Understanding Mormonism  Week 2

Last week we addressed the importance of following Jesus’ example when declaring the gospel. Our desire for discussion, our interest for interaction must be motivated by His love working within us. When His love is present, when we are aligned with His word, His grace will be evident. 

Our commission is to “Go therefore and make disciples…”(Matt. 28:19) which covers our city, country, continent and beyond. Beginning in our city, pray for opportunity to reach those who do not know Jesus. Pray for words to share, for boldness to speak and to have His unpretentious love for the people He connects you with;

“And this I pray, that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and all discernment, 10that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, 11being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”
-Philippians 1:9-11

In order to be His hand extended we must align with His heart which is reflected in Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”  Jesus approached the religious ‘lost’ with compassion, mercy and truth.  May He guide us also as we take His truth into our world.

Last week we looked at who God is and this week we will identify some of the critical differences between Biblical truth and LDS beliefs concerning Jesus:

Who is Jesus?

2 Corinthians 11:3, 4 and Galatians 1:6-9 speak of those who will come and preach another gospel and “preach another Jesus…”   As we will see from the facts below, the LDS teach and speak of another Jesus:

“The traditional Christ of whom they [evangelical Christians] speak is not the Christ of whom I speak. For the Christ of whom I speak has been revealed in this the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times. He together with His Father, appeared to the boy Joseph Smith in the year 1820, and when Joseph left the grove that day, he knew more of the nature of God than all the learned ministers of the gospel of the ages. Gordon B. Hinckley, LDS Church News, June 20, 1998, p. 7

LDS teaching about Jesus:

a.  Jesus is a man who has, through obedience to the Father’s plan, risen to be a god.

        a. “Jesus became a God and reached His great state of understanding through consistent effort and continuous obedience to all the Gospel truths and universal laws.” Milton Hunter, The Gospel through the Ages, pg.51.  Also read ‘Teachings of the prophet Joseph Smith’ by Joseph Fielding Smith, pg. 373.

        a.  “The appointment of Jesus to be Savior of the world was contested by one of the other sons of God. He was called Lucifer, son of the morning. Haughty, ambitious, and covetous of power and glory, this spirit-brother of Jesus desperately tried to become the Savior of Mankind. Milton Hunter, The Gospel through the Ages, 1945, pg.15 Additional: Pg. 379, ‘devils’, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, BYU.

         a. “The firstborn of God volunteered to implement the plan of salvation. Lucifer, who was also a son of the Father came forward with a counterproposal” Pg. 1124, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, BYU.

        a. “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.” Journal of Discourses, Vol.1,pg 50, additionally Vol.8, pg. 115

        a. “Joseph Smith taught that there were certain sins so grievous that man may commit, that they will place the transgressors beyond the power of the atonement of Christ. If these offenses are committed, then the blood of Christ will not cleanse them from their sins even though they repent. Therefore their only hope is to have their own blood shed to atone, as far as possible, in their behalf. This is scriptural doctrine, and is taught in all the standard works of the Church” Doctrines of Salvation by Joseph F. Smith, vol. 1, Pg. 135.

What the Bible teaches-

        a. Additional reference: Colossians 1:16, 1John 5:20, 1 Timothy 3:16, Revelation 19:13

c. Jesus is God. His existence prior to His incarnation was as God, not learning and progressing to be God. John 1:1, Colossians 1:16,
“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Timothy 1:17

How do we reach our LDS friends, families, those in our area of impact?  Consider the following elements for effective witness:

The definition dilemma- Realize that in conversation you may be using the same words but they have different meanings. Ask questions, speak clearly, and define what you mean. Familiarize yourself with their definitions as much as possible. 
 

Respect- Jesus faced opposition from many different areas; religious, social, political, even resistance among His disciples (John 6:60-71). Consistently He spoke the truth without mocking or deriding the individual and He respected them enough to address difficult issues.

Sincerity-(Freedom from hypocrisy, disguise or false pretense). Effective witness requires a consistent, hypocrisy free witness. Share the gospel because you care for and love the people who are lost! Check your heart, if you are out to prove them wrong you will probably just argue. 

Truth- Jesus said the “truth shall make you free… therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”

Don’t be drawn off track, stick with the important issues such as we have reviewed;  Who God is, Who Jesus is, How can I be saved, Who can be saved.  Next week we will look at “salvation” and the differences between what the Bible teaches compared to what LDS beliefs teach.
 

Calvary Chapel Mountain Home   |   350 N Main St.   |   (208)-580-0662   |   office@ccmountainhome.com

"Understanding Mormonism" Week 1 Notes

As we begin this study it is helpful to understand the background to religion. Religion being man’s efforts to relate to God through beliefs, cultural systems and world view.

The Bible first introduces us to religion in Genesis 4:1-9 and the story of Cain and Abel.

1. V4-Notice that the Lord respected Abel and his offering. Abel had acted out of obedience and humility concerning what God had instructed him. God gazed or looked upon (received) Abel’s offering

1. Genesis 3:1-5 We see the demonic technique of casting doubt on the Word of God.
2. Matthew 4:1-11 Here the devil tries to manipulate the Word of God and tempt Jesus into sin.
Religious efforts always speak of God but the emphasis is upon what man can or must do in order to be right with God.

Let’s now look at how Jesus dealt with the religiously charged people of His day. How did Jesus handle those who misrepresented God and misinterpreted His Word? To do this let’s consider two types of religious people:

I.          The contentious(or self-righteous):  Luke 5:17-26 

               a.   Power is there to heal (v17) and yet they would not look and see who Jesus was. 

               b.   Jesus is aware of their animosity yet engages with them. 

               c.   He knew most would not listen to Him, yet He spoke respectfully and directly. 

               d.   In spite of criticism Jesus stayed true to His purpose:  For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. Luke 19:10

                                    i.          Purpose- Seek and save

                                    ii.         Desire- People would be rescued, saved from eternal separation

                                    iii.       Delivery- Talked to them not at them. Many Jews, even some of the Sanhedrin were saved.

                e.With those who were contentious He engaged, planted thoughts, revealed truth but did not get drawn into debate! (additionally: Matt.    12:2,15:2,Mark 2:6-8, 3:1-6, Lk 5:30, 13:10-17)

II.         The confused: John 4:19-26- Jesus speaks to the woman and she brings up a “religious” question. 

               a.   John 4:4-42 She was confused and He brought truth and hope.

With the contentious or the confused notice how Jesus engaged with them:

1. Respect- Jesus’ respected the religious of His day; their customs in the Synagogue, their position within society. He did not ‘regard’ or hold their opinion up but He respected them as people.  This is not easy to do but it is essential if you are to have a healthy dialogue.

               i. Does not mean condone (overlook) or compromise. 
               ii. Know when to listen and when to speak Jesus often asked questions when speaking to religious people. 
               iii. True respect will lovingly address differences.

                    1. It’s not a debate! Jesus was not out to win a doctrinal debate, He was out to reveal the truth so that the truth would set them free.(John 8:32)
                    2. PRAY- For God to direct your thoughts and the conversation so you can maintain respect and begin to address critical differences.

                           a. Recognize His timing and His work in your heart and the person you are speaking with. (check your motives)

               i. Common ground- KJV Bible. This is accepted as scripture with the LDS although it is not considered to be ‘final authority’.
               ii. LDS teaching and beliefs should not contradict what is clearly stated in the Bible
               iii. Avoid secondary topics, stick with important issues: 

                           a.Who God is?
                           b. Who Jesus is?
                           c.How can a person be saved? Who can be saved? (What does it mean to be saved?)

               i. Show them what the Bible says; turn to chapter and verse and have them do the same.
               ii. Ask them to read the verse.
               iii. Avoid ‘secondary’ issues, and ‘diversionary’ questions. You will often have missionaries ‘answer a question with a question’. This enables them to redirect the conversation and bring up a more comfortable topic or text.
 

1. Who is God?

               a. BIBLE-Monotheism- 

                         i. Deut. 4:35- It was shown to you so that you might know that Jehovah is God, and no one else beside Him.
                         ii. Isaiah 44:6 So says Jehovah, the King of Israel, and His redeemer Jehovah of Hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and besides Me there is no God…  
                         iii. 1 John 5:7 For there are three that bear witness in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.

                         i. “Father, Son, and Holy Ghost- comprise the Godhead. As each of these persons is a God, it is evident, from this standpoint alone, that a plurality of Gods exist. To us, speaking in the proper finite sense, these three are the only Gods we worship. But in addition there is an infinite number of holy personages, drawn from worlds without number, who have passed on to exaltation and are thus gods.”  Mormon Doctrine by Bruce R. McConkie, pgs 576-577

                         i. Psalm 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. Consider also; Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:9, Numbers 23:19, Isaiah 40:28

                         i. “God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens!...”  Teachings of the Prophet Joesph Smith by Joseph Fielding Smith, pgs 345-346

                           i. Within the belief that the Father has flesh and bones the LDS also believe that the Father had sexual relations with Mary and Jesus was conceived. Denying the clear teaching of the Bible (Matthew 1:20, Luke 1:31,35) the LDS believe, “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.” Journal of Discourses, Vol.1 pg.50, Brigham Young. Brigham Young repeated this belief in greater detail and his discourse is recorded in vol.8, pg.115.

This is not an ‘exhaustive’ list rather just a scratching of the surface to reveal what is underneath. It is easily seen that the God of the LDS is not the God of the Bible!

Next week we will look at the differences between Jesus of the Bible and the Jesus of the LDS.  Our goal in all of this is to live out what Jesus said concerning truth; “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31, 32

Calvary Chapel Mountain Home   |  350 N Main St.  |   (208)-580-0662   |  office@ccmountainhome.com