Worldview Analysis: Mormonism
WORLDVIEW ANALYSIS MORMONISM BENNIE W. BAKER APOL 500 September 30, 2012 Table of Contents Introduction2 Summary2 Critique 3 Conclusion6 Bibliography8 Introduction Mormonism is a multilayered religious organization with many faces.
The words “multilayered” and “organization” are carefully chosen as they represent the bulk of what we will discuss as we seek to unveil the true essence of the Mormon world as they see it. We will summarize this organization and in so doing we will discover that it was built on human fallacy and deception from its inception.
We will then follow with a critical look the claims, doctrines, and documents that frame their beliefs. Summary Mormonism is one of the fastest and newest religions on the world scene today. It had its beginnings in 1820 in the woods of Palmyra, New York when 14-year-old Joseph Smith went out to pray. During this prayer session he was visited by none other the God the Father and Jesus, the son of God, who is Himself recognized by all true Christians as very God Himself; the second person in the Trinitarian godhead.
This visit was the conception of what is one of the haughtiest worldviews among religious organizations to date. It was during this visit that the young Joseph received the message that he should not unite with any of the local churches because “…they are all wrong…all their creeds are an abomination…those professors are all corrupt. ” This announcement set the stage for what was either the biggest revelation or the most cleverly devised scam in the history of mankind. Some three years later, while sleeping Joseph saw a light shining. It was an angel.
The angel Moroni came from the presence of God according to Joseph, to give him the location of a book written on golden plates that contained “…the fullness of the Gospel…as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants.
” Thus, the foundation of the Mormon worldview is built on the restoration of the Christian Church. They must be right because everyone else is wrong. Yet they insist that they should be considered on as an option categorically with Baptists, Methodists, Episcopalians, and other Christian denominations. Critique of the Mormon Worldview
This worldview has to be one of, if not the most pious that is and has been promoted as authentic to this day. Those who live their lives seeing the world through the looking glass of Mormonism exist under a varied range of exposure to the truth as seen by its founder. Regardless of their understanding of their religion, each layer has a measure of deception that feeds the ego of those endorsing and propagate its fraudulence.
On the exterior layer they would have the world believe that they are a Christian denomination; that they are among those to be considered followers of the Jesus upon whom the Christian church is built.
The church has a website for it’s official press releases. The Facts and Statistics page of this site boasts of 55,410 missionaries carrying this first layer of deception into 340 missions worldwide. To further cloak what lies beneath the organization has humanitarian aid missions in 179 countries. Thus, when pitching the depth of their Christian union they are quick to point out all the good that they do in the name of Jesus. If you scroll their sites there is nothing on the surface that leads you to believe that they’re any different from any other Christian denomination.
Bill McKeever and Eric Johnson in their article Mormonism Christian, Cult, or??? tell the story of a child who came home from school confused after High School friends questioned her Christianity. When she came home here mother assured her, “As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, you are a Christian, and I am too. ” Later in this article the authors note the results of a survey conducted by The Pew Forum on Religious and Public Life on over 1,000 Mormons in the USA. The results show that 97% of Mormons think that they’re Christian, and 51% of the general public agrees.
This demonstrates the overwhelming success that this organization has had on pulling the wool over, not only their member’s eyes, but also that of the average American. I’m not surprised since Biblical knowledge is so lacking in our country.
Alarming stats found on barna. org reveal that while 84% of Americans believe that the Bible is sacred, 43% believe that it shares the same spiritual truths as does the Koran and the Book of Mormon, and only 26% believe that it’s the actual word of God. Taking these stats into consideration you shouldn’t be surprised that so many have fallen for the lies of Joseph Smith.
On the surface this religion looks Christian if you don’t look too hard. Even on the outer layer you should question why we can find the ruins of the ancient Aztec’s but can’t find any sign of the presence of Jesus on our continent as claimed by this church. There’s been no archeological validation of a single geographic reference found in the Mormon scriptures.
One of the most obvious absurdities is right there on the surface. Joseph claims that he was blessed with a visit from the Father and Son while he was praying to find out which church was true, which he should join.
As quoted above, he was told to join none of them because they’re “…all wrong…all their creeds are an abomination…those professors are all corrupt. ” Yet this church is spending billions to appear to be as one of the very churches that its founder said that God condemned and forbade him from joining. Furthermore, they claim that the Bible is the word of God “insofar as it is translated correctly,” and that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and the most correct book ever written. Yet, it’s the Bible that they use to validate the Book of Mormon.
It should bring a question to even the average person who is sincerely seeking the truth that these claims just don’t pass the common sense test. As you peel the layers back you find stench. On the surface they state that they believe in the Jesus of the Bible, as do all other Christian denominations. However, when you peel back the Jesus layer you’ll find that they actually believe that He “…was married, to be brought into the relation whereby he could see his seed, before he was crucified. ” On this same layer in direct contradiction to the basic foundational Christian doctrine of the virgin birth, Mr.
Young states “Now remember from this time forth, and forever, that Jesus Christ was not begotten by the Holy Ghost.
” Let’s pull back another layer and see what this organization teaches about God. Of course we Christians believe that He was, is and always will be. David best capsulated what Christians believe about our God: “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. ” However the LDS Church embraces the doctrine of eternal progression whereby each Mormon male himself may one day be a God.
Brigham Young stated in Journal of Discourses 7:238 that “Gods exist, and we had better strive to be prepared to be one with them. ” Lorenzo Snow paraphrased his revelation of the doctrine in this summarized statement “As man now is, God once was.
As God now is, man may be. ” If that’s not enough to reveal the true heart of Mormon ambition and to paint the stained glass through which they see the world, Joseph Smith himself stated in his work History of the Church, Volume VI, pp. 408-409 that “I have more to boast of than any man ever had.
I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam…Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I…” Conclusion In conclusion, when sharing Christ with a Mormon it would behoove you to keep in mind that these people are deceived. They have the first layer of revelation of what their church truly represents.
Even that layer contains damning evidence of the lies and deception of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and the leaders of this organization.
They have very lofty ambitions and looks at the world as though it’s in need of their revelation. Their objectives are about themselves and their organization. They’re not concerned with the eternal damnation of their fellow man; in fact they don’t believe in the hell or eternal damnation that is taught in the Bible. They are proud to be a part of this unique organization with a new message that started right here in America. They’re proud to be a part of God’s new chosen peoples…the new Jews.
This is a very difficult wall to climb in sharing Christ with them.
You must first reveal the foundation upon which their faith is built; namely, the lies of their leaders and the unverifiable history found in their writings. It would also help to demonstrate the illogical reasoning that is rampant in their message, such as the Bible validating the Book of Mormon, which was written because the Bible if filled with errors and has so many missing parts. The best method is to challenge their sincerity as proud seekers of truth and ask them to look at some key verses, not as a Mormon, but as one seeking the truth of God and that you will do the same, not as a Baptist, or Methodist, but just as a seeker of truth.
Then you pray and let God do the rest.
Bibliography Barna Group Ltd. Barna Group: Examine. Illuminate. Transform. Barna Group Ltd.
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Vol. 90:2, in Holy Bible. Wichita, KS: Heirloom Bible Publishers, 1988. Johnson, Bill McKeever and Eric. “Mormonism: Christian, Cult, or ??? ” Edited by Elliot Miller.
Christian Research Journal (Christian Research Institute) 35, no. (2012): 63. Smith, Joseph. “History. ” In Pearl of Great Price, by Joseph Smith. Salt Lake City, Utah: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1982.
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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Newsroom: The Official Resource for News Media, Opinion Leaders and the Public. September 2012, 2012. http://www.
mormonnewsroom. org/facts-and-stats (accessed September 29, 2012). Widtsoe, John A. Discourses of Brigham Young. Salt Lake City, UT: Desert Book Company, 1978. Young, Brigham.
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