Book of Mormon

[Babbler]

Studying the history of Joseph Smith you realize that his lusts prove he is no prophet. The organization was created on the premise of making piety a business. Standing back and analyzing the process of creating the fabricated book, I can not but believe that he was laughing and mocking god.

[ayin jade]

I think he was deluded by a demon. He "saw" an angel of light. The bible tells us satan can be seen as an angel of light. Regardless, he is a false prophet and set up a religion that leads to death.

[carmely]

Mormonism is sort of frightening. My mother was doing some digging into our genealogy and she was telling me that the Mormons have taken it upon themselves to compile information like passenger lists and birth/death certificates and all that. It sort of frightens me. I don't want Mormons knowing more about my past than I do. And to what purpose? So they can tie us all to Mormonism by right of folly or the misguided choices our ancestors made? So if my great great great great great great grandfather rubbed elbows with ole Joe Smith, does that mean I get a cushy seat in one of their churches? No thanks.

L. Ron Hubbard is another prime example of this. Scientology and its ilk terrify me. I mean it's all rubbish but it goes to show the depths of the devil's simple plans and playing on our faith. I believe human beings do have this deep, deep well of faith, a bountiful capacity to love but the devil has worked tirelessly to taint it, desecrate and mislead us.

The Devil is not very imaginative but he knows our buttons, and he pushes them frequently-- a wise man from our church once said.

Edited April 17, 2011 by carmely

[Isaiah 6:8]

Mormonism is sort of frightening. My mother was doing some digging into our genealogy and she was telling me that the Mormons have taken it upon themselves to compile information like passenger lists and birth/death certificates and all that. It sort of frightens me. I don't want Mormons knowing more about my past than I do. And to what purpose? So they can tie us all to Mormonism by right of folly or the misguided choices our ancestors made? So if my great great great great great great grandfather rubbed elbows with ole Joe Smith, does that mean I get a cushy seat in one of their churches? No thanks.

L. Ron Hubbard is another prime example of this. Scientology and its ilk terrify me. I mean it's all rubbish but it goes to show the depths of the devil's simple plans and playing on our faith. I believe human beings do have this deep, deep well of faith, a bountiful capacity to love but the devil has worked tirelessly to taint it, desecrate and mislead us.

The Devil is not very imaginative but he knows our buttons, and he pushes them frequently-- a wise man from our church once said.

They compile the list because they belive a living person can be baptized for the dead and bring them into Mormon Heaven. Nothing darker then this, and I can say this because my great great great etc.. grandfather DID rub elbows with Joseph Smith.

as for Scientology, it was birthed by a sci-fi writer who made a religion to get rich.

[Smalcald]

Smith had a lot of these visions while "peeping" which was a quasi occult practice of putting magic stones in a sack and staring into them. At the time it was like divining for gold etc that was how he got started.

I think many Mormons today will be saved as they do have a faith in Jesus although they don't understand who Jesus is and worship a false view of Jesus, but they will be more open to seeing the truth than many others in my opinion. They do still have the true bible so hopefully they also read that in addition to the false book they have.

I don

[Isaiah 6:8]

Smith had a lot of these visions while "peeping" which was a quasi occult practice of putting magic stones in a sack and staring into them. At the time it was like divining for gold etc that was how he got started.

I think many Mormons today will be saved as they do have a faith in Jesus although they don't understand who Jesus is and worship a false view of Jesus, but they will be more open to seeing the truth than many others in my opinion. They do still have the true bible so hopefully they also read that in addition to the false book they have.

I don't believe he felt he was mocking God. In my opinion he was a megalomaniac full of pride, he thought that he alone had a special gift from God that needed to be introduced to the world, and the bible was not good enough.

It is a good lesson for us today in following doctrines and preaching that is based on one man or one view that only this man has been given. There is nothing new to be revealed from God we all have equal access to His grace and Word.

I am sorry to contradict you but this is about 99% incorrect. I agree Joseph Smith did not want to mock god.

However Mormons are not saved. They are not a denomination, they are a cult. They do not have the Bible, they have their version of the Bible that has been reworded and edited to show what they say is true. They belive when you die you go to your own planet and populate it with your wife, and in history your wives. They have Nothing to do with the Bible, when you know them for what they really are. They do not have faith in Jesus, they belive he was a prophet, and he died, but it was only a coin toss that it was Jesus who died for us and not Satan, who the belive is the spirit brother of Jesus. They also belive that God slept with Mary to get her pregnant. They do not know Jesus, they do not know God, and they have no clue of the saving grace of God.

Also a quote from a great website so you may educate yourself on them better.

Christianity teaches that there is only one God. Mormonism teaches that there are many gods. Christianity teaches you cannot become a god. Mormonism says you can. In fact, Mormonism teaches that God used to be a man on another planet who became a god and brought one of his wives with him to this world. In case you doubt this, check out the documentation below which is taken from Mormon writers.

Like all non-Christian cults, Mormonism uses the Bible to support its doctrines and does so improperly. For example, when the Bible says that there are no other gods besides God (Isaiah 43:10; 44:6,8), Mormons quickly add "of this world." That means that there really are other gods out there and that the Bible is talking only about this world and not about others. They often quote 1 Cor. 8:5-6 which mentions the existence of other gods. But when doing this, they fail to read exactly what it says, that there are "so-called gods." In other words, they arecalled gods, but really are not gods. Paul was speaking about false gods, not the true and living God. Mormons frequently misrepresent scripture and take verses out of context to make it say what they want. Those who do not know what the Bible really teaches will easily be fooled by this cult.

http://carm.org/mormonism

[Fez]

We have a church here in South Africa called Shembe, or Zionist. They are can be equated to Mormons in a way. Their "prophet' Issiah Shembe climbed the "sacred" mountain and was "given" a vision by the Lord....

He wrote the Shembe bible, and is venerated as being Holy (more than the Pope). For instance one cannot touch his car (a luxury Mercedes, without it having to be purified again). One cannot walk on top of one of his footprints, etc. The Shembes practice animal sacrifice, and every year they do a pilgrimage to the holy mountain.

The frightening thing is that there are literally millions of them, and one pilgrimage will have up to a million people attending. Shembe lives in a palace, has a private plane, and the tithes they collect during the pilgrimage are collected in 200 liter drums, filled to the top with banknotes.

We had a "multi cultural prayer event" in the reserve where I work last year. All denominations were invited, including Shembe himself. A building had to be erected the day before so that he did not have to sit in the sun. Not a awning or tent, a wooden building.

I usually assist with big events we have in numerous ways. It surprised my CEO when I asked to be excused and told him that it was on grounds of my religious beliefs. (The Shembes started by sacrificing chickens...). I got no argument from my CEO or boss, which actually surprised me.

At the event they filled drums from a tap behind one of our day visitor site ablution blocks. Shembe blessed the water and then it was sold at about $1.50 a cup to the "faithful"

Thing is, that some of my Zulu co-workers are Shembe's, and they have stickers all over their cars saying things like "Shembe is the Way", etc. When I preach in the local village, some of them attend, and it the only time I can try and preach pure gospel, hoping that my words sink into hearts deceived by this movement.

South and I did a prayer meeting for rain in the village (we are in a 9 year drought), God answered a week later and we had heavy rain. When we went back to pray thanks we were showered with gifts of fruit, vegetables, carved wooden bowls, a ethnic clock, etc. I was told that they do this for "prophets".

That got me going and I preached on what a sinner I was and that I was no different from any one of them, and that our prayers had been heard, not mine. I preached from the hip for 45 minutes or so, about the blood and the cross.

As with the Mormons, all we can do is pray, and pray that the Spirit rests on these misguided hearts.

[ayin jade]

Smith had a lot of these visions while "peeping" which was a quasi occult practice of putting magic stones in a sack and staring into them. At the time it was like divining for gold etc that was how he got started.

I think many Mormons today will be saved as they do have a faith in Jesus although they don't understand who Jesus is and worship a false view of Jesus, but they will be more open to seeing the truth than many others in my opinion. They do still have the true bible so hopefully they also read that in addition to the false book they have.

I don

[nChrist]

We have a church here in South Africa called Shembe, or Zionist. They are can be equated to Mormons in a way. Their "prophet' Issiah Shembe climbed the "sacred" mountain and was "given" a vision by the Lord....

He wrote the Shembe bible, and is venerated as being Holy (more than the Pope). For instance one cannot touch his car (a luxury Mercedes, without it having to be purified again). One cannot walk on top of one of his footprints, etc. The Shembes practice animal sacrifice, and every year they do a pilgrimage to the holy mountain.

The frightening thing is that there are literally millions of them, and one pilgrimage will have up to a million people attending. Shembe lives in a palace, has a private plane, and the tithes they collect during the pilgrimage are collected in 200 liter drums, filled to the top with banknotes.

We had a "multi cultural prayer event" in the reserve where I work last year. All denominations were invited, including Shembe himself. A building had to be erected the day before so that he did not have to sit in the sun. Not a awning or tent, a wooden building.

I usually assist with big events we have in numerous ways. It surprised my CEO when I asked to be excused and told him that it was on grounds of my religious beliefs. (The Shembes started by sacrificing chickens...). I got no argument from my CEO or boss, which actually surprised me.

At the event they filled drums from a tap behind one of our day visitor site ablution blocks. Shembe blessed the water and then it was sold at about $1.50 a cup to the "faithful"

Thing is, that some of my Zulu co-workers are Shembe's, and they have stickers all over their cars saying things like "Shembe is the Way", etc. When I preach in the local village, some of them attend, and it the only time I can try and preach pure gospel, hoping that my words sink into hearts deceived by this movement.

South and I did a prayer meeting for rain in the village (we are in a 9 year drought), God answered a week later and we had heavy rain. When we went back to pray thanks we were showered with gifts of fruit, vegetables, carved wooden bowls, a ethnic clock, etc. I was told that they do this for "prophets".

That got me going and I preached on what a sinner I was and that I was no different from any one of them, and that our prayers had been heard, not mine. I preached from the hip for 45 minutes or so, about the blood and the cross.

As with the Mormons, all we can do is pray, and pray that the Spirit rests on these misguided hearts.

Amen! I just wanted to tell you that I pray for you and South every day, especially that God will richly bless your ministry and watch over your safety. I firmly believe God's Promise that His Word never returns void. You might not hear about many of the results, but take heart and know that God is still working with your message. I think of three portions of Scripture that I'd like to share on this matter:

Isaiah 55:6-13 KJV Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. 12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

Isaiah 52:6-7 Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I. 7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!

Romans 10:14-15 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

[SavedByGrace1981]

When I think about cults like Mormonism, it reminds me of something I heard preached once.

It had to do with recognizing counterfeit money. The way someone is trained to recognize counterfeit currency is not to study the counterfeit, but to study the authentic money. The look, the texture, the feel, etc. By doing this, they will recognise the false currency when they see it.

It's the same with spiritual matters. Don't fear cults like Mormonism; rather, take them as an opportunity to study the Bible even more.

Mormonism is false on so many fronts - it is a "works" based (rather than faith based) religion. It puts other "scriptures" on par with the Bible. It is based on a man's (not God's) teaching. It minimizes Christ. And I could go on.

We should understand why Mormonsim - with its emphasis on morality and family - is so attrative to a lost and searching world. True Christians should be living such Christ-centered lives that the lost would want to know more about what we have.

Unfortunately, many of us aren't living out the lives we preach. which allows cults like Mormonism to flourish.

Blessings!

-Ed

Edited April 17, 2011 by SavedByGrace1981