Who is Jesus?
In the Book of Abraham 3:27 says
"And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son
of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me.
And the Lord said: I will send the first." On the other hand the Bible
says in Colossians 1:16 " For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and
that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or
principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for
Him." With this the creators of this are trying to point out the Jesus and
Satan are not brothers, like the LDS church teaches. God created all things,
even Satan, Jesus and Satan are not brothers.
Who is God?
D&C 130:20 states "The
Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; the Son also; but
the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of spirit.
Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us. However the Bible says in
John 4:24 "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in
spirit and truth.” also see Psalms 90:2 "Before the mountains were brought
forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to
everlasting, You are God." The Bible says that
God does not have a body like man, but is Spirit. Both cannot be
right.
In the Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith pg. 345-346, Joseph tells us how God Became God. "God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret. If the veil were rent today, and the great God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by his power, was to make himself visible, -- I say, if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form -- like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as a man; for Adam was created in the very fashion, image and likeness of God, and received instruction from, and walked, talked and conversed with him, as one man talks and communes with another.
These are incomprehensible ideas to some, but they are simple. It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God, and to know that we may converse with him as one man converses with another, and that he was once a man like us; yea, that God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did; and I will show it from the Bible.
Here, then, is eternal life -- to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods have done before you, namely, by going from one small degree to another, and from a small capacity to a great one; from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation, until you attain to the resurrection of the dead, and are able to dwell in everlasting burnings, and to sit in glory, as do those who sit enthroned in everlasting power. And I want you to know that God, in the last days, while certain individuals are proclaiming his name, is not trifling with you or me" The Bible says over and over that there is only ONE God. 1Corinthians 8:4-5 says there is one true God, but many false gods, Isaiah 44:6 Before me there is NO gods, or Isaiah 45:5 Besides me, there is NO God.
Eternal Life.
As anyone in the LDS church could tell you, Mormonism teaches that there are 3 levels of Glory; and how you lived is what determines where you will end up. The Telestial (D&C 76:103) is for adulterers, sorcerers, whoremongers, and whosoever loves a lie. The Terrestrial kingdom (D&C 72-75) is for the honorable who died without knowing the gospel. The Celestial kingdom (D&C 76: 57) is for those who held the priesthood, and became gods. It's clear that the LDS church teaches that how well you live the law, is how well off you are after you die, it even gives you the chance to become god yourself. The Bible teaches in Romans 6:23 that salvation through Christ Jesus is the gift of God, or John 6:28-29 "Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”
Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” ". Gifts aren't earned, they are given freely with of love, no strings attached. Ephesians 2:8-9 " For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast." It is impossible for one to work their way into heaven. Jesus is the ONLY way.
In the History of the Church Vol. 6 pg. 408 Joseph Smith said "Come on! Ye prosecutors! Ye false swearers! All hell, boil over! Ye burning mountains, roll down your lava! For I will come out on the top at last. I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him; but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet." vs. Matthew 16:18 when Jesus tells Peter " And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.". Here you have choose who you believe Jesus, or Joseph, It cannot be both.
A revelation in D&C 90:1-5 the keys of the kingdom are committed to Joseph Smith, but Matthew 28:18 tells us that all authority in heaven has been given to Jesus.
Prophecies and Revelations:
There are a few revelations within the church that seem odd, others maybe not so strange, but they have not come true. The Young Women's Journal vol. 3 pg.263/ Patriarchal Blessings Books 9 pg. 294-295 says that people who look like Quakers live on the moon. But that's not the only thing in space that people live on, Journal of Discourses Vol. 13 pg. 271 says that there is life on the sun... the sun. D&C 84:3-4 says that a temple would "be reared in this generation" (written in Sept. 1832) located in New Jerusalem (The western boundaries of Missouri). The last time I checked that temple has yet to be built. D&C 114:1 (written in April 1838) says that David W. Patten would leave the following spring on a Mission. David W. Patten died Oct. 25, 1838 in battle. D&C 1:37-38 says that the prophecies, and promises are faithful, and will come true. The previously listed revelations did not come true. The Bible tells us that God tests our faith, and how to tell if a prophet is true. Deuteronomy 13:1-3 "“If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.", Deuteronomy 18:21-22 "And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’— 22 when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.".
The Coming of the Lord:
Growing up in the LDS church I heard multiple times that no one knows the day or the hour of the Lords returning. Matthew 24:36 tells that is correct, not even the angels in heaven know. But in the History of the Church Vol. 2 pg. 182 (Chapter 13) Joseph Smith said (in 1835) that Jesus would return in 65 years. This speaks for itself. Either most of the members of the Church are unaware of this prophecy, or they just ignore it.
Character of Joseph Smith:
Joseph Smith was arrested in Bainbridge for glass looking, and deceiving Josiah Stowel; Joseph took a stone that he had found and claimed that he could find buried treasure with it.
Now let’s talk about Joseph Smiths multiple wives. A revelation given in 1843 talks about plural marriage, as well as eternal marriage (D&C 132). The Journal of Discourses Vol. 11 pg. 269 says that in order for Men to become gods, they must enter into plural marriage. Deuteronomy 17:17, Mark 10:7-9, 1 Timothy 3:2, as well as Titus 1:6 speak against plural marriage.
The First Vision:
Joseph Smith Claimed to speak with the Father and the Son in the sacred grove. However in the Church's own book, D&C 84:21-22 says that without the priesthood, no man can see the Father and live. With this in mind, how would Joseph Smith been able to live during the first vision? At this time Joseph Smith did not have the priesthood.
The Translator:
Anyone who grew up in the church has seen numerous paintings of Joseph Smith translating the plates. They show him with the urim and thumim translating the plates by candlelight. What if I told you that he translated the book of Mormon by putting a seer stone (the same one he used when he was arrested for deceiving Josiah Stowel) in a hat and translating the book that way? (http://mit.irr.org/translation-or-divination; http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/transcripts/?id=10) The Bible says that all scripture is given by God, you don't need a stone, see 2 peter 1:21.
DNA:
5,000 Indians, 150 Tribes no Hebrew descent. The Native Americans are of Asian descent. The Book of Abraham papyri, that is found included in the Book of Mormon (at least it was in mine), is supposed to be the writings of Abraham while he was in Egypt. The papyri was found to be Egyptian, however, it’s a funeral text written many centuries after Abraham's time.
Over and over again, you can see that the Bible and the teachings of the LDS church contradict each other over and over again. You can believe one or the other. They contradict each other too much to be able to believe in both. Galatians 1: 6-9 "I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed." Paul was warning the Church of Galatia of people preaching false doctrine, and it still rings true today. Joseph Smith said that the angel Moroni met him in his bedroom on multiple occasions. Paul warned of angels preaching other gospels, he even cursed them. Jesus is the ONLY way. 1John 3:5 " And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin." John 3:16-17 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."
Here is another video I found, its about a former bishop and why he left Mormonism.
Bibliography
http://education.byu.edu/edlf/archives/prophets/prophets.html
https://byustudies.byu.edu/hc/hcpgs/hc.aspx
http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/JournalOfDiscourses3/id/9608
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