A Growing Concern: The Rise of Mormonism

A Statement from The Office of the President
The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
1333 South Kirkwood Road
St. Louis, Missouri 63122
United States of America

If anyone doubts that the Mormonism is a growing concern, one need only take a look at their explosive growth in the past three decades. They have grown from 2 million members in 1963 to 9.7 million members today. There are 23,200 Mormon congregations in 160 different countries. Here in the United States, there are nearly 5 million people who claim to be members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is important that our Synod recognize that the Mormon church is intent on recreating its image. Its goal is to be viewed as merely another Christian denomination.

As we express our deep concerns about the anti-Christian nature of Mormonism, it is important that we recognize that individual Mormons often are very fine people, with high moral values and a deep devotion to their families. Their commitment to their faith is a cause of shame to the Christian church, for we are all aware of how often Christians take their church for granted. Mormons are, without a doubt, industrious and hard-working people.

It is also the case that many Mormons do not even realize completely what their church believes, teaches and confesses. Very likely, there are persons in the Mormon church who have been led by the Holy Spirit, through the Holy Scriptures, to believe in the true Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. But they did not come to faith because of their church's teachings, but only through the Holy Spirit working through the Bible, which they do read.

The sincerity of the Mormon people is beyond question. But sincerity is not enough. They are sincere people, but they are sincerely wrong, very wrong, about the true God and His true Son, Jesus Christ. Even as we respect individual Mormons, we must recognize that Mormonism is not a Christian religion. It is an anti-Christian and non-Christian cult that uses many of the same terms as Christianity, but gives them entirely different meanings.

In this article, I want to touch briefly on Mormonism's history, its teachings, and how these teachings are contrary to the Christian faith. In describing their teachings, I will refer to materials obtained directly from the Mormon church, either through printed materials or from their Internet World Wide Web site. Finally, at the conclusion of this article, I will discuss how we can bear witness to our faith in the true God revealed in His Word, the Holy Bible.

The Beginning of Mormonism

Joseph Smith Jr., was the man who, in 1830, founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Smith and his family had moved into western New York in 1817. Wave after wave of revivalistic fervor swept through this area. It was in this same area of the country that Charles Finney had great success with his revival tours of the 1820s and early 1830s.

As a result of this religious fervor, Joseph Smith was confused by the proliferation of churches. He sought special revelations and visions. He became convinced that God was calling him to restore the true Church of Jesus Christ. He claimed that John the Baptist and angels visited him and led him to discover, in 1827, plates of gold on which was engraved, in what he called "a reformed Egyptian language," the Book of Mormon.

Along with the Book of Mormon, there were Smith's other "revelations" that he claimed to have received from God. These include the Book of Moses, the Book of Abraham and even what he claimed to be an "inspired" translation of the Bible into English. In 1833, Smith gathered all these documents into The Book of Commandments, which today is called Doctrine and Covenants (abbreviated D.C.).

We should mention that, unlike the Holy Scriptures, there is not a single shred of verifiable archeological evidence to support the Book of Mormon's claims. Even the claim of a "reformed Egyptian" language has been proven time and again to be complete fantasy.

But for the Mormon, ultimately what counts is a "burning in the bosom" and the testimony of the Spirit, which convinces them, in spite of all evidence to the contrary, that the Book of Mormon is a reliable historical record. Since its publication in 1833, there have been more than 3,000 revisions made to the Book of Mormon, changing various teachings here and there.

Wherever the Mormons migrated-to Kirkland, Ohio, to Independence, Mo., and, finally, to Nauvoo, Ill.-there were leaders who claimed new revelations. Smith and his followers eventually settled in Nauvoo, Ill. in 1839, and remained there until Smith's violent murder in 1844.

After Smith's death, a number of factions arose. The largest group followed the leadership of Brigham Young and migrated to Salt Lake City, Utah, where today the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is headquartered. The largest rival group to the LDS church is the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They number only about 250,000 members and have their church offices in Independence, Mo.

Mormonism's Key Beliefs

Above every other belief that characterizes Mormonism, there is the belief known as "restorationism." Restorationism had been a major teaching of the Disciples of Christ (Campbellites), from which Smith's early friend and confidant, Sidney Rigdon, came. Joseph Smith, with Rigdon's influence, believed that the true church died with the first generation of apostles and was restored when he, Smith, was ordained on May 15, 1829. Smith claimed that, on this day, he received the "Priesthood of Aaron" and then was able to confer the "Priesthood of Melchizedek" on the church. This took place on April 6, 1830-the day the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was founded.

The Articles of Faith, which were written by Smith with the help of his various companions, are still used today by the LDS church. They are written in language that would be familiar to a Biblical Christian. The Mormons are experts at using terms familiar to Christians, but giving them different meanings. Let's take a moment now to examine a few of the fundamental teachings of Mormonism.

The Holy Trinity

When Mormons are asked: "Do you believe in the Holy Trinity?," they will often answer, "Yes, the Latter-day Saint accepts the Godhead as three literal, distinct personalities: God the Father; His Son, Jesus the Christ (who is one with the Father in purpose, and in thought, but separate from Him in physical fact); and the Holy Ghost, a personage of spirit" (a direct quote from a Look magazine article on Mormonism).

A recent book, written by a Mormon theologian, states, "Jesus Christ is also one of three separate members of the Godhead, the other two being God the Father and the Holy Ghost . . . not that they are one being." (Rex Lee, What Do Mormons Believe, Deseret Books, 1992, p. 21). The LDS's World Wide Web site states, "A paramount doctrine . . . is a belief in God the Father; his Son, Jesus Christ; and the Holy Ghost. The three make up the Godhead. They are one in purpose but separate in being."

Mormonism does not now, nor has it ever, confessed belief in the true God revealed in the Holy Scriptures. Instead, Mormonism believes in a god invented by Joseph Smith and his followers, based on their reading of various mythological stories from ancient cultures, which they combined with their use of the King James Bible and their experience with Free Masonry.

Mormonism explicitly denies the God revealed in the Holy Scripture and the God confessed by historic Christianity and all true Christians through the ages. Mormonism rejects the Holy Trinity. The key to the Mormon doctrine of the Trinity is found in the words, "one in purpose but separate in being." Joseph Smith wrote, "The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of spirit (D.C., 130:22).

Brigham Young, Smith's successor, wrote, "When our father Adam came into the Garden of Eden, he came into it with a celestial body and brought Eve, one of his wives, with him. . . . He is our Father and our god and the only God with whom we have to do." (Journal of Discourses, 1:50). Mormonism believes that God was once a human, Adam, who then elevated himself to the status of god.

Mormonism is not a Christian denomination. Mormonism worships gods whom they believe to have physical bodies, gods who they claim married and produced spirit children -the greatest of whom was Jesus Christ. Further, they believe that all human beings existed previously as spiritual beings. The reason Mormons usually have very large families is to provide bodies for spirit-beings to inhabit. Mormonism's final hope is in the ability to enter "celestial life" with enough good works to become gods, inhabiting their own planets and creating eternal spirit-families!

The Person and Work of Jesus Christ

Mormons want Christians to believe that they believe in the same Jesus as Christianity does. But this is not the case. The Mormon church embracesa totally non-Scriptural view of Jesus, the Son of God. Brigham Young wrote: "When the Virgin Mary conceived the child Jesus, the Father had begotten Him in His own likeness. He was not begotten by the Holy Ghost. And who was His Father? He was the first of the human family, Adam. . . . Jesus, our elder brother, was begotten in the flesh by the same character that was in the garden of Eden, and who is our Father in heaven (Journal of Discourses, Vol. I, pp. 50, 51). Mormons teach that their Adam-god had sexual intercourse with the Virgin Mary, and thus produced another god, Jesus!

Obviously, since Mormonism does not believe in the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, as He is revealed to us in the Bible, it also rejects what He has done for us, namely, paid for all sins with His death on the cross. It is, therefore, no coincidence that you rarely, if ever, see a Mormon painting of the death of Christ. The crucifix is particularly offensive to Mormons. Why? Because they believe that the blood of Jesus Christ did not atone for all of our sins.

Brigham Young wrote in his Journal of Discourses, p. 247, "There is not a man or woman who violates covenants made with their God that will not be required to pay the debt. The blood of Christ will never wipe that out. Your own blood must atone for it. . . . Every man and woman will have to atone for breaking covenants." This is, of course, completely opposite what God teaches in His Word: "The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).

Salvation

Holy Scripture teaches clearly that we are saved by grace alone, by faith alone, apart from the works of the law (Rom. 3:28; Eph. 2:8-11). In contrast to Christianity, Mormonism teaches that salvation is not a free gift of God, but something to be earned. A person may earn this salvation by believing in God, by receiving baptism by immersion and then by fulfilling certain required works. Mormonism expressly rejects the doctrine of justification by faith alone. One of their "apostles," James Talmage wrote, "The sectarian dogma of justification by faith alone has exercised an influence for evil since the early days of Christianity" (Articles of Faith, 1909, p. 120).

How does a Mormon believe a person is saved? Rex Lee, writing in 1992, puts it this way: "Without the Book of Mormon and other latter-day revelation, Christians are left without a full understanding of . . . Jesus Christ. This same Jesus Christ, God of the Old Testament and Redeemer of all, has once again benefited humankind by restoring the same teachings, principles, ordinances, and organization that he first brought to the world two thousand years ago." (Lee, p. 24-25)

The key for Mormonism is a faithful embrace of Joseph Smith's church structure and practices. Thus, this explains their insistence on temple rituals (in which a person receives baptism, may be married for eternity and is joined to his family for eternity). Mormons also believe in abstaining from tobacco, alcoholic beverages, tea and coffee.

In spite of pious claims made about such practices, they are done in order to earn God's favor and merit His salvation-beliefs totally and completely rejected by Holy Scripture. Mormonism teaches its followers that they must do certain things to gain heaven. Since they reject the true Son of God, Jesus Christ, they can never have the assurance that they are saved by the love of God, revealed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Mormon World Wide Web site makes this clear when it states under the section, "The Purpose of Life" the following: "All have the potential of eternal life, conditional upon individual worthiness and obedience to the Savior's ordinances and teachings." How tragic!

Obviously, in a single article, it is not possible to mention every aspect of Mormonism that is contrary to the Bible, but we have mentioned some of the most important differences. Mormonism is a bizarre collection of anti-Christian beliefs about God and about our future destiny. We need to be very clear on this point: Mormonism is not a Christian denomination. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints confesses belief in and worships a "Jesus," who is not our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, but the "Jesus" of Smith's imagination.

How Can We Reach Out to Mormons?

The important issue for us is this: How do we witness to the Mormons? It is a difficult task. We need to approach this challenge with the attitude that it is God alone who converts a person to faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. We are merely God's instruments. Our calling is to speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:14). We know from God's Word that we are to be prepared to "given an answer" to everyone who asks about the hope that we have in Christ (1 Peter. 3:15).

Based on the observations of those who have spent many years living and working among Mormons, here are some practical suggestions for witnessing to Mormons. Christians are advised not to try to get into discussions of issues that are not the most essential. It is important not to get into arguments with Mormons. We are not called to win arguments, but to "give answers" in order to explain the hope that is within us. As we defend our faith, we must always do so lovingly and with compassion, never merely for the sake of scoring debating points.

It is also wise to keep in mind that, among Mormons, there may be a variety of opinions about their religion. Some Mormons may not even be aware of their own church's theology. Mormons do not have full-time pastors carefully trained in their theology, and therefore may be ignorant of what their church really stands for.

When we witness to Mormons, we need to be careful that we base our understanding of Mormonism on reliable sources. We have mentioned a few of these already in this article. Another excellent resource is available from Concordia Publishing House. I highly recommend the helpful booklet, How to Respond to . . . The Latter-day Saints, by Pastor Edgar P. Kaiser. You may obtain a copy of this booklet by calling Concordia Publishing House at (800) 325-3040 and asking for item #12-6006. Another helpful resource is our Synod's Commission on Organizations, which has detailed files on the Mormon church and can offer many helpful resources. You may contact the Commission on Organizations by calling 800-248-1930, ext. 1433.

The best thing we can do is to share with Mormons God's love and grace in Jesus Christ. We need to emphasize the powerful comfort we have knowing that God loved us so much that He sent His only begotten Son to provide totally and completely for our salvation. We do not have to look to our own efforts for our salvation. The Mormon Gospel is only a new law. The true Gospel is the good news of God's work in Jesus Christ, which atones for all our sins.

Also important is our Christian lifestyle. Mormons are often virtuous and moral people. If Christians do not reflect their faith in their daily life, it is little wonder that Mormons will have no interest in the Faith. Developing friendships with Mormons is a long process. Often Mormons are very suspicious of Christians, just as we may be of them!

However, even within Mormonism, open and deep friendships are often difficult. Mormons are sometimes hesitant to share spiritual struggles with fellow Mormons, for it may be said of them that the Mormon faith is "not working" in their lives. Mormons may be more willing to share their struggles with non-Mormons, thus providing a witnessing opportunity.

There is every possibility that you will be visited by Mormons, if you have not been already. Some feel that it best to be prepared to enter into lengthy debate over the contradictory aspects of their faith. However, it might be better to stick to only one major doctrine and discuss that, comparing and contrasting the difference between Mormonism and Christianity. Once it has been established that there is a difference between historic Christianity and Mormonism, we are able to share precisely what Jesus Christ means in our life, how He has brought us to faith, how His sacrificial death is our hope for salvation, and so forth.

As we share our faith, our sincerity and love for the individual must show through. We are not witnessing to Mormons in order to earn some sort of spiritual "points" with God. We do so because we are sincerely concerned about the individual and his or her eternal salvation.

The bottom line in witnessing to Mormons is to be aware of the fact that our job is to witness to our faith in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is the one who converts a Mormon through God's Word. And finally, pray that the Lord would bless your words as you present the hope that is within you. Pray too for the Mormon with whom you are speaking, asking that the Lord would break through the fog of error that clouds his mind so that he may come to know who God really is and what His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, is really all about.