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Mormon Doctrines

Mormons claim that shortly after the Apostles, there was a great apostasy, so that by 200 A.D., Christianity was completely corrupt. Furthermore, they say the Church disappeared entirely until Joseph Smith reestablished it in 1829. However, Jesus was like the "wise man, who built his house upon a rock" rather than the "foolish man, who built his house upon the sand" (Matt. 7:24-27); He established it in such a way that "the gates of hell [would] not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18), meaning it would always exist and never disappear, even for a period of time. God could not have commanded us to "tell it to the church" (Matt. 18:17) if the Church were to pass out of existence for 1700 years. Jesus said He would be with the Church always (Matt. 28:20), which would have been impossible if the Church had disappeared.

Mormons, to back their belief in the "Great Apostasy", cite passages such as Matt. 7:15 and Acts 20:29, which discuss false prophets as wolves in sheep's clothing; and 2 Thess. 2:3, which mentions a "great apostasy". However, the "great apostasy" refers to the end times, and still it is understood that there will still be a remnant left over (1 Thess. 4:15-17). The passages which discuss false prophets are explained by Peter: "Among you also there will be false teachers who will smuggle in pernicious heresies" (2 Pet. 2:1). These heretics would lead some astray, but there is no evidence that they would completely take over the Church, and there is nothing in the Scriptures to indicate that the Apostles thought the Church would disappear shortly. Nor is there anything in the writings of the second century Church Fathers to support it–not one protest or quotation from a protestor. The Romans diligently studied the Christian faith because they sought to destroy it, but no Roman writer ever tried to discredit Christianity by saying it had changed like the weather.

It is also impossible to explain the fact that the Mormons accept a canon that was established by an apostate church (the canon was settled upon in the late fourth century–until then, many books were in dispute), and accept a translation (KJV) made by apostates; that all the great schisms in history were recorded (Arianism, Orthodoxy, Protestantism), but not the "greatest apostasy"of them all; and that they purvey the story of a "great apostasy" and offer not one shred of proof for it–when and where it began, who contributed to it, and who decried it.

Mormons believe in what is called "continuing revelation", meaning that public revelation did not end with the death of the last apostle, as Christian doctrine holds, but rather, public revelation continues to this very day. Mormons cite Amos: "Indeed, the Lord God does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants, the prophets" (Amos 3:7). Although the last of the prophets was John the Baptist, Mormons claim that Joseph Smith was a prophet as well. However, God supported the messages of the prophets with miracles, and Smith never performed a miracle. Besides this, various Mormon prophecies were not fulfilled. Smith predicted that the generation of 1832 would witness the building of a Mormon temple in western Missouri (Doctrines and Covenants, 84), and that if Mormons were not treated with more dignity and respect, "in a few years the government will be utterly overthrown and wasted" (History of the Church, 5:394). Neither were fulfilled. According to Deuteronomy: "If you say to yourselves, ‘How can we recognize an oracle which the LORD has spoken?', know that, even though a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if his oracle is not fulfilled or verified, it is an oracle which the LORD did not speak. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously" (Deut. 18:21-22). Mormons once believed in polygamy, but the teaching was abandoned as the government threatened to deny Utah statehood, and barred blacks from the priesthood until the government put the pressure on them. No church that is constantly being led by inspired prophets would need to change their teachings so much. Continuing revelation is one thing, but entirely changing doctrines is another–that does not come from God, and He certainly does not give new revelations to a church dispersed throughout the world based on the laws passed by the United States of America.

Mormons practice baptism for the dead. They believe that those who died without Mormon baptism are confined to a "spirit prison", where, Mormons claim, they have missionaries. Mormons who are still alive have themselves baptized on the behalf of those whom the missionaries in the spirit prison convert. Mormons go back in the genealogical records in order to receive baptism for them. This belief is based on a solitary Biblical passage: "Otherwise, what will people accomplish by having themselves baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, then why are they having themselves baptized for them?" (1 Cor. 15:29). But this passage is unclear, and could mean anything from believers doing penance for the souls in purgatory, to an heretical sect (after all, he refers to "they" rather than using "we" in the remainder of the chapter) in Corinth that practiced baptism for the dead, in which case Paul would have been saying, if one reads the context of chapter 15, that "if even the heretics practice something that makes no sense if the dead do not rise, how much more hope should we have that we will be raised to life". But there are many other problems with the doctrine. If it was so important, why was it only mentioned once, when baptism for the living was constantly repeated? Why is there no mention of it whatsoever until Joseph Smith in the nineteenth century? Why is it not mentioned in the Book of Mormon, which supposedly contains the fullness of the gospel? Why does the Bible contradict the practice, by saying: "Men . . . die once, and after this comes judgment" (1 Cor. 9:27)? And why does the Book of Mormon contradict the practice, by stating that there is no second chance for non-believers, but go to hell: "For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he does seal you his. Therefore, the spirit of the Lord has withdrawn from you and hath no place in you; the power of the devil is over you, and this is the final state of the wicked" (Alma 34:35-36; See also Alma 5:28; 2 Nephi 9:38; Mosiah 26:25-27).

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