Something About Mormonism

“But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!” (Gal 1:8)

Journal,

The expression, ‘neither fish nor fowl’ can be applied both to Islam as well as to Mormonism. It doesn’t take an in-depth study of the Muslim faith, to realize that Mohammed set about to embrace elements of Rabbinic Judaism with elements of Christianity, and thereby creating another religion that was neither Rabbinic Judaism nor Christianity. He merely borrowed components from both.

A term used for the mixing of religions is the term syncretism. Syncretism is the fusion of different systems of thought or belief with the result of creating something very much unlike the two blended systems of thought or belief. And of course the boast of Mohammed was that his religion was the only true faith.

So you have something similar in Mormonism. While Mormonism wishes to find itself as the only true Christian religion, actually it is far removed from what is commonly recognized as Biblical Christianity. The Latter-day Saint religion followed the same route as Islam. It has produced a hybrid religion.

It is interesting to note that both Islam and Mormonism were brought into place by angel appearances. For Islam it was supposedly the angel Gabriel. Mohammed’s angel encounters left him bewildered and frightened. He thought he was losing his mind or had been demon possessed. Over time he came under the influence is this spirit being and thus produced his new religion called Islam. [Islam means submission. Of course the sword became the means of submission.]

For Mormonism it was the angel Moroni. The story of Moroni has changed in character and name several times in Mormon history. Be that what it may, let’s move on.

Perhaps it is enough to take heed the Biblical warning about angel messengers –

“I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

“But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!” (Gal 1:6-9)

And again,

“For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully. …

“…For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.” (2Co 11:4-15)

Leaving Islam aside let’s consider the Latter-day Saints. Most people today are little aware of the latent side of Mormonism and why it is often considered a cult religion by many.

It would be well for my readers to do some personal research on Mormonism. Most of this journal entry will simply be quotes from various writers. Here are some books that I recommend.

For Personal Study and Research…

 (1) ‘No Man Knows My History – The Life of Joseph Smith’, by Fawn M. Brodie. (Fawn Brodie’s uncle, David O. McKay, was the 9^th president of the Church of Latter-day Saints. 1870-1970.)

The title of Brodie’s book comes from a recorded statement Joseph Smith made at a funeral:

“You don’t know me. You never knew my heart. No man knows my history. I cannot tell it; I shall never undertake it I don’t blame anyone for not believing my history. If I had not experienced what I have, I could not have believed it myself.”

(2) ‘In Sacred Loneliness – The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith’, by Todd Compton. (This book has documentation from diaries of Joseph Smith’s several wives.)

Editorial Review: “Compton has compiled a meticulously researched and masterly study of Mormon Joseph Smith’s 33 wives. The women are presented individually, with many of their own documents cited. Compton contends that ‘Mormon polygamy was characterized by a tragic ambiguity’: infinite dominion in the next life vs. a social system that did not work, thus resulting in acute neglect of the wives. These “key women have been comparatively forgotten,” surprisingly so considering the reverence Mormons hold for their founding prophet and how important polygamy was to Smith.”

(3) ‘An Insider’s View of Mormon Origins’, by Grant H. Palmer.

Note: Palmer is a three-time director of LDS Institutes of Religion in California and Utah, a former instructor at the Church College of New Zealand, and a LDS seminary teacher at two Utah locations.

From the Preface: “I, along with colleagues, and drawing from years of research, find the evidence employed to support many traditional [official Mormon] claims about the [Mormon] church to be either nonexistent or problematic.”

(4) ‘Sidney Rigdon – A Portrait of Religious Excess’, by Richard S. Van Wagnoner.

Description: “Disciples of Christ minister Sidney Rigdon was one of the most significant early converts to Mormonism. His education proved indispensible to Joseph Smith, as together they updated the Bible, received revelations, drafted the Lectures on Faith, dedicated the first temple, and formalized LDS theology. But Rigdon’s unstable temperament made him an ultimately unreliable counselor.”

Quotes from ‘Sacred Loneliness – The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith’

“This was a time of frequent blessing, tongue-speaking meetings, which were dominated by women. On the first day of 1847 Louisa (very large with child), Eliza, Zina Young, and Patty celebrated with a blessing meeting filled with glossolilia and prophecy.”

From the diaries of Joseph Smith’s wives. (No corrections made on the English.)

Brigham Young had 55 wives

[Patty’s and Eliza’s diaries.] “‘Went to a meeting to Eliza Beamans with many of the sisters.’ … all spoke in tongues on June 2. The next day Louisa, Elisa, Zina, and Emily laid their hands on Patty Sesions’s head and gave her a prophetic blessing. After another blessing meeting during a rainstorm on June 9, Eliza ‘went home with Loisa & Z. in the mud rejoicing.’ The next day Louisa, with others, spoke in tongues…”

[Zina’s diary.] “The gifts of the gospel were manifest the first time I ever sang in tong[ue]s after being baptized into the church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints – around me was a light as the blaze of a candle – I was surrounded [it was] a heavenly influence and no unpleasant sensation from that day the gift has remained with me.”

Note: Accord to Zina the gift of tongues rested upon her with such “overwhelming force” that she became “alarmed” and “checked its utterance.” As a result the gift left her, and she felt she had offended the Holy Spirit. … The gift returned, and Zina kept her vow; she would take part in glossolalia and interpreting tongue speech throughout the rest of her life. She and Eliza Snow, with Elizabeth Whitney, would be the most enthusiastic tongue-speakers in the early [Mormon] church. Thus women practiced a prophetic mode in early Mormonism …

Emmeline Wells would later write that Zina gave “the interpretation of hymns, psalms and sacred songs in the most musical and happy manner, without thought or hesitation. There is something divinely beautiful in thus rendering, by the gift of inspiration, words uttered in an unknown tongue.”

From No Man Knows My History

In this book we read about “nervous spasms and swoonings” that were attributed to the Holy Ghost. Here is a quote:

“There were now about one hundred and fifty converts in Kirkland, more than twice the number that had followed him from New York State. But Joseph was disturbed by the fanaticism that possessed this people. Prayer meetings were punctuated by fits and trances. Converts would roll along the floor to the church door and out upon the frozen ground in a masochistic frenzy. Some would mount stumps to preach to imaginary congregations in unknown tongues…”

Note: Joseph Smith finally forbade the preaching of Mormonism by anyone but an elder who had been ordained by the church.

There is an interesting fact about one of Joseph Smith’s teenage wives. He married Lucy Walker when she was about sixteen years old. This is what Lucy writes:

“[At the next prayer meeting the newly baptized children] “spoke in tong[u]es, others prophesied; again another has the gift of faith, to heal the sick … “

Lucy Walker was the last of Joseph Smith’s proxy wives to die. Lucy passed away on October 1, 1910.

An Issue of Concern

How about these esoteric experiences such as the Mormons espouse, or those that Mohammed underwent? Do they confirm that a thing is from God? What many don’t realize is that esoteric experiences, such as those of the Mormons, and the experiences of Mohammed, can never be trusted in themselves as being of God. They can be demonic in origin, but they can also well fit into a psychological framework.

A psychological experience can be induced in certain intense religious environments. It is very real to the person having it. But the question remains, ‘Is it of God?’ 

For example speaking in tongues is a known phenomena in just about every religious grouping of people on planet earth. Consider this quote from the Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, page 33:

“Spiritualistic glossolalia and related phenomena among spiritual mediums were among the first studied by psychologists near the beginning of the twentieth century. … Pathological glossolalia is known to medicine and psychiatry, the result of such causes as organic neurological damage, effects of drugs, or psychotic disorders. Schizophrenic disorders have furnished examples of glossolalia. Most relevant to Christian glossolalia are clearly reported cases of pagan glossolalia, both ancient and modern…. [Glossolalia] was used sparingly among American Indians but was widespread in African tribal religions.”

Well, perhaps I’ve said enough for now. So, I will simply leave this with my readers. You can decide for yourself where any of this fits in your own belief system.

Just some things to think about.

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