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Mormonism, No. 3
RO58-02© Berean Memorial Church of Irving, Texas, Inc. (1977)
It is very easy for people to listen and to agree to an exposition of a passage from the Bible – an exposition which is drawn from the
original Greek and Hebrew languages (in which the Bible was written), and to say, "Yes, that's true. I can go along with that."
However, it is very difficult (almost traumatic sometimes) to apply that kind of divine viewpoint in experience. The fact that God deals with
mankind on the basis of His own integrity produces certain consequences which human viewpoint rejects. God operates on the basis of His integrity;
His absolute righteousness; and, His perfect justice.
When we apply that fact to human experience, we are driven to certain conclusions from
which our old sin nature wants to recoil. We consider it cruel. We consider it unloving to think that God would send a human being to a place
which the Bible describes as a lake of fire; as a place which is burning; as a place which is painful; and, as a place which is so agonizing that
the person in it gnashes his teeth in the agonies. And to think that God would send a person to such a place forever causes us, in human viewpoint,
to say, "That's hard to believe. That doesn't seem like a god of love."
The old sin nature recoils, therefore, from the idea that sincere and good people, even church members, can spend eternity in that kind of
suffering – and especially that somebody who was sincerely looking to God, who was perhaps even a church member, could possibly enter such
a horrible destiny.
The Narrow Gate
Make no mistake about it. The Bible is very clear that that's exactly what is going to happen to the human race – sadly enough, to most of
the human race. They will spend eternity in that lake of fire. But if we believe the Bible, we must be prepared to accept that God does not speak
in loopholes. Human viewpoint does not like to think that the way to salvation, therefore, and to eternal life in heaven, is through a gate which
is narrow, and through a pathway which is very restricted. But that's exactly what Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14: "Enter in at the gate, for wide
is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there be who go in that way, because narrow is the gate and restricted is the
way which leads unto life, and few there be that find it."
Grace
The reason the Lord Jesus Christ said that salvation is entered by a narrow gate is because the gate is grace, and grace is a very narrow gate.
Grace means that you enter eternal life through a very, very small opening – through the opening of grace. If you try to enter it in any
other way, by bringing something with you, it's like somebody who's trying to walk through a door with something that's too big to go through it.
So, you come up to the gate of grace, and here you are, carrying your big chunk of good works. And you're trying to squeeze this way, and squeeze
that way, and get it this way, and get it that way. No matter how you put it, the thing won't go through, and it'll keep you out of eternal life.
So, you come along with your ritual. The old Jews in the New Testament said, "We've got to have circumcision." So, they got their circumcision.
They walked up their circumcision, and they tried to squeeze through the narrow gate, and squeeze in under, but they couldn't go through. In our
day, we come through with the Roman Catholic system of the Lord's Supper. They call it the Mass. They grab their Mass, and we try to go through
it, but it won't fit. Some take their water baptism – that's human work – that human action: "I'll get that, and I'll go through it."
So, they get their water baptism, and try to slither their way through, and they discover you can't go through. God says, "The gateway to eternal
life is narrow."
Then Paul has made it so clear to us in Romans, as you well know, that that gateway is grace, and grace alone. That's what Jesus meant when he
said, "Narrow is the gate." It's a grace system – unearned and un-worked for. You have to come through that gate with your empty hands.
You have to just put your hands down, and walk straight, because that's all that will come through. It's just you at the center, and nothing that
you can bring with you will fit into that opening.
Such a restricted salvation is not the way that sinful man thinks people should be saved. They consider that too unreasonable. They think that
somehow, their good works and their religious rituals can still be incorporated, and they can slither through that gate. The Bible makes it very
clear you cannot. You cannot.
So, that it is a dangerous thing to try to do it. What happens is that people substitute a church membership or some association on a human level,
and they equate that with having gone through the gate, when, in fact, they're completely outside of eternal life. And they may be very active
church members. And when they die, they find that their eyes have opened in hell. That is a shock.
Narrow
Verse 14 also tells us that not only is the gate narrow, but the way itself is narrow. That's an interesting word. It's the word "thlibo" in the
Greek. It's actually a verb. It means "to press" or "to oppress." The idea is "to compress:" "Narrow is the way." The word means "narrowed" as a
road which is hemmed in by a mountain gorge. It is in the perfect tense. Do you remember what perfect means? Perfect means that a thing is
established in the past, and then it continues forever. So, wherever you are in the present, this thing is still in effect.
Isn't it interesting that God the Holy Spirit should have used this perfect tense in the Greek to say that the road is narrow (constricted)
today? It wasn't just a time in the past. It is still constricted today. It's still not a broad highway.
Furthermore, it is passive in voice, which means that this road has been laid out in this pattern by God Himself. Men didn't do this. The road
didn't do this. Salvation didn't do this to itself. It was God who set up this restricted plan. He set it up in the past, and it continues in
that restricted setup til this day. It's a participle in mood, which indicates that an inviolable spiritual principle is being taught us. So,
this is a fascinating word here – "thlibo." It is perfect passive participle – something in the past. God has done this, and it's a
spiritual principle which is unchangeable. It is a narrow road hemmed in as by a mountain gorge.
What is it speaking of in Matthew 7:14? It is speaking, of course, of eternal life, because narrow is the gate; that is, the gate of grace, and
compressed (or restricted) is the way. This is the road which leads unto life; that is, life eternal.
However, notice that on this road, traveling to heaven, there's lots of room. Isn't that sad? For the last words say: "And few there be that find
it." People are trying to get in all kinds of places along the line with all kinds of approaches, and they just cannot find the opening. It's the
pass. It's the mountain pass that gets you through. And unless you have the identification from Scripture itself, you will never locate the
entrance into eternal life. The gate is very narrow. You can bring nothing through but your hopelessness. And when you get on it, the road that
leads to eternal glory is a very narrow, constricted road, and few people find it. Most people take the more reasonable road of the payment of the
Jesus Christ for their sins, plus their own good works and their religious rituals. That's what most people do – the work of Jesus Christ,
plus their own good works, and their religious rituals of one kind or another.
So verse 13 says, "For wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there be that go that way." It's sad, isn't it?
You who believe by grace alone, and therefore are indeed saved. You're the few. Few are going to find that opening, but most are going to miss it.
And this includes many church members – sincerely trying to get to heaven by adding their own efforts to the work of Jesus Christ, and they
simply will not get there.
Luke 13:24: "Strive to enter in at the narrow gate, for many I say unto you will seek to enter in, and shall not be able." That's chilling to me.
I don't know how that strikes you: "Many shall seek to enter into in, and shall not be able." It isn't that they're not interested. They're milling
all around here at the entrance way into eternal life. Churches are full of them. Outside of the churches there are religious people galore.
They're all milling around, striving to enter in, but they're not going to make it. Unless they have all the information and all the key directions
from a book like Romans, they'll never make it, because while they may have some of the information right, they've got it so contaminated with human
viewpoint self-effort, that the whole grace basis has been undermined. And the end of the road, as I say, is Matthew 7:21-23: "Depart from me. I
never knew you.
Mormonism
We have been using Mormonism as a classic example of exemplary people who are doomed to hell by human viewpoint works systems of salvation. I'm
not attacking Mormonism as such. It is indeed a gross heresy, and it is indeed a monumental satanic delusion. It's the Protestant religious
totalitarianism answering to the Roman Catholic system of totalitarianism in spiritual things. But I'm not pursuing an attack on Mormonism as such.
What I'm trying to do is enable you to grasp emotionally the consequences to a commendable, dedicated, and sincere body of church members who
reject Paul's divine viewpoint, grace-alone plan of salvation, such as we have learned in Romans. That's all. I'm trying to get you to enter into
the shock, and to be willing to be able to accept the shock that wonderful, marvelous people, such as the Mormons you know, because they have
violated the divine plan of salvation, are going to be doomed for all eternity.
The Mormon Plan of Salvation
Faith
We have seen that the Mormon plan of salvation consisted first of faith. This faith was not necessarily stressed as being in Jesus Christ, but it
was faith that things were going to turn out well. This, of course, began on the fact that their souls preexisted. They took on a human body. They
now are in a period of probation on this earth. That's the term Mormons use. Faith, in some degree in Jesus Christ, but just faith in general.
Repentance
Secondly is repentance. By repentance, they mean clean up your life, and stop doing those wrong things. Mormonism, by and large, does not engage
in rescue missions. It does not, by and large, engage in the people who are the down-and-outers. Mormonism is restricted to the up-and-outers,
because they have a sense that they can do something about their evil.
Water Baptism
Then there is water, baptism. Water baptism is so absolutely essential, and they are very consistent about that. They mean that the thief on the
cross could not be saved because he did not have water baptism. Anybody who has ever died without water baptism cannot be saved. Therefore, they
are so consistent that they have the ceremony of being baptized for the dead. People are in the Mormon temples being baptized by proxy for somebody
who has died – usually members of their family, in order that they may be saved. That is consistency. Many of them probably have been baptized
somewhere along the line for that poor thing on the cross, to make sure that he could get in.
Laying on of Hands
Then finally, there is the last stage of salvation – the laying on of the hands of an official priest authorized by the church to give to
that person God the Holy Spirit.
Thus, when these four stages of human works are met, a person is saved. That is then followed by good works to maintain that level of salvation.
And if it's violated, you are again lost.
Is Mormonism Christian?
Now, Mormons, consequently, in their teaching, have a very great antipathy toward the concept of salvation by grace. The little book called
Is Mormonism Christian? by Gordon H. Fraser is a paperback that would be well worth your buying and reading. It gives an excellent
presentation, and it is accurate throughout. In it, he quotes one of the leaders of the Mormon Church in an article which had been printed in
the "Deseret News," which is the official daily newspaper of the Salt Lake City Mormons.
Get Something for Nothing
This church leader writes, "A two-edged sword. Satan is the arch-deceiver. His doctrine appears under many a guise. Always he attempts to lead
people astray by holding before them false notions which on the surface seem to be desired. One of his most appealing methods of reaching mankind
is to make them believe that they can get something for nothing. Nearly everyone has enough selfishness to try to get all he can at the lowest
price. Satan plays upon that trait. He does so in our economic life, and he does so in religion. Get something for nothing, or for as little as
you can.
"This identical philosophy is carried over into certain types of religion. Again, it is to get something for nothing. Some teach that a person
may have full salvation by whispering a few magic words– just confess a belief in the Savior. That is all. If you thus confess, you get
full salvation, and nothing can keep you from it. No works are necessary, for you are saved by grace alone, so the teaching goes. Get something.
Get salvation for nothing – by a phrase. Just say, "I believe." That is all there is to it, they declare, and then they quote John 3:16 to
support their arguments.
"This unfounded fancy has become so popular with some that certain enthusiasts go to the extent of painting John 3:16 on fences; on signposts; on
railroad overpasses; under the highways; or, anywhere. It is magic in their eyes – a magic way to be saved. But it is black magic. And they
deceive themselves, for salvation comes not in that manner.
"But is it not a striking thing that Satan would hold forth this same philosophy in both the fields of economics, or every day bread-and-butter
living, and in religion? And is it not remarkable that both these expressions of the same false philosophy are so popular with people?
Self-Improvement
"The Lord has had a good deal to say about this matter, and His doctrine is just opposite to that of Lucifer. Instead of teaching us to get
something for nothing, the Lord puts a premium upon production. His doctrine is that the idlers shall not eat the bread nor where the garments
of the labor. And in religion it is the same. We are taught that we must work out our salvation. We must bring forth much fruit. Those branches
of the vine, which do not produce much fruit, shall be cut off and thrown into the fire. He emphasized production in His parable of the
unprofitable servant. Faith without works is dead. On judgment day, we should be judged according to the deeds done in the body. The Lord commands
us to become perfect, even as He is, in giving us the commandment and teaching us that we must work out our salvation with prayer and fasting, and
increasing faith and testimony, He teaches us that we must put forth genuine effort for (and here's the keyword of Mormonism)
self-improvement. Put forth genuine effort for self-improvement.
"How do we get our salvation? By participating in the activities of the church which develop in our souls those Christ-like traits that help us to
become like Him. (You can see how much like Catholicism that is.) That requires consistent, well-planned effort with devotion to the end. So,
working out our salvation means developing Christ-like character which will make us fit to come into the presence of the Lord. Latter-day Saints
should not be deceived by Satan's philosophies of getting something for nothing. That false doctrine is like a two-edged sword which destroys
either way it swings, whether in economics or in religion."
Now, that's a very subtle argument, for indeed, we would be the first to agree with the Mormons that in economics that principle is quite sound.
. . . The passage in the Bible goes something like this: "He who does not work shall not eat, except in the United States." That's what the Bible
says. Indeed, we would agree that that is the biblical principle: You who will not work, shall not eat."
They're trying to ignore the fact of what Paul has said – that indeed, in salvation, it's a gift. "Grace" only means "gift." It can't mean
anything else. It is foolishness to try to suggest that God has a plan of salvation by works when the Bible is so clear that the only plan the
Bible knows of is a great plan.
So, this Mormon plan of self-improvement is a plan which has in it the seeds of eternal death. Mormons recoil from the concept of a future
punishment. They become very hazy. When you talk to them about hell, they tell you that it's a temporary condition, because Mormons view it
as basically very unfair that anybody should be lost if they did not have a chance to hear the everlasting gospel of Mormonism. They consider
this an affront to the justice of God – that anybody should have died and not had a chance to hear the everlasting gospel of Mormonism,
and should be doomed to an eternity in hell.
So, what they have come up with is that the death of Jesus Christ provides actually salvation for everyone, and that after death, a person will
get a second chance. He will get out in eternity, and he will see the lake of fire boiling and churning, and he'll say, "Hey, man, I'm going to
believe now." Then he accepts the doctrine of Mormonism, and if he has had somebody who was kind enough by proxy to exercise water baptism for
him, and the other rituals, then he will be able to be saved.
Universalism
Mormonism is very clear that they believe in universalism. Everyone is to be saved. A few weeks ago and I talked to their guides up at the temple
in Salt Lake City, they were very emphatic about that. Only a few of what they call "sons of perdition" would really be lost. Eternal punishment
under the Mormon system is not really something that goes on forever, but only because it is something which God does. If God does it, God, Who is
eternal, in whatever way God acts, it's always an eternal action. So, Mormons present the idea that any punishment that God gives, even if it's for
one hour, for something out in eternity that you did, then you are receiving eternal punishment. The consequence of all this is a universalism: a
grace salvation that applies to everyone; a salvation by works; and, a system of self-improvement. All of this obviously is in such contrast to the
Word of God.
Are Mormons going to get into this narrow gate? Are Mormons going to be able to carry the laying on of hands for the receiving of the Holy Spirit
through that gate? Are they going to take that water baptism with them through that gate? Are they going to take their self-improvement program
with them through that gate? One of the doctrines that was taught in Mormonism as soon as they got out to Utah, where they could practice openly
and completely without the restrictions of the United States government (that which they believed) was the doctrine of blood atonement – the
necessity for some sins to be paid for by your own blood.
Firing Squads
In Utah, a prisoner condemned to death has a choice of either being hanged or shot by a firing squad. In the days of Brigham Young, you had a
third choice. You could be beheaded. The way the last execution was performed there a few months ago was by firing squad. Well, the reason for
that is because if a person dies with his blood being spilled out, he atones for his sins, and he goes to heaven. So, to put a man up before a
firing squad saves him by executing him in a way that spills his blood.
Progressive Revelation
Well, after all is said and done about this business of salvation, and whether Mormonism is a system which is compatible with taking people into
eternal life, we have to go back to authority. We have to go back to the place where all this information comes from. Mormons believe in
progressive revelation. On the tours in Salt Lake City, they inevitably are proud and happy to tell you that they have a man who sits down the
street just two blocks away from them in the president's office who is the prophet of the church. He may speak from God at any time, and bring new
revelation. This is not just, as they said, "The old revelations that are recorded in the Bible. We have new revelations."
Authority
The system of authority is what we've got to deal with here. Where do they get these things? And is the system authority true? Well, let's take
ourselves back to the Old Testament. Here are all these Old Testament saints – these Old Testament believers. And all of a sudden, along
comes the New Testament era, the era of the church. Christ dies; His ascension occurs; and, His apostles go out preaching the gospel of the grace
of God, and the new system of life of the church-age of grace. They even preach that the old system, the old way of life of the legalism of the
Old Testament is dead. All of the old system; all the old rituals; and, all the old rules – everything is gone. Now they have a whole new
setup.
Then Scriptures come. These authorized agents of Jesus Christ, His apostles, or their close associates, begin writing letters; begin writing
gospels; and, begin writing histories like Acts. And these are presented as revelations from God as inspired, and on an equal plane with the Old
Testament.
Put yourself back as a Jewish believer – a genuine, sincere believer, and a reader of the Old Testament Scriptures. And along comes a group
that says to you, "We have a new revelation. We have a new Bible. We have an expanded progress of information from God." How would you handle that?
How are you going to look at that and wonder, "Is this from God, or is it not?" After all, that's what Mormonism is telling us. Mormonism is
telling us that the Book of Mormon is inspired and from God. They're telling us that the record of the revelations to their prophets, mostly Joseph
Smith, in The Doctrines and Covenants is Scripture. They're telling us that The Pearl of Great Price, which contains some new
Scripture, is inspired. They're telling us that when their prophets make their prophetic utterances, just as when the pope speaks from his throne,
he speaks for God. Now, their prophet, when he speaks, he speaks for God. How are we going to look at these books, these added revelations, and say,
"Yes, this is from God?"
The Bereans
The people out of the Old Testament era and the New Testament era were faced with the same thing. Well the people after whom this church is named
in memory of give us the clue. In Acts 17:11, there was only one way to handle it: "These who lived in the city of Berea were more noble than
those in Thessalonica," for what reason? "In that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and then searched the Scriptures daily whether
those things were so." They received the information. They listened to what these apostles had to say, and to what Paul had to say. Then they
searched the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. What Scriptures that they search? Well, the Old Testament Bible. Those were the only
Scriptures they had. What were they doing? They were telling these men that if what you say is true, it will in no way contradict the previous
revelation of the Old Testament. It will expand on it, and it will give us more information, but it will not contradict it. And if what you say is
true – that these New Testament books are also Scripture, then these New Testament books will have no errors in them. They'll be absolutely
without error, just as our Old Testament Scriptures were.
That's what these people were looking for. They were looking for one – consistency of doctrine with what had previously been taught; and, two
– they were looking for writings which in themselves had no error. That is the same procedure that you and I must follow with the fantastic
claims of the Mormons. They have new Scriptures. Are their Scriptures compatible with former doctrine in the Old and New Testaments? And is the Book
of Mormon an inerrant book? And I'll tell you right now that I posed that question many times in Salt Lake City: Do you claim that the Book of Mormon
is inerrant? And every time, I never could get somebody to say, "Yes." Never – not once. And I posed that question again and again to all kinds
of people. I never could get them to say it once. The Book of Mormon, obviously, for many reasons, cannot claim that.
Doctrinal Consistency
So, how do they cover it up? Many times in Salt Lake City, I listened to various people who stood up and very emotionally declared that they
believed that the Book of Mormon was true; that they believed that these revelations had actually taken place; and, that Joseph Smith had actually
had a visitation from God, and they sincerely believe it. I heard one very knowledgeable and very smooth lady guide who said, "The Book of Mormon
has changed my life. I commend to you the reading of this book. It will make you successful. I cannot tell you what it has done for my soul." And
boy, you just about had a revival on your hands right there. But that emotional testimony does not cover up the question that we must pursue –
doctrinal consistency.
The Nature of God
Let's take a look at one. Look at the nature of God. In the early days of the writings of Joseph Smith, his doctrine of God was very orthodox. You
could not fault it. It was specifically what you would find in Scripture. For example, in the Book Mormon, we read, "For I know that God is not a
partial God; neither a changeable being. But He is unchangeable from all eternity to eternity. And Zeezrom said unto him: 'Thou says that there is
a true and living God.' And Amalek said, 'Yea, there is a true and living God.' Now Zeezrom said, "Is there more than one God?' And he answered,
'No. For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever? And in Him there is no variableness, neither shadow of changing. And
now if ye had imagined up unto yourselves a God who does vary, then have ye imagined up unto yourselves a God who is not a God of miracles. I say
unto you: He changes not. If so, He would cease to be God."
So, what Joseph Smith wrote here in the Book of Mormon, he later contradicted by one of his prophecies about many gods coming into being through
various human beings attaining godhood. One of the sad things about this particular quotation is that you will notice that Joseph Smith is quoting
a passage of Scripture from the New Testament, but he has it in the mouth of a man who is speaking 600 years before Christ appeared. Yet he is
quoting a New Testament Scripture. But such contradictions never bothered the prophet Joseph Smith.
In the first 13 years of the Mormon Church, things began to change, because Joseph Smith began to have some revelations. And these revelations
began to undermine what the Word of God had reveal about the nature of God. So, Joseph Smith, in his revelations, began to tell people that there
was some misunderstanding about what God was like. He said, "The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man; the Son also. Then shall
they be gods, because they have all the power, and the angels are subject unto them." This is in The Doctrines and Covenants. These are
revelations from God. One of the problems in Mormonism is that their later revelations of their prophets contradicted what was earlier stated in
their writings such as the Book of Mormon.
He also said, "I'm going to inquire after God, for I want you all to know Him and be familiar with Him. I will go back to the beginning, before
the world was, to show you what kind of a being God is. God was once, as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens.
I say, if you were to see Him today, you would see Him like a man in form, like yourselves, in all the person images in the very form of a man.
I'm going to tell you how God came to be God." Now that's good. I've wondered about that myself, but Joe got the answer.
I'm going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea, and take
away the veil so that you may see. It is the first principle of the gospel to know for certainty the character of God, and to know that we may
converse with Him as one man with another, and that He was once a man like us – yea, that God Himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on the
earth, the same as Jesus Christ did. What did Jesus say? The Scripture informs us that Jesus said, 'As the Father has power to Himself, even so
hath the Son power: to do what? Why, what the Father did. The answer is obvious. In a manner to lay down His body and take it up again.
"Here then is eternal life – to know the only wise and true God. And you've got to learn how to be gods yourselves, and to be kings and
priests to God; the same as all gods have done before you, namely by going from one small degree to another, and from a small capacity to a great
one, and from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation, until you attain to the resurrection of the dead, and are able to dwell in the
everlasting burnings, and to sit in glory, as do those who sit enthroned in everlasting power."
What he is saying is that God was once a human being. Elsewhere he says that God was a little child, and God grew up. And because he passed His
period of probation, as you are now trying to pass yours, and developed by self-effort – God became God. And if you follow that pattern, you
too will become God."
The exposition of one of the presidents of the church is Charles Penrose. He has written in a Mormon publication, "The Millennial Star:" "In the
beginning, the head of the gods called a council of the gods. And they came together and concocted a plan to create and populate the world, and
people it. Remember that God, our Heavenly Father, was perhaps once a child and mortal like we are, and rose step-by-step in a scale of progress,
in the school of advancement. He moved forward and overcame until He has arrived at the point where He now is. Mormon prophets have continuously
taught the sublime truth that God the eternal father was once a mortal man who passed through a school of earth similar to that through which we
are passing. He became God, an exalted being. Mormonism does not tend to debase God to the level of man, but to exalt man to the perfection of God."
Do you remember Genesis 3:5? Satan told Eve, "Eat of that fruit, and you shall be as gods." This is Satan talking, folks. Here at the heart of
Mormon doctrine, you hear the voice of . . . the devil – that human beings will become gods, because God was once a human being.
Need I call
your attention to John 4:24? It says that: "God is a spirit. They that worship Him must worship him in spirit and in truth." I wrote that question
down and handed it in Salt Lake City. I run to the mailbox every day looking for the answer. I haven't gotten it yet.
God is a Spirit
I called her attention to Luke 24:39, where Jesus stood on the seashore, and His disciples were not sure that it was the Jesus they knew. They
thought it was some kind of a spirit being. Do you remember what Jesus said to them? "A spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see Me have.
A spirit does not have a physical body as you see Me have." God is a spirit. The Bible is very clear indeed that God is totally different in being
than we human beings are.
Polytheism
So, the nature of God in Mormonism has become a system of polytheism – of many gods. Actually, what Mormonism teaches is a multiplicity of
gods to begin with. And it teaches that every one of you can become gods to add to that. That's interesting, because notice the history of Mormonism.
If you read Romans 1:21-26, you'll have Paul's outline of the degradation through which the human race passed from a knowledge of God to where they
were worshiping animals and snakes and deified human beings. Paul says that the pattern of deterioration is this: one – they had a true
knowledge of God, but they rejected it. They had the knowledge of God, and they would not keep this knowledge. The second thing Paul says is that
the result of this negative volition toward the nature of God and the knowledge of God (the results of the arsenic of negative volition in their
souls) was that their minds became darkened. They now became incapable of grasping spiritual truths. And the third step was what? Do you remember?
They claim that they were advancing in spiritual knowledge, and God said, "You have become fools." What you teach now shows what fools spiritually
you have become.
Then they went to the next step. They changed the incorruptible God of the Bible into the likeness of corruptible man. Man took his old sin nature,
with its contaminated reasoning, and equated himself to God. He took his reason, and applied it to the Scriptures. What did God do? God turned His
back on them and gave them up to the consequences of that rejection. They rejected the knowledge of God. They became negative toward Him, with their
minds darkened, and they were incapable of receiving divine viewpoints. They changed God into animals in human form. And God now turned them loose
to the consequences of that.
What was the result? He gave them up to their vile, immoral passions. The result was gross immorality on the face of the earth. And there, in that
passage in Romans, you read about homosexuality and perversions of every kind.
Polygamy
So, isn't this interesting? In about 1830 or 1831, shortly after the Book of Mormon had been published, Joseph Smith began preaching privately,
and began (the evidence indicates) privately practicing polygamy. Pagan religions have historically followed this same step downward into sexual
immorality. First is the emergence of a physical God, like Zeus of the Greeks; then the deification of man, which leads to ancestor worship of the
oriental world; and, then the acceptance of sexual irregularities as an act of worship which was divinely commanded. Joseph Smith and his
associates, soon developed a full-blown system of polytheism.
Joseph Smith was so ignorant that he didn't know that the names "Jehovah" and "Elohim" applied to the same person. So, he decided that there were
three gods to begin with. Then he got a new revelation from God that told him that Michael had been reincarnated on this earth. That's an old pagan
notion. And do you know in whom Michael has been reincarnated? Adam. So, Adam was God. And thus evolved the Mormon doctrine of Adam God. Then Adam
died – a terrible destiny for a God, I'll say. That's where the old idea of "God is dead" came from, I guess. But Adam God died.
Everyone will become a God
The centuries rolled by, and a girl was born who grew to young womanhood, whose name was Mary, living at the beginning of the first century A.D.
And Adam God was resurrected, and he impregnated Mary, and Jesus Christ was born. Now the Bible does not say that. I need not read to you
Matthew 1:18 that says that that which came upon Mary, in that pregnancy, was of God the Holy Spirit. But in Mormon doctrine, Adam God became the
Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that's how Jesus Christ became God. One of the grossest heresies in the Mormon system is that everybody is
going to become God. This which raises the question naturally of how did the God who is supposedly out there become that God?
So, I'm reading a quotation out of a book Is Mormonism Christian? by Gordon H. Fraser on page 44, in which we have this quotation from one of
the Mormon writers: "How he became God. Yet if we accept the great law of eternal progression, we must accept the fact that there was a time when
deity was much less powerful than he is today. Then how did he become glorified and exalted and attain His present status of godhood?
"In the first place, eons ago, God undoubtedly took advantage of every opportunity to learn the laws of truth, and as He became acquainted with
each new verity, he righteously obeyed it. From day to day, He exerted His will vigorously, and as a result, became thoroughly acquainted with
the forces lying about Him. As He gained more knowledge through persistent effort and continuous industry, as well as through absolute obedience,
His understanding of the universal laws continued to become more complete.
"Thus, He grew in experience, and continued to grow, until He obtained the status of godhood. In other words, He became God by absolute obedience
to all the truth, and thereby became the author of eternal truth. Therefore, the road that the eternal father followed to godhood was one of living
at all times with dynamic, industrious, and completely righteous life. There is no other way to exaltation." And by "exaltation, they mean entrance
into the highest heaven.
Brigham Young
I could read you statement after statement about this. Let me read you just a couple, bringing Brigham Young into the picture. Brigham Young said
this, on April 9, 1852: "Now hear, O inhabitants of the earth, Jew and gentile, saint and sinner: 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." Did you know that Eve was just one of his wives? You
thought that she was the first woman created.
"He helped to make and organize this world. He is Michael the archangel, the ancient of days, about whom by holy men have spoken. He is our father
and our God – the only God with whom we have to do. Every man upon the earth, professing Christian or non-professing must hear it, and will
know it sooner or later. The earth was organized by three distinct characters, namely Elohim, Jehovah, and Michael; these three forming a quorum.
As in all heavenly bodies, and in organizing element, perfectly represented in the deity as Father, Son and Holy Ghost."
Another time, he said: "Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that he (Adam) is the God of the whole earth; Then will the words of the
prophet . . ., when speaking of Adam, and be fully realized. He is our father and our God – the only God with whom we have to do. When
the Virgin Mary conceived the child Jesus, He was not begotten by the Holy Ghost. And who is His Father? He is the first of the human family.
Jesus, our elder brother, was begotten in the flesh by the same character that was in the Garden of Eden."
If you feel a cold chill blowing through the place, and goosebumps coming on you, it's because you are sitting in the presence of the doctrine
of demons.
So, here is a very critical doctrine – the nature of God Himself. Out of the Book of Mormon; out of the book of Doctrine and
Covenants; and, out of The Pearl of Great Price have come these perversions – these doctrines of demons which clearly contradict
previous revelation of the Old and New Testament. So, putting the same tests as the Bereans of old put to the New Testament Scriptures, and which
they found to be consistent and inerrant, when we apply this to these books of Mormonism (because all of these books are considered Scripture), we
find that indeed they do not match up. They fall short of meeting the requirements.
Dr. John E. Danish, 1977
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