Author: Russ Wise from http://www.christianinformation.org/article.asp?artID=59

MORMONISM  
                               
I.  Introduction


   A.  The cult of Mormonism was founded by Joseph Smith on April 6,
         1830 in Fayette, NY.  It was known as he Church of Christ.  Later,
         the church became officially known as The Church of Jesus Christ
         of Latter-day Saints in 1834.


   B.  According to the LDS Church, Joseph Smith was visited by God
        the Father and God the Son after praying about which church
        he should join. He was told that he should join none of them
        because they were all an abomination to God. It was after this
        event in 1820 that young Joseph was led by the angel Moroni
        to discover the Book of Mormon and later establish the Mormon
        Church.  


    C.  The Mormon Church now has a membership of over ten million
          and is growing at an unprecedented pace, doubling in size every
          ten years.  


         1. Church membership world-wide: U. S., over 4,800,000;
             Mexico, 760,000; South America, 2,100,000; Europe,
             380,000; Asia, 610,000; and several hundred thousand
             elsewhere in other countries.


        2. The Church projects membership to be 23 million by year
            2020, and 52 million by 2040.


        3. The Mormon Church has a missionary force of over 40,000
            members made up of young men, and more recently, older
            retired couples who serve in 200 missions around the world.


       4. Mormon Temples: There are fifty temples around the world
           with more than a dozen additional ones being planned.


      5. Temples are utilized for endowment ceremonies, sealing of
          men and women together for eternal marriage, and baptism
         for the dead.  Ninety-eight percent of the activity in the
         Mormon Temple is related to baptism for the dead.
         (Note:  this is the reason why discovery of one's ancestry
         is so important to Mormons.)


       6. Priesthood: The Mormon Church confers two different
           priesthoods on its male membership.


          a.  Aaronic Priesthood:  This priesthood is for young men twelve
              years of age. The young priest is allowed to baptize and assist
              in sacramental service.


          b.  Melchizedek Priesthood:  This priesthood gives the mature
              Mormon male the authority to govern the church and impart
              the "gift of the Holy Ghost" by the laying on of hands.


        7. Church structure.  


            a.  Branch:  a local congregation of fewer than 200 Mormons led
                by a branch president.


            b.  Ward:  a congregation with a membership of as many as 800
                 members and led by a bishop.


            c.  Stake:  a Stake is the combining of five to twelve Wards in a
                 given area that is defined by geography.


            d.  Area:  an Area comprises all of the above mentioned
                 congregations within a given district.


        8. Church government.


            a.  First Presidency:  is made up of the Prophet who holds the
                highest rank in the Church and two other men as counselors.
               All three men are considered to be living oracles of God.


            b.  Council of the Twelve Apostles:  these men administer the
                 affairs of the Church throughout the world.  The senior
                Apostle is the President of the Church and is believed to
                actively exercise all the keys of the Kingdom of God on earth.


           c.  First and Second Quorums of the Seventy:  these men preside
               over the international Church and are assigned to a specific
               geographical area.


           d.  Presiding Bishopric:  consists of three men who oversee the
               Bishops worldwide.  They conduct the temporal affairs of
               the Church.

A.  The Vision of Joseph Smith.


              Joseph Smith is believed to have had a vision after a spiritual
              revival in the early 1820's where he sought the counsel of the
              Lord to direct him. There is much confusion regarding this
              vision because there are several differing accounts of it.
              These varying accounts offer conflicting dates of Joseph's
              vision, his age (whether he was 14 or maybe 16 years of age) ,
              and conflicting accounts of who the spiritual personages  
              were who spoke to Joseph (God the Father and His Son  
              Jesus, or an Angel).


       B.  Mormon Doctrine


            1.   Doctrine is received through two differing sources:  the
                  living prophet and the Standard Works.  The Standard
                  Works are The Bible, The Book of Mormon, The
                  Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price.  


           2.   The living prophet is the first line of authority for the
                 Mormon. The present prophet can overturn any prior
                 teaching of a past prophet, including Joseph Smith.  


           3.   The Book of Mormon is considered to be "another Testament
                  of Jesus Christ".   Surprisingly, The Book of Mormon is
                  the most doctrinally orthodox.  It also contains many quotations
                  from the King James Version often without any attribution.  
                  It teaches that the Godhead is one God, whereas other
                 Mormon writings teach that the Father, Son, and Holy
                 Ghost are three distinct deities.  (See Mormon Doctrine,
                 by McConkie, Pp. 119-121)


          4.   The Doctrine and Covenants was written after the Book of
                Mormon.  According to their beliefs it contains latter-day
                revelation, and therefore has greater truth than does the
                earlier publication. Most of their bizarre beliefs that
                diverge from traditional Christianity come from The Doctrine
                and Covenants.
           
           5.   The Holy Bible is used by the LDS, but it is believed to have
                 serious problems of interpretation along with the omission
                 of "precious truths" (see the 8th Article of Faith)
                 Therefore, the more correct Scriptures should be used  
                 (see Standard Works #1).


        C.  Why Mormons reject the Bible


              1.   Mormons insist that they do not reject the Bible since
                    they so often refer to it as Scripture. However,
                    they consider it to be only partially complete.


              2.   The Church News, a Mormon newspaper, carried this
                    statement concerning the Bible:  "It is the Word of God.
                    It is not perfect.  The prophet Joseph made many
                    corrections in it."


              3.   First Nephi 13:26 from the Book of Mormon, states the
                    following about the Christian Church:  "A great and  
                    abominable church which is most abominable above
                    all other churches; for behold, they have taken away  
                    from the gospel of the lamb many parts which are
                    plain and most precious."


             4.   This Mormon view of the Christian Church gives us insight
                   into how they have come to disregard the Bible.  The
                  Mormon apostle, Orson Pratt, in his book, The Seer, says
                   this about the Christian community: "Both Catholics and  
                   Protestants are nothing less than the 'whore of Babylon'
                   whom the Lord denounces by the mouth of John the
                   Revelator as having corrupted all the earth by their
                   fornications and wickedness."


             5.   Orson Pratt also stated that, "No one can tell whether even
                   one verse of either the Old or New Testament conveys the
                    ideas of the original author."


             6.   Joseph Smith makes an attempt to give credibility to the Book
                   of Mormon in his fourth volume of the History of the Church
                   when he says: "I told the brethren 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."

A.  The Mormon Church is not within the realm of Christian
            orthodoxy.  Indeed it is a cult based on the teachings of
            a mystic who participated in a variety of occult behavior.
            Its message of salvation is based on a doctrine of
            works-salvation.  It teaches that Satan is the brother  
            of Jesus and that God the Father is an exalted man.  
            (See our briefing outline #10 on the Characteristics
            of Cults).


     B.  The secret temple rituals of Mormonism have been borrowed
          largely from the secret rites of the Masonic Lodge.
          (See: What's Going On In There?  by Chuck Sackett).  


     C.  The Mormon Church makes every attempt to discredit the Bible
           as God's infallible Word and to establish Joseph Smith as  
           God's spokesman presenting another gospel.  Joseph
           Smith fails every Biblical test of a true Prophet.


      D.  The Word of God stands alone as God's Truth, the Standard
           Works of the Mormon Church, excluding the Bible, have no
           credibility whatsoever.  We find in Scripture that God's word
           will stand forever (Isaiah 40:8), that it will never pass away
           even though heaven and earth will someday pass away
            (Matthew 24:35).


        E.  The Book of Mormon does not correspond to what we know
              God has already revealed in His Word. The inconsistencies,  
              the changes in the Book of Mormon, and the heavy
              plagiarism of the King James translation bring serious
             doubt as to the trustworthiness of the text.


             Some examples of plagiarism:


            1.   1 Nephi 20:21   Isaiah 48:49
            2.   2 Nephi 7:8     Isaiah 50:51
            3.   2 Nephi 12:24   Isaiah 2:14
            4.   Mosiah 14  Isaiah 53
            5.   3 Nephi 12:14   Matthew 5:7
            6.   3 Nephi 22 Isaiah 54
            7.   3 Nephi 24:25   Malachi 3:4


        F.  The Book of Mormon, in contradiction to the Bible, teaches that
             God has a body of flesh and bone, and is an exalted man.  They
              believe the god they worship is Adam.  Brigham Young says:
              "He is your Father and our God and the only God with whom  
              we have to do." Orson Pratt says: "...our Father in Heaven
              was begotten on a previously heavenly world by His Father;
              and again, He was begotten by a still more ancient Father
              and so on, from generation to generation, from one heavenly
             world to another still more ancient, until our minds are wearied
               and lost in the multiplicity of generations and successive  
              worlds, and as a last resort, we wonder in our minds,
              how far back the genealogy extends, and how the first
              world was formed, and the first Father was begotten."


             Mormons are polytheists pure and simple!


        G.  They also believe that there is no eternal hell; man can  
              become a god;  there are three levels of heaven,  and
              that marriage is for eternity.  When a man becomes a
              god he is given his own planet to populate.  Hence  
              Mormons believe there are humans on other planets
              in the universe.  Is it just a coincidence that most
              UFO sightings are in the Mormon populated states
              of Utah and Nevada?


        H.  In spite of the convoluted teaching of the Mormon  
              Church we find them in the same camp with
              evangelicals on many moral and social issues.   The  
              outward appearance is may be good but the
              Mormons perpetuate a false and even pagan worldview  
              contrary to the orthodox teaching of the Old and
              New Testaments.

Books:


Brodie, Fawn M. NO MAN KNOWS MY HISTORY: THE LIFE  
       OF JOSEPH SMITH.
Cowdrey, Wayne,  Davis, Howard A.,  and Scales, Donald.  WHO
        REALLY WROTE THE BOOK OF MORMON.
Decker, Ed.  Decker's COMPLETE HANDBOOK OF MORMONISM.  
Decker, Ed, Hunt, Dave. THE GOD MAKERS.    
Greer, Thelma. Mormonism, Mama, & Me.  
Martin, Walter. The Maze of Mormonism.
Reed, Farkas. MORMONS ANSWERED VERSE BY VERSE.  
Scott, Latayne C. The Mormon Mirage.  nner, Jerald and Sandra.  THE
        CHANGING WORLD OF MORMOMISM.


Web Sites:


http://www.serve.com/larryi/lds.htm


http://www.watchman.org/mormonm.htm

Are you a Anti-Mormon?