The Bible vs. Mormon Beliefs

By ROB PHILLIPS
LifeWay Christian Resources
November 15, 2007

Editor’s note: In response to a letter to the editor from Sandra Tanner, director of Utah Lighthouse Ministry (www.utlm.org), two minor corrections were made to this article and are reflected in the version that follows. A great-great granddaughter of Brigham Young (second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), Tanner converted to Christianity as a teenager and is a recognized expert in Mormonism.

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—What the Bible says about Jesus vs. what Mormonism says about Jesus:

The Bible

• He is the virgin-born Son of God, conceived by the Holy Ghost (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:34-35).

Mormonism

• Jesus "was born in the same personal, real and literal sense that any mortal son is born to a mortal father." (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, pp. 547, 742)

• "Let it not be forgotten, that He is essentially greater than any and all others, by reason (1) of His seniority as the oldest or first born; (2) of His unique status in the flesh as the offspring of a mortal mother and of an immortal, or resurrected and glorified, Father …" (James E. Talmage, Articles of Faith, p. 426).

The Bible

• Satan is a created - and fallen - angel (Isaiah 14:12).

Mormonism

• "Lucifer - this spirit-brother of Jesus desperately tried to become the Savior of mankind." (Milton R. Hunter of the First Council of Seventy, The Gospel Through the Ages, p. 15)

The Bible

• Jesus did not marry.

Mormonism

• "Jesus was the bridegroom at the marriage of Cana - We say it was Jesus Christ who was married, to be brought into relation whereby he could see his seed." (Orson Hyde, apostle, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 2, p. 82)

The Bible

• Jesus is the foundation of the true church (Matthew 16:18; Acts 4:11-12; Colossians 1:18).

Mormonism

• Joseph Smith: "I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him, but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet." (History of the Church, Vol. 6, pp. 408-9)

The Bible

• Jesus is the judge of all (John 5:22).

Mormonism

• "No man or woman in this dispensation will ever enter into the celestial kingdom of God without the consent of Joseph Smith … Every man and woman must have the certificate of Joseph Smith, Junior, as a passport to their entrance into the mansion where God and Christ are." (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, vol. 7, p. 289)

The Bible

• Jesus is the one who resurrects all (John 5:28-29).

Mormonism

• Joseph Smith will receive the keys of the resurrection. "If we ask who will stand at the head of the resurrection in this last dispensation, the answer is - Joseph Smith, Junior, the Prophet of God. He is the man who will be resurrected and receive the keys of the resurrection, and he will seal this authority upon others, and they will hunt up their friends and resurrect them." (Brigham Young, Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 116).

The Bible

• Jesus is the eternal Son of God, the Creator, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and Holy Spirit (John 1:1-14; Colossians 1:15-20; Philippians 2:5-11; Hebrews 1:1-13).

Mormonism

• A "council of the Gods" created the world. "In the beginning, the head of the Gods called a council of the Gods; and they came together and concocted a plan to create the world and people it … In all congregations when I have preached on the subject of the Deity, it has been the plurality of Gods." (Joseph Smith, History of the Church, Vol. 6, pp. 308, 474).

What the Bible says about the Holy Spirit vs. what Mormonism says about the Holy Spirit:

The Bible

• The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the triune Godhead (Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19-20).

Mormonism

• Joseph Smith taught that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit "constitute three distinct personages and three Gods." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 370)

The Bible

• The Holy Spirit is co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Son (Acts 5:1-11).

Mormonism

• The Father has a body of flesh and bones. So does the Son. But the Holy Ghost is "a personage of spirit." (Doctrines and Covenants 130:22)

The Bible

• The Holy Spirit and the Holy Ghost are two Biblical names for the same person.

Mormonism

• "The Holy Ghost … is a personage distinct from the Holy Spirit. As a personage, the Holy Ghost cannot any more than the Father and the Son be everywhere present in person." (John A. Widtsoe, Evidences and Reconciliations, p. 76).

The Bible

• The Holy Spirit/Holy Ghost is God (Acts 5:3-4).

Mormonism

• "The Holy Ghost is yet a spiritual body and waiting to take to himself a body as the Saviour did or as the gods before them took bodies." (Joseph Smith, April 6, 1843; see Discourses on the Holy Ghost compiled by N.B. Lundwall, p. 73)

What the Bible says about the Gospel of Jesus Christ vs. what Mormonism says about the Gospel of Jesus Christ:

The Bible

• Christ’s death at Calvary paid our sin debt and purchased our salvation so that everlasting life is received by grace through faith in the Person and work of Jesus (John 3:16, 5:24; Romans 4:4-5; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5).

Mormonism

• Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection made it possible for mankind to be resurrected, but "men will be punished for their own sins." (Article of Faith #2 by Joseph Smith). Through the atonement of Christ "all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel." (Article of Faith #3 by Joseph Smith)

• "There is no salvation outside The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." (Bruce McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 670)

• "Baptism … is for the remission of sins … (and) is the gate to the celestial kingdom of heaven." (Bruce McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 70)

• There is "no salvation without accepting Joseph Smith … No man can eject that testimony without accepting most dreadful consequences, for he cannot enter the kingdom of God." (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. 1, p. 188)

The Bible

• The Bible teaches that at death, man’s eternal destiny is fixed in one of two places: heaven or hell (Luke 16:19-31).

Mormonism

• Virtually all men are saved in "General Salvation … meaning resurrection." (Contributions of Joseph Smith by Stephen L. Richards, p. 5)

• Then, based on works, all men will spend eternity in one of three levels of heaven - telestial, terrestrial or celestial. A few "sons of perdition" will not be saved/resurrected.

The Bible

• All men are sinners by nature and by volition (Romans 3:23, 5:12; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22).

Mormonism

• There is no such thing as original sin. All men are gods in embryo. "God and man are of the same race, differing only in their degrees of advancement." (Apostle John Widtsoe, Rational Theology, p. 61)

The Bible

• There is no second chance for salvation after death (Hebrews 9:27).

Mormonism

• Mormons may be baptized on behalf of the dead for their salvation. "If a man cannot enter the kingdom of God without baptism, then the dead must be baptized." (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. II, p. 141)

The Bible

• Once a person is justified, his or her salvation is eternally secure, based on the finished work of Christ at Calvary and the faithfulness of God (John 5:24, 10:27-30; Romans 4:21, 8:28-39; Hebrews 7:25, 10:14; 1 Peter 1:1-5).

Mormonism

• Believers must do works to earn a level of heaven and risk losing their position in that heaven if they are not faithful in service. For example, failure to marry in an LDS church will "damn" persons so that their eternal progression will be stopped short of godhood. (See Doctrine and Covenants 132:16-20)

The Bible

• Each individual is a unique created person whose beginning came at the moment of conception; after death, that person retains his or her personhood and spends eternity in heaven or hell.

Mormonism

• Each individual has four stages of life (eternal progression): 1. Eternally existing intelligence. 2. Pre-mortal spirit born by procreation of God and one of his wives. 3. Mortal probation (present life on earth). 4. Post-mortal status that depends on works done in this life. Eternity is spent in one of three heavens: telestial (everyone makes it at least this far); terrestrial (good and religious folk make it here); and celestial (only Mormons who have fulfilled the requirements for godhood make it here).