If you are Mormon, please understand that this web page is not against you personally. I know that you may have “testimony” of the Spirit concerning the truth of the Book of Mormon, and you believe that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God. You are probably a very good person (or are trying to be) and want to serve God and honor Him. This is good, and it is admirable. You probably have great faith in what you believe. But, your faith is only as good as who it is placed in.
Jesus said that the truth will set you free (John 8:32). If what is stated about Mormonism on this website is true, then it should help a lot of people, including you. At the very least, you should examine the evidence presented here to see if it holds water. If you would like to discuss any issue raised on my site, then please feel free to contact me. But please, stick to the issues, give me documentation, and present your arguments. Too many Mormons simply hurl insults with little reasoning behind them.
But, you say you have a testimony, and you know that Mormonism is true. You’ve read the Book of Mormon and received a confirmation of its truth by the power of the Spirit. But even what is perceived as truth needs to be examined by the Word of God (Acts 17:11).
God has said to examine all things by the Word of God (2 Tim. 3:16). I suggest you compare what Mormonism teaches to the Bible. Maybe you don’t think it is necessary because you ‘know’ the church is true. Maybe you’ve read the Book of Mormon and felt a burning in your bosom. Maybe you know for a fact you cannot be swayed because of your testimony to the truth of Mormonism, the Book of Mormon, and Joseph Smith.
If you have answered “Yes!” to the preceding statement, then I have a question for you. What have you done with Jesus? Is it He that you testify of most? Is it He that you love the most and serve (Matt. 4:19; Romans 16:18)? Or is He only a member of your church, an older brother, and someone who is there to help you testify to Mormonism? If that is what you believe, you are deceived.
All things must be examined by God’s Word. But Mormonism casts strong doubt upon the reliability of the Bible. It says that the Bible has been corrupted and that many plain and precious truths have been lost. The 8th Article of Faith states: “We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly . . . ” In History of the Church, vol. 6, p. 461, Joseph Smith said, “I told them that the book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on Earth.” In fact, Joseph Smith even ‘corrected,’ changed the Bible in a version he called, “An Inspired Version of the Authorized Version.” The Authorized Version is commonly known as the King James Bible. In Smith’s “Inspired Version” are numerous attempts to correct the Bible we now have.
It is this unfounded underlying suspicion of the Bible that permeates Mormon theology and has allowed many unbiblical Mormon doctrines to develop.
I think that this is very similar to what the serpent said to Eve when he said, “. . . Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” (Gen. 3:1). Satan, in order to get Eve and also Adam to be deceived, first had to cast doubt on God’s Word. Then notice what the Serpent said, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:4-5). After Eve doubted God’s word, she was told by Satan she would be like God, knowing good and evil.
At this point, I would like to point out in James Talmage’s book, The Articles of Faith, on page 62 it says,
“The opportunity of winning the victor’s reward by overcoming evil was explained to our parents, and they rejoiced. Adam said: ‘Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God.’ Eve was glad and declared: ‘Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.”
It is interesting to note that in Mormon theology it was a blessing for Adam to have transgressed God’s word, so that his eyes could be opened. Both Adam and Eve specifically pointed to their transgression as a blessing. But the Mormon will say that it was the transgression that allowed the seed to come, the knowledge of good and evil, and the truth of redemption. My point is simple: the fall, the sin of rebellion is celebrated in Mormonism. I thought only the ungodly celebrate sin.
I honestly hope that you will seek God in the Bible, compare Mormonism to it, not rely on your subjective feelings, and test Mormonism against the facts. Eternity is a long time to be wrong.
In Jesus.
Matt Slick
