Is God
eternal or did He become God? Where did He come from? Where is He
located? Does He care about us on earth or has He created us and then left us
to fend for ourselves?
Every
religion has its own view on the nature of God or a “higher power” which is
ultimately responsible for the creation and sustaining of the universe. Today we will
take a look at both the Mormon and Orthodox Christian views of God’s nature.
The information given on the Mormon view will be taken directly from Mormon
Scripture and other Mormon publications. The Christian view is given based on
the information in the Holy Bible. I do this so that there is no personal bias.
It will be a representation of what both systems of faith profess to believe
and therefore teach.
What does
the LDS organization say about the nature of God?
More than one God:
First, in
The Pearl of Great Price, Abraham 5:4 states that the gods created the earth and the heavens. Verse seven of this
same chapter states that the “gods
formed man from the dust”. Clearly the LDS teaching is that there is more than
one God.
Joseph Smith
once stated, "I wish to declare I have always and in all congregations
when I have preached on the subject of the Deity, it has been the plurality of gods". This quote is recorded in the History of the Church
6: 474. (Emphasis added by me)
Furthermore,
Brigham Young, the second LDS prophet said, "How many Gods there are, I do not know. But there
never was a time when there were not Gods..."
This statement is from the Journal of Discourses 7:333.
Mormon
Apostle Orson Pratt taught, "We were begotten by our Father in Heaven; the
person of our Father in Heaven was begotten on a previous heavenly world by His
Father; and again, He was begotten by a still more ancient Father, and so on,
from one generation to generation", from page 132 of The Seer, a Mormon publication.
These statements
are in direct contrast to the Christian teaching that there exists only one God.
First
Timothy 2:5 says “For there is only one God and one Mediator
who can reconcile God and humanity--the man Christ Jesus.”
Joshua 22:
22 says,
“The Mighty One, God,
the Lord, the Mighty One, God, the
Lord! He knows, and may Israel itself know…”
Also
consider 1 Corinthians 8: 6: “…yet
for us there is but one God, the
Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist
through Him.
Christians believe
that there is only one God in whom all power resides. To state that there is
any God other than this one God is in direct contradiction to the Bible and
therefore not a Christian belief. By the evidence states so far it is obvious
that the god of the Mormon faith is not the same as the God of Christianity.
Jesus is not God?
First
Corinthians 8:6 and 1 Timothy 2:5, not only state that there is only one God
but that God was physically seen on earth in the person of Jesus Christ.
First John
1:1 states, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God”.
This same
verse in Joseph Smith’s translation of the Bible aka The Inspired Version,
reads like this:
“In
the beginning was the gospel preached through the Son. And the gospel was the
word, and the word was with the Son, and the Son was with God, and the Son was of
God.
Smith
blatantly strips Jesus Christ of His rightful deity by adding in the word ‘of’.
Obviously the LDS organization teaches that Jesus was not God in the flesh
which means they are not teaching a core Christian belief.
The Trinity (a.k.a. Triune God)
This also
leads to another LDS belief that God is not one being comprised of three persons.
According to a friend/relative of mine who served twice as a Mormon Bishop, Mormons
profess that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three separate Gods who are
“one in purpose”. I also had an online chat with a Mormon missionary who
verified this LDS belief.
In contrast,
we read in John 10: 30 where Christ stated, “I and the Father are one”. Christ
used the Greek word for ‘one’ which means, “Of the same essence and substance”.
It doesn’t get any plainer or bolder than that. Jesus stated that He was of the
same stuff that makes up the God that created the universe. He is of the very
same unique fabric as God.
Mormons may
use the events surrounding Jesus’ baptism as evidence that there is more than
one god. When Jesus rose out of the water in Matthew 3:17 the Holy Spirit
descended upon Him in the form of a dove and a voice from heaven said, “This is
my beloved Son in Him I am well pleased”. Here were see Jesus in the water, The
Holy Spirit descending from heaven and the voice of the Father in Heaven.
Mormons see this as three gods; Christians see this as God showing proof of His
omnipresence. The God of Christianity has the ability to be in three places and
in three forms all at once. Apparently the Mormon god does not share this
amazing trait.
This is just
further proof that Christianity and Mormonism are absolutely not the same when
it comes to their beliefs on the nature of God.
It is important
to realize that there are definite, undeniable differences between the god of
Mormonism and that of Christianity. Why? Because many Christians join the
Mormon organization thinking that they’ll be able to take their Christianity
with them. However, the subtle “bait and switch” approach of the LDS
organization slowly becomes apparent upon deep, detailed investigation of their
beliefs.
Also, in
speaking with several Mormons I have been met with statements to the effect of,
“There really is no difference between what you believe and what we believe. We
both serve the same God”.
The fact is,
upon detailed investigation we discover that the god spoken of and taught
within the walls of Mormonism is quite different than the God of the Christian
faith. Let us not be fooled into thinking that Mormonism is an example/extension
of our faith in the God of the Bible. It is not a denomination within
Christianity in the least bit.
In my
opinion Mormonism is one of Satan’s most crafty, detailed, world-wide
deceptions. The Latter Day Saints appear, in many ways, to teach and believe
the same message of Jesus Christ- but, these few examples show the Truth!!
It is a
fundamental believe that God is three persons which comprise One being. We believe that Jesus Christ
was God made flesh, born of a virgin in the small town of Bethlehem. We believe
that faith in Jesus Christ alone- as shown by the thief on the cross- is needed
for salvation. We believe that God is eternal, having no beginning and no end and
as such he was not created by anyone.
Due to their
teachings and their lack of belief in basic core values concerning God’s nature
we must reach the obvious and logical conclusion that Mormons do not believe in
the same God that Christians do, period!