Mormon Lies that can blind us

Mormon Chapbook ^ | Mike Tea

[delacoert]

In our conversations with Mormons we are bound to test what they believe about key issues and how they stand on things we might have heard about Mormonism. It pays to know that it is easy for a Mormon, on the pretext of giving you “milk before meat”, or simply because they don’t know their own faith very well, to be disingenuous in their answers. Here are a few typical “answers” on key subjects:

GOD

“We believe in the same God as you. ‘We believe in God the eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost’(Mormon First Article of Faith)” 

Although it has the appearance of a Trinitarian confession this does not come close to what Mormons believe about God. Joseph Smith, the founding prophet of Mormonism, said: 

"God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man…It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God…and that he was once a man like us…and you have got to learn to be Gods yourselves…the same as all Gods before you." (King Follett Discourse)

THE BIBLE

“Of course we trust and believe in the Bible” This, again, is a disingenuous answer. The Eighth Article of faith of Mormonism declares: 

"We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God" 

The Bible is the only book of Scripture in Mormonism that is regarded as unreliable and its content is only respected so far as it appears to confirm the Mormon message. The message of Mormonism, such as their teaching on the nature of God, is brought to the Bible and if the Bible does not agree then it is the Bible that is considered wanting. While the Book of Mormon is considered the book of the restoration the Bible is regarded as the book of the apostasy.

OTHER CHURCHES

“We are Christians and respect other Christian denominations. We would never attack other churches as some attack us.” The Book of Mormon however declares: 

"Behold, there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great and abominable church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth" (1 Nephi 14:10) 

There doesn’t appear to be any room for “other denominations” here and it might be worthwhile asking a Mormon which church they think you belong to. Certainly, anyone who has studied Mormonism knows that it is founded on harsh and uncompromising attacks on other churches. In his official history Joseph Smith uncompromisingly declared that God said of other churches:

“All their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: ‘the draw near with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.’” (Joseph Smith History, 1:19)

It seems Mormonism “doesn’t play well with others” despite their protestations to the contrary.

POLYGAMY

“Of course Mormons aren’t polygamists. We renounced polygamy in the nineteenth century and those who practice it today have nothing to do with us.” 

Two things worthy of note: 

1. Polygamy is still an integral part of Mormon Scripture. Mormons might argue that the practice of circumcision is part of Christian Scripture but is no longer practised. This is comparing apples and oranges because circumcision was a mark of the Old Covenant, which was superseded by baptism under the New Covenant in Jesus Christ. Polygamy, however, is taught as an eternal principle and regarded as the order of heaven. It is described as the “new and everlasting covenant”: 

"And again, verily, I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant…they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation. Then shall they be gods." (D&C 132) 

The reference to Mormons becoming gods by the “new and everlasting covenant” is instructive in light of what we have already seen of the teaching that men become gods. While the familiar Salt Lake City Mormons do not currently practise polygamy, it seems it will be reinstated, if not in this life then in glory.

It seems that the polygamist groups currently denounced and disowned by SLC Mormons are just keeping the practice warm for the day when all Mormons return to the principle. Meanwhile it is not uncommon for a SLC Mormon male to be “sealed” to more than one wife in the next life while practicing monogamy in this.

It does seem less than honest to deny liability when the very texts that teach polygamy still form an integral part of Mormon “Scripture”.

There is a curious irony in the fact that the familiar SLC Mormons have much in common with breakaway polygamist groups and yet they deny any family connections, instead trying at every turn to associate with the Evangelical Christian Church, with which Mormons have nothing in common.

[delacoert]

Lies are at the foundation of Mormonism. The seed and roots of Mormonism are all vile. A foul fiction sold by a money digger, diviner, and con man, Joseph Smith.

Religious faith needs a foundation that can be trusted. Ex-Mormons uniformly testify that at the heart of all the reasons they have for leaving is the discovery of the lies, fictions and wickedness.

In other words, broken trust.

[UCANSEE2]

So... are you on a quest to destroy some particular religion you disagree with?

If so, why? What’s your motive? You do seem ‘obsessed’ with the subject.

[4mer Liberal]

A foul fiction sold by a money digger, diviner, and con man, Joseph Smith.

You forgot serial adulterer.

[Hoodat]

Gee, yet another Mormon-bashing thread. Can you feel the hate?

[Terry Mross]

“God was once as we are now.” - Book of Mormon

“In the beginning was the word. And the word became flesh and dwelt among us.” - Book of John, New Testament

Not a mormon and don’t believe in mormonism. However, I don’t see a problem with the above statement.

[delacoert]

I've posted my confession which answers your question.

see Reasons Why I Post on the FR Religion Forum

[SaxxonWoods]

“Lies are at the foundation of organized religion.”

FIFY

[rickomatic]

So... are you on a quest to destroy some particular religion you disagree with? If so, why? What’s your motive? You do seem ‘obsessed’ with the subject.

delacoert can correct me if I'm wrong, but my bet would be that they are attempting to shine the light of the True Gospel of Jesus Christ onto the cockroach of lies which is Mormonism. Forgive the crassness of my illustraion, but we are talking about the eternal damnation of souls brought forth by the lies of the money digger and convicted con man Joseph Smith.

[elcid1970]

Callong star Kolob....calling star Kolob....come in, Kolob...are you there, Elohim?

Merry Smithmas, y’all!

;^)

[Scanian]

Let’s not leave out bank fraud.

[NoRedTape]

Though that question was not posed to me, I'd like to answer it.
The most critical focus on mormonism and the most critical commentary of mormons is that they call themselves "Christians".
They are not "Christian" believers since they do not believe in the actual Christ of the Bible.
They believe in a made-up Christ from the bogus works of Joe Smith.
By the way, I studied astronomy in College and could never find Planet Kolob.

Here's a great site to find ALL about mormonism, written by folks that know it well.

[Scanian]

Here is an article which might help explain the hystrionics of Mr. Glenn Beck:

http://mrm.org/white-horse-prophecy

EXCERPT:
“[Joe] Smith allegedly gave numerous predictions in this prophecy, but the portion that is most repeated speaks of a day when the Constitution of the United States will ‘hang by a thread.’ It will be ‘preserved and saved’ by a White Horse, A.K.A. the Mormon Church.”

Is Glenn afflicted by messianic delusions? Does he see himself as the rider on Smith’s “White Horse?”

[greyfoxx39]

Ping

[MuttTheHoople]

I personally know several Mormons and they’re all very nice....too nice. There’s something very plastic about Mormons personally, sorta like watching an episode of a 1950’s sitcom.

[delacoert]

"Lies are at the foundation of organized religion."

Why are you putting quotes around that. The author of the OP does not write that and neither do I.

If you mean to indicate by quotes that some other source is being quoted, then please provide the citation.

If you are posing the statement to represent your own sentiments, then lose the quotation marks and add arguments to support your case. Heck, if you feel confident enough, why not start your own FR Religion forum thread.

[Paragon Defender]

All baloney propaganda.

Addressed a thousand times.

Nothing new and not a valid issue in sight.

[Paragon Defender]

Seekers of truth,

If you peruse the Free Republic religion forums you will notice a pattern. There's an anti-Mormon group of people here that spends a great deal of their time attacking the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They post regurgitated propaganda on an almost daily basis.

They have a misguided obsession. You can witness many different tactics employed that you might find quite interesting. The straw man argument is a big favorite and is frequently preceded by cherry-picking quotes or other material. After the "quotation" the attacker will misrepresent what has been said or what was meant and then attack their own interpretation.Later they will have the audacity to claim they were "only" quoting our own material.  

They will of course insist ad nauseum that they are merely using our sources and are therefore innocent of any deceptive practice. LDS persons have no issue whatsoever having our scriptures or leaders quoted as long as it is presented fairly and accurately. This is rarely (if ever) done.

Another favorite is posting scripture or statements which on their own really present no dilemma. They make something out of nothing while never bringing up a single objection that hasn't been addressed a hundred times before.

You might note a couple of other tactics used to try to antagonize is the use of disrespectful or insulting terms or language and/or pictures. That's a Christlike thing to do right? Yeah I don't think so either. It does speak volumes about them though.

Sometimes they cruise the headlines of the day seeking any story that might be twisted into making the Church look bad. Anything will do, just watch the progression of posts following it and see what I mean.

After reading their posts, I invite you to seek the truth about whatever "issue" they seem to be "revealing" or "exposing". I promise that if you do so with honest intent, the "ahah" moments you will have will be many and frequent. You will start to recognize the tactics employed to cleverly twist and attack and will likely chuckle the more you see. In actuality, there's nothing new here. It's all been addressed many times before.

The latest twist in the anti-Mormon propaganda machine is to actually go to the links provided, but then they cherry pick what they want, then quote and straw man attack that. Clever. It almost appears that they are helping you, the seeker of truth out by doing some footwork for you. Not so much. Don't be insulted, look for yourself. It's not the haystack they want you to think.

Here's a few links to get your started from a different viewpoint. I have found that the vast majority of the "issues" brought up can be found and addressed at http://www.fairlds.org/ but here's more:

http://scriptures.lds.org/
http://www.lds.org
http://www.fairlds.org/
http://www.mormonapologetics.org/
http://www.mormonwiki.com/Main_Page
http://www.lightplanet.com/response/index.html
http://www.jefflindsay.com/LDS_Intro.shtml
http://www.answeringantimormons.com/index.htm
http://promormon.blogspot.com/

Now you will likely notice the "you never address our points" posts pop up as usual. All after providing the answers just as you have here.

Sometimes it is claimed that these sites present a needle in a haystack. Far from it. But if you give up before you try you won't know will you?

Will you wear blinders too? Seek truth. Find out for yourself. Want to chat with someone on any topic? A few of these sites provide just that. So do your homework sincere seeker of truth. Listen and read from both "sides". Make up your own mind.

I witness to you of these truths and wish you the best, in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

[zerosix]

Unfortunately, what you speak is truth.

Two of my daughters married Mormons (one is still married, the other divorced) in the Temple in Utah.

Only after they had agreed to marry in the Temple (forbidding any of the non-Mormon family to attend ceremony) did either find out exactly what all is involved.

Of course, daughter still married has yet to tell me of ceremony but divorced daughter has divulged all. It stands to reason why non-Mormons are forbidden to attend any Temple ceremony, including a marriage.

Stupidly, I, thinking of how Mormons are such "family-friendly" people, had no reservations about their marriages until I found that none of the daughters' families (we are all of protestant faiths) would be allowed to attend ceremony - but we were welcome to wait outside to "greet" the newly married couple, oh, and yes pay for all, including the ceremony!

I also have found that the "family friendly" Mormons steer much away from the non-Mormon family.

Having met a few Mormons who have left the church are virtually estranged from the Mormons in their family and even "laid off" of businesses owned by Mormons, even if they are family members. It's truly unreal - somewhat akin to Amish and their shunning. As a "former Mormon" you are considered an "outsider" and therefore no longer part of the extended family. Unlike people who have never been Mormons and therefore potential church members, former Mormons will no longer "attain the Celestial Kingdom" that they work so hard to attain.

You are also correct when you state that while Mormons claim that they are "also Christians," in fact they do NOT believe that others are.

Ask any Mormon you know if they believe that YOU are a Christian. If that person is more than a "new believer," they will either steer the conversation elsewhere or give a non-answer unless they aren't close to you.

I do not intend to give offense but to clarify what Mormons believe about non-Mormons of any faith. You either belong to the "true church" or you do not and are therefore not Christians.

[delacoert]

All baloney propaganda.

Addressed a thousand times.

Nothing new and not a valid issue in sight.

Nice post PD - filled with all of the poignancy and detail that we've come to expect from you.