is He an Exalted Man? |
Believest thou that this Great Spirit, who is God, created all things? BOM Alma 18:28 |
The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; the Son also D & C 130:22 |
God is a Spirit... John 4:24 God is not a man... Num 23:19 |
and the Holy Ghost are the ONE GOD |
Which Father, Son and Holy Ghost are one God, infinite and eternal D & C 20:28 |
Father, Son and Holy Ghost comprise the Godhead. As each of these persons is a God... a plurality of Gods exists Mormon Doctrine pps 576, 577 |
For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one 1John 5:7 |
eternal? |
For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but He is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity BOM Moroni 8:18 |
We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea Mormon Doctrine p321 |
The eternal God is thy refuge Deut 33:7 |
Change? |
There is a God in heaven, who is infinite and eternal, from everlasting to everlasting, the same unchangeable God D & C 20:17 |
We believe in a God who is Himself progressive... whose perfection consists in eternal advancement Articles of Faith p430 |
For I am the LORD, I change not Malachi 3:6 |
Plurality of Gods? |
The Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost are one... and whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil BOM 3Nephi 11:27, 40 |
These three are the only Gods we worship. But in addition there is an infinite number of holy personages, drawn from worlds without number, who ... are gods Mormon Doctrine p576, 577 |
I AM He. Before Me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after Me Isaiah 43:10 |
be Gods? |
Now Zeezrom said: Is there more than one God? And he answered, No BOM Alma 11:28, 29 |
Then shall they (those resurrected) be gods, because they have no end D & C 132:20 |
Thus saith the LORD... besides me there is no God Isaiah 44:6 |
create man? |
And I, God, created man in mine own image PGP Moses 2:27 |
Man was also in the beginning with God ... For man is spirit D & C 93:29, 33 |
And the LORD God formed man Genesis 2:7 |
seen? |
For without this (the authority of the priesthood) no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live D & C 84:22 (Joseph Smith did not have the priesthood when he claimed to see God) |
And he (Moses) saw God face to face, and he talked with him... Moses could endure His presence PGP Moses 1:2 |
No man hath seen God at any time... the only-begotten Son... hath declared him John 1:18 |
One True God? |
Blessed be the name of the Most High God. And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus and did worship him. BOM 3Nephi 11:17 |
Jesus Christ a seperate and distinct personage... three distinct personages and three gods Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith p370 |
Now unto the King Eternal, immortal, invisible, the ONLY wise God (Speaking of Jesus Christ) 1Timothy 1:17 |
Eternal? |
... from all eternity to all eternity, the Great I AM, even Jesus Christ D & C 39:1 |
Christ, the Firstborn, was the mightiest of all the spirit children of the Father Mormon Doctrine, p590 |
whose goings forth have been... from everlasting Micah 5:2 |
born of a Virgin? |
And behold, he shall be born of Mary at Jerusalem (!!)... she being a virgin BOM Alma 7:10 |
Christ was begotten by an immortal father in the same way that mortal men are begotten by mortal fathers Mormon Doctrine p547 |
When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child Matthew 1:18 |
to salvation solely through Jesus? |
Behold, Jesus Christ is the name... there is none other name given whereby men can be saved D & C 18:23 |
The President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints holds the keys of salvation for all men now living... Mormon Doctrine p411 |
one mediator between God and men, the man, Jesus Christ 1Timothy 2:5 |
Christ's blood cleanse us from all sin? |
... Salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent BOM Mosiah 3:18 |
... for the blood of Christ alone under certain circumstances will not avail (for atonement of sins) Mormon Doctrine page 93 |
... and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from ALL sin 1John 1:7 |
by grace alone, not by works? |
And we know that justification through the grace of our Lord and Saviour, is just and true D & C 20:30 |
That by keeping the commandments they might be washed and cleansed from all their sins... D & C 76:52 |
For by grace are ye saved through faith, and not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works Ephesians 2:8,9 |
salvation after death? |
For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death... the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked BOM Alma 34:35 |
... in relation to the dead... for their salvation is necessary and essential to our salvation... that they without us cannot be made perfect D & C 128:15 |
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement Hebrews 9:27 |
everlasting destruction? |
yea, they were encircled about by the bands of death, and the chains of hell, and an everlasting destruction did await them BOM Alma 5:7 |
Whomsoever, therefore receives God's punishment, receives eternal punishment, whether it is endured one hour, one day, one week, one year, or an age Plan of Salvation pamphlet distributed by elders |
And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever; and they have no rest day or night Revelation 14:11 |
Quotations from the book of Mormon are prefixed BOM, from the Pearl of Great Price PGP, and from the Doctrine and Commandments are prefixed D & C.
References from the Holy Bible are identified with either the name of the book in full, or recognised abbreviations. The text used is that of the 1611 translation, known (incorrectly) to many people as the King James Version.
The correct name of the translation is the Authorised Version, and in fact 80 percent of its content is lifted directly from the 1535 Coverdale Translation.
In actual fact, the Authorised Version never set out to be a translation... this can be read from the epistle dedicatory at the front of it. It states that exisiting translations were "diligently compared".
We have used it here, because it is the only version of the bible acceptable to Latter-Day Saints, who at one time taught quite erroneously that all other versions are paraphrases of the AV.
While it should be noted that the Latter-Day Saint church insists that its only doctrines are found in the Authorised Version of the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price, the other works quoted above are all used for the instruction of their members in Priesthood and Relief Society meetings, in Sunday Schools, in Seminary and Institute of Religion classes.
This writer believes it is a hollow and spurious claim that those works cannot be regarded as doctrine.
Bruce R McConkie who wrote Mormon Doctrine in the 1960s was a relatively recent member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles of the church, and was on the paid headquarters staff when he wrote the book. He also headed up the Southern Australian Mission (based at Melbourne) in the early and mid 1960s.
Dr. James E Talmage who wrote Jesus the Christ and the expanded teaching on the Articles of Faith was also an Apostle, earlier in the 20th century.
Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith was compiled by Joseph F Smith, a descendant of his, who was subsequently the LDS church's prophet and president.
It is this author's belief that these men knew what they were writing.