The document discusses some of the key beliefs and origins of Mormonism, formally known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It notes that Mormonism was established by Joseph Smith in the 1820s and is based on writings from the Book of Mormon rather than being founded solely on the Bible. The document raises issues with some of Mormonism's claims that contradict or are not supported by the Bible, such as Joseph Smith's visions. It also summarizes some unique Mormon doctrines like humans becoming gods and the three levels of heaven.

1. THE CHURCHES/KINGDOMS OF MEN
• In our first study of Mormonism, we noted that
it was established by Joseph Smith in the 1820’s
and formally organized as a legal entity on April
6, 1830.
• We noted that the basis for the Book of
Mormon came from a manuscript written by
Solomon Spaulding titled “A Manuscript Found”
that was reworked by Sidney Rigdon
and passed off as the Book of Mormon by
Joseph Smith. See previous lesson, same subject
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2. THE CHURCHES/KINGDOMS OF MEN
• All churches of men have been established by
uninspired men who regulate them by the
doctrine and commandments of those men.
• The Lord condemns these divisions or
denominations in 1 Cor 1:10 and states that
their worship is vain per Matt 15:8-9.
• These men depend upon individual’s lack of
knowledge of God’s Word in order to
propagate their error. Note Hosea 4:6.
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3. MORMONISM – KNOWN TODAY AS THE CHURCH OF
JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS
• 2 Tim 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of
God, ….KJV
• Eph 3:3-4 ..when ye read ye may understand…
• 2 Peter 3:15-16 …some things hard to be
understood…they that are unlearned ….wrest…
• 2 Tim 2:15 Study ….rightly dividing the word …
• Matt 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things …
• John 12:48 …the word that I have spoken, the same
shall judge him in the last day.
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4. MORMONISM – KNOWN TODAY AS THE CHURCH OF
JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS
• Joseph Smith claimed that God the Father and His Son
appeared to him when he was 14 (1819) saying that the
true Church of Jesus Christ was not on the earth and
they had chosen Joseph to restore it.
• Three years later, Joseph claimed that God sent the
angel Moroni who would tell him where there was a
book deposited written upon golden plates which
contained the history of the former inhabitants of this
continent. He also said the fullness of the everlasting
gospel was contained in it as delivered by the Savior to
the ancient inhabitants.
• See “The Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith”
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5. MORMONISM – KNOWN TODAY AS THE CHURCH OF
JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS
• From a biblical standpoint these claims are false.
• Ex 33:20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall
no man see me, and live. KJV
• 1 John 4:12 No man hath seen God at any time .KJV
• Gal 1:6-9 6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that
called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
• 7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and
would pervert the gospel of Christ.
• 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other
gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let
him be accursed.
• 9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any
other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be
accursed. KJV
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6. MORMONISM – KNOWN TODAY AS THE CHURCH OF
JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS
CHURCH OF CHRIST-1710
• Meetinghouse of the Church of Christ in Rumney Marsh, erected in
1710. Thomas Cheever, the first settled minister, died December 27,
1749, aged ninety-one years.
• (Thompson Road near Lake Street) Webster Massachusetts
• Joseph Smith’s claim that he was told in a vision in 1820 that the
Lord’s church did not exist on the earth and needed to be restored is
false as the above official record indicates.
• Remember what the Lord said in Luke 1:33 And he shall reign over
the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
KJV
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7. MORMONISM – KNOWN TODAY AS THE CHURCH OF
JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS
• Mosiah 18:17 and they were called the church of God
or the church of Christ from that time forward. (bottom
rt side of page 169 says “About B.C. 147”
• In about AD 33, Jesus said per Matt 16:18 “I will build
my church…”. In Acts 2:47, on Pentecost AD 33 the Lord
added to the church.
• Which record are we to believe? The Bible or the Book
of Mormon?
• Note 1 Thess 2:13 on the word of God versus the word
of men.
• All Book of Mormon quotes from the 1980 edition.
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8. MORMONISM – KNOWN TODAY AS THE CHURCH OF
JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS
• Alma 46:15 ..all those who were true believers in
Christ took upon them, gladly, the name of Christ or
Christians, as they were called… (bottom of pg 310
says this occurred in ”B.C. 73”
• Acts 11:26 states that “the disciples were called
Christians first in Antioch”. This was about 41AD.
• Again, which are we to believe?
• Note John 14:26.
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9. MORMONISM – KNOWN TODAY AS THE CHURCH OF
JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS
• Helaman 14:20 .. there shall be no light…from the
time he shall suffer death for the space of 3 days to
the time he shall rise again from the dead.
• Luke 23:44 And it was about the sixth hour, and
there was a darkness over all the earth until the
ninth hour. KJV
• Again, which record are we to believe.
• Note 1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit….
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10. MORMONISM – KNOWN TODAY AS THE CHURCH OF
JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS
• Mormon 8:12 Whoso receiveth this record and shall
not condemn it because of the imperfections which
are in it, the same shall know of greater things than
these. Behold I am Moroni; and were it possible I
would make all things known unto you.
• James 1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law
of liberty, and continueth therein, …
• 2 Peter 1:3 According as his divine power hath given
unto us all things that pertain unto life and
godliness, …
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11. MORMONISM – KNOWN TODAY AS THE CHURCH OF
JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS
• In 1844 Joseph Smith preached a sermon on the
doctrine of God. A lengthy extract is quoted in the
2004 manual Presidents of the Church Student
Manual:
“God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted
man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the
great secret…I say, if you were to see him today, you
would see him like a man in form…he was once a man
like us; yea, that God himself, the Father of us all dwelt
on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did and I
will show it from the bible.” (See 41 Unique Teachings of
the LDS Church by Sandra Tanner, pg 6).
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12. MORMONISM – KNOWN TODAY AS THE CHURCH OF
JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS
• The LDS Church teaches that at the end of the world
everyone will be resurrected. They also believe that
almost everyone will go to heaven, which is divided
up into three main levels. Bad people go to the
lowest, the Telestial Kingdom (Doctrine and
Covenants 76:81-86). Good people, who were not
Mormons, will go to the middle level, the Terrestrial
Kingdom (D&C 76:71–79). Mormons will go to the
highest level, the Celestial Kingdom (D&C 76:50-70).
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13. MORMONISM – KNOWN TODAY AS THE CHURCH OF
JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS
• D & C 132:19-22 19 And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my
word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, ...Ye shall come
forth in the first resurrection; ...and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms,
principalities, and powers, dominions, ...and they shall pass by the angels, and
the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath
been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation
of the seeds forever and ever.
• 20 Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be
from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above
all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because
they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.
• 21 Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye abide my law ye cannot attain to this
glory.
• 22 For strait is the gate, and narrow the way that leadeth unto the exaltation and
continuation of the lives, and few there be that find it, because ye receive me not
in the world neither do ye know me. (Doctrine and Covenants 132:19-22)
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14. MORMONISM – KNOWN TODAY AS THE CHURCH OF
JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS
• Milton R. Hunter, Pearl of Great Price Commentary, p.144-145:
• Later the Prophet Joseph explained what the revelation [D&C 132]
meant by the statement, "which glory shall be a fulness and a
continuation of the seeds forever and ever." He pointed out that
the Gods were to be parents of spirit-children just as our Heavenly
Father and Heavenly Mother were the parents of the people of
this earth. Following are the words of the Prophet:
• Except a man and his wife enter into an everlasting covenant and
be married for eternity, ...they will cease to increase when they
die; that is, they will not have any children after the resurrection.
But those who are married by the power and authority of the
Priesthood in this life, and continue without committing the sin
against the Holy Ghost, will continue to increase and have children
in the celestial glory.
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15. MORMONISM – KNOWN TODAY AS THE CHURCH OF
JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS
• Milton R. Hunter, LDS Conference Report, April 1949,
p.71:
• The Prophet Joseph Smith explained that this
continuation of "the seeds" forever and ever, meant the
power of procreation; in other words, the power to
beget spirit children on the same principle as we were
born to our Heavenly Parents, God the Eternal Father
and our Eternal Mother. Therefore, a man cannot
receive the highest exaltation without a woman, his
wife, nor can a woman be exalted without her husband.
That is the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the plan
of salvation.
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16. MORMONISM – KNOWN TODAY AS THE CHURCH OF
JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS
• Journal of Discourses, Vol.2, p.85 - p.86, Orson Hyde,
October 6, 1854:
• When the servants of God and their wives go to heaven
there is an eternal union, and they will multiply and
replenish the world to which they are going.
• Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., Doctrines of Salvation, Vol.2,
p.44:
• If you want salvation in the fullest, that is exaltation in
the kingdom of God, so that you may become his sons
and his daughters, you have got to go into the temple of
the Lord and receive these holy ordinances which
belong to that house, which cannot be had elsewhere.
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17. MORMONISM – KNOWN TODAY AS THE CHURCH OF
JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS
• The following slides from “How the LDS Husband Hopes to
Resurrect His Wife According to the LDS Temple Ceremony”
By Sandra Tanner.
• Only those who merit the highest part of the Celestial
Kingdom will have Eternal Life [the ability to live in a
marriage relationship and continue to beget children—see
D&C 132:20-24, also see “Mormons Hope to Become Gods of
Their Own Worlds”]. All others have immortality [which is
defined as the ability to live forever in a single condition, not
married and no future children] but do not have Eternal Life.
One must be married in the LDS temple and then obey all of
the Mormon regulations to get to the highest degree of
heaven.
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18. MORMONISM – KNOWN TODAY AS THE CHURCH OF
JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS
• The first time a Mormon attends the temple
endowment ceremony he/she will be given a new
name [usually a Bible name like Peter or Mary or
the name of European royalty]. These will
supposedly be their names in eternity. The wife
must tell her husband her new name, and no one
else, as he is supposed to call her up in the
resurrection. If he does not call her up she would
still resurrect, but not as his wife.
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19. MORMONISM – KNOWN TODAY AS THE CHURCH OF
JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS
• LDS Apostle Charles W. Penrose wrote:
• In the case of a man marrying a wife in the
everlasting covenant who dies while he continues in
the flesh and marries another by the same divine
law, each wife will come forth in her order and
enter with him into his glory. (Charles W. Penrose,
“Mormon” Doctrine Plain and Simple, or Leaves
from the Tree of Life, Salt Lake City, 1897, p. 66)
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20. MORMONISM – KNOWN TODAY AS THE CHURCH OF
JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS
• LDS Apostle Erastus Snow preached the following on
Sunday, October 4, 1857:
• I ask, Can you get into the celestial kingdom without
him? Have any of you been there? You will remember
that you never got into the celestial kingdom [during
the temple ceremony] without the aid of your husband.
If you did, it was because your husband was away, and
some one had to act proxy for him. No woman will get
into the celestial kingdom, except her husband receives
her, if she is worthy to have a husband; and if not,
somebody will receive her as a servant. (Journal of
Discourses, vol. 5, p. 291)
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21. MORMONISM – KNOWN TODAY AS THE CHURCH OF
JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS
• William Clayton, secretary to Joseph Smith, also discussed
some of the temple work in his journals. In the
Introduction to An Intimate Chronicle: The Journals of
William Clayton we read:
• Clayton described the temple endowment, a ritualized
drama of the creation, fall, and redemption of Adam,
during which its participants promise obedience and
loyalty to the church, and repeat passwords and signs
they believe will enable them to enter into the celestial or
highest kingdom of heaven. He wrote about washings and
anointings, preparatory rituals for the endowment
ceremony, and described dramatic role-playing in which
church members act out the Garden of Eden story of
Adam, Eve, and the serpent.
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22. MORMONISM – KNOWN TODAY AS THE CHURCH OF
JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS
• Matt 22:28-30 28 Therefore in the resurrection
whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all
had her.
• 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not
knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.
• 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor
are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God
in heaven. KJV
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23. MORMONISM – KNOWN TODAY AS THE CHURCH OF
JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS
• 2 Tim 4:2-4 2 Preach the word; be instant in
season, out of season; reprove, rebuke,
exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
• 3 For the time will come when they will not
endure sound doctrine; but after their own
lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers,
having itching ears;
• 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the
truth, and shall be turned unto fables. KJV
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24. MORMONISM – KNOWN TODAY AS THE CHURCH OF
JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS
• 2 Cor 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the
serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your
minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that
is in Christ. KJV
• 2 Cor 4:2 But have renounced the hidden things of
dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling
the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of
the truth commending ourselves to every man's
conscience in the sight of God. KJV
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25. MORMONISM – KNOWN TODAY AS THE CHURCH OF
JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS
• Acts 2:37 Men and brethren, what shall we do? KJV
• John 8:24 Believe
• Lk 13:3 & 5 Repent
• Matt 10:32 Confess
• Mk 16:16 Baptized
• John 8:31-32 Continue faithfully
• John 12:48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not
my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that
I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last
day. KJV
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