“Scientology”, and Mormons

by Jannie

  Introduction

What do these cults have in common?  If you are offended, (a) Joseph Smith and (b) the father of all lies.  Also, (c) for a true Christian, is the use of “Christ” in their names and references, which is plain blasphemous and even further from the Truth.  Cults deny the deity of Jesus Christ and deny the Bible as the Word of God.

They are not of God (1 John 4:1-4).

They are not saved (Romans 10:9-10).

In looking at their doctrines, we’ll bear in mind the all important issue of credibility.  We will compare the Bible as the self-proclaimed [proven] Word of God, to the publications and claims of the so-called “Scientologists”, also referred to as members of “The Church of Christ (Scientist)”; and also the Mormons, officially claimed to be “The Latter day Saints of the Church of Jesus Christ” (!?) that will be shown to pervert the Truth of God to suit their own opinions that are riddled with unbelievably gross errors in reasoning and obvious contradictions to Scripture (The Bible containing its 66 books, not their own transliterations called Bibles). We will briefly look at the founders and their dubious motives (“inspiration”).

A typical example of erroneous reasoning is one of the ideas that Mrs. Eddy convinced herself (and her followers) of, is that whatever is not good, is not God and so does not exist! They believe that God is Divine Mind and therefore that “Mind” is all that exists.  God is [a] Spirit, yes (Jn 4:24), but it’s an amazing jump from this fact to the conclusion that an Almighty God cannot create animate and inanimate things that exist (be a real creation!) and to deny that these are apart from Him (is not Himself).  The Bible says God is Spirit and it says that He created everything ex nihilo; it nowhere says that everything is Him or mostly an illusion!  Naturally then, they will try to discredit the Bible and rather believe someone like Mrs. Eddy and her writings.

Sheer stupidity and illogical reasoning abound amongst the founders of these cults.  Consider the following:

  • What Almighty Creator is unable to create things that can exist independent [apart] of Him?
  • God = Love and therefore not a manipulator/dictator/sadist! Thus, His creation can be free agents…
  • If they claim delusion, who deludes them/us – if nothing outside God can exist [and is an illusion]?

The meditation by this author entitled “Who is Jesus Christ?” will show that these deluded “Scientologists” are [also] about 2 000 years behind the times as Mrs. Eddy seemed to have bought into gnosticism that was refuted by Paul in about 57 A.D. already; and again by Iraneus in his work “Against Heresies” before 200 A.D.!

 This is a term derived from the Greek word gnόsis (1108) meaning “knowledge”.  This heresy was repudiated by the writers of the NT epistles as well as the early church “fathers”, but seemingly forgotten and unknown to the ignorant Mrs. Eddy and other cults.  Gnostics separated matter from thought and concluded that matter was evil and so formulated the idea that the possession of knowledge was the only requirement for salvation.  This is why they did not want to attribute humanity to Jesus Christ because to them, material things were evil. Docetism resulted, which taught that the body of Christ was something that only appeared material [physical] but in reality was only spiritual.  This led to their immoral life for they separated their physical bodies [actions] from responsibility for actions done in the body (1 Cor 6:14-20).  Now contemplate Jn 1:14.

Gnostics ignored or diminished the significance of the historic facts of the ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as not being real but apparent.  To them, the secrets of God were in the mind, or appearing in an immaterial identity.  The result was a complete denial of sexual and other bodily appetites (one being virtual asceticism and the other a practice of unrestrained indulgence (Col 2:20-23).  Paul countered the teaching of asceticism by emphasizing that spirituality is not achieved by self-righteous efforts to control lust and greed, but by putting on Christ. Note 2 Cor 10:5.

The whole counsel of God is the logos (Acts 20:27-31), or the whole picture of what God wants us to know.  He has given us what He wants us to know in the Bible (2 Tim 3:16-17).  The problem with cults is that they distort excerpts from the Bible in order to support their [founder’s] pet theories.  They make the Bible fit their doctrine rather than letting their doctrine truly emerge from the Bible as the Word of our Triune God.

How credible is the Bible?  Is it the Word of God?

The authority of the Bible is also discussed in the meditation dealing with the “Jehovah’s Witnesses”.  More can be seen on www.gospel-truth.co.za. We will later, after looking at some five aspects of accreditation, look at the doctrines of the so-called “Christian Science” and the related Mormons.  How Mrs. Mary Baker could develop her doctrines from the Bible as her “only textbook” is a great mystery because the Bible and “Christian Science” have absolutely nothing in common.  So let’s briefly look at some facts concerning the Bible.

What is the Bible?  What makes the Book so hated and so special in the entire world?  The reason stems from the history and the contents of the Bible, and the fact that it is self-proclaimed to be inspired by God.  If this is true, then it implies it is the final authority of the Creator to His creation.  This, many do not like to hear, because they soon discover how wrong they are on moral issues such as abortion, homosexuality, and Who Jesus Christ really is and who He is not.  (See the meditation by this author, “Who is Jesus Christ”).  People [nations, religions] generally just don’t like being wrong.  Remember here that confusion is a state of mind.  This means you cannot trust your mind – or by implication, the mind of another human trying to sell his/her ideas – you can only trust the Word of God [Who made/designed your mind].  So let us first look at this issue of inspiration [spiritual communication] and the significance of the Bible.

Note here that many people claiming to be Christians do not [yet] believe the gospel of Jesus Christ!  The meditation entitled “The Gospel” by the same author explains and proves this convincingly.  Most religious institutions is still a far cry from the Body of Christ [is not His Church, His Body, His Zion, His Bride].  You will also note that the Book of Revelation begins by stating it is the revelation of Jesus Christ… He, in the Spirit, took John back a little while, and then showed him “what would soon happen” – in other words, what Jesus Christ had accomplished on His cross, having paid for with His Blood (12:11; 15:8; 16:17 with Jn 19:30).  His work is a finished, accomplished work.  We have to believe Him that He succeeded.  There is only one Lamb of God Who was offered once for all on His cross at Golgotha.  It has happened, it is done!  And it was not Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy.

Charles Wesley, McDowell, in Evidence that demands a verdict, 1990:178), says, “The Bible must be the invention either of good men or angels, bad men or devils, or of God.  However, it was not written by good men, because good men would not tell lies by saying “Thus says the Lord”; it was not written by bad men because they would not write so honestly or about the good while condemning sin and unbelief, and themselves to hell; thus, it must be written by divine inspiration”.

But more concretely, surely over 60 000 ancient manuscripts must attest for something!  In 170 AD Irenaeus cited 23 of the 27 N.T. books, omitting only Philemon, James, 2 Peter and 3 John.  The Muratorian fragment, written about the same time, attests to the widespread use of all of the N.T. books except Hebrews, James, 1 Peter and 2 Peter.  However, other church fathers had already cited those omitted books in various writings defending against Gnostic doctrines.  The Codex Barococcio from 206 A.D. includes 64 of the 66 books of today’s Bible (Esther and Revelation were omitted), but they had already been declared as inspired Scripture by Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Clement, Tertullian and the Muratorian Canon.  In 230 AD, Origen declared that all Christians acknowledged as Scripture the four Gospels, Acts, the epistles of Paul, 1 peter, 1 John and Revelation.  In 367 AD, Athanasius formally circulated the “Easter Letter” that listed all 27 books as canonical.  The Synod of Hippo (393 AD) and the third Synod of Carthage (397 AD) also recognized these 27 books as canonical.  In addition, during this time, the highly influential church fathers, Jerome (340-420 AD) and Augustine (354-430 AD) published their lists of 27 books completing the N.T.

Translations such as the King James Version are derived from existing copies of ancient manuscripts such as the Hebrew Masoretic Text (Old Testament) and the Greek Textus Receptus (New Testament), and are not translations of texts translated from other interpretations.  The primary difference between today’s Bible translations are merely related to how translators interpret a word or sentence from the original text source (Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek).   Hermeneutics is the study of Scripture interpretation, known by scholars.

The absolute reliability of the manuscripts from which today’s Bibles are translated, has significant evidence in its favour.  There are more than 14 000 existing Old Testament manuscripts and fragments copied throughout the Middle East, Mediterranean and European regions that agree dramatically with each other.  In addition, these texts agree with the Septuagint version of the OT, which was translated from Hebrew to Greek some time during the 3rd century BC.  The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered in the 1940’s and 50’s, also provide phenomenal evidence for the reliability of the ancient transmission of Jewish Scriptures before the arrival of Jesus Christ.  A single error would require the immediate destruction of the entire text, sometimes apparently even the death of careless scribes.  The writings of so-called “Scientologists”, in contrast, contradict numerous original texts in it contextual meaning.  We will later consider a few prime examples.

The honest and serious scholar will therefore soon discover that the Bible is [can only be] one, progressive, unfolding, revelation of God; and that this revelation is Jesus Christ as Lord and His gift to us – His Holy Spirit indwelling permanently those that believe Him.  (Not that we are God, but that we are of God if we follow Him!). We then become new creations (2 Cor 5:16-21) to His image, we then reveal to be a spirit (re-born, 1 Cor 15:45-49, God -conscious) with a soul (self-conscious intellect, emotion, will) inside a body (physical).  If not re-born [spiritually] you are still only like a beast.  A beast is Bible language for a creature with a soul (mind, intellect, emotion, will) and a body that is all self-centred, but is not spiritual [Spirit is all God-conscious, living according to what His Spirit teaches, guides].  Jesus attests to the inspiration (Theopneustos means “God breathed out”) of the O.T. and His fulfilment of both the prophets and the law (ex. Mt 5:17,18; Lk 24:44; Jn 5:39).  When Jesus refers to the law of Moses, the prophets and the Psalms, He is referring to the three-part division of the Tanakh[1].

The manuscript evidence for the NT is also dramatic, with over 5 300 known copies of fragments in the original Greek, nearly 800 of which were copied before 1 000 AD.  Some manuscript texts date to the early second and third centuries, with the time between the autographs (original manuscripts) and our earliest existing copies being a remarkable short 60 years.  This manuscript evidence far surpasses the manuscript reliability of other ancient writings that we trust as authentic every day.  Look at these comparisons:  Julius Caesar’s “The Gallic Wars” (10 manuscripts remain, with the earliest dating to 1 000 years after the original autograph); Pliny the Younger’s “History” (7 manuscripts, 750 years elapsed); Thucydides’ “History” ( 8 manuscripts, 1 300 years elapsed); Herodotus’ “History” (8 manuscripts, 1 300 years elapsed); Sophocles (193 manuscripts, 1 400 years); Euripides (9 manuscripts, 1 500 years); and Aristotle (49 scripts, 1 400 yrs).

Homer’s “Iliad”, the most renowned book of ancient Greece, has 643 copies of manuscript support.  In those copies, there are 764 disputed lines of text, as compared to 40 lines in all the NT manuscripts[2].  In fact, many people are unaware that each of William Shakespeare’s 37 plays (written in the 1 600’s) has gaps in the surviving manuscripts, forcing scholars to “fill in the blanks”.  This pales into textual comparison to the over 5 300 copies and fragments of the NT that assure us nothing has been lost.  In fact, all of the NT except 11 verses can be reconstructed from the writings of the early church fathers in the 2nd and 3rd centuries.

The Bible – not the “Scientologist’s” or any other cult’s ideas that contradicts the Bible – clearly defines itself as the communication of God to His creation, through OT men known as prophets and ultimately in the historical [real] Person Jesus Christ. (Check the date – on Who is it based?).  This communication defines His being, Himself, to His created.  Also His plan [idea] with us and how men, throughout history, have missed it through their own unbelief [distrust, offense] in His Word.  So He sent His unique Son [Word] to legally enter the natural realm to represent man and demonstrate how man should be with His Spirit inside of us.  The first part of the Bible refer to this Messiah, then how He came and paid on His cross with His blood on behalf of all, once for all; and then in the last part, His teachings, revelations of what Jesus had accomplished in the Spiritual realm with that exchange on His cross (Is 53; Col 2; Rev 5:12; 7:14,17; 12:11; 13:8; 21:23,27), and examples of a new (NT) dispensation.  God as a Father could so be understood to remain to be God, while sending a special Son to be the sole expression of Himself [Lord of lords, King of kings] here on earth with His Holy Spirit inside a real human body.  No illusions! God is Spirit [invisible], so He is seeking those who worship Him in Spirit and in Truth (Jn 4:24; 8:32,36; 20:22).  The Bible is very clear that Jesus will return as He left – in a visible, physical body (Jn 21:1-14; Lk 24; Mt 28; Acts 1:11; 1 Cor 15:12-22).  No other foundation can anyone lay than that which is already laid, which is Jesus Christ (1 Cor 3:11).  Consider Jesus Christ crucified (1 Cor 1:23-2:2; Is 53 and 1 Pet 2:24).  The OT has a covenant; the NT a Testament (that’s why Jesus had to be buried – Heb 7; Heb 9).  Righteousness does not come out of you, it has come to you in Jesus Christ (Phil 3:9; 2 Cor 5:21).

Man might have flaws, but God imputes His righteousness to believers in the finished work of Jesus Christ.  The purpose of the law was so that people can see and hate self-righteousness (Gal 3; Js 2:10…).  This the “Scientologist” completely misses in his blinded and puffed-up “knowledge” and ridiculous philosophical errors in reasoning. The law-mentality [merit-system] makes you think you can cash in on your goodness, and that God has this pre-requisite that you must impress Him first with works (even obedience to law, rules), before He can accept you.  This is self-righteousness and not the righteousness God imputes through your Savior Jesus Christ, as Lord.  Jesus [also] demonstrated that He was obedient because of sonship, not how to become a Son through obedience.  Laws cannot change the desire in your heart to do wrong, only Jesus can when you accept His Spirit inside of you   – Rom 3:20-28; 8:1-4; 10:1-4.  Try Gal 5:4 again, you try to impress Him, and you sever yourself from grace.  To reject the Word of God with philosophical nonsense is utterly futile.

The Bible defines the purpose of man and his life on earth.  We are created to His image and we are to be above the natural as His children – in Christ (His anointing, power, Light, Life), we are supposed to trust in the certainty of His promises of an everlasting life in Christ, just as certain as the true prophecy Jesus gave of His own death and resurrection.  God’s promise was His Spirit continuously inside and upon us, only achievable by the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and His resurrection from the dead.  And yes, His resurrection was physical [real] – Jn 20:19-31.

In the Bible God had OT prophets announce, and then apostles (eye-witnesses.  And please note that hallucinations are not contagious, in case you were told that hundreds of people hallucinated) who declared and proved, that Jesus Christ was this Savior, His salvation plan for all mankind that would accept His Word [Trust His Word].  Remember that God is Love, and that true love never manipulates.  He gave you your will [to choose] for that very reason.  Think about it.  He gave you the ability and now you have the choice to respond.  Ability + response = responsibility.   Today still, to prophecy means to say what God has said all along (Num 11:29; 1 Cor 14:1-4; 1 Pet 1:10-13).

One thousand years before crucifixions were invented as a method of execution, David prophesied it in Ps 22:16[3].  That same Psalm starts with the words Jesus uttered on His cross, and ends with His last words on His cross.  Jesus fulfilled it, not Mrs. Eddy.  Seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus, Isaiah described the death of the Christ [anointed] of God Who would die for all the sin of all the world (Is 52:13-53:12).  In Daniel, 539 years before the birth of Jesus, we are given the exact day He would die as Messiah (9:24-27)!

For more powerful revelations about the true gospel of Jesus Christ, study the other meditations by the same author.  Jesus fulfilled over three hundred prophecies in amazing detail.  But there is infinitely more.  This is merely accepting historical facts recorded by the most credible writers of their time, as well as supernatural evidence of signs, miracles and wonders (not “illusions”);  today still in the name of this same Jesus Christ as Lord.  The author has seen Jesus save his own son from certain death and has seen many cancers healed.  Contact him on 27(09)82 4428407 for his and many other verifiable true witnessing of the true Jehovah:  Jesus Christ as Lord.  If you have a problem with the Deity of Jesus Christ, you have a problem with God Himself.  And this fact is no illusion!

Why are you denying such overwhelming evidence and historically accurate reports?  Do you know Truth? God as Spirit materialized in a human body as Jesus Christ (Joshua Messiah), for at least these reasons:

  1. To undo the work the devil had done in the beginning (1 Jn 3:8). See the meditation by the author entitled “Genesis to Revelation” and “Mixing Old and New” for a better exegesis. If you have a problem (bought a lie) that the devil or angels, does not exist, you are (selectively) ignoring the clear references thereto in the most credible literally work on earth – The Bible.
  2. Jesus had to legitimately [truly] represent mankind and so had to be born of a woman (1 Cor 15:45). Note that He was sent, not created (Jn 1:1-3; Col 1:12-20) as a Seed [Word of God] – Jn 1:14.
  3. Jesus had to pay for all sin of all mankind (Jn 1:29; 3:15-16; 1 Tim 2:5; and so on)
  4. Jesus had to be buried (Heb 9:16-18; Jn 8:17 with Rom 8:17; Heb 2:8-18; 9:11-14,10:7-14…)
  5. Jesus had to rise from the dead to show (a) our sins are forgiven (Mt 6:12,14-15; Jn 20:23; Rom 6 with 12:19); and (b) that Jesus Christ is everlasting Life (Jn 1:4; 5:37-47; 14:6; Rev 2:7; 22:2,14); and (c) that He is our Advocate/Intercessor/Friend (1 Jn 2:1-2; Heb 7:25; 9:24; Jn 3:17-21; Rom 8:2…); and (d) that this is all real (tangible) not “illusions” (false).

The so-called “Scientologists” and “Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-day Saints” (“Mormons”) memorize and recite selected verses in parrot-like fashion after humans (not gods) who has rejected the Bible as the Word of God when they were still teenagers with no knowledge of the original text; humans who concocted their own doctrines to suit their own personal notions, who reasoned away their false predictions with false declarations that outright oppose the original manuscripts and the original Bible that is beyond any doubt the Word of God.  These “scientists” and “believers” believe their own version of a Bible that they call true.  This is absurd.  The true God is a miracle working God that revealed Himself (to us) in three Persons:  A Father, a Son, a Holy Spirit – His witnesses knows it for a fact.  (The original Latin translation from Greek shows “person” to mean “mask” and is discussed in the meditation “Trinity Doctrine” on www.gospel-truth.co.za).

Knowing God can only be achieved by accurately knowing Jesus Christ (Jn 3:3,16, 10:9; 14:6; Rom 10) in a personal relationship (Jn 10:27,28; Mt 7:20-23).  Fruit is answered prayers (prophecies) is joy.  When you say what God has said all along [in trust, belief in His Word], His Word will not return void but fulfil what it was set out to do (Is 55:9-11; Gen 1:26-28; and Mt 13:33-43 with Heb 9:26 in the KJV and Mt 5:14).  This is prayer [prayers answered] and this is prophecy:  saying, declaring what God has said/promised all along!

Casually, and superficially, only Mt 28:19 and 2 Cor 13:14 seems capable of a Trinitarian interpretation.  Then there are the plurality and simultaneous singular usage of reference to God as – for example – in Gen 1:26. The Deity of Christ is taught by Paul in Phil 2:6-8 and 1 Tim 3:16; also the personality of the Holy Spirit in Eph 4:30 – he then puts the Three together in the benediction of 2 Cor 13:14. The meditation “Trinity doctrine” expands on this subject.

 God has revealed Himself in three Persons (2 Tim 3:16-17), so we can understand His Personality:

 The Father: Is 63:16; Mal 2:10.  In Isaiah 9:6 Jesus is called everlasting Father [of eternity]!

  1. The Son of Jehovah:  Ps 45:6,7; 2:6,7,12; Prov 30:4; as Messiah with Divine titles in Jer 23:5,6; Is 9:6; and then the Angel of the Lord who bears God’s name and has power to either forgive or retain sins as in Ex 23:20,21. Also Jn 10:30; 14:9; etc. Also consider the Book of Hebrews, especially 1:5; 4:14; chap 7-10…
  2. The Holy Spirit: Gen 1:2; Is 11:2,3; 48:16; 61:1; 63:10.   Lying to the Holy Spirit is lying to God in Acts 5:3,4; Jn 16:8; see also 1 Cor 12:11. God is Spirit – Jn 4:24.  This is how He can be omnipresent.

The Apostle Paul also held this possible view by comparing the following Scriptures:

  1. Eph 4:11.  The 5 leadership gifts (charismata) given by Jesus Himself to equip saints to prove the working of the Holy Spirit, building His church [His Body, Bride, those His Spirit indwells];
  2. Rom 12:6-8. The 7 ministries (diakona) given by the Father to train saints to serve like Jesus;
  3. 1 Cor 12:8-12.  The 9 spiritual gifts (energemata) given by the Holy Spirit to show the Father’s power.

For a more in-depth study on the trinity, see the meditation entitled “Trinity Doctrine” by the author.  Meanwhile, as a summery, we see from Genesis 1 through Revelations 22 that the three persons in the Godhead always work together: It’s as if God the Father conceives the thought, God the Son says it, and God the Holy Spirit does it.  The Father is the Creator, Sustainer and Giver of Life.  The Son is our Lord, Example, First Born, Brother[4], and Savior.  The Holy Spirit is Omnipresent, is our Helper, Comforter, Teacher, Guide and Power of God[5].  He strengthens, leads, teaches and interprets, gives unity and peace, gives power to pray (and He translates for us) and power to worship and speak, He calls and sets the true believer in Jesus Christ as Savior, apart.  If you insist on having a god you defined by man’s ideas, you have a god smaller than yourself and you cannot worship [trust] him.  Think about it.  Perhaps this is the issue with unbelievers in a Triune God.

In the beginning of this meditation, mention was made to find the truth, not to just try and win own arguments.  Note here that Jesus Christ – after His indisputable resurrection – stated that all authority in heaven and earth was given Him, and that He is the Truth, and that if you know HIM, you will know the Truth and He will set you free, and if He sets you free, that you are free indeed (Mt 28:18; Jn 8:32,36).  Do you believe Him?  Or would you stubbornly (unreasonably), still prefer Mrs. Eddy or Joseph Smith?

If signs, miracles and wonders[6] are not following you, you only have [another] dead religion (Mk 16:16-20).  Ironically, could your biggest reality be your own “illusion” of unbelief in Jesus Christ.

Cults contrast the gospel of Jesus Christ by perverting and twisting the Truth to draw away disciples after themselves.   They do not present the whole Truth and isolate Scripture without comparing Scripture with Scripture honestly; and worst of all, choose to ignore [“reason” away] hard facts.  They alter copies of original manuscripts and accurate old translations accepted as Scripture to suit their pet doctrines and discard the rest.  This is selective, false, and come from “amongst yourselves” – Acts 20:37-31.  Cults are defined by their denial of the Lordship and Deity of Jesus Christ.

The reliability of ancient manuscripts from which today’s Bibles are translated, is remarkable. It is important to remember that the canon of the New Testament was not the result of any pronouncement by any official of the “church” or any organizational body.  Rather, the canon was determined by the authoritative use of these books right from the start by the rapidly expanding church of the first and second centuries.  The NT canon was merely a process of formal recognition of already recognized Scripture, to admonish against the various forms of Gnosticism and false teachings that were starting to creep throughout the ever-expanding church.  By the early 300’s AD, all of the NT books were being used in the mainstream church body.  For the purpose of this short overview, we will conclude this discussion about the Bible here. More is downloadable from www.Gospel-Truth.co.za. We’ll move on to look at the confusing doctrines of “Scientologists” and Mormons.

Accreditation

There are five well accepted [academic] criteria of credibility that can be used to assess the credibility of documents or individual sources.  They are the following:

Reputation

The first criterion, reputation, is whether the source’s history or status suggests reliability or unreliability. If we know that someone has told lies in the past, then we should be less trusting of them in future. If, on the other hand, they have been put in a position of authority and responsibility, then this suggests that they have earned it, and so this counts in their favor, to some degree at least.

Having said this, one must accept the logical acceptance of the fact that any liar can [may, is capable to] tell some truth at some point [give a truthful account of what was perceived].

Consider then the discussions on Mary Baker Eddy and Joseph Smith following these five points.  Bare these criteria in mind, when we later on in this meditation, look at their doctrines.

Ability to See

The second criterion, ability to see, concerns whether the source is in a position to know what they’re talking about. No matter how honest a source of information, if they don’t have access to the evidence then the value of their testimony is going to be limited. To assess a source using this criterion, consider whether the person was present to see what they are claiming occurred first-hand, and if they were, then whether there were any conditions that might have obstructed their view or otherwise impaired their access to evidence.

Compare here the overwhelming historical references and manuscripts of the Bible with the relatively brand new and weird ideas of Mrs. Eddy.  All the works of Mary Baker Eddy are considered – by her followers – to be inspired of God.  Whatever she said is believed to be authoritative.  This, of course, boggles the mind if one compares her strange ideas with what is clearly to be read in the infinitely more credible Bible.  More amazing is how easily multitudes of people just blindly follow a delusional human and claim to be wise and “enlightened” themselves. Unbelievable!  Actually, tragic and sad.

Vested Interest

The vested interest criterion refers to whether the source of information has anything personally at stake. If they might gain something by lying, then their credibility is weakened by their vested interest. If they might lose a lot by being caught lying, then their credibility is strengthened by a vested interest to tell the truth or admit that they have erred.  “Keeping face” then out rules a true confession.

Observe here the historically accurate accounts of the Life, teachings, and resurrection of Jesus Christ [as mentioned in the Bible], as opposed to the concocted doctrines of humans such as Mrs. Eddy who claims that man has no body and that the fall of man did not occur (it was a fantasy, an illusion) and subsequently is sinfulness denied, and that there is no separate mind from God that implies that man and God are one and the same person (we are all God?)…  One then have to ask yourself if someone was just delusional (demented) or was there a vested interest in a self-glorification [bitterness] and attempts at self-righteousness?  This is exactly why all humans needs [needed] a Divine Savoir!

One can also just wonder what the interest [motive] of a member to a diabolical organization such as the free masonry can be to true Christianity.  Why use the name “Christ” but denies Him and His teachings (1 Jn 2:4)?  Both Joseph and Hyrum Smith were free masons. In 1842, Joseph Smith became a Master Mason.  The Mormon church has brought many of the masonic rituals into their services.  In fact, the story of the golden plates could have been influenced  by an ancient masonic legend.  The association of Mr. Smith to the forming ideas of “Christian Science” is also undeniable and obvious.

Expertise

The fourth criterion is expertise. There are some situations in which it is difficult for normal observers to accurately interpret evidence because they lack specialized knowledge. For example, if I were to watch a high-level game of chess, my comments as to who was in the best position would be worthless, as even if I were able to see the board clearly I wouldn’t really know what was going on. My credibility about such matters would thus be weakened by my lack of expertise.

Mrs. Eddy and Mr. Smith were both highly irregular and inconsistent with someone who knows God or the Word of God at all [accurately].  They claim humans are [become] gods and reject Jesus (deny that He existed, saying He is a figment of our deluded imagination); but “accept” Christ.  They say man needs no salvation because they deny the reality of sin and evil. They say that Christ came to reveal to us the truth that sin, sickness and disease do not exist.  When He (not Jesus?) healed the sick (and warned against sin, and defined it) He got them to believe correctly, that is, that they are a delusion?  As soon as we believe that sickness is an illusion, sickness then just simply disappears.  They also say that sin is maintaining the wrong belief in the existence of matter, sin, sickness, disease, etc. If we continue in this belief, we deserve to be punished with what we believe in. But, on the other hand, there is no such thing as sin, sickness, and disease. This logical absurdity is ironically, revealing exactly a crucially sick mind that desperately needs to accept [believe, trust] Jesus Christ – not self.

Mary Baker Eddy must then have died in gross sin, since she taught her followers that if we believe that matter does not exist, then we would disappear from this material world. She did not disappear from this material world, she died…  in sin (Jn 16:9).  Bare in mind that she said being sick is a result of believing a lie (which in itself is a sin) and that she did not disappear but died of ill health.  She said that to be material is to be a lie.  Was she then just an illusion?  Then why follow an illusion’s ideas???

Neutrality

The final criterion is neutrality bias, i.e. whether someone is predisposed to support a particular point of view for reasons other than vested interest. Someone who knows other people involved in a dispute, for example, may be liable to side with them or against them depending on their relationship, weakening their credibility.

People do not want to be wrong – until they are born-again (Jn 3:3).  They tend to fervently defend whatever belief system they have bought into whether they can prove any of it or not.  And the most accredited reference by all means by far, is the Word of God, the Bible consisting of its 66 Books.  The “proof” that “Scientologists” come up with, is ridiculously childish and blinded by self.  A typical example is (a) where “Scientologists” assume to quote Jn 1:18 but fail to read on to even verse 34, and even missed verses 1-17!  They also completely missed Mt 11:27; or Jn 4:23-26; 5:19-26; 6:46; 9:35-41; 10:36; and (b) where they unbelievably claim Jesus did not know who He was because of an incredibly dull understanding of Mt 16:13-15 (Lk 9:18)!  How can they not see that Jesus (Jn 1:1-4,17; 3:16-20; Col 1:13-20!) was revealing to them what they did not realize, namely that only God [Holy Spirit] could reveal to Peter (Simon, meaning “wavering reed” that Jesus already named Peter – “rock” in foreknowledge) that Jesus was indeed the Messiah that had been prophesied for ages. Hello?

Don’t be so foolish as to compare over 60 000 ancient and proven manuscripts to a few novels of men.  Again, read the section in the other meditations on this website that expands on this basic fact.

Further discussion

We start this with some historic background on two prominent figures in these cults.

 Mary Baker Eddy

Their history will show that Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of “Christian Science”, was born on July 16th 1821, in Bow, New Hampshire. She was the sixth child of six children.  Her father, Mark Baker, was a strict and stern Calvinist.  Father and daughter often argued about God’s judgment and eternal punishments, a doctrine that truly disturbed young Mary.

Mary Baker was a nervous, anxious child with a spinal condition.  Being a semi-invalid she mainly received her schooling at home and had many teachers within the family, ranging from her parents to her elder siblings to her cousins.  In the end, she was not very well educated, as her early writings prove.

Mary was 17 years when she joined the Congregational church in Tilton, New Hampshire and 22 when she married Major George Glover, a building contractor. This was a happy marriage which lasted less than a year because Glover died, leaving her with a baby son in 1844. Nine years later, Mary married again, to one Daniel Patterson, a dentist.  This was an unhappy marriage.

Patterson was an itinerant dentist who spent more time with one Joseph Smith, claiming an angel appeared and showed them gold plates, leaf by leaf.  Later, with heaven seeming to be confused, Smith showed the plates to eight more witnesses.  We’ll briefly discuss Mr. Smith (an illusion?) and his (delusional) ideas later on.

Mrs. Eddy was experiencing administrative and organizational problems and her health was also failing.  This she blamed on the mental poisoning of her enemies.  She had dentures and spectacles to help her physical inadequacies.  The significance here is that this is someone who devised the dogma that sin, sickness and death is all mere an illusion, yet needed glasses.  She also partook of drugs in an attempt to overcome her ill health while claiming she did not believe in the concept of sickness and death and claimed healing, yet died.  They have a radio program called “How Christian Science Heals” which reaches a large audience in the USA.   (You might find the meditation “The Testimony” on www.gospel-truth.co.za on Life particularly enlightening).

Although it is a revelation that God – Jesus Christ – is all about Life literally everlasting, does Mary seemed to have been delusional about the Deity of Jesus Christ (claiming He was totally unnecessary because sin does not exist), also about their concept of [a] god that is very similar to that of the Hindu.  To them God is all and all is God [Pantheism].  They believe that all that is not spirit does not exist.  They do not believe the Bible, or the Word of God, Jesus Christ [accurately recorded] – they believe Mary Baker Eddy (Jn 8:42-47) instead.

James Henry Wiggins, a Unitarian minister, was appointed as Mrs. Eddy’s literary advisor who had the task to hide her gross literary inadequacies, pointing to her lack of proper education.

“Christian Science Incorporated”.  On the 23rd August 1879, the “Church of Christ (Scientist)” was officially incorporated in Boston, Massachusetts.  The original purpose was… “… to commemorate the word and works of our Master, which should reinstate primitive Christianity and it’s lost element of healing”.  Mary Baker was inducted as the first pastor.  How her ideas “reinstated” Christianity, is beyond comprehension.

The “National Christian Scientists’ Association” was organized in 1886, showing that the “church” had become a national entity and that remarkable expansion had taken place. The Massachusetts Metaphysical College was founded in the home of Mary Baker in Lynn, Massachusetts.  This institution was later moved to Boston. But in opposition the Bible mentions Jesus rather vividly… and they claim Him an illusion/lie?

In 1889, at 66 years of age, Mary Baker Eddy retired from leadership of the Boston “Mother Church” and moved to Concorde, New Hampshire.  In 1892 the “Mother Church” is called “First Church of Christ, Scientist”.  In 1908 Mrs. Eddy, at the age of 87, founded the daily newsmeditation, “The Christian Science Monitor”.  This became a well respected meditation, reporting on positive aspects of world events, having a reputation for accuracy. But, before getting overly excited, first contemplate 2 Corinthians 11:12-15.

The new leader of the “Mother Church”, Augusta Stetson, was gaining greater popularity than Mrs. Eddy and thus soon became a threat to Mrs. Eddy’s supremacy.  She was banished.  This caused a major stir amongst observers of the movement.  Maybe she was also just a mere illusion after all?  So why remove an illusion?…

A teaching arose amongst the followers of Mrs. Eddy, that if one had enough faith, a child could be conceived without sexual intercourse. Soon, Mrs. Josephine Woodbury claimed that she was with child supernaturally without a man (homosexuals should love this teaching).  This claim was so publicized and played up by the media that it became great embarrassment to Mrs. Eddy.  It was then decided to excommunicate Mrs. Woodbury.  This child was called “Prince of Peace” and was later lifted up by his collar and “bodily thrown out” when he wanted to attend Sunday school.  Who could blame the poor illusion… with another illusion?

Mrs. Eddy Baker died on 03 December, 1910.  She was 89, quite an age for a sickly person (who did not believe in illness).  She requested one of her closest associates, Adam Dickey: “If I ever leave here, will you promise me that you will say that I was mentally murdered?”  His response:  “Yes, Mother.”

 Joseph Smith

Meet the Mormons, the “Church of the Latter Day Saints of Jesus Christ”, who also have doctrines in stark contrast with what the Bible is clearly about. Six members in 1830 officially incorporated “The Church of Christ” in the city of Fayette, NY.  The name soon changed to its present form.

Joseph Smith jnr. was born in Sharon, Vermont on the 23rd December 1805 as the fourth child of Joseph and Lucy Mack Smith – one of ten children.  They were Presbyterians.  The many denominations disillusioned Joseph (correctly so, Eph 4:4,5) and he rejected all in totality. Joseph had his first vision in the spring of 1820 and his second came three years later in September 1823.

On the 18th January 1827 he eloped with Emma Hale of Harmony, Pennsylvania.  Her father did not want her to marry an unemployed treasure hunter who looked for his treasure with a “peep stone” or a crystal ball.  Officially they eloped because of persecution due to his visions.

His visions started at the age of 15 when they were staying in Palmyra, NY. He was asking which church to join and a “personage” appeared to him telling him to join none of the churches – all were corrupt, “having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof.” (This, incidentally, is probably exactly the case.  See the meditations “church” by this author!). The second vision occurred on the 21st September 1823 when a “personage” named Moroni, son of Mormon, appeared to him.  Moroni informed him that he was commissioned by God to translate a book written on golden plates.  He was also to be given two stones on a silver bow – the Urim and Thumim, in order to help him accomplish this task.  The site where these items were located was revealed to him as well.

The following day he was taken to the Cumorah Hill.  Here he was shown the golden plates together with the Urim and the Thumim.  He was not permitted to take them but was to come to the same place on the same day every year for four years.  It was on 22 September 1827, eight months after his marriage, that he received the plates.  He began translating them by means of the Urim and Thumim in the home of his wife’s parents, the Hales.  Joseph Smith was 22 years old.

The same Joseph Smith (jnr) was also obsessed with finding Captain Kidd’s legendary hoard and also attempted to mint his own coins – an illegal activity, which often put him in trouble with the law. “Joe” jnr (as he was called) was often seen actively involved with his father in these treasure hunts.  In fact it seemed the only occupation of this family, and not surprisingly, great poverty abounded.  Smith jnr was the “peep stone” specialist and they relied on him to locate the treasure.  This was the activity he was engaged in the day after he received his first vision.  So much for the impact that this vision had on him!  In 1826 he was known as “Joseph Smith, the Glass Looker”, according to a receipt which he received from judge Albert Neeley for his offence.  History and time proved that the Smith family was completely unsuccessful as treasure hunters.

Joseph Smith’s mother, Lucy Mack Smith, is the one who probably influenced him the most in his religious views.  She was known for her “extreme religious views.”  Lucy Smith authored a book called “Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith and his Progenitors for Many Generations”.  It later became known as “Mother Smith’s History”.  Of course, Lucy Smith did not have the intelligence or education to do this work – she used a ghost writer called Mrs. Coray.  This later proved to be an embarrassment to the Mormon movement who suppressed it on grounds of its “many mistakes”.

The golden plates that Smith supposedly found were now to be translated. This work began, as we mentioned, in the home of his father-in-law in Harmony, Pennsylvania by using the Urim and Thumim with which he “copied and translated” the text found on the plates.

One Martin Harris [conveniently] became friends with Joseph Smith jnr at about this time and Harris soon found out about Smith’s “heavenly” project with, what seemed to be, great enthusiasm.  Harris was a wealthy NY farmer who offered to finance the publication of Smith’s material, but first he wanted to verify that the plates were genuine.  Smith gave him a copy of the characters that he had “copied”.  Harris was astonished that at Smith’s explanation that these characters were an altered form of “reformed” Egyptian, being under the original impression that they were Hebrew, like the Old Testament.  Harris approached prof. Charles Anton of NY city.  According to Smith’a autobiography, prof. Anton identified these characters as “Egyptian, Chaldaic, Assyriac and Arabic” and confirmed that this was correctly translated.

Oliver Cowdery was an ex-school teacher who joined Joseph Smith in April 1829.  In May that same year they apparently went into a forest to pray.  During this time of prayer, they say, John the Baptist appeared to them and appointed them to the “Aaronic priesthood”.  This seemed to enable them to prophecy and obtain new insights into the scripture.  Soon after, Peter, James and John are also claimed to have appeared to Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith.  On this occasion they were promoted to a higher office – the Melchizedek priesthood.  This is said to have taken place on the banks of the Susquehanna River.  (Any serious scholar should know that Hebrews 7 of the Bible is in direct contrast to this ridiculous and blasphemous claim).

The Book of Mormon was finally completed on 26 March 1830.  The first publication appeared in a bookstore in Palmyra, and was financed by Martin Harris.  The book of Mormon contains the story of the Indian tribes of North America.  The Mormons first missionary drive began amongst these people.  Many moved to Kirkland, Ohio where they eventually built their first temple.  This is where Joseph Smith began writing his second book which is sacred to the Mormons – “Doctrines and Covenants”.  This was soon published and distributed.

Smith also revised the KJV of the Bible at this time.  He claimed it was by divine command that nothing of the established church could be accepted.  (You might find the meditations “Church” by the author, interesting…).

In their migration to the west a few towns and cities were founded but these did not remain purely Mormon and persecutors followed them everywhere.  Many moved with Joseph Smith westwards to Jackson County where they established this town, they believed, was “The land of promise… the city of Zion”.  When mobs began attacking them, they moved further north, but again trouble followed.  Battles were fought to such an extent that state troops had to be brought in to deliver them from their woes.  Smith and the leaders were imprisoned.  When they eventually escaped they joined the others who had moved to Illinois and in 1839 chose a site on the Mississippi river where they began building the town of Nauvoo, which they said meant “beautiful land” in Hebrew.  Here Smith formed a private army called the “Nauvoo Legion” in which he held the rank of Lieutenant-General.  A Mormon temple was also erected here.

Once again trouble followed.  An anti-Mormon newsmeditation called the “Nauvoo Expositor” began writing against the movement.  Smith ordered the newsmeditation premises be destroyed and every meditation burnt.  A charge was laid against Joseph and Hyrum Smith with the governor of the state.  For the second time he was arrested but soon released only to be arrested again and imprisoned in nearby Carthage, Illinois.

On 27 June 1844 Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum perished at the hands of an enraged mob when they attacked them in prison.  Smith died a martyr for the cause.

Their doctrines

Instead of superfluous discussions, will we just summarize a few major claims and denials these cults make.  Studying (even just reading) the Bible, the obvious flaws in the doctrines of these cults will stand out clearly.

The “Scientologists”

  • They deny the reality of sin, sickness, death and in-harmony
  • They say matter is an illusion, and is opposite to spirit, God, truth. Only God is real (exist?)
  • They say evil is also an illusion and a delusion. That sin and evil never existed and is a false belief.
  • This false belief has brought about matter, sin, and all we see with our senses (that does not exist?)
  • This causes disease that is only a mental deception, as all disease is caused in the mind.
  • The same applies to death. It is just in the mind, not real.
  • They say whatever is good is God, and whatever is not God, does not exist (so my shoe is God!).
  • They believe God is Divine Mind, and that therefore Mind is all that exists.
  • They believe like the Hindu, that God is all and all is God.
  • Their version of the Trinity: Father-Mother; Christ, Spiritual Sonship; Holy Comforter, Divine Science. (If you are stunned by their obvious confusion, read on to their doctrine of salvation)…
  • They reject the doctrine of the fore-ordination of God (note the anti-influence of Calvinists)
  • To them, matter does not exist; therefore they have a problem with God’s creation. They say there was no creation – it is a delusion of the mind (what mind deludes and misleads like this, is not clear).
  • They deny the existence of angels and demons, saying these are just good or evil thoughts. (A note here from the author:  angels [messengers, Heb 1:14; H 4392; G 32] and demons do exist as beings but naturally have to manifest [be heard/ “received”] through thoughts.  See Is 54:14; 2 Cor 10:5!!…)
  • They say there are no souls or spirits; there is only soul or spirit (singular). They also say these were never created, but merely have always existed, eternally past and eternally future.
  • Thus there is no differentiation between God and man (!???)
  • They claim Genesis is a collection of God’s (man’s?) thoughts and that those things never meant to materialize (logic? Almighty God accidently had things appear? But they are just illusions?).  They treat any reference to creation in the Bible therefore as an allegorical parallelism.
  • They say man has no body; he is only soul or spirit. (Heb 4:12; 1 Thess 5:23 is then very wrong…).
  • Also, the fall of man, they say, did not occur – it was a fantasy, a delusion. Man’s sinfulness is denied
  • They say there is no separate mind from God. This implies man and God is one and the same person.
  • So then, is man also timeless – without beginning or end. (We are all God?).
  • They say only Christ is real; Jesus did not exist (sorry historians and eye-witnesses!…)
  • Only Christ is “The true Spiritual idea”, Jesus is a figment of deluded imagination, merely a concept!
  • They therefore reason that Jesus was totally unnecessary, since sin is non-existent.
  • They say Jesus cannot be God because Mary had a spiritual conception (the virgin birth) by a self-conscious communion with God and Jesus is not real. His teachings, healings, miracles, suffering, death, resurrection and ascension, all were mere delusions. (Have they read even just Rom 1:16-22?)
  • They say that there is no need for salvation because there is no need for it – salvation comes when we deny the reality of sin! Only the false belief in sin necessitates salvation!
  • They think Christ came to show us that sin, sickness and death do not exist and are delusions.
  • As soon as we believe sickness is a mere illusion, they say, sickness then simply disappears. (Jesus, in the Bible, actually demonstrated that the real sicknesses can be overcome with His authority).
  • They believe sin (that does not exist) is maintaining the wrong belief in the existence of matter, sin, sickness, disease, etc. If we maintain this belief, then they say, we deserve to be punished with what we believe in.  On the other hand, there is no such thing as sin, sickness and disease (???).
  • They say that if we believe that matter does not exist, then we would be delivered from material existence (the illusions exist materially?). In other words, we would simply vanish from this material world. Poor Mrs. Eddy – she must have sinned grossly, for she did not just “disappear” – she died.
  • “Christian Scientists” do not baptize their members (Mk 16:16-20); nor do they partake of the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 10:16,21; 11:23-31; Mt 26:26-28; Mk 14:22-26; Lk 22:15-20; Jn 6; Acts 2:42,46; 20:7,11). These things, they insist, merely signify illusions and non-existent things.
  • The sole goal of the “Christian Scientist” is to escape the delusion of the material physical world, and death does not mean you will automatically escape this delusion (sounds more like confusion).
  • They say that sin and error (that don’t exist) which possess us at the instant of death (is this the “disappearance?”) do not cease at that moment, but endure until the death of these errors (that do not exist?). So they say that sin and error will endure until the sin and death of error… (uh…)
  • When will this death happen? They say when this will happen “… knoweth no man… neither the Son, but the Father.” This is the “wise” conclusion of Mary Baker Eddy.  She goes on to declare that that this is destructive and self-destroying.  If we do not overcome then we will “inevitably” be “self-annihilated”.  (Sounds as if she was in need of a Savior…)
  • They say hell is the “fire of a guilty conscience” (where does a conscious come from? Why is it there?) They say that, other than that, there is no distinct place called hell.  (In for a hell of a surprise).
  • They also declare there is no heaven, it is mere harmony, the reign of Spirit; government by divine Principle; spirituality; bliss; the atmosphere of soul”, i.e. heaven is not a definite place.
  • They claim the second coming of Christ occurred when Mrs. Eddy discovered “Christian Science” in February 1866. (1 Thess 4:13-18; 1 Cor 15!). This was “The coming of the advancing idea of God”!
  • They also deny the resurrection of the dead, after all, there is no death!

Enough is enough!  This cult, like them all, provides clearly no assurances.  Christ’s death on His cross has no significance in relation to the “Christian Scientist’s” life of obvious sin and arrogant error.  They have deluded themselves with their own ridiculous and confused delusions! Read 1 Jn 1:8 and Rom 1:28.

The Mormons

They are clean.  They appear morally upright.  They emphasize family unity.  They are loving and non-confrontational.  They would typically ask if they may enter and discuss the Bible with you.  Let’s see…

Mormons are very subtle.  They seem to teach exactly the same as orthodox Christianity.  They state, “We believe in God, the eternal father, and His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit”.  Yet these semantics hide the Mormon’s teaching that God was once a man who attained the state of godhood; and then that [this] god is only God of this universe.  Other Gods rule other planets and galaxies.  In the same way every male will eventually attain godhood together with his children.  Joseph Smith said that we have “got to learn how to be Gods” ourselves.  According to Smith, “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s”.

They claim that, like all of mankind, Jesus Christ existed previously as a spirit.  He was set apart from all of us by the fact that he was the first born of God’s spiritual children.  God and his wife, they say, are continually conceiving and bringing forth spirit children who eventually become human in order to progress to godhood!

  • They accept the Bible “in as far as it is correctly translated” according to the articles of “The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints”. This of course opens the door for them to accept or reject whatever they please.  (The Catholic “church” is mostly to blame for this cynical distrust in church and is examined in the meditation “Church Part 2”.)
  • Mormons accept four books as sacred: (i) [parts of] The Bible; (ii) the Book of Mormon; (iii) “Doctrines and Covenants”; and (iv) ”The “Pearl of Great Price”.
  • Mormon prophets declare what suits them from the Bible, as the word of God (Mt 15:6. They are obviously not scholars, not even of church history as presented to us in the Bible and by scholars).
  • The Mormon “Articles of Faith” declares, “We also believe the Book of Mormon to be the Word of God”. The Book of Mormon is a chronicle of the indigenous people of North America.  It “shows” that Christ “appeared” to the American Indian after He rose from the dead.  Also, that these people are part of some of the tribes of Israel which had migrated but had fallen and the sign for this was the darkness of their skin.
  • The “Doctrines and Covenants” is a record of some 138 doctrinal statements or “revelations” of the Mormon Church. One of these is that of”the baptism of the dead”. Another is a teaching on celestial marriages (refer to Jesus’ words in Mt 22:29-30).
  • “The Pearl of great Price” contains various books with almost scriptural sounding names such as “The Book of Moses” and “The Book of Abraham”. The first is virtually a paraphrase of the first six chapters of Genesis, while the second is a “supposed” translation of an Egyptian papyrus.  This “Pearl of Great Price” also contains Smith’s version of the Bible, the history of Joseph Smith, and “articles of faith”
  • They have other sources like the living prophet that are also considered authoritative. The president of the council of the twelve apostles, Ezra Benson Taft, stated in his inaugural message on 26 February 1980 that the living prophet is “more vital to us than the standard works”.  Members are forbidden to contradict the living prophet who is the present day head of the Mormon Church.  Mormon scriptures continually contradict each other and the Bible.  In fact, the Book of Mormon, which is basically Protestant and monotheistic in theology, is directly opposite to all the other Mormon scriptures which are polytheistic in theology.
  • According to Mormon doctrine, like the “Jehovah’s Witnesses”, was Jesus originally Michael the Archangel (Heb 1:5?). They then go further to claim that Jesus was actually brother to another spirit called Lucifer. The father of Lucifer and Jesus, they say, is Elohim. Lucifer wanted to rule earth and make all the other spirits into gods.  Jesus did not agree and in response to this, Lucifer became angry, recruiting a third of all the spirits to support him.  These spirits were thrown onto earth as evil spirits, doomed to never become humans as a reward for their rebellion.  The spirits who supported Jesus were sent to earth as white people, while those who were neutral were punished with dark skins and came to earth as blacks.
  • They say Mary the mother of Jesus was one of God’s wives.
  • They claim Jesus Christ was married to Mary, Martha and the other Mary! (And the Scripture is…?)
  • They also say man is a pre-existent soul who takes a body when he is born, and that he existed in the eternal past as he will in the eternal future. (They get confused with Jn 1:14 because they think Jesus was a mere man like all of us, ignoring His Deity and we being created by Him – Col 1:12-20.  Our beginning is when we are born.  The Creator is one Person and His creation is quite another thing).
  • The Mormons doctrine on salvation is spelled out in their articles of faith. Article 3 declares, “We believe that through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.”  This, of course, is (a) the Gospel according to the Mormons (that is in contrast with the Bible [Jesus Christ]); and (b) if salvation is by the atonement of Christ, and you have to qualify by works, you effectively are part your own savior.
  • Mormons do not believe that sinners will have punishment with eternal effect. They believe there are different levels or grades in heaven and that you go to one or the other, depending on your acceptance of the Mormon view of the Gospel.
  • These levels are (i) the “Telestial Kingdom” reserved for the unbeliever; (ii) the “Terrestrial Kingdom” reserved for those who do not deserve “exaltation”; (iii) the “Celestial Kingdom” reserved for those who belong to the priesthood of Melchizedek, and is destined to become gods. Then they twisted Rom 10:9-10 to read “… If you believe in your hearts and confess with your mouth Jesus is Christ, that Joseph was a prophet, and that Brigham was his successor, you shall be saved in the Kingdom of God… no man… will ever enter into the Celestial Kingdom of God without the consent of Joseph Smith… he reigns supreme…” – Journal of Discourses, Brigham Young.
  • Mormons believe that from the time of the early church until the formation of “The Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter Day Saints” in 1830 the church was in a state of apostasy, and that they ended this apostasy! Also, that during this time there was no revelation from God as there was no prophet declaring the will of God. (The author wonders what Heb 1:1-2 means to them?).
  • They declare that restoration took place when “prophet” Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery received both their Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthood.
  • They claim that only Mormons are true Christians (1 Jn 2:4!), and that all others will be damned (surprising, since they claim to not believe in damnation).
  • Mormons believe in Baptism by full emersion as one of the sacraments, but essential for salvation. The reason they oppose infant baptism is because they say babies cannot sin (Rom 3:23; 5:12?).
  • Mormons believe that the living can be baptized in proxy for the dead, and so can the dead be saved (In contrast to even just 1 Cor 15:29). This is done in a temple, before at least three witnesses, and they are carefully recorded.  This is done in a baptismal font which is built below ground level, to simulate a burial service (all in vain, according to Lk 16:25,26,31; Rev 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12-15; 21:27; but probably most importantly – especially for all these sects – Rev 22:18-19).
  • They partake of “The Lord’s Supper” weekly (1 Cor 11:27-29), but use water since a Mormon “may not purchase wine or strong drink from the enemy”. Joseph Smith said that it “mattereth not what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink when ye partake of the sacrament”.
  • “We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the ten tribes; that Zion will be built on this continent (i.e. America); that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that earth will be renewed and receive it’s paradisaical glory” – The Article of Faith.
  • They believe this gathering will take place in three stages: (i) The gathering of Ephraim. All Mormons are considered Ephraimites, and thus the making of Mormon converts is what they consider as the gathering of the tribe of Ephraim (Mt 28:18-20; Gal 1:6-9?).  America in general is considered to be Zion, while the city of Independence in particular is modern day Zion, which they declare will eventually be the city of God; (ii) The gathering of the Jews (the descendants of the kingdom of Judah).  Their gathering place is the land of Palestine, and particularly, the city of Jerusalem.  They will only receive Christ as their redeemer when he manifests himself to them in person.  So Christ will then have two cities from which he will rule in the millennium, Zion (Independence, Missouri) and Jerusalem, Palestine; (iii) The gathering of the lost ten tribes.  This they say, is a lost group of people somewhere in the “land of the north”, which must first be gathered to Zion, Missouri, before the return of Christ and the beginning of the millennium.
  • Mormons believe Christ will return to reign on earth for a millennium (a thousand years) and that there will be two resurrections, one at the beginning of the millennium and one at the end. The first for believers and the second for unbelievers (contrasting 1 Cor 15:51-54; 1 Thess 4:13-18; 5:23).

So, superficially, we will observe Mormons to have a “high moral standard” of living.  They seem to be solid citizens of the place they live by doing things such as the following:

  • They give one tenth of their income to their church
  • They fast once a month only eating meat moderately
  • They do not smoke, or drink alcohol since this is habit-forming (other than religion?)
  • Family hold a weekly “Family Home Evening” where they sing, pray, play games and bond
  • They emphasize “Youth and Recreational Activities” in order to draw youth to the church.

There is of course, more than meets the eye.  We have mentioned the Masonic connection and the fact that this movement is by no means following the teachings of Jesus Christ.

In their temple men and woman are separated, then they are washed and anointed with oil by temple workers, wearing only a “shield”, or thin white tabard.  Then they are issued with temple garments, a one piece garment reaching to the knee, very much like a long, round necked T-shirt.  There are special sacred symbols stitched over the left and right breast, the navel and the knee.  These include a compass and a square, showing the parallel with masonry.  The symbols are there to protect the Mormon from the “destroyer” while living on this earth.  Mormons are never without this garment.  There is a Mormon tradition that Joseph Smith was without his garment the day that he was shot, and thus he was without protection. (Rom 13:14 would have helped).

After the temple garments, come the temple robes and the Mormon is given a new name which must be kept a secret as long as they live.  The woman must share this name with their husbands.  When Jesus returns, they say, he will call his followers by this name, whereupon the husbands will call their wives.

Once they have their garments, their robes and their names, a ritual drama is enacted portraying the Mormon version of creation, where the temple workers play the parts of Elohim, Jesus and his brother Lucifer.  In Salt Lake City no expense is pared – Elohim comes down in a lift, Lucifer wears black with an apron covered with all the masonic symbols, showing an occultist origin.  Women swear allegiance to their husbands as long as they are obedient to Elohim. Mormons are taught a series of handshake grips and gestures which symbolize penalties for revealing any of the Mormon Temple secrets.  Once accepted into the Temple, Mormons are married there, and once married they believe they are are on their way to becoming gods.

Now, what to make of all this? Again, try 2 Cor 10:5 for a very good start, then Phil 2:9-11; Acts 10:36; 1 Tim 6:12-21; Rev 17:14; and so on.

Do not stop talking to/with Jesus Christ (Jn 14:6) and keep reading His Word and hearing His Voice…  until you can distinctly hear Him – Jesus Christ – as He and His Spirit guides, counsels, teaches, comforts you…

Go in peace.

[1] Tanakh is an acrostic using the first letters of the words which compile the three sections of the OT. Ta = Torah, Na = Nebi’im (prophets), and Kh = K’tubim (writings).  The books in the Tanakh are the same as in the Protestant OT, arranged in different order.  The Torah is the first 5 books of Moses, the prophets consists of the former and later prophets and the writings begins with Psalms and ends with 2 chronicles.

[2] Norman L. Geisler and William E. Nix, A General introduction to the Bible, Moody, Chicago, revised and expanded 1986, p. 367

[3] Even accurately implying the use of nails; the Romans tied their victims with rope.  The Jews crucified Jesus (Jn 19)!

[4] Heb 2:8-18; Gal 4:5; Rom 6:5-10; 8:14-17;Js 4:5; Eph 2:5-10; Jn 17:20-26; and so on

[5] Note that the Spirit of God must be His Person.  He can be grieved (Eph 4:30) and lied to (Acts 5:3); + Is 11:2; Rev 1:4

[6] Signs are miraculous authority over nature that authenticates God’s message; Miracles are works of God that demonstrates His love for people (Acts 10:38); Wonders are demonstrations of God’s unlimited power.