Top 10 Amazing Facts of Mormonism Jill Martin Rische March 1, 2007 |
Email this page |
On Sunday, February 25, 2007, Meet the Press had an interesting roundtable discussion on Mormonism that reflected the abundance of their journalistic ignorance. What I found particularly amusing (choosing humor in lieu of intense frustration) was their patronizing comment that Christians know very little about Mormonism. They proceeded to cite a recent poll that showed 45% of Evangelicals view Mormonism negatively (although the source of the poll was fuzzy). This seemed a bit illogical, since Christians must know something for the negative percentage to be so high. No mention was made of the unique Mormon beliefs that might cause millions of rational souls to view them with a healthy dose of skepticism.
After pondering the wisdom of the media elite (or lack thereof), I decided to research a short list of Mormon facts to help guide them through the dense jungle of Mormon Doctrine:
1. Mormons can become gods and goddesses. |
And so you see, 45% of Christians know what thousands of the media elite do not: Mormonism is not Christian.
Notes and references:
[1] Journal of Discourses 1:50-51; J of D 8:115; Doctrine and Covenants Section 132:20
[2] Doctrine and Covenants 84:33-9; Goddesses are always subject to a god. Women are denied the Priesthood (meaning they are denied authority—not the same as Catholic priesthood). “In the LDS universe, theologically described as the real eternal universe, each man who achieves the highest degree of the Celestial Kingdom is worth many times more than each woman, even the women who qualify at that highest Celestial level, because each man who achieves Godhood-level may have numerous God-wives, but each God-wife may have only one husband. This can only mean that each "heavenly father" is worth many times more than each "heavenly mother." And, even if the ratio were strictly one to one, the male God, not the female God, holds the priesthood authority and is the only one of the God parents to whom his earth-mortality children are allowed to pray. So Mormon women can never, NEVER achieve equality with men, no matter how outstanding or righteous the women are. That's just the way it's set up." MORMON WOMEN, PROZAC® and THERAPY By Kent Ponder, Ph.D. e-mail address: kponder@swcp.com, http://home.teleport.com/~packham/prozac.htm
[3] LDS Apostle Orson Pratt wrote, “Each father and mother will be in the condition to multiply forever and ever” (The Seer, 37).
[4] Doctrine and Covenants 132; Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 11:269; Men can still be sealed for eternity (not time) to women other than their wives; “The practice of polygamy has been discontinued, but the doctrine of polygamy has never been revoked. D&C 132 is still part of the LDS canon. And some current church practices are still based on polygamous principles.” See pro-Mormon site http://mormonopenforum.blogsome.com/2005/08/02/eternal-polygamy/ (accessed February 25, 2007).
[5] Pearl of Great Price, Abraham 3:2-4, 9; J of D, 26:214.
[6] Book of Mormon: Alma 3:6-19; 3 Nephi 2:14-15; Enos 1:20; J of D, 7: 290-291.
[7] Journal of Discourses 8: 116; J of D 8: 211; J of D 8: 115; Mormon Doctrine p.546-547.
[8] Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith—History 1:19. Smith claimed God sent him to “restore” true Christianity.
[9] Celestial Kingdom is the highest of 3 levels in the Mormon heaven (need handshakes to get past the angel guarding the veil); See ex-Mormon site http://www.mormoncurtain.com/topic_templeceremonies.html#pub_1816881347 (accessed February 25, 2007); David John Buerger, The Mysteries of Godliness: A History of Mormon Temple Worship, http://lds-mormon.com/buerger.shtml (accessed February 25, 2007).
[10] Doctrine and Covenants 116; Journal of Discourses, 10:235; Smith named the Spring Hill, Daviess County, Missouri area Adam-Ondi-Ahman.
Jill Martin Rische received her Bachelor’s Degree in Old Testament Literature with an emphasis on the Hebrew language from Oral Roberts University. She is currently completing her Master’s degree in Humanities/History at California State University.
Jill is Dr. Walter Martin’s eldest daughter and the author of two books:
1. The inspirational book, Through the Windows of Heaven, 100 Powerful Stories and Teachings from Walter Martin, the Original Bible Answer Man (Broadman & Holman, 1999).
2. Jack Star and the Secret Door (Kingdom, 2003) a youth fantasy adventure in the tradition of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Kevin Rische and Jill Martin Rische are the Managing Editors on the 2003 edition of The Kingdom of the Cults (Bethany House) working with Dr. Ravi Zacharias as the General Editor. The Risches are also the founders of Walter Martin Ministries and the producers of the nationwide radio program Essential Christianity, featuring Dr. Walter Martin as "The Original Bible Answer Man".
http://www.waltermartin.com/blog.html
Comments:
From Dennis: As a lifelong Latter-day Saint (mormon), I must object to the article you carry on your website, "Top 10 Amazing Facts of Mormonism." It contains outright lies and half-truths taken out of context. I will not enter into a debate about it, because that only invites the spirit of contention. I invite you to do your own research, and to get your information from the source. We are Christians in the truest sense of the word. I invite you to research the Church's website for investigators, http://www.mormon.org/welcome/0,6929,403-1,00.html, and for members, http://lds.org/portal/site/LDSOrg. Once you've had a chance to do so, I would like to know what you think.
Answered by Jill Martin Rische, author of "Top 10 Amazing Facts of Mormonism:"
Dear Dennis, Thank you for writing. If you believe these facts of Mormonism are false, please prove it using Mormon Scripture and sources. Eternity is at stake: yours or mine.
1. Jill's article is correct. My husband and I are former Mormons. When we were young, we both served a mission for the LDS church, and after that served in various leadership positions in the Mormon Church. I was a full time translator and interpreter for the LDS church for over 14 years. We are now devout Christians with a ministry to Mormons. The Mormon Church is a counterfeit Christian cult. Mormonism gains 200-300 thousand converts from Christianity annually, because many Christians do not know the Bible well enough to detect false doctrines. Our website: www.hismin.com Respectfully, Rauni Higley
2. I also was a Mormon. I took this challenge. I prayed and asked God to give the wisdom (and a burning in my heart) and reveal to me whether or not I was just a rebellious young person and Mormonism was the truth. At first, there was nothing. I felt like God hadn’t heard me. Bishops told me I was lacking faith or trying to do algebra before I really knew math. I continued to pray...and God brought me to the throne of Grace. As a Mormon I WAS NOT a Christian. Jesus was a nice story, I was taught about as a child. A nice guy, that did all that stuff...but I was NEVER taught he was my SAVIOR and ALL I need for eternal life. Not works or temple recommends. So I ask you to take the same challenge and ask God to reveal to you HIS truth and also ask for understanding of John 3:16 "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 and Galatians 1:8 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. Praying for you.
I pray in the name of Jesus Christ that your eyes will be opened.
Source: http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/007/walter-martin/mormonism.htm
1 comment:
The point of the original article, I believe, is this: Mormonism is not Christianity, in any true sense, regardless of what the previous commenter would have us believe.
Questions to ask yourself ... where does the Bible teach us that we will be Gods to rule over our own planets? Where does it teach us that polygamy is OK? Where does it teach us that we are to become a man/God just like Jesus? Does a Mormon believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose again for our sins, and that He is the only name by which men may be saved?
The issues become clouded by obfuscation and outright deception. This is aided by the fact that most professed Christians do not know enough about their Bible to discern the truth. Great blog post ... keep it up!
Post a Comment