The Gospel According to Joseph Smith

A Christian Response to Mormon Teaching

Ethan E. Harris

• Publisher: P Publishing
• Year: 2001
• Print ISBN: 9780875521800
• eBook ISBN: 9781629955445
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Ministry

Expounds on different views and religious ideas of the Mormon faith. Ethan Harris points out the necessity of Christians studying Mormonism to better understand the faith and understand its inconsistencies.

1

SETTING THE STAGE

We begin our examination of Mormonism by encouraging both LDS and non-LDS to seriously study what we are taught by others and to compare those teachings to Scripture. For a person, group, or organization to claim authority from God does not necessarily prove that their teachings are true. If Scripture is our ultimate authority, all human words should be subject to verification by God’s Word. There must be a standard from which we may determine truth. Studying to show ourselves approved of God should be the goal of all who profess the name of Christ (2 Tim. 2:15).

The Mormon Prophet Brigham Young challenged all people to compare the teaching of the Mormon Church to the Bible:

I say to the whole world, receive the truth, no matter who presents it to you. Take up the Bible, compare the religion of the Latter-day Saints with it, and see if it will stand the test.¹

The Mormon Prophet Joseph Fielding Smith lamented that so many members of the Mormon Church would not study the Standard Works:

It is a regret to be under the necessity of saying that too many of the members of the Church are mentally lazy so far as seeking the words of life. We have been commanded to search the commandments in the Doctrine and Covenants; we have been commanded to study the Book of Mormon, and the Lord has blessed us with the Pearl of Great Price, all in addition to what the world for nearly two thousand years and more has had.²

A recent Mormon Prophet, Ezra Taft Benson, echoed the words of his predecessors:

We urge you to study the Book of Mormon as individuals and families and then to do as the Prophet Nephi counseled: liken the Scriptures to yourselves so that it will be for your profit and learning (see 1 Nephi 19:23–24).³

The biblical book of Acts gives an account of the Bereans’ response to the teachings of Paul:

And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few. (Acts 17:10–12)

In the closing remarks of his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul encourages the Church to test his words by Scripture:

Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. (1 Thess. 5:21–22)

In another letter, 2 Timothy, Paul tells us how we should respond to those who oppose us:

And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient. In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will. (2 Tim. 2:24–26)

The Apostle Peter tells us what those who love the Lord must be like. Notice the manner in which we are supposed to approach others:

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evil doers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. (1 Peter 3:15–16)

One final admonition from the Apostle John stresses the need to distinguish with certainty between what God has delivered as Truth and those words that false prophets have proposed:

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out unto the world. (1 John 4:1)

We must always carefully examine the doctrine and various teachings that are presented to us. All Scripture must be studied in context to get a full understanding of what the writer means. Even the passages quoted above should be checked in the Bible for their context. Challenge yourself to look up and verify the context of all citations of Scripture that are used in your Church or in discussions with others. If the context does not support an interpretation that is being presented, we must be cautious about the doctrine in question.

HATE OR COMPASSION?

Before we enter our brief study of Mormonism, we must be aware of the potential hostility that awaits Christians who wish to share the Gospel with Mormons. Mormons are generally very concerned about the impression that the outside world has of them. Mormon missionaries make it clear that their Church does not criticize other beliefs. They also take pains to show how compassionate they are in the face of opposition. But we must remember what the consensus of Mormons really is regarding Christians: Christians are apostate.

The claim is still frequently made that the LDS community has never engaged in name-calling or insulting other religions. Mormon Prophets have stressed the need for humility and decency in dialogue with people who disagree with their belief system. We must likewise stress that simple argumentation should not be seen as slanderous. Asking for discussion and debate does not necessitate hostility and antagonistic dispute. Issues can be discussed without hatred for the opposite viewpoint.

Heber J. Grant, one of the early LDS Prophets, emphasized the need for Mormons not to criticize anyone but themselves:

I have given much advice to the Latter-day Saints in my time, and one of the principal items was never to criticize anyone but ourselves. I believe in faultfinding for breakfast, dinner and supper, but only with our own dear selves.⁴

Brigham Young, the second LDS Prophet, thought it was wise not to judge anyone, but to let God do the judging because only He has full knowledge of the world:

I am very thankful that it is not our province, in our present condition, to judge the world; if it were, we would ruin everything. We have not sufficient wisdom; our minds are not filled with the knowledge and power of God; the spirit needs to contend with the flesh a little more until it shall be successful in subduing its passions, until the whole soul is brought into perfect harmony with the mind and will of God. And we must also acquire the discretion that God exercises in being able to look into futurity, and to ascertain and know the results of our acts away in the future, even in eternity, before we will be capable of judging.⁵

Spencer W. Kimball, another LDS Prophet, made a pointed statement about how people respond to each other:

Therefore, we often judge wrongfully if we try to fathom their meaning and give our own interpretation to it.⁶

Ezra Taft Benson, one of the more recent Prophets of the LDS Church, believed that in order to evangelize non-Mormons, one should be patient and not critical:

Let us exhort each other to fulfill our missionary responsibility. Let us do it with love—not criticism. Let us do it with understanding—not berating. But let us do it, and do it with urgency. Let us catch the vision and the inspiration of President Spencer W. Kimball. We need to understand that member-missionary work is literally the key to the future growth of the Church and that we have covenanted with our Father in Heaven to do this work.⁷

While most of us would agree with many of these comments by the Mormon Prophets, it is astounding to find that many of the LDS Prophets have openly criticized Christians with a great deal of hostility and malice. Although LDS Prophets have called for compassion to non-Mormons, they often do not apply this teaching to themselves. Consider a few of the claims that Mormon leaders have made regarding those who in the past two millennia have called on the name of Christ.

Brigham Young, the second Prophet of the LDS Church, gives us his view of Christians:

The Christian world, I discovered, was like the captain and crew of a vessel on the ocean without a compass, and tossed to and fro whithersoever the wind listed to blow them. When the light came to me, I saw that all the so-called Christian world was groveling in darkness.⁸

There are various other fine examples of Young’s open slander against the non-Mormon world:

While Brother Taylor was speaking of the sectarian world, it occurred to my mind that the wicked do not know any more than the dumb brutes, comparatively speaking; but it is our business to hunt up and gather out all the honest portion of the nations of the earth, and give them salvation. We may very properly say that the sectarian world do not know anything correctly, so far as pertains to salvation. Ask them where heaven is? where they are going to when they die? where Paradise is? and there is not a priest in the world that can answer your questions. Ask them what kind of a being our Heavenly Father is, and they cannot tell you so much as Balaam’s ass told him. They are more ignorant than children.⁹

The arts and sciences are somewhat advanced among the Christian nations; but as to a true knowledge of things as they are in eternity, there never were nations more ignorant. According to my definition of the word, a people are heathenish that do not know things as they ought. The Christian world, so called, are heathens as to their knowledge of the salvation of God.¹⁰

With regard to true theology, a more ignorant people never lived than the present so-called Christian world.¹¹

Clearly, Young shows a high level of negativity toward Christians. In yet another instance he supports the charge that Christians are hatched in Hell:

Brother Taylor has just said that the religions of the day were hatched in Hell. The eggs were laid in Hell, hatched on its borders, and then kicked on to the earth. They may be called cockatrices, for they sting wherever they go. Go to their meetings in the Christian world, and mingle in their society, and you will hear them remark, Our ministers dictate our soul’s salvation; and they are perfectly composed and resigned to trust their whole future destiny to their priests, though they durst not trust them with one single dollar beyond their salaries and a few presents. They can trust their eternal welfare in the hands of their priests, but hardly dare trust them with so much as a bushel of potatoes. Is that principle here? Yes, more or less.¹²

In this refutation of Christianity, Young suggests that the major fault of Christians is their willingness to accept the words of their ministers.¹³ However, one would be hard-pressed to identify a Christian Church whose members believe that their pastor controls and dictates their eternal salvation. It would be more proper to lay this charge against the Mormon Church or any other group that claims that biblical Truth comes from its organization alone.

Our final examples come from the words of the third Prophet, John Taylor:

There is no nation now that acknowledges that hand of God; there is not a king, potentate, nor ruler that acknowledges his jurisdiction. We talk about Christianity, but it is a perfect pack of nonsense. Men talk about civilization; but I do not want to say much about that, for I have seen enough of it. Myself and hundreds of the Elders around me have seen its pomp, parade, and glory; and what is it? It is a sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal; it is as corrupt as Hell; and the Devil could not invent a better engine to spread his work than the Christianity of the nineteenth century.¹⁴

The transactions of men are even more outrageous against the Lord, and the only excuse for them is their ignorance. What! are Christians ignorant? Yes, as ignorant of the things of God as the brute beast.¹⁵

And Christianity, at the present time, is no more enlightened than other systems have been. What does the Christian world know about God? Nothing; yet these very men assume the right and power to tell others what they shall and what they shall not believe in. Why, so far as the things of God are concerned, they are the veriest fools; they know neither God nor the things of God.¹⁶

Clearly, Mormon Prophets have not shown much compassion in their teachings about Christianity. These are public statements made with extremely hostile feelings. Earlier, we read statements by Mormon Prophets urging Mormons not to crit...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Foreword by Bill McKeever
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• 1 Setting the Stage
• 2 The Standard Works
• 3 The Mormon Gospel
• 4 Mormonism’s Doctrine of God
• 5 Baptism for the Dead and the Origin of Sin
• 6 Creation and Adam
• 7 The Book of Mormon and the Bible
• 8 The Ethical Argument Against Mormonism
• 9 Christian Testimonies
• Afterword
• Notes
• Books for Further Study
• Works of Mormon Prophets
• Index of Scripture
• Index of Persons