Overview of World Religions: Mormons
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (or Mormons)
By Jonathan Edwards,
Missionaries with Northwest Baptist Missions in Utah for 27 years
Jon's wife, Chrissa, is the daughter of ABWE missionaries
to Bangladesh,
Dr. John and Tense Bullock
For 17 days in February and March 2002 the world was treated to
a sparkling view of a fast-growing religion via the media coverage
of the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Ever in the background
were images of this seemingly squeaky-clean "Christian" church.
Curiosity about the Mormons has sparked many questions even among
those who claim allegiance to the Bible as the only Word of God.
The Mormon View of Scripture:
The Mormons do not hold to the Bible as the sole Word of God. Their
scriptures also include The Book of Mormon, Doctrine and
Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price. Even though they would claim the
Bible is equal to these other books, in the 8th article of the
church's Articles of Faith, the Bible is the only book of Scripture
that has a disclaimer saying, "We believe the Bible to
be the Word of God so far as it is translated correctly."
The Mormon View of God:
Mormonism is polytheistic. The LDS Church teaches there are many
worlds like ours, each having its own god. These gods come from
the ranks of "worthy" Mormon men. The god of our world,
therefore, is simply a Mormon man who attained the status of
deity while living on a different planet. Such a view of God
affects doctrines such as the Trinity (particularly the person
of Christ), original sin, and salvation.
Common Ground with the Mormon:
NO doctrine of Mormonism is compatible with biblical Christianity.
Confusion comes from a shared vocabulary, but not the same dictionary.
Sharing your Faith with Mormons:
- Do not ridicule
or attack the Mormon religion.
- Do use the Bible profusely. "So
then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Romans
10:17). The King James Version of the Bible is the official recognized
version
and is
more accepted by Mormons.
- Do share your own testimony of salvation,
using as much Scripture as possible, particularly emphasizing
the sure hope a person
has in Christ.
- Do try to engage a Mormon in a personal one-on-one study of
the Bible.
Helpful Books:
A number of books are available from Utah Lighthouse Ministries,
1358 S. West Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84115. www.utlm.org
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