COMPELLING TRUTH

Mormonism and The Pattern of all False Religions

As the story goes, he was in a cave when suddenly the angel Gabriel appeared to him. The angel then supposedly pinned him to a wall and commanded him to "Recite!"

From that alleged episode was born the prophet of Islam (Muhammad), the Koran (which means the "recitation"), the god Allah, a rendition of Jesus that somewhat matches His portrayal in the Bible, and a method of salvation based on weights and measures (i.e. works).

Pick whatever non-Christian religion you'd like and you will see the same pattern emerge. You will witness:

- A particular individual who eventually proclaims him/herself to be a prophet…

- Who creates or 'discovers' a particular authoritative set of writings based on visions or encounters with a supposed angelic messenger or deity…

- Who then uses those experiences and writings to proclaim (1) a false god; (2) a false savior; and (3) a false salvation.

With this well-worn path, the lives and souls of countless people have been destroyed. Let's take a look at some concrete examples to get a better idea of how the process works.

A False prophet

Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, claimed that in 1820 he received a special vision of the Father and the Son [1] who instructed him not to join any modern church; all were abominations in their sight. Three years later, another messenger (Moroni) allegedly appeared to Joseph to inform him of a special book that was inscribed on gold plates, which supposedly contained the everlasting gospel. Seven years after that, Smith founded the Mormon church and claimed to receive another vision from God that he was to be "a seer, a translator, a prophet, and an apostle." [2]

Smith certainly isn't alone in his claims of seeing visions and being crowned a prophet. Investigate the lives and assertions of Charles Taze Russell from the Jehovah's witnesses, Muhammad, Buddha, Sun Myung Moon, or L. Ron Hubbard and you will see the same things.

A False authority

According to Joseph Smith, the book of Mormon is "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 any other book." [3]

Every false religion, without fail, will put forward an authoritative work that is considered at least equal to, but most often superior to, the Bible. Further, the religion will cast doubt about the Bible's truthfulness and claim it is corrupt as did Mormon leader Orson Pratt when he said, "Who, in his right mind, could for one moment suppose the Bible in its present form to be a perfect guide? Who knows that even one verse of the Bible has escaped pollution?" [4]

A cursory review of Islam, Jehovah's witnesses, and other like faiths will show both extra-biblical writings or a rewritten Bible and a dim view of any set of Scriptures outside their walls.

A False god

A. W. Tozer wrote, "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us." [5] That being the case, it's not surprising that false prophets, using their false authorities, preach a false god that corrupts its adherents.

Mormonism, for example, teaches that God was once a mortal man who progressed to become God – an exalted man. Milton Hunter of the Mormon church says, "God the Eternal Father was once a mortal man who passed through a school of earth life similar to that which we are now passing." [6]

Some repeat the enemy's promise in the garden ("you shall be like God…"), while others put forward a pantheistic deity such as Wicca that claims: "She [Gaia] is the source of fertility, endless wisdom and loving caresses… She gives birth to abundance… Since the Goddess is nature, all nature…She is omnipresent, changeless, eternal." [7]

Be sure that whatever god is preached, it will not be the God of the Bible.

A False christ

False religions don't repeat the error of uneducated skeptical internet sites that try and deny Jesus ever lived, but instead they put forward another Jesus (2 Cor. 11:4) that is a counterfeit. Mormonism, for example, denies the eternality of Jesus and claims instead that he was the first spirit child of God, is the spirit-brother of Lucifer and Jehovah of the Old Testament, and became a man when God and Mary had physical relations.

A counterfeit Christ is an incredibly important part of the enemy's teaching because, in the same way that placebo medication can't heal a real disease, a fake Jesus can't save anyone from their real sin.

Continue to Page Two

Image Credit: Trodel; "The Salt Lake Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"; Creative Commons

Tags: Controversial-Issues | Current-Issues | False-Teaching

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Published 3-10-14