In 1820, Joseph Smith, Jr. started the Mormon church movement. He was raised by strange parents that were involved in occult activities. Joseph Smith claims that in 1820, he received a vision from Jesus and God the Father. They told him that the church was in apostasy and he was to launch a new dispensation. He put his "calling" on hold for three years.
In 1823, Joseph Smith claimed to be visited by an angel named Moroni. Moroni professed to be a glorified son of a man by the name of Mormon. Mormon had been dead for about 1400 years. The "angel" told Joseph of golden plates that contained the "fulness of the everlasting gospel". Supposedly, Mormon had buried this book near Palmyra, New York at Cumorah Hill. Joseph dug up the golden plates and some spectacles that he called the "Urim and Thummim" in 1827. He claimed that the spectacles were for translating the golden plates. It is said that he would put a seer stone into a hat and then put his face inside the hat and translate that way. Joseph, his legal wife and Oliver Cowdery translated the plates. The Book of Mormon was then published in 1830. That same year, the "Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints" was established. Most of this information can be read in the "Pearl of Great Price" written by Joseph Smith.
The Book of Mormon was supposedly in the ground many centuries before the King James Bible of 1611 was published. Although claiming to be older than the King James Bible, it plagiarizes about 25,000 words in the King James Bible. If you compare the two, you will see the Book of Mormon copies the King James Bible word for word in numerous verses. The Book of Mormon contains many errors. It actually makes claims of elephants in the Western Hemisphere before 400 A.D.
Joseph Smith had at least twenty-seven wives. Him and his followers moved from New York to Ohio, then to Missouri, but the Governor ran them out of the state. Finally, they moved to Nauvoo, Illinois. Joseph and his brother, Hyrum were put in jail and killed by a mob in 1844. Afterwards, the church split between Joseph's family and Brigham Young. Joseph's family went to Independence, Missouri and started the "Recognized Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints". Most of the people chose to follow Brigham Young though.
In 1847, Brigham Young and the Mormons moved to Salt Lake City to escape the United States laws. At the time, Salt Lake City belonged to Mexico. Young spent the next thirty years building the foundation stones of Mormonism. Young commanded Bishop John Lee to murder over one hundred non-Mormon immigrants in 1857. Bishop John Lee was convicted and executed by the United States Government twenty years later. Young somehow escaped punishment and to this day the Mormon history books do not mention about his role in the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Young also practiced polygamy like Joseph Smith and had fifty-six children with seventeen wives. He later died in 1877.
The "General Authorities" administrate the Mormon church today. The authorities are the "First Quorum of the Seventy", "Counsel of Twelve Apostles", "First Presidency", "Presiding Bishoprick" and "Patriarch of the Church". There are priesthoods in the Mormon church for men over the age of twelve. These priesthoods consist of the Melchizedek order, which is the higher priesthood and the Aaronic order, which is the lesser priesthood. The Mormon church has over five million members and is divided into thousands of "stakes" and "wards" with over two thousand branches and 180 missions. The Mormon church has over twenty-six thousand active missionaries that consist of young men and women in their early twenties, who serve for two years.
The Mormons teach many heresies, such as the Deity of Man. Mormons teach that God was actually a man at one point in time and that men can become gods. This is not taught in the Bible anywhere. God is said to be eternal and the only God. Joseph Smith claims that he saw God the Father, but the Bible teaches that no one has seen God at any time.
Isaiah 44:6 "Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God."
John 1:18 "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him."
Mormons deny the deity of Jesus Christ by not acknowledging that He is the eternal Son of God. Instead they teach that Jesus was a preexisting spirit that was exalted. The Bible teaches God is a Trinity with Jesus Christ as the second member of the Godhead. The Mormons also deny the Trinity.
1 John 5:7 "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one."
John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."
There are multiple authorities in the Mormon church. The authorities include the writings of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, which contradict the word of God. Joseph Smith actually claims that the Bible does not teach salvation well enough because information was lost. This information can be read about in the book called the "Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith".
Proverbs 30:6 "Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar."
Isaiah 8:20 "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them."
The Doctrine and Covenants of the Mormons support polygamy in 132:61-62. The New Testament teaches that we are to have one wife. A husband and wife should be the picture of Jesus Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:23-32). A man and wife are considered to be one flesh when they are married. Notice the singular use of the word "wife".
Mark 10:6 "But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. 7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; 8 And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh."
The "Pearl of Great Price" claims that all other Christians are an abomination in God's sight. This stance is like the Catholics, but probably worse. The Bible teaches that anyone who is Born Again is in the Church, not just people of one denomination or organization.
Mormons deny that Hell is a literal place with fire. They teach baptism for the dead, annihilation, baptismal regeneration, deny the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ and deny the blood atonement. Mormons are taught that Jesus and Satan were spirit brothers, along with many other heresies.
Many people are fooled because Mormons tend to be very nice, but their doctrines are heresy. The Bible warns us of people like the cult of the Mormons. Mormons never tell you about their crazy doctrines at first. They want to come off as a Christian, just like you, but that is far from the truth as you can see.
Matthew 7:15 "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves."
1 Timothy 4:1 "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;"
Romans 16:18 "For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple."
As Christians we understand that the Bible teaches that salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ alone. The Mormons believe that salvation is by good works, water baptism, missionary work and other good deeds. James Talmage in the "Articles of Faith" of the Mormons says that justification by faith is an evil, "pernicious doctrine".
Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast."
Mormons also have "Sacred Temple Undergarments" or the "Garments of the Holy Priesthood". These "magic" undergarments are said to keep the Mormons safe from the "evils of this world". The underwear has Masonic symbols on them because Joseph Smith was a Mason himself.
The Book of Mormon contradicts the Bible in various places. The Bible teaches that the Church started in Acts 2, while the Book of Mormon teaches that it started in 147 BC according to Mosiah 18:17. Acts 11:26 records that the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch around 40-65 AD, while Alma 46:13-16 in the Book of Mormon says that the Nephites were referred to as Christians in 73 BC. The Bible says that Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, while Alma 7:10 said he would be born in Jerusalem. I will stop there, but there are tons and tons of more errors and contradictions in the Book of Mormon and other Mormon writings.
