Robert M Bowman - 10 Questions and Answers on Mormonism: Key Beliefs, Practices, and History

• Can be read in 30 minutes or less, and outlines the key beliefs, practices and history of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons).
• Includes Quick Facts on Mormonism, including founder, estimated adherents, full-time missionaries, and other information.
• Provides Dos and Donts when talking with Mormon friends.
• Includes a glossary of 21 terms you need to know.

Did the Christian Church Really Need to Be Restored?

According to Mormon prophets, after the death of Jesus original apostles, the Christian church gradually slipped into the Great Apostasya complete and universal abandonment of true Christian principles. Though we do not know exactly when this took place, Christian doctrine became thoroughly corrupted, and the priesthood authority necessary to administer key ordinances like baptism and the Lords Supper was lost. The importance of believing that the true church was destroyed is underscored by Mormon apostle James Talmage: If the alleged apostasy of the primitive Church was not a reality, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not the divine institution its name proclaims.

The restoration of true Christianity began when God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to a youth named Joseph Smith in the spring of 1820. In this First Vision Jesus told Smith that all the churches were wrong and that all their creeds (statements of belief) were an abomination. God used Smith to organize His true church again in 1830.

The Bible Teaches

Jesus promised His followers that He would be with them in their ministry of making disciples, baptizing, and teaching, even unto the end of the world (Matt. 28:20). He promised that He would build His church, and that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18). Such promises would have been broken had Jesus allowed His church to be destroyed. While the Bible does mention that some shall depart from the faith (1 Tim. 4:1), it never implies that a universal or complete apostasy would take place prior to His return. The fact that some [would] depart implies that others would not. The New Testament here and elsewhere portrays apostasy as the acts and attitudes of individuals and groups breaking away from the church (see also 1 Jn. 2:19), not as the church ceasing to exist.

Joseph Smiths First Vision

Stained glass window at the Museum of Church History and Art in Salt Lake City, Utah

You Should Also Know

Though the Latter-day Saints (LDS) church views the many Christian denominations as proof that Christs One True Church was lost, numerous LDS splinter groups exist. The second largest of these groups is the Community of Christ (known originally as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or RLDS). Additionally, numerous fundamentalist LDS groups believe that the Utah-based LDS church itself became apostate when it officially renounced polygamy in 1890.

Was Joseph Smith a True Prophet of God?

Mormonism Claims

Uniquely Important

Joseph Smith (18051844), the churchs founder and first president, is a modern prophet, seer, and revelator (a person who reveals divine truth). He is ranked in importance second only to Jesus Himself when it comes to the salvation of mankind: Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it.

Genuine or Fraud

According to tenth LDS president Joseph Fielding Smith, Mormonism, as it is called, must stand or fall on the story of Joseph Smith. He was either a prophet of God, divinely called, properly appointed and commissioned, or he was one of the biggest frauds this world has ever seen. There is no middle ground.

The Bible Teaches

Testing Prophets

God provided two main tests for Israelites to determine whether a self-proclaimed prophet was legitimate. First, he must represent the true God of the Hebrews; prophets who introduced false gods were to be immediately rejected (Deut. 13:1-3). Second, they were to reject professing prophets who incorrectly foretold the future (Deut. 18:20-22). They were also commanded not to add to or take away from the revelations God had given them (Deut. 4:2; Prov. 30:6).

Joseph Smith receives the Book of Mormon from Moroni Bill McKeever. Used with permission.

You Should Also Know

Joseph Smith denied the biblical view of God ().

Mormon leaders have often made incredible statements about the role and character of Joseph Smith. For example, Mormon prophet Brigham Young and his counselor, George Q. Cannon, both insisted that the only way a Latter-day Saint could hope to enter the highest level of Mormon heaven (the celestial kingdom) was if he had Joseph Smiths permission.

What Is Mormon Scripture?

Mormonism Claims

Four Standard Works

The LDS church accepts four books as its standard works:

• The Bible (King James Version)
• The Book of Mormona translation of an ancient document that gives an account of three people groups who migrated to the Americas from the Middle East, the latest of these arriving about 589 BC .
• The Doctrine and Covenantsa collection of modern revelations, most of which were given by LDS church founder Joseph Smith.
• The Pearl of Great Pricea collection of smaller works.

Of these four, only the Bible is considered to have corruptions and is accepted with qualifications ().

Continuing Revelation

Mormons are also instructed to accept the words of their living prophets.

Because of their belief in continuing revelation, Mormons do not view their scriptures as being closed, meaning that some doctrines may be changed or added in the future.

The Bible Teaches

The Bible vs. Mormon Revelations

The Bible says its a serious offense to claim God said something when He actually didnt. Before Mormon scripture can be given any credibility at all it must agree with what God has already revealed in the Biblefor example, see Acts 17:11, Hebrews 1:1-2. (The Mormon church takes no such position. In fact, the churchs First Presidency has insisted that the most reliable way to measure the accuracy of any biblical passage is not by comparing different texts, but by comparison with the Book of Mormon and modern-day revelations.)