Dear Sally... (2 of 7)

Picks up where Part 1 left off:

8.  “The fact that there is no reference to a mother in heaven either in the Bible, Book of Mormon or Doctrine and Covenants, is not sufficient proof that no such thing as a mother did not exist there” (Answers to Gospel Questions, Joseph Smith, Jr., p. 143).

Sally, Jesus always referred to God as “the Father.” There is no separate god-mother in heaven. God Himself knows how to bring forth life and how to nurture His children. One of His names is El-Shaddai, which means “many-breasted, or all sufficient One.”

9. Jesus was the “Firstborn” of the Sovereign’s offsprings. Lucifer, his brother, was the second born in the morning of pre-existence, and the rest of human beings followed in this pre-mortal existence. “We are all the spiritual children of heavenly parents.” (Eternal Marriage Student Manual, p. 259).

Again, Satan is not equal to Jesus in any way. He is NOT the spirit brother of Jesus Christ. The only heavenly parents any of us have is God the Father. Although, I will say that anyone’s parents who died as believers in Christ are certainly in heaven now.

10. “The child to be born to Mary was begotten by Elohim (God).”

Specifically, the Holy Spirit:

18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. (Matt. 1:18 NIV)

11. This is called “celestial Sireship.” (The Life and Teachings of Jesus and His Apostles, p. 23)

12. The Church teaches there is an after life when righteous spirits carry the message of salvation to wicked spirits in hell and co-mingle. At this point those wicked spirits can repent and be freed. (Preparation for Exaltation, p. 36).

Sally, there is no chance for repentance in hell, nor will there be any “co-mingling” of the righteous and the wicked in hell. Jesus told the story of a rich man who died and ended up in hell. He begged for Abraham to send the poor beggar Lazarus to him to comfort him in hell, but God would not allow it:

22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side.     The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked     up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’ (Luke 16:19-31)

13. The Church teaches the Father in heaven was once a man as we are now, capable of physical death. He progressed through stages to reach the stage of “exaltation of godhood.” Humans have the power to reach godhood. When we become gods we will have jurisdiction over worlds that will be peopled by our offsprings. (Achieving a Celestial Marriage, p. 132).

Sally, the Bible does not teach that. Again, God the Father is not a man. He is not a created being. In the miracle of Incarnation, God took on human flesh in the person of Jesus, the Son of God, and as a man did experience physical death for the purpose of our salvation. And He was raised from the dead so that we, too, might have resurrection life.
 
Since God has always been God, He never progressed through any stages to reach “exaltation of godhood.” And men will never become gods. Men and women who follow Christ in this life will, however, reign with Christ for 1,000 years when He comes again, and for eternity. That is is great hope of redemption - what was lost to Adam and Eve in the garden has been redeemed by Jesus Christ, and He will make all things new!  Does this involve getting your own planet? I can’t say. But it absolutely refers to taking dominion once again over a restored earth, the place God put mankind to begin with.

14. The Church holds that “Jesus Christ was married at Cana of Galilee, that Mary, Martha, and others were his wives, and that he begat children” (Orson Hyde (apostle) The Judgments of God on the United States, (March 15, 1855) in Journal of Discourses, p. 210).

Sally, the Bible does not teach that Jesus was ever married on earth. He attended a wedding at Cana, but it wasn’t His own. And He never begat children. There are Gnostic gospels (false) that have taught that for centuries, but it is a complete falsehood.  Christ will marry His Bride, the Church, at the culmination of history, at His 2nd appearing.

 6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:  “Hallelujah!
 For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
 7 Let us rejoice and be glad
 and give him glory!
 For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
 and his bride has made herself ready.
 8 Fine linen, bright and clean,
 was given her to wear.  (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)  (Revelation 19:6-8 NIV)

15. Joseph Smith, Jr. taught The Book of Mormon is more reliable than the Bible, (History of the Church, p. 4:461). It advocates that if it had not been for Joseph Smith and the restoration, there would be no salvation. There is no salvation outside the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, (Mormon Doctrine, p.670).

Sally, this is just a ridiculous statement and a chief reason that Christians reject Mormonism. The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is the sole author of our salvation. 

 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12 NIV)

So you see, Sally, “Joseph Smith” cannot offer anyone salvation; only Jesus Christ can do that. He has not “restored”any truth at all. To the contrary, he has perverted it.

16.  Mormonism teaches persons can be baptized for the dead. This is required for the persons ultimate salvation. If it is man’s part in salvation that means that what Jesus did on the cross is incomplete and has to be completed by man, and is completed by baptism. Again I say that indicates what Jesus did on the cross was incomplete. The Bible teaches contrary to that. Salvation is by the blood of Jesus not the water of man.

"Bottom line: they believe Jesus is the son of God, but they do not believe Jesus is God the Son. They believe Jesus was 'a' son of God just as they conceive all human beings to be."


Dr. Nelson is Pastor Emeritus, Roswell Street Baptist Church · Former Pastor, Oak Park Baptist Church New Orleans, Louisiana. You can find Dr. Price’s complete article here:http://www.nelsonprice.com/what-does-the-mormon-church-church-of-latter-day-saints-church-teach/