as documented on www.mormonquotes.com)
The Mormons would say Joseph Smith
was a prophet, he restored the gospel, and that he did more to hold the church
together than even Jesus did. It appears
they even go as far as to worship him as savior. How can they do that and claim
to follow Christ? Listen closely to
Brigham Young; “Whosoever confesseth that Joseph
Smith was sent of God to reveal the holy gospel to the children of men, and lay
the foundation for gathering Israel, and building up the kingdom of God on the
earth, that spirit of God; and every spirit that does not confess that God has
sent Joseph Smith, and revealed the everlasting Gospel to and through him, is
of Anti-christ, no matter whether it is found in a
pulpit or on a throne, nor how much divinity it may profess, nor what it
professes with regard to revealed religion and the account that is given of the
Saviour and his Father in the Bible.” (Journal of
Discourses, Volume 8, p. 177 – as documented on www.mormonquotes.com)
“…no man or woman in this
dispensation will ever enter into the celestial kingdom of God without the
consent of Joseph Smith. …every man and
woman must have the certificate of Joseph Smith, Junior, as a passport to their
entrance into the mansion where God and Christ are.” (Journal of Discourses, Volume 7, Chapter 14, p. 289 – as documented
on www.mormonquotes.com)
“If I can pass brother
Joseph, I shall stand a good chance for passing Peter, Jesus, the Prophets,
Moses, Abraham, and all back to Father Adam, and be pretty sure of receiving
his approbation. If I can pass all this ordeal, shall I not be pretty safe? I think I shall.” (Journal of Discourses, Volume 4, p. 271 – as documented on www.mormonquotes.com)
Did you catch it? “Whosoever confesseth
Joseph Smith…;” “without the consent of Joseph Smith;” “If I can pass brother Joseph.” How
can Mormons claim Christianity, yet worship a different gospel -- in their words,
a “restored” gospel?
In Galatians 1:8, Paul cautions us: “But though we, or an angel from
heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto
you, let him be accursed.”
How can Mormons claim
Christianity, yet in practice, claim another savior? In John 14:6, Jesus said, “…I
am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.”
How can Mormons claim to have
restored the Gospel, when Jesus said in Matthew
24:35, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My
words shall not pass away.”
Is it because Joseph Smith refused
to deny himself? Mark 8:34; “And when He had called the
people unto Him with His disciples also, He said unto them, Whosoever will come
after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”
And, in contrast chose to lift
himself up as their savior? Mark 13:6;
“For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ;
and shall deceive many.”
I believe most Mormons are good,
sincere people that have been deceived by a man. What are we to do? It is simple – love them! Love your Mormon friends enough to tell them
the truth; Matthew 7:14, “Because
strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth
unto life, and few there be that find it.”
Explain to them they don’t need “the church,” they don’t need “the
temple,” they don’t need “Joseph Smith,” all they need is JESUS! Acts
4:10-12; “Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by
the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the
dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the
corner. Neither is there salvation in
any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby
we must be saved.”
Just take your Mormon friends to
the simple Gospel found in Romans
3:23; 6:23, 5:8, 10:9-13.
For more information on Mormonism,
see www.mormonquotes.com and www.mrm.org.
