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CULT NAME: Mormonism (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints)
FOUNDER: Joseph Smith
BIRTH DATE: 1805-1844
PLACE OF BIRTH:
MEMBERS:* USA -- 5,776,316
WORLD -- 12,868,606
MORMON VIEWS
GOD: The Mormons would hold to a different view of God then Biblical Christians. They believe that God the Father progressed into the position that He is in today, and was never, always the eternal God the Father.
God himself, was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens!...it is necessary we should understand the character and being of God and how He came to be so; for I am going to tell you how God came to be God. (Joseph Smith, History of the Church, vol. 6, p. 305)
Now to the facts in the case; all the difference between Jesus Christ and any other man that ever lived on the earth, from the days of Adam until now, is simply this, the Father, after He had once been in the flesh, and lived as we live, obtained His exaltation, attained to thrones, gained the ascendancy over principalities and powers, and had the knowledge and power to create—to bring forth and organize the elements upon natural principles. This He did after His ascension, or His glory, or His eternity, and was actually classed with the Gods, with the beings who create, with those who have kept the celestial law while in the flesh, and again obtained their bodies. Then He was prepared to commence the work of creation, as the Scriptures teach. It is all here in the Bible; I am not telling you a word but what is contained in that book. (Discourse by Brigham Young, delivered at the Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, on February 8, 1857)
Things were first created spiritually; the Father actually begat the spirits, and they were brought forth and lived with Him. Then He commenced the work of creating earthly tabernacles, precisely as He had been created in this flesh himself, by partaking of the course material that was organized and composed this earth, until His system was charged with it, consequently the tabernacles of His children were organized from the coarse materials of this earth.... (Brigham Young, Feb. 8, 1857; Journal of Discourses, vol. 4, pp. 217-218)
THE TRINITY: Mormons would reject the traditional accurate view of the Trinity. Witnessed from their writings they would hold to a number of different beliefs such as: Henotheism (worship of one principle God among many. Polytheistic (believing in endless number of gods of other worlds) and Tri-Theistic (believing in 3 main gods: the Father, Son and Holy Ghost)
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. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us. (Doctrine and Covenants 130:22)
JESUS CHRIST: The Jehovah of the Old Testament. Came into existance from sexual relations between the Father and his wife Mary (one of His many wives). They also believe that Jesus and Satan are brothers. The same as we are brothers and sisters of Christ and Satan.
During his pre-mortal life Jesus Christ rose to the status of Godhood. At that time he was foreordained to be the Savior of this world. Father Abraham was privileged to see in vision the grand council in heaven that was held prior to the peopling of this earth, and he saw, as the Lord showed him, "many of the noble and great ones." (LDS Leader Milton R. Hunter, 1949; LDS Conference Report, October 1949, p. 69)
We are here to be tested and tried. There is a war between Satan and God. We are brethren and sisters of Satan as well as of Jesus. It may be startling doctrine to many to say this; but Satan is our brother. Jesus is our brother. We are the children of God. God begot us in the spirit in the eternal worlds. This fight that I speak of arose, as we are told, over the question as to how man should work out his earthly probation in a tabernacle of flesh and bones and obtain redemption. Satan differed from God, and he rebelled. We are told in the scriptures that he drew after him one third of the family of God. They thought his plan better than that of the Savior Jesus Christ. From that time until the present he has been struggling to destroy the plans of Jehovah, and to seduce the children of men—his brothers and sisters—from their allegiance to God. (Apostle George Q. Cannon, March 11th, 1894, Collected Discourses, compiled by Brian Stuy, vol. 4, p. 23,)
HOLY SPIRIT: The Mormons hold to a different view of the Holy Spirit as well. Even some of their "inspired" speakers would claim that the Holy Spirit and Holy Ghost are actually two distinct persons.
"The Holy Ghost, sometimes called the comforter, is the third member of the Godhead, and is a personage distinct from the Holy Spirit. As a personage, the Holy Ghost cannot any more than the Father and Son be everywhere present in person" (LDS Apostle John A. Widtsoe, E.& R., p.76).
"The chief agent or agency by which the Holy Ghost accomplishes his work is usually spoken of as the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of God. It is a universe-filling medium or influence" (Widtsoe, E.& R., p. 62).
VIRGIN BIRTH: The Mormon Church would claim to hold to the Virgin Birth as well. But upon examining some of the quotes that have come from the church, it becomes obvious that their definition of "virgin birth" is quite different than that of others, including Biblical Christians.
God the Father is a perfected, glorified, holy Man, an immortal Personage. And Christ was born into the world as the literal Son of this Holy Being; he was born in the same personal, real, and literal sense that any mortal son is born to a mortal father. There is nothing figurative about his paternity; he was begotten, conceived and born in the normal and natural course of events, for he is the Son of God, and that designation means what it says. (Mormon Doctrine, by Bruce McConkie, p. 742)
For Latter-day Saints, the paternity of Jesus is not obscure. He was the literal, biological son of an immortal, tangible Father and Mary, a mortal woman (see Virgin Birth). Jesus is the only person born who deserves the title "the Only Begotten Son of God" ... He was not the son of the Holy Ghost; it was only through the Holy Ghost that the power of the Highest overshadowed Mary (Luke 1:35; 1 Ne. 11:19). (Encyclopedia of Mormonism, vol. 2, p. 729)
SALVATION: When talking one on one with a Mormon, it sounds very much like as if they agree with the Biblical Christian's view. Salvation is by Grace through Faith. A person receive's it when they trust Christ as their personal Saviour. (Rom. 1:16; Eph. 2:8-9), but what does the Mormon's believe?
One thing Mormon's tend to do is add works to the plan of Salvation.
For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do. (Book of Mormon; 2 Nephi 25:23)
HEAVEN: Mormon's have a very complex view of what Heaven is. A view that is not the same as Biblical Christians. The Mormon's hold to three kingdoms. They are the Celestial, Terrestrial and Telestial.
And the resurrection from the dead is the redemption of the soul. ...That bodies who are of the celestial kingdom may possess it forever and ever; ... And they who are not sanctified through the law which I have given unto you, even the law of Christ, must inherit another kingdom, even that of a terrestrial kingdom, or that of a telestial kingdom. (Doctrine and Covenants 88:16-20)
HELL: Biblical Christianity teaches that Hell is a place of eternal torment for those who do not trust Christ. The Mormon teaching treats it like a prison sentence, where certain people can eventually pay off their sentence.
Doctrine and Covenants 76:
81 And again, we saw the glory of the telestial, which glory is that of the lesser, even as the glory of the stars differs from that of the glory of the moon in the firmament.
82 These are they who received not the gospel of Christ, neither the testimony of Jesus. 83 These are they who deny not the Holy Spirit.
84 These are they who are thrust down to hell.
85 These are they who shall not be redeemed from the devil until the last resurrection, until the Lord, even Christ the Lamb, shall have finished his work.
SIN: The Mormon's view on "original sin" is that it simply does not exist. Contrary to the Bible.
In the true gospel of Jesus Christ there is no original sin (John Widtsoe, Evidences and Reconciliations, 195, in Cowan, 75)
INSPIRATION/AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE: There are a number of views that the Mormon's would have about the Bible that is different then Biblical Christians, they believe that the bible could be/is**:
Corrupted: "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God." (8th article of faith)
Insufficient: Joseph Smith taught that "many important points touching the salvation of men, had been taken from the Bible, or lost before it was compiled " (History of the Church, v. 1, p. 245)
Need Additional Revelation: "We believe all that God has revealed, all that he does now reveal, and we believe that he will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the kingdom of God" (9th article of faith)
Subordinate to New Revelations: "In addition to these four books of scripture, the inspired words of our living prophets become scripture to us. Their words come to us through conferences, Church publications, and instructions to local priesthood leaders." (Gospel Principles, p. 51-52)
THE RAPTURE: There isn't really a teaching by the Mormon chuch pertaining to the rapture of the Saints. Mormonism does teach though that before Armageddon begins Christ will appear in Adam-Ondi-Ahman (Missouri) and will meet with the Mormon Leaders. Also at this time the righteous dead will arise*3
SECOND COMING:
The Mormons believe that just prior to the battle of Armageddon Christ will appear at Adam-Ondi-Ahman (in Missouri) to meet with the LDS Church leaders (D&C 78:13-16; sec. 116). Then Armageddon will take place and Christ will set up his millennial rule, and Satan will be bound.
The LDS Church leaders will be acting under Christ to run the governments of the world. When the Mormon prays "thy kingdom come" he is praying for the time when Mormonism will rule the world, under Christ. The Mormon teaching is that Christ's return will be post-tribulation, pre-millennial. The righteous dead will take part in the first resurrection at this time, the wicked will come forth in the second resurrection at the end of the millennium.
The Mormons do not have a concept of the rapture of the believer at the time of Christ's return. The wicked will die and those who are moral will stay on earth in a mortal condition. Some of the purposes of the millennium are to catch up on all the baptisms and temple marriages needed for the dead, so that they may have the same opportunities to accept Mormonism as the living. At the end of the millennium they believe Satan will be loosed for a short period. (See Mormon Doctrine, by B. McConkie, 1979 ed., pp.74, 492-501, 687-698 and Encyclopedia of Mormonism, vol. 2, pp.737-739, 906-907.)] -- Note compiled by Sandra Tanner. Link found below at *3 | 
