On the March 7, 2009 Battle Lines broadcast we discussed Mormonism. Also known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), the Mormon Church is a very wealthy and rapidly growing organization. Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, musician and actor Donny Osmond, and 49er’s quarterback Steve Young are all faithful Mormons. You may know the Church from their television commercials featuring positive, family-friendly messages. The LDS Church was founded by Joseph Smith in 1820’s. Smith claimed that an angel, Moroni, appeared to him and told him that all religions were an abomination and that he would have to reform Christianity. The angel told Smith about buried golden plates inscribed with Egyptian hieroglyphics. Smith found the plates, translated them, and in 1930 published them as the Book of Mormon. Smith gathered followers around himself, settled them in Ohio and then Illinois. After Smith was shot by a mob, Brigham Young became the next leader and settled the group in Salt Lake City. Mormonism is a cult – a group that calls itself Christian but denies the essentials of orthodoxy. According to cult expert Kenneth Boa, “Mormonism is one of the most effective counterfeits of biblical Christianity ever devised.” Mormonism presents itself as the renewed and restored Christian church, but denies every major doctrine of historic Christianity. First, though you will not find it clearly stated in any Mormon doctrinal statement, the LDS Church denies the orthodox doctrine of Jesus Christ. According to Mormonism, Jesus “is as we can become.” He was one of us, the offspring of Mary and Adam-God, who then became a god, just as we can become gods. Jesus was a polygamist. “The real difference between Christ and men [in Mormonism] is one of time rather than nature” (Boa). Second, though the doctrine is veiled, the LDS Church denies the orthodox doctrine of the authority of the Scriptures. Mormons have four authoritative works: The Book of Mormon, Doctrines and Covenants, The Pearl of Great Price, and the Bible. And Mormons claim that the Bible is unreliable; it is only trustworthy as it is consistent with the Book of Mormon. But, in reality, the Book of Mormon is a nonsensical story of Jews migrating from Jerusalem, settling in Central America, and receiving a visit from Christ after his resurrection. And there are serious problems with the Book of Mormon: 1) The golden plates never existed. Only a few witnesses were supposedly allowed to see them and then they were taken back to Heaven. Smith later denounced or expelled from the Church those witnesses. 2) The plates were supposedly written and buried in the 5th century… but they contain 25,000 words plagiarized from the 1611 King James Version of the Bible. 3) The Book of Mormon is full of factual errors. For instance, it claims that American Indians descended from migrating Jews (but Indians are mongoloid, not Semitic). There are to date over 4000 corrections that have been made to the original 1830 edition. Third, Mormonism deceptively denies the orthodox doctrine of salvation: justification by faith in Christ alone. According to LDS doctrine, Jesus’ death removes the guilt of past sins, allowing one to work for salvation. And salvation is progression toward becoming a god and creating and populating worlds of one’s own. Fourth, the LDS Church denies the doctrine of the Triune Godhead. According to Joseph Smith, “God was once as we are now, and is an exalted man.” The Father and Son each have physical bodies (not allowing for the unity of God), and the Spirit is just a power, not a personal being. When you talk to Mormons, take them to the Bible and challenge them to read and compare it with their doctrine. Talk to them about salvation by faith in Christ alone; that they can have assurance of salvation because of grace, not works.