Unveiling Mormonism

LDS Church is building temples rapidly all around the world. 300 existing or planned temples worldwide. 168 currently operating, compared to 50 thirty years ago and just 19 fifty years ago. The Bible talks a lot about the temple. Are LDS temples the same? What are they all about?How Mormons View Their Temples LDS consider temples to be “The House of the Lord”Faithful members participate in Mormonism’s highest ritesSee their temples as the most sacred buildings on earthLDS President RM Nelson: “every activity, every lesson, all we do in the Church, point to the Lord and His holy house”Thus temple is very different from a meeting-houseTemple is sacred → a seriously holy placeNot spoken ofSacred, not secretPotential to be really offensive to LDS if take this lightly / mock / make funRequires level of worthiness to enterInterview required / “temple recommend card” issuedTemple recommend questionsBecause “holy”, general public can enter only prior to temple’s consecrationThe Purpose of LDS TemplesTraining - learn how to return to heavenly FatherOrdinances - perform necessary ordinances to return to FatherThe training takes place in context of those ordinancesMake covenants (vows / commitments) in temple that you are held accountable toThis is what makes LDS temple more important than any other element of MormonismAbsolutely necessary for the LDS plan of salvation to take placeWithout temples → no way for people to be exalted in eternityReflectionTemple creates a sort of church within a church → 2 tiers of MormonismThose temple worthy, those who are not → very different experiences of MormonismA Look at Temple OrdinancesThe Endowment ceremonySeen as one of the most sacred events in a person’s lifeNormally received before serving a mission / before a temple marriageAlso available to other members if local leaders approveMust be at least 18, out of high schoolBe faithful (interview) and prepare themselvesFirst part: initiatory ordinancesIncludes rituals of washing & anointingMake certain covenants with God → to obey / sacrificeTaught secret signs needed to allow entrance into God’s presenceSecond part: group instruction / plan of salvation presentedAfter initiatory ordinances → receive and begin to wear temple garmentMembers encouraged to return to temple oftenDo the endowment ceremony for ancestorsTemple sealingsEternal marriage & family is a significant part of MormonismHighest salvation / exaltation is achieved through familiesThis kind marriage is only possible through a temple sealingChildren born or adopted into such marriages are automatically sealedChildren not “born in the covenant” can be sealed to parents laterProxy ordinances for the dead - including the 2 above but also baptism / confirmationA stated purpose of the LDS Church = “redeem the dead”Salvation requires baptism by someone with priesthood authorityFor the living, these are not performed in temples, but local meeting housesFor the dead, living people must be baptized by proxy for them if they have any hope of being savedThey have opportunity to accept or reject this in the spirit world, post-deathProxy ordinances must be done in templeReflectionsBiblically: eternal marriage is not a real thingThere is no marriage in the resurrectionMatthew 22:29-30 (NLT) Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God. For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven.Bigger picture: no ordinance is required for salvation, whether baptism, endowment, or otherwiseEphesians 2:8-9 (NLT)  God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.Redeeming the dead is impossibleHebrews 9:27 (NLT) …each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgmentSo no second chance after deathTemples in the Bible vs. MormonismPurpose of OT Temple: a place where sinful people could draw near to a holy GodHence necessity of continual sacrifices made there to cover sinOther sacrifices made there to express relationship with God: gratitude, consecrationHow that’s different from purpose and function of LDS templesLDS: numerous temples worldwideBible: only one temple (at most) approvedDeuteronomy 12:5-7 (NLT) Rather, you must seek the Lord your God at the place of worship he himself will choose from among all the tribes—the place where his name will be honored. There you will bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, your sacred offerings, your offerings to fulfill a vow, your voluntary offerings, and your offerings of the firstborn animals of your herds and flocks. There you and your families will feast in the presence of the Lord your God, and you will rejoice in all you have accomplished because the Lord your God has blessed you.One authorized placeAlso: tells us what happened in the Temple. None of these things happen in LDS temples. They’re not the same thing at all.LDS: temples are necessary in our age to come to GodBible: temple part of the old covenant; outmoded when Jesus cameLDS: temple ordinances necessary to receive eternal life with God the FatherBible: genuine faith in Christ alone is the only requirement; NT expresses no concern that Christians far from Jerusalem had no access to temple, nor commands them to come to Jerusalem to use the temple.LDS: temples today serve the same purpose as in biblical timesBible: biblical temple included none of the distinctive rites of LDS templeLDS temples include none of the distinctive rites of biblical templeHow NT makes physical temples obsolete → the temple is the people of ChristTemple destroyed as part of the passing of the Old CovenantNT treats temple worship as outmoded at best; under God’s judgment at worstThe sacrifices practiced there to cover sin are no longer needed after the crossHebrews 10:11-12 (NLT) Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.John 4:21-24 - Jesus tells Samaritan woman that a time is coming when people will not worship at Mt Gerizim OR in Jerusalem temple; but “in spirit and in truth”The people of God are now the new temple of God. Believers together are the dwelling place of the SpiritEphesians 2:20-22 (NLT) Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.1 Peter 2:5 (NLT) And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests.1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (NLT)  Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

People have a lot of questions about distinctive Mormon practices.Do a Google search: Do Mormons ______? Results: Do Mormons wash their hair? Can Mormons wear make-up? Can Mormons have french fries? Because LDS do have a number of distinctive practices, this can be confusing. Let’s explore three of them…The “Word of Wisdom” See https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/word-of-wisdom?lang=eng Found in Section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants (1833)What it prohibitsAlcoholic beveragesTobaccoTea and coffee. The text says “hot drinks” but LDS prophets have taught that this means tea and coffee.This applies even if you drink them coldCommon reasoning: it must be because of caffeine, so no caffeinated soda sold at BYU (for example)But this interpretation is now largely rejected → caffeinated soda is OKWhat it encouragesFruits and wholesome herbs, including vegetables, are goodGrains are goodMeat is good if used sparingly (specifies: in winter, cold, famine)This is largely ignored and not enforced. Every town in Utah has at least one burger joint.Once it was seen as sound advice, but not really enforced as todayJ. Smith drank wineB. Young used snuff and drank teaIn Brigham Young’s day: alcohol was permitted, but not to excessOver time it became a requirement for full activity in church, for example, for worthiness to enter LDS templeThis applies to the part about alcohol, tobacco, and hot drinks, but not meatRecent survey: only 45% of Mormons strictly conform / 61% of “very active”⅓ of current Mormons reported consuming coffee¼ reported consuming alcohol; ⅙ reported using tobaccoWord of Wisdom observance is changingAlcohol: Boomers 14%; Millennials 29%Marijuana: Boomers 4%; Millennials 17%Even more dramatic changes in attitude than in practiceAbstaining from alcohol is essential to being considered a good Mormon: Boomers 75%; Millennials 46%Reflections: it is wise to eat healthyIrony: Utah leads nation in several unhealthy dietary practices, like consumption of  ice cream / soft drinks / cookies → more unhealthy than moderate coffee or tea usageBible moves away from strict regulations about foodThese can even be a negative for a XianColossians 2:16 (NLT) So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink.Colossians 2:20-21 (NLT) You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep following the rules of the world, such as “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch”? Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate when we use them. These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.Bible points us to broad principles: will it master me? Will it benefit me?1 Corinthians 6:12 (NLT) You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything.1 Corinthians 10:23-26 (NLT) You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial. Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others. So you may eat any meat that is sold in the marketplace without raising questions of conscience. For “the earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it.”Special UndergarmentsSee https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/tools/what-is-the-temple-garment?lang=eng Worthy Mormons go to temple to participate in sacred rituals essential for salvation (More next week)Once initiated → start wearing “temple garment”Seen as a sign of the covenants a person makes in temple → constant reminderIt is a special form of underwearTwo parts: top and bottomWarning: discussing this is a sensitive subject on two countsIt’s about the temple, which is considered sacredIt’s about intimate apparelCan only be purchased from the church’s outlets, by those with temple access cardMany LDS view garment as providing spiritual and even physical protectionMany stories in LDS folklore about how sacred undergarments protected from serious accident, fire, etc.Many religious traditions involve some sort of ritual clothingNuns: habit; Judaism: yarmulke; Islam: headscarves; Sikhs: turban; etc.For active Mormons: the undergarmentChanges in practices - always recommended to wear it 24/7, unless impossibleMore recently, emphasis on a lifetime commitment to wear itDifferent perspectives / customs about when it’s acceptable to removeExercising? Doctor check-up? Yardwork? Hot or humid day?Millennial LDS have a more relaxed view of when it’s okay to remove garmentReflections:Bible doesn’t require any kind of special clothing to reflect our commitment to JesusFood StorageGrowing up: 2 years’ supply → today: 1 yearWhy food storage? To prepare for times of adversity, to care for self and neighborHistory of opposition from outsidersCulture of self-reliance from pioneer experienceA belief that things will get bad worldwide before Jesus returnsLDS website: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/food-storage?lang=eng Food supply (3-month and long-term)Long-term defined as 1-year supply “of food that will last a long time and that you can use to stay alive, such as wheat, white rice, and beans”Drinking waterFinancial reserveReflectionsIt’s wise to plan ahead. Bible: consider the ant.Proverbs 30:24-25 There are four things on earth that are small but unusually wise: Ants—they aren’t strong, but they store up food all summer.But ultimately, we’re called to rely on God’s care and provision.Matthew 6:31-34 (NLT) “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.No matter how much money you have in the bank or how much food stored, it could all disappear quickly → need to ultimately trust in God, who promises to provide for his people.

Note: Much of the content in this podcast can be found in show participant Ross Anderson’s book Understanding the Book of MormonThe Book of Mormon claims to be an ancient scripture that tells the story of God’s people in the American continent. It was engraved on gold plates and translated by Joseph Smith through the “gift and power of God.” In fact, Smith claimed that “the Book of Mormon was 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). LDS missionaries seek converts by urging them to read BoM and pray about its divine authenticity.Anachronism Anachronism = events or objects that appear out of the proper time period in which one would expect themSynagoguesAlma 16:13 = Nephite evangelists preached repentance in synagogues, “which were built after the manner of the Jews”Nephites were descended from Jews → were Jewish (according to story)But synagogues were not developed in Judaism until 400 years after Nephites left JerusalemHow could the writer have know HOW the Jews built their synagogues?Plants / AnimalsMosiah 9:9 “And we began to till the ground, yea, even with all manner of seeds: with seeds of corn and of wheat and of barley.”Wheat and barley were brought to America by EuropeansSheep / goats / cattle / swine → introduced to America by EuropeansEconomy → use of money (coinage) vs. barter18th Century IdeasSince its publication, observers have noted that BoM contains many parallels to 19th c. American lifeAlexander Campbell: JS wrote into the BoM “every error and almost every truth discussed in New York for the last ten years”BoM decides all the great theological / social controversies of the ageReflects 19th c. theological & political themesOffers guidance on democracy, socialism, capitalism, various Protestant controversies like infant baptism, Calvinism, miracles, the fall of humankind, call to ministry, Unitarianism, etcSermons by Nephite prophets echo closely the form & language of 19th c. evangelistsConversion experiences described in BoM are similar to spiritual awakenings commonly reported in American revival movement of early 1800sWhy are the contents of an ancient work so closely tied to the concerns of one American generation?Literary SourcesA View of the Hebrews (1823) by Ethan Smith (Read it here)Argued that Native Americans descended from lost 10 tribes of IsraelThis was a pretty common view in early 1800sBoM shares several thematic elementsExtensive quotations from IsaiahThe New World peopled from the Old World by long sea voyageA religious motive for that migrationMigrants divided into civilized and uncivilized groups with long wars between themEventual destruction of the civilized by the uncivilizedAssumption that Native Americans are descended from these Israelite peopleRecord a change of government from monarchy to republicSuggest the gospel was preached in ancient AmericaIt is unknown whether JS had access to a copy of View of the HebrewsBut even if BoM was not directly inspired by it, the ideas expressed in it were common and popular in 19th century America; reflected in dozens of booksHistory of the American Indians (1775) by James AdairSpecific words and phrases describing Indian fortifications - same in bothMany other parallelsThe Wonders of Nature (1825) by Josiah PriestSimilarity in several passages → a pure coincidence?The Golden Pot (1827 eng trans), by ETA HoffmanSeveral alleged similarities in this story compared to the story of how the BoM / gold plates came forthBible AnachronismsAspects of how the BoM interacts with the Bible → don’t reflect JS’s timesKJV language = KJV translated in 1611, 210+ years before BoMEnglish had changed quite a bit → compare reading American lit from that timeLast of the Mohicans / The Scarlet Letter / Legend of Sleepy HollowBut BoM is written in full-on KJV styleKJV the predominant translation → extremely wide circulationIt was how Scripture soundedWhy would BoM not reflect the common language of JS’s time?If not a conscious attempt to make it sound like ScriptureBoM contains verbal parallels to the 1611 preface to KJVWords / phrases in the preface, but not in the KJV text of BibleWhich, of course, ancient writers would not have had access toBoM has a timeline → approx dates when events took placeAlma 12-13 (dates) draws heavily on the book of HebrewsA variety of BoM’s theological statements draw from / depend on interpretations already present in the NTProphecies from 1-2 Nephi (600-5454 BC) about coming of Jesus Christ use language recorded in NTReads more like a Xian doc vs a Jewish docIn a sense, these BoM prophecies know too much detail about Messiah - far more than OT prophetsSuggests an author familiar with the fulfillment of the prophecies after the factBoM version of Sermon on MountSome changes are made: no ref to PhariseesBut many issues in BoM version that presuppose 1st-century Jewish cultural / religious contextGoing 2 miles when forced to go 1The “jot and tittle” of Scripture“Dogs” as a metaphor for GentilesEtc.Does the Bible have the same issues?The evidence of the Dead Sea Scrolls gives strong evidence of the reliability of the BibleSee: “What Are the Dead Seas Scrolls?”

Note: Much of the content in this podcast can be found in show participant Ross Anderson’s book Understanding the Book of MormonThe Book of Mormon claims to be an ancient scripture that tells the story of God’s people in the American continent.LDS challenge: “Either the Book of Mormon is what the Prophet Joseph said it is, or this Church and its founder are false, a deception from the first instance onward…Joseph must be accepted either as a prophet of God or else as a charlatan of the first order…” (Jeffrey R. Holland, “Christ and the New Covenant,” quoted in Ensign, September 2002, 14)To accept BoM is to accept JS as a prophet, and everything that he stands for.The Book of Mormon claims can be / should be tested. 1 Thess 5:21 “Test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good.”Archaeology BoM claims to be an ancient record of American continentFeaturing great cities, people at warArchaeology has failed to unearth any concrete evidence for BoMInscriptional evidence → names carved into stone monumentsExample: Sennacherib / Assyrians = names of Israel’s kingsNo BoM name every foundMaterial remains → walls / foundations of ancient citiesPlenty of ancient cities in America, but none that can be linked to BoMExample: BoM describes its people using gold, silver, iron, brass, copperThe mining, smelting, and casting of metal ores requires special tools / complex processes which leave traces in the archaeological recordScholars generally agree: metallurgy not introduced into America until several centuries after the BoM story endsAnimals → BoM mentions many different kinds of animals: cattle, sheep, goats, horsesNone have been found in any archaeological setting dating to BoM timesUnlike deer, jaguar, peccary, tapir, other native speciesThe horse have never been found depicted in any of 1000s of sample of artNew world archaeology is still a young sciencePerhaps some day some artifact or inscription will be found to validate the BoMBut so far, best LDS apologists can do = create aura of plausibility based on vague similaritiesBy contrast, archaeology has repeatedly demonstrated the reliability of Bible: historically / geographicallyUse of metals as describe in Bible can be verified at many sitesA person can visit the actual cities where Bible describes Jesus or Paul travellingBritish Museum (London)Massive stone panels from ancient Ninevah → cities in Bible are recorded thereEvidence for the reliability of the Bible: “Three Reasons to Trust the Bible” DNATraditional LDS understanding - based on BoM story → native Americans are descended from ancient Jews who left Jerusalem for America around 600 BCThis is what JS taught → the most straightforward way to read the BoM textMainstream science → all native Americans are of Asian originSupported by extensive DNA sampling of American Indian populationsMany current LDS scholars claim that most NA’s are of Asian descentWhile a small subset are of Semitic origin, descended from LehiIdea is = Nephite & Lamanite civilizations described in BoM made up a very small % of total population of New World during BoM timesLDS Church has acknowledged the challenges1981 BoM: identifies Lamanites as “the principle ancestors of the American Indians”2006 BoM: Lamanites “are among the ancestors of the American Indians”If BoM peoples were not alone in the Americas, it’s very surprising that BoM never mentions these large populations of other peopleIn fact, no references to other peoples or nations, no accounts of Nephites evangelizing pagans, no polemics vs polytheism, idolatry, etc.LDS Church Gospel Topics Essay: Book of Mormon and DNA StudiesBible PlagiarismBoM contains extensive material in common with the BibleFirst type of shared content = simple repetition or direct quotationIncluding frequent phrases such as “it came to pass” and “verily, verily I say unto you”Second type = interpretive changes to a biblical text2 Nephi 2:18 expands on the biblical account of Eve’s temptation (Gen 3:4-5)Third type = structural parallels to the BibleIncludes literary forms, common motifs, character types, etcConversion of Alma (Mos 27) has many features in common with Paul’s conversion (Acts 9)Point: in many cases, Nephite writers mimic wording from the NTA doc to which they would have had no access.All of this shared content raises the Q: does common material come from independent sources?Or did JS simply copy from the Bible? Case 1 = the Sermon on the MountJesus appears in BoM - apparently in 40 days after resurrection prior to ascensionHis public address in 3 Nephi 12-14 contains much in common with Matt 5-7Case 2 = BoM contains more than 19 complete chapters in common w/IsaiahLehi’s people carried a copy of OT scriptures with them → source of quoted materialSeveral lines of evidence suggest JS derived the Isaiah passages directly from KJV rather than an ancient sourceExample: biblical scholarship has advanced since KJV translationMany passages that were obscure in KJV in JS time are now more clearBut some of the misunderstandings found in the KJV are also found in BoMSuggests a direct relationship between KJV / BoMWould not have been present in BoM’s quotes of Isaiah if the Isaiah text had originated in Lehi’s time, as the story claimsHow would translation problems from KJV find their way into BoM?The extensive content shared between KJV & BoM - and the nature of the parallels - creates strong impression that BoM was produced AFTER the KJVOf course, LDS apologists have answers for all of these objectionsThe question is whether their answers are credibleFor loyal Mormons, the answers are convincing because they already have an existing commitment to the BoMOthers, without that grid, are not convinced that BoM passes the test

Because the LDS Church claims to be led by divine revelation, major changes in doctrine are startling. If LDS prophets are led by God, one might expect current prophets to agree with previous ones. But the LDS principle of continuing revelation allows new “truths” to supersede past ones. Yet changes in LDS teachings raise the question of whether past prophets were wrong. And what will be said in 50 years about the prophets Mormons revere and obey today? With this in mind, consider some major changes in Mormon doctrine over the years.Polygamy The Book of Mormon expressly prohibits polygamy, Jacob 2:27-30: “There shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none.” The 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants (Section 101) agrees: Inasmuch as this church of Christ has been reproached with the crime of fornication, and polygamy: we declare that we believe, that one man should have one wife; and one woman, but one husband, except in case of death, when either is at liberty to marry again. Yet in the 1830s, Joseph Smith began exploring the possibility of polygamy. He formally (but secretly) introduced plural marriage in 1843. The doctrine was not embraced openly until 1852, when the Mormons were safely established in Utah. For the next 40 years, polygamy was taught as a requirement for the highest levels of heaven. By the 1880s, an estimated 20-30% of Mormon families practiced polygamy.Yet polygamy was strongly rejected by the American public as a barbaric practice. The United States government applied increasingly stern measures against it. In 1887, the Edmunds-Tucker Act made polygamy a federal offense and authorized the seizure of LDS Church assets. Polygamous men were imprisoned. Families moved to Mexico and Canada, or went underground. Under pressure to preserve the Church from destruction at the hands of the United States government, LDS President Wilford Woodruff released a statement in 1890 - called “The Manifesto” - declaring his intention to submit to the laws of the land, and advising members of the Church to refrain from entering any illegal marriage. Even so, plural marriages continued to be performed in secret, until polygamy was completed forbidden by the LDS Church in 1904.Many people, out of faithfulness to Joseph Smith, continued to practice polygamy outside the official LDS Church. Known as “fundamentalists”, several close-knit polygamous communities survive across the western United States to this day. They believe that the mainstream LDS Church is apostate, while they represent original Mormonism..While plural marriage is now strictly forbidden in the LDS Church, it was never renounced as an eternal principle. The Church permits men to be married in LDS temples “for eternity” to more than one wife. In fact, the current LDS prophet, Russell M. Nelson, is eternally sealed to two women.After being a mainstay of Mormonism for 50 years, polygamy was shelved so that the LDS Church could survive. But marriage laws in the United States have changed considerably since 1890. Polygamy is no longer prosecuted as a crime. Will LDS prophets reveal that faithful Mormons should practice plural marriage again?The LDS Church’s Gospel Topics Essays: Plural Marriage in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsThe Manifesto and the End of Plural MarriageRacismFor decades, men of black African descent could not hold the LDS priesthood. (In Mormonism, priesthood is the authority to administer key ordinances in God’s name. No women have ever been allowed to hold this priesthood.)In the 1800s, Mormonism, like most American religions, had a mixed report card on racism. Some early Mormons were pro-slavery, some anti-slavery, and some neutral. During Joseph Smith’s time, two black men were ordained to the LDS priesthood, although this privilege was later revoked. The Book of Mormon reflects the view that dark skin is a curse from God in response to spiritual depravity. In the Utah period, Mormonism was marked by a demeaning attitude toward blacks. It was commonly taught, well into the 2oth century, that black skin was God’s curse on Cain (Genesis 4:11-15). In LDS thought, a great war in heaven divided God’s spirit children in the premortal existence. Those born black in this life were said to have been less valiant in that heavenly war. Brigham Young, the 2nd LDS Church President and Prophet, had a low view of blacks:You see some classes of the human family that are black, uncouth, uncomely, disagreeable and low in their habits, wild, and seemingly deprived of nearly all the blessings of the intelligence that is generally bestowed upon mankind. (Journal of Discourses: 7:290-291).This is why interracial marriage was not allowed and social interaction between the races was officially discouraged well into the 1960s and 1970s. It is also the rationale for denying blacks the priesthood and not allowing them to receive temple ordinances.Latter-day Saints will argue that the LDS position on blacks and the priesthood was not doctrine, but a matter of policy. Yet in 1949, the Church’s highest leaders spoke clearly against this view:The attitude of the Church with reference to the Negroes remains as it has always stood. It is not a matter of the declaration of a policy but of direct commandment from the Lord, on which is founded the doctrine of the Church from the days of its organization, to the effect that Negroes may become members of the Church but that they are not entitled to the Priesthood at the present time. (Statement of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, August 17, 1949, Archives, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City.)This changed in 1978, when LDS Prophet Spencer W. Kimball announced a revelation that allowed black men to receive the priesthood. Since then, the LDS Church has made several statements condemning racism. They have increased their missionary efforts in Africa and in black communities elsewhere. We can rejoice that the LDS Church has officially turned away from the evil of racism. But were the LDS prophets in the 1850s right or wrong? Was the First Presidency in 1949 telling the truth? It’s good for any church to change policies that are wrong. But what does it say about a church that claims to be led by divine revelation?The LDS Church’s Gospel Topics Essay: Race and the PriesthoodTrinityThe historic position of Christianity, based on the Bible, is that there is only one God, who eternally exists in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Latter-day Saints deny this idea of God. They envision a “Godhead” of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost who are not one God in three persons, but separate beings who are one in spirit, purpose, and glory. But their view of God has changed over the years.The way God is depicted in the Book of Mormon is much closer to biblical Trinitarianism. Here is a sampling of just a few examples:And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. (2 Nephi 31:21)And after this manner shall ye baptize in my name; for behold, verily I say unto you, that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one; and I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one. (3 Nephi 11:27)Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. (Ether 3:14)Modern Latter-day Saints interpret statements about “one God” and Jesus being “the Father and the Son” in support of current LDS doctrine, but on the face of it, the language itself suggests otherwise.In the decade after the Book of Mormon was published, the LDS idea of God continued to develop. The Lectures on Faith - published in 1835 as part of LDS scripture - asserted:That the Godhead consists of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Lecture 5, Paragraph 1)That there are two "personages", the Father and the Son, that constitute the "supreme power over all things" (Lecture 5, Paragraph 2)That the Father is a "personage of spirit, glory, and power" (Lecture 5, Paragraph 2)That the Son is a "personage of tabernacle" who "possess[es] the same mind with the Father; which Mind is the Holy Spirit" (Lecture 5, Paragraph 2)Over time, the current LDS view of God emerged. Most modern Latter Day Saints would never accept the idea of a two "personage" Godhead, with the Father as a spirit and the Holy Spirit as the shared "mind" of the Father and the Son.SummaryBiblical Christianity has certainly changed in its practices over the years. But the core doctrines that define the Christian faith are rooted in the stability of the unchanging Bible. Different interpretations of the Bible come and go in different eras, but the Bible is always the definitive standard against which any interpretation is measured. God continues to speak to his people today, not through the changing ideas of mortal prophets, but through his timeless word, the Bible.

Latter-day Saints revere Joseph Smith as a prophet of God. His role is absolutely central to the claims of Mormonism. LDS Church President Joseph Fielding Smith highlighted this important role:“Mormonism, as it is called, must stand or fall on the story of Joseph Smith. He was either a prophet of God, divinely called, properly appointed and commissioned, or he was one of the biggest frauds this world has ever seen. There is no middle ground.” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation 1:188. Italics in original)In light of this, it makes sense to examine the story of Joseph Smith to evaluate what we should think of him. Consider five elements of his story that bear upon this question.Occult Treasure Hunting Money digging was a fairly common practice in frontier America in the late 1700s and early 1800s. It involved certain rituals or ceremonies performed to obtain buried treasure. The treasure was thought to be guarded by evil spirits. Joseph Smith as a young man offered his services for hire as a money digger. Smith’s entire family practiced various folk-magic practices, including visions, dreams and occult rituals.Joseph’s method in finding lost treasure involved the use of a seer stone, which he discovered in 1822 while digging a well for a neighbor. He would place this small rock in his hat and pull his hat up over his face to block out the light. He claimed that he could see supernaturally through the stone to help locate the place where the treasure was buried.The Vagrant Act, a New York law at the time, defined a disorderly person to include one who pretended to have skill in palm reading, telling fortunes, or discovering where lost goods could be found. In 1826 - during the period while Joseph was supposedly being prepared by God to receive the gold plates containing the Book of Mormon - he was arrested, brought before a judge, and charged with being a “glass-looker” and a disorderly person. The judge determined that Joseph was guilty, though no penalty was administered.Shortly after this, Joseph stopped money digging but kept the seer stone. It was with this stone that he claimed to find the gold plates and to later produce the Book of Mormon. Historians have documented many points of connection between Joseph’s early occult practices and the origins of the Book of Mormon.The First Vision Joseph Smith’s “First Vision” is a key part of the LDS story and establishes several unique LDS beliefs. The official account of this vision describes how the 14-year-old Smith, eager to learn the truth about which of the competing Christian churches was true, went to a secluded grove to ask God. There God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him and told him not to join any of them, for all of them were apostate. That event launched the prophetic mission of Joseph Smith to restore Jesus’ original church to the earth. The official account, now included in LDS scriptures, was written by Joseph Smith in 1838, 18 years after the events it recounts. Yet historical research in recent years has uncovered eight other accounts of the First Vision. Some were written by Smith himself, or were recorded by others who heard Smith tell about it. Most of these accounts are earlier than the official version. It appears that over time, the story changed and grew into its final form. In some versions, two personages appear to Smith. In another, only “the Lord” appears. In others, the glorious personage is an angel. In the official version, the personages tell Smith that all churches are corrupt. In another version, this message comes from an angel. In other versions, this message is missing. In some versions, In one version, Smith reports that he was told, “Your sins are forgiven.” But this is absent in other versions. The official account says that Joseph was 14 when he had the vision. Another version, in Smith’s own handwriting, says that he was 15. Others give his age as 17. The LDS Church’s Gospel Topics Essay: First Vision AccountsThe Kirtland Banking ScandalThe LDS Church was officially founded in 1830 in New York, near Joseph Smith’s home town. By the early 1830s Smith and his followers moved to Kirtland Ohio, where a number of converts had joined the church. New converts from other areas converged on Kirtland to be part of the LDS community. But the church’s presence in Ohio didn’t last long.There was friction with the locals on a number of points, which led to persecution. But one significant issue emerged when Joseph Smith and other LDS leaders organized an illegal bank in 1836, called the Kirtland Safety Society. Smith not only broke the law to form the bank; he had no expertise in financial matters and hid behind his prophetic mantle to convince others to fund the bank, claiming that the audible voice of God instructed him to establish it. He prophesied that the bank would grow and flourish, surviving when others failed. Yet this bank failed in 1837, releasing a hornet’s nest of creditors who demanded payment, leading to numerous lawsuits and threats of violence. Many in the LDS church at that time lost faith in Smith’s prophetic leadership. Others were convinced that Smith intended to defraud investors from the beginning. Joseph left Kirtland in January 1838 under cover of darkness, never to return again. FreemasonryFreemasonry was prevalent in the areas where Joseph Smith grew up. In fact, Joseph’s brother Hyrum became a Mason while the family was still living in Palmyra, New York. Some years later, in Nauvoo, Illinois, when the LDS church was at its height, many prominent Latter-day Saints were Masons. Joseph became a Mason in March 1842. Less than two months later, he introduced the core ritual of the LDS temple, the endowment ceremony. Numerous scholars have pointed out the many parallels between the Masonic ritual and the LDS temple ritual, such as: the language of the ritual; the handshakes and other physical signs; the oaths and promises made; the vows of secrecy; the clothing involved in the ceremonies; the presentation of the ritual through drama, and more. Masonic themes and symbols are also reflected in the architecture of the Nauvoo temple, such as the beehive; the sun, moon and stars; the square; and the all-seeing eye. The LDS temple ritual, said by Mormons to have been given by divine revelation, is actually based on Masonic rituals.PolygamyPlural marriage in Mormonism began with Joseph Smith. He was toying with the principle of polygamy as early as 1831, and began introducing the doctrine shortly thereafter, but the revelation outlining the practice was not written down until 1843. Around 1834, Smith had a sexual relationship with Fanny Alger, a teenager living in his home. Faithful LDS scholars view this as the first of his plural marriages, but early LDS leader Oliver Cowdery described it as a “dirty, nasty, filthy affair.” By 1842, Joseph had married 10 women. That summer, he married six additional women, along with 17 others in 1843. Two of these were only 14 years old. While Mormons have denied it for years, the LDS Church has acknowledged that many of these marriages were physically consummated.The revelation authorizing plural marriage is found in Doctrine and Covenants 132. There, Joseph’s wife Emma is threatened with destruction if she does not go along with Joseph’s polygamy. (Today, most people would view that as spiritual abuse.) Section 132 also requires plural wives to be virgins. Yet Joseph married a number of women who were already married to other men. The revelation required a man taking plural wives to obtain the permission of his first wife. Yet Joseph married many women without Emma’s knowledge. The LDS Church’s Gospel Topics Essay: Plural Marriage in Kirtland and NauvooAgain, Latter-day Saint leaders have challenged us to consider Joseph Smith’s story, to discern whether he was a prophet of God. These five elements of Joseph’s history give evidence that he was not.

What happens after this life is over?  This topic builds on everything we have looked at in the first four lessons of this series to explore what Mormonism teaches about what happens after death, compared to traditional Christian beliefs.Does Everyone Go to Heaven?The LDS Church teaches that there are three levels of heaven, along with another place called “outer darkness.” As the LDS manual Gospel Fundamentals puts it:Each of us will be assigned to one of four places, according to how faithful to Jesus Christ we were. We will go to the kingdom we have prepared for by the choices we have made. These four places are the celestial kingdom, the terrestrial kingdom, the telestial kingdom, and outer darkness.The celestial kingdom is where God the Father lives. It is reserved for only the most worthy Latter-day Saints who lived up to all the laws and ordinances of the LDS gospel. The terrestrial kingdom is the eternal destination for honorable people who never joined Mormonism or for Latter-day Saints who did not fulfill all the requirements for exaltation. The telestial kingdom will be populated by those who followed the beliefs of the world instead of Jesus, including thieves, murderers, adulterers, and false prophets. Outer darkness is reserved for Satan and his demons. According to the Gospel Principles manual, only a very few people will be sent there - those who knew the truth and the power of God but denied him.By contrast, the Bible talks about only two destinations after this life: heaven and hell. Jesus outlined these two alternatives  in John 3:36: “Anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.” In John 5:24, he added, “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.” Thus every human being faces one of these two eternal futures: destruction or life; eternal punishment or eternal joy in God’s presence. Is Heaven About Becoming a God?Mormons believe that the celestial kingdom has three degrees of glory within it. Those in the highest level can progress eternally toward godhood. Gospel Principles says, “Those who inherit the highest degree of the celestial kingdom, who become gods, must have been married for eternity in the temple...” One LDS definition of “damnation” is “cessation of progress.” In the lower levels of heaven, people are “damned” because only if they had made it to the celestial kingdom could they have progressed toward deity. As seen in a previous lesson, human beings cannot become gods. But consider also that according to the Bible, the focus in heaven is not on us and our progression, but on our relationship with God. The presence of God is what makes heaven amazing. Revelation 21:3-5 describes what heaven is like:I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” The hope of heaven is God’s presence with his people. Christians look forward to the healing of all sorrow and pain, and the renewal of all things. But this only occurs because “God himself will be with them.” Revelation 21:22-23 builds on this picture:I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light.The surpassing glory of heaven is that God the Father and Jesus Christ are there. Everything revolves around them - not around us.Do Families Last Forever?One doctrine unique to Mormonism is the belief that “families are forever” - at least for those in the celestial kingdom. The LDS publication The Family: A Proclamation to the World explains:The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.”Not only can families be united eternally, the family is the basic unit of exaltation. Without being united to a family for eternity, a person cannot achieve godhood or fulfill the prerogatives of deity. While forever families may seem appealing, the Bible presents an even better scenario. In Christ, we become part of God’s eternal family. The Bible often portrays Christians as brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus himself said (Mark 3:33-35), “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?... Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” Revelation 19 shows God’s people together as a bride prepared for Jesus. In other words, earthly families will be superseded by a perfect, glorious relationship with God. For Christians, the focus of eternity is not on our families, our achievements, or our exaltation. The focus is on God, his family, and his exaltation.

One of the biggest questions religion seeks to answer is: “How can a person be right with God?” This is the question of salvation. As we consider what Mormonism teaches about salvation in comparison to historic, biblical Christianity, remember what is at stake: a person’s eternal destiny.Two Kinds of Salvation?In Mormonism, immortality means that every human being will be resurrected to life after death. LDS apostle Russell M. Nelson taught, “To be saved—or to gain salvation—means to be saved from physical and spiritual death. Because of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, all people will be resurrected and saved from physical death.” This promise applies to all people regardless of what they believe or how they live. The LDS Gospel Principles manual says, “Because of His Atonement, everyone born on this earth will be resurrected…. This condition is called immortality.”Exaltation, on the other hand, is limited to those who fulfill a rigorous set of requirements, who will thus attain the highest level of heaven. In his address, Russell Nelson continued:People may also be saved from individual spiritual death through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, by their faith in Him, by living in obedience to the laws and ordinances of His gospel, and by serving Him. To be exalted—or to gain exaltation—refers to the highest state of happiness and glory in the celestial realm.Only the most worthy Latter-day Saints - those who keep all their covenants and complete all the required ordinances - will qualify for exaltation. Thus Mormonism blends universalism and exclusivism. One on level, all people are saved. But only the elite are exalted.By contrast to this, the Bible envisions only one salvation. This salvation has many elements: forgiveness of sins, regeneration to a new life, reconciliation with God, adoption into God’s family, a glorious future resurrection, and more. But the Bible never suggests different kinds of salvation, based on different requirements, for different kinds of people. Jesus said, in Matthew 7:13-14: You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.Only one gateway leads to salvation. As we will see, the few who find it are not those who work the hardest to be worthy.Is God’s Grace Enough?Latter-day Saints value God’s grace. But they believe people are saved - in the highest sense - by God’s grace plus their own good works. The Book of Mormon outlines this in 2 Nephi 25:23:For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.According to this, people are saved by grace, but not by grace alone. Grace only takes effect “after all we can do.” The Pearl of Grace Price makes this clear (Articles of Faith 3): “We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.” In other words, Jesus’ atoning work is a necessary precondition for salvation, but it does not actually save anyone from their sins unless they live the right kind of life. Grace merely gives Mormons the opportunity to add the needed good works to obtain forgiveness of sins and eternal life with God.However, the Bible teaches that grace is the unconditional gift of God to meet our needs. We can be right with God by his grace alone, not by the addition of any good works. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” Because our sin renders us incapable of proving ourselves worthy, eternal life in God’s presence cannot be based on our good works. It can only be a free gift of God. The only basis for our salvation is Jesus’ death on the cross, where he paid the full penalty for our sin.The very nature of grace makes it impossible for salvation to be a combination of grace and works. Romans 11:16 explains, “And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is—free and undeserved.” Grace and works are mutually exclusive. As soon as you add an element of good works to the equation, you lose grace. Think about the nature of gift. If you pay even a small amount for something, it is not a gift, but a purchase.True salvation is a divine act that makes a person new. So while obedience cannot earn our salvation, it is the natural outcome of being saved, as Ephesians 2:8-10 explain:God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.This passage doesn’t fit with the LDS concepts of immortality or of exaltation, because salvation requires faith, but it is “not a reward.” Once we are saved by grace, through faith, we become new creations who begin to do good things - not as the reason for our salvation, but as the result of it.A Second Chance After Death?Finally, Latter-day Saints believe that a person can receive salvation after they have died. In a manual for LDS college students called Introduction to Family History, we read:Between the death and the resurrection of the physical body, the spirit lives in the spirit world and has the opportunity to continue to progress toward perfection. Jesus Christ initiated the preaching of the gospel to those in spirit prison. Many in the spirit world anxiously await the blessings of gospel ordinances.Certain ordinances are required for exaltation, including baptism, temple initiation, and temple marriage. Mormons perform these acts to secure their own exaltation. They also perform them by proxy for people who have died without the opportunity to do so, in hopes that those people will convert to Mormonism in the spirit world and accept the ordinances done on their behalf.Yet the Bible teaches that this life is the appointed time to get right with God. Hebrews 9:27 says, “...each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment...” This means our eternal destiny is fixed at death. This is why biblical Christians are eager to help our friends and family understand the wonderful grace of God in Jesus Christ. Our sins can be forgiven and we can have eternal life with God based on what Jesus did for us, not because of any good or worthy deeds we do. But we only have this life to place our faith in him.

What does it mean to be human? What kind of beings are we, and how do we relate to God and everything God made? While Latter-day Saints use many words and phrases familiar to traditional Christianity, the underlying world view of Mormonism is very different from historic, biblical Christian faith. This is seen most dramatically when comparing what the two groups believe about the nature of God and the nature of human beings.Life Before Birth?Latter-day Saints believe that all human beings are eternal spirits. We existed before this earthly life as God’s spirit children. In fact, they believe that human beings are uncreated and co-eternal with God. As the LDS scripture Doctrine and Covenants says, “Man was also in the beginning with God'' (93:29). In this view, human beings are not dependent on God for their ultimate existence. As premortal spirits, humans are seen as literal sons and daughters of heavenly parents. In the Pearl of Great Price (Abraham 3:22) we read, “Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones.” Apparently God provided these primordial “intelligences” with spirit bodies in the premortal life.The Bible teaches, however, that human life and existence begins in this world. Genesis 2:7 states, “Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.” When God made Adam, he did not place an already existing personal spirit into a physical body. Instead, he animated that body with the breath of life. The man’s personal existence as a living being began at that moment.Literal Offspring of God?When Mormons say that human spirits were created by God, they mean that we actually became God’s spirit children in the spirit world, before our birth. The LDS instruction manual Gospel Principles says:All men and women are literally the sons and daughters of God. ‘Man, as a spirit, was begotten and born of heavenly parents, and reared to maturity in the eternal mansions of the Father, prior to coming upon the earth…’”To Latter-day Saints, we are related to God in a similar way that children are related to their earthly parents. Hence we were not simply created by God, but “begotten and born” by our heavenly parents (God the Father and his spouse) - although LDS scriptures and prophets have not made explicit exactly how this works.By contrast, the Bible teaches that being a child of God is not a genetic relationship, but a spiritual one. Human beings become children of God by faith. John 1:12-13 says, “But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.” In other words, only those who trust in Jesus alone as Savior can join God’s eternal family and become children of God. Romans 8:14-16 puts it like this:For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.Anyone can become a child of God by adoption, when we receive His Spirit at the point of spiritual conversion. That happens in this life, not in some premortal existence.The Same Kind of Being as God?If people are literal children of God, it follows that we are of the same species as God. The LDS Church website, in an article called “Becoming Like God,” states:Latter-day Saints see all people as children of God in a full and complete sense; they consider every person divine in origin, nature, and potential. Each has an eternal core and is ‘a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents.’In Mormon thought, human beings are just as “divine in origin, nature, and potential” as God himself is. The biblical view of humanity is vastly different. The Bible teaches that humans are finite creatures, not potential deities. Psalm 8:4-5 says, “What are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor.” It’s true that human beings are amazing creatures. Made in the image of God, we bear tremendous glory. We reflect God in important ways. But we are creatures - “mere mortals” who are, in fact, “lower than God.”God is not an exalted man, and we do not have a divine nature or divine potential. God and humans are two completely different kinds of beings. God is infinite and self-existent. We are finite and dependent on God for our existence.Can You Become a God?As this entire article has implied, Mormons believe that humans can become powerful beings that create, populate, and rule worlds just as God did. Gospel Fundamentals, a manual for LDS high school students, describes it like this:To live in the highest part of the celestial kingdom is called exaltation or eternal life. To be able to live in this part of the celestial kingdom, people must have been married in the temple and must have kept the sacred promises they made in the temple. They will receive everything our Father in Heaven has and will become like Him. They will even be able to have spirit children and make new worlds for them to live on, and do all the things our Father in Heaven has done.”Sometimes LDS rhetoric softens the implications of this belief by saying that we can become “like” God. They clearly mean, however, that humans (if worthy) are capable of doing “all the things our Father in Heaven has done.” As Joseph Smith declared in the King Follett Discourse: “You have got to learn how to be a god yourself.”Yet in the Bible’s view, human beings - although made in God’s image - are fallen and spiritually lost. Not only are we finite creatures, but we are sinners in desperate need of God’s mercy to save us. Romans 3:10-11 declares, “As the Scriptures say, ‘No one is righteous—not even one. No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God.’” Verse 23 adds, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” This more realistic view of human nature is hard to reconcile with the Latter-day Saint idea of divine potential.

Our ultimate authority is God. But how can we know what God is like and what he wants? Both Latter-day Saints and traditional Christians agree that God has revealed himself in written scriptures. But the similarities end there. Let’s take a look at what Mormonism teaches about scripture and revelation compared to the biblical perspective.The Unveiling Mormonism podcast pulls back the curtain on Mormon history, culture and doctrine. Join us for new episodes every Monday. Find resources to talk about these episodes at pursueGOD.org/mormonism.Help others go "full circle" as a follower of Jesus through our 12-week Pursuit series.Click here to learn more about how to use these resources at home, with a small group, or in a one-on-one discipleship relationship.Got questions or want to leave a note? Email us at podcast@pursueGOD.org.A SUFFICIENT BIBLE? The LDS Church recognizes four standard scriptures: the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price (which includes the Book of Moses and the Book of Abraham). As one of four volumes of scripture, then, the Bible alone is not enough for Latter-day Saints. In fact, in the Book of Mormon (2 Nephi 29:10), God describes how more scripture, beyond the Bible, is needed: “Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my words; neither need ye suppose that I have not caused more to be written.” For traditional Christians, however, the Bible stands alone. The early Christian church went through an extensive process to discern what writings had the features that validated them as being from God. Many books claiming divine authority did not make the cut. And unlike other books that claim to be scripture, the Bible is well supported by the external evidence of history and archaeology, as well as its internal consistency over thousands of years. Christians recognize that Jesus, not any book, is God’s final revelation of himself to humanity. Hebrews 1:1 declares, “Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son.” Jesus himself is the highest revelation of God. Yet the Bible is the source by which we know Jesus. It tells us the history of God’s action leading up to his coming. It reveals his life and work. It explains his message and describes how it spread. It details how his people learned to follow him in the practical issues of life. A CORRUPTED BIBLE? Mormons revere the Bible. Yet paradoxically, they also believe that the Bible cannot ultimately be trusted. The Bible Dictionary published by the LDS Church says:Joseph Smith taught that ‘many important points touching the salvation of men, had been taken from the Bible, or lost before it was compiled.’ He also said that the Bible was correct as ‘it came from the pen of the original writers,’ but that ‘ignorant translators, careless transcribers, or designing and corrupt priests have committed many errors.’This explains one reason why the Bible is not the final authority for Mormons. They believe it has been changed over time. Errors have crept in. Thus, the Bible can only be understood in light of LDS scriptures and modern prophets. In fact, Joseph Smith undertook a major revision of the Bible called the Joseph Smith Translation (JST), in which he attempted to correct the errors he believed had corrupted the Bible. (For various reasons, the JST is not the official Bible of the LDS Church. Instead, they use the King James Version.)  By contrast, historic Christianity holds that the Bible has been divinely safeguarded. Latter-day Saints cannot provide any specific example of a text in the Bible where an important truth has been lost, or where intentional corruption has occurred. To the contrary, an abundance of evidence points to the remarkable preservation of the biblical text.  Consider the Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered in the 1940s. One of the scrolls is a complete copy of the Book of Isaiah dating to about 200 BC. Before this discovery, the oldest copy of Isaiah was written in the 10th century, over 1,000 years later. When compared, these two documents proved to be amazingly similar. This undermines LDS claims of intentional or unintentional corruption, demonstrating how sophisticated and successful were the copying methods used to accurately transmit the biblical text.CONTINUING REVELATION? The LDS view of scripture and revelation diverges from historic Christianity in another important respect. Mormons believe that their church is led by modern day prophets who continue to receive direct revelation from God. One of their recent prophets, Spencer W. Kimball, said, “But again we testify to the world that revelation continues and that the vaults and files of the Church contain these revelations which come month to month and day to day.” For example, consider one important example from Kimball’s own tenure as the LDS prophet. From the early years of Mormonism, Black men were not allowed to receive the LDS priesthood. In 1978, Kimball received a revelation changing this policy.  While most of the revelations received by LDS prophets are not added to the LDS standard scriptures, a few have been and others might yet be. In the Pearl of Great Price, we read, “We believe that [God] will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.” The Bible never really claims that God will not or cannot ever reveal himself again in formal scripture. Yet we saw in Hebrews 1:1 that the coming of Jesus rendered the old approach to prophetic revelation obsolete: “Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son.” This verse describes two eras of revelation. God revealed himself in the “long ago” era partially and sporadically through prophets. Now, “in these final days,” God has revealed himself through Jesus, the ultimate prophet. Why would we want to go back to an imperfect form of revelation that marked a bygone era, when we now have something greater? The Bible also makes it clear that any claims of new revelation must be tested against what God has previously revealed. Deuteronomy 13:1-3 outlines the standard: Suppose there are prophets among you or those who dream dreams about the future, and they promise you signs or miracles, and the predicted signs or miracles occur. If they then say, ‘Come, let us worship other gods’—gods you have not known before— do not listen to them.Anything a prophet says that leads in a new direction is illegitimate. It doesn’t even matter if the prophet demonstrates supernatural power. If his words lead to a new conception of God previously unknown, that prophet and his teaching must be rejected. If we want to know God’s character and will, the Bible is perfectly reliable and complete. The additional scriptures and revelations of Mormonism fail the test in many ways, including leading people in a very different direction from what God has already revealed.