3-8-11: this week we looked at the teachings of the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, commonly referred to as the Mormon church.
Pastor’s Class Notes
Mormonism
•Official name: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
•Largest alternative religion; one figure 13.8 million.
•Angry when not considered Christians.
•Gordon Hinckley, President (1995—2008): “We are Christians in a very real sense and that is coming to be more and more widely recognized. Once upon a time people everywhere said we are not Christians. They have come to recognize that we are, and that we have a very vital and dynamic religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. We, of course, accept Jesus Christ as our Leader, our King, our Savior…the dominant figure in the history of the world, the only perfect Man who ever walked the earth, the living Son of the living God. He is our Savior and our Redeemer through whose atoning sacrifice has come the opportunity of eternal life. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints pray and worship in the name of Jesus Christ. He is the center of our faith and the head of our Church. The Book of Mormon is Another Testament of Jesus Christ and witnesses of His divinity, His life, and His Atonement.” (mormon.org)
•Yet, Joseph Smith (founder) taught the Christian creeds were wrong, an “abomination” in God’s sight (Tucker, 49). Smith claimed God was speaking through him, and authored/compiled three new Scriptures. Again, from mormon.org:
•To the Christian world the most well-known collection of scriptures is the Holy Bible. In addition to the Bible, Latter-day Saints accept the following books as scripture:
•The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, a record of God’s dealings with the inhabitants of ancient America (2000 BC – 400 AD).
•The Doctrine and Covenants, a collection of revelations and inspired declarations given for the establishment and regulation of the Church of Jesus Christ in the last days (1830 AD – 1978 AD).
•The Pearl of Great Price, a selection of revelations, translations, and writings of Joseph Smith. Contains the Book of Abraham.
•Smith bought Egyptian papyri from traveling merchant ($2,000+), translated as The Book of Abraham. Once thought to have been burned in the Chicago fire, it turns up in NY museum in 1967, turned out to be funeral documents, had nothing to do with Abraham. An embarrassment for Mormon scholars.
Joseph Smith:
•Born into a poor family in Vermont, 1805. Grandfather & father passionately rejected the institutionalized church & creeds. His parents often had dreams & visions (see Tucker, 50). Often sought to find the buried Indian treasures; see Tucker, 51 on his related legal issues.
•Early visions: saw a vision to dig up gold plates on a hill, plates that when translated contained the Book of Mormon.
•From Mormon.org:
•The Book of Mormon is another witness that Jesus Christ really lived, that He was and is God’s Son. It contains the writings of ancient prophets. One of these, Lehi, lived in Jerusalem around 600 B.C. God commanded Lehi to lead a small group of people to the American continent. There they became a great civilization.
•God continued to call prophets among these people. The Book of Mormon is a collection of the writings of their prophets and record keepers.
•In September 1823, Joseph Smith was visited by a heavenly messenger named Moroni – the last of these ancient prophets to keep the record – in the same way that angels often appeared to Church leaders in the New Testament (see especially the book of Acts). The Angel Moroni informed Joseph that God had a work for him to do. Moroni told Joseph that a record of the ancient inhabitants of the American continent was buried in a nearby hill and that the record contained the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
•In September 1827, Joseph received the record, which was written on thin plates of gold. We now know it was not uncommon for people from that era of ancient America to keep records on metal plates. Joseph translated the book into English by the inspiration of God. The book is called The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. It is named after Mormon, an ancient prophet who made an abridgment of the sacred records of his people.
•Vision of the Father & Son; Smith asked which of the “sects” were right, which one he should join. The answer was “they were all wrong.” Same message from his grandfather & father (Tucker, 51).
•Went with associate Oliver Cowdery into the woods on May 15, 1829, and after claiming to have a vision from John the Baptist, they baptized each other into the “Priesthood of Aaron.”
•Colleagues wanted to see the plates; see Tucker, 54. Gold plates returned to the angel Moroni by Smith himself.
•Note Elect Lady revelation & Toronto business revelation (58).
•Note Jesus’ poor grammar in Book of Commandments (59—60).
•Controversial figure:
•note assault by mob (60),
•banking scheme (62),
•multiple marriages (65); note first wife Emma’s opposition (66) and number of wives (67)
•candidacy for president & installation as King of the earth (67)
•Murder (68).
•Division into sects after Smith’s death; Brigham Young prevails as new leader. Young relies more on his own authority than on visions to foster obedience.
Book of Mormon:
•The Book of Mormon tells of the resurrected Jesus Christ and His visit to His faithful followers in ancient America. After His visits to His disciples in the Old World, He descended out of heaven and appeared to His followers in ancient America (mormon.org). Commissions 12 apostles, repeats sermon on the mount.
•Many similarities to the Bible; borrowed material. Claims to have been written by Mormon, with portions by Nephi and Morini (son of Mormon).
•Note controversy on authorship on Tucker, 56; also Ethan Smith influence (56—57).
•Church officially organized two weeks after the Book of Mormon went on sale.
Polygamy:
•Mormon.org: At various times, the Lord has commanded His people to practice plural marriage. For example, He gave this command to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, and Solomon (Doctrine and Covenants 132:1). At other times the Lord has given other instructions. In the Book of Mormon, the Lord told the prophet Jacob “for there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife: and concubines he shall have none… for if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things” (Jacob 2:27-30). In this dispensation, the Lord commanded some of the early Saints to practice plural marriage. The Prophet Joseph Smith and those closest to him, including Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball, were challenged by this command, but they obeyed it. Church leaders regulated the practice. Those entering into it had to be authorized to do so, and the marriages had to be performed through the sealing power of the priesthood. In 1890, President Wilford Woodruff received a revelation that the leaders of the Church should cease teaching the practice of plural marriage (Official Declaration 1). The Lord’s law of marriage is monogamy unless he commands otherwise to help establish the House of Israel (see Encyclopedia of Mormonism Vol. 3, pp. 1091-1095).
•Officially discontinued in 1890 when Supreme Court rules polygamy illegal. Continued to be widely practiced (some 20,000). Officially condemned by church today.
•Mayor of Utah in 1984, Alex Joseph, had 10 wives, defended his polygamous marriages. Church regards him as an apostate.
Women:
•See Tucker, 75 on salvation of women; irritation that 12 year old boys have more authority than they (76).
African Americans:
•Controversy until God ‘changed his mind’ (Tucker, 76).
Baptism for the dead:
•Most temple activity on behalf of the deceased. Helps solve the problem of salvation for those who died before the Mormon religion was founded. This is why genealogies are often important to Mormons. The dead are free to accept/reject the baptism. See further comments on page 80.
Doctrine:
•Changing & often contradictory. Far removed from Christian orthodoxy.
•Polytheism; see Smith and Young quotes, page 81—82.
•Father and Son have physical features of a man; Brigham Young taught that Adam was God.
•Each planet ruled by a different God; Elohim is earth’s god. Jesus was the greatest of Elohim’s offspring. Conceived when God had intercourse with the Vifgin Mary.
•Believe all people existed before birth as spirits.
•The Lord will gather his saints in Zion, which is somewhere in western Missouri. 4 levels of final destiny.
•Keeping people in line: official prophetic authority (see quote by Benson, former Prophet of the church, former president of the Council of 12 Apostles, on Tucker, 87).
Hofmann case:
•Former Mormon Missionary, sold forged documents, ends up committing murder to try to cover his tracks (Tucker, 86).
For more on Mormonism, see “Another Gospel” by Ruth A. Tucker (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1989).