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Mormon doctrine uses the same terminology as that found in the Bible and in Christian belief,
but the terms have radically different meanings from those found in the Christian faith. To the Christian, salvation means forgiveness of sins by God and an eternal, never ending life and existence in the presence of God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit in heaven. To the Mormon, salvation means resurrection from the dead. To the Mormon, eternal life means exaltation after the resurrection. It is the goal of the Mormon to obtain exaltation, because everyone ever born into the world will be resurrected, but according to Mormon belief, only the select Mormon believers will be exalted. Even among Mormon believers, most will be exalted, but only a few will actually attain to the ultimate, that of becoming a god and ruling over their own planet. Mormon doctrine teaches that the god of this universe was once just a man on another planet, just as human beings are on this planet. By following the beliefs of the Mormon religion, after his death he obtained salvation (was resurrected from the dead) and achieved the highest exaltation (eternal life) and qualified, by the quality of his works during his human life, to be granted the status of a god. As a result, he obtained his own planet and made it his home, along with his many wives. Since a Mormon god has a physical body and is not a spirit, he, along with his many wives can procreate and produce many children to populate their heavenly planet. Although the father in heaven and his wives have physical bodies, the children they produce are spiritual in nature. During the course of time, they produce literally billions of spiritual children who are the same size as human beings on earth. We have... traced man back to his origen (sic) in the heavenly world as an infant spirit; we have shown that this spirit was begotten and born by celestial parents long anterior to the formation of this creation."These spirit children must learn how to be gods like their father, so they must go through a lifetime of a testing and learning experience. When a sufficient number of children have been produced (the number is unknown), the heavenly father and some of his sons commence the task of organizing a new physical world or planet, just like the earth, in which these spirits can commence their learning experience. They do not create this new planet out of nothing, such as did the God of the Bible in Genesis, but instead, organize this new planet out of preexisting matter that is floating in the universe and available to them. This new planet is a physical, or temporal, planet and has different properties as opposed to the heavenly father's planet. This new, physical, temporal planet has somewhat corrosive properties that can transform the spiritual into the physical. Each succeeding generation of gods follow the example of the preceding ones: each generation have their wives who raise up from the fruit of their loins immortal spirits: when their families become numerous, they organize new worlds for them... ...they place their families upon the same..."After this new planet is created, the heavenly father sets about to populate it, and sends one of his sons to be the progenitor of the race of beings that will populate the planet. This progenitor is an Adam, and he is accompanied by his wife (which can only be his sister) and they become the first inhabitants of the new planet, or earth. However, there is a difficulty, because these first inhabitants are spiritual beings, incapable of producing the offspring necessary to populate the planet. Nevertheless, since the new physical, temporal planet has corrosive properties that transform the spiritual into the physical, those properties infuse themselves into the spiritual beings of Adam and his wife, and they gradually become capable of producing physical, temporal children. These children are the new race of beings (human) that populate the new physical, temporal planet (earth). Our Father Adam helped to make this earth, it was created expressly for him, and after it was made he and his companions came here. He brought one of his wives with him, and she was called Eve...This new race of beings (human) must reverence and worship the father in heaven and follow the tenets of his revelation to them (the Mormon religion). It is taught that prior to sending Adam and his wife to this earth, god asked for recommendations on plans for accomplishing the task of exposing human beings to the physical and temporal world of testing and experience, and consequently returning the spirits of those individuals back to the father in heaven (the plan of salvation). Ultimately, two plans were proposed. One plan was proposed by the father's first-born son, Jesus Christ. Another plan was proposed by Lucifer (or Satan), another son of the father, and was supported by one-third of the other children. The father in heaven supposedly chose the plan proposed by Jesus Christ and rejected the one proposed by Lucifer. As a result, Lucifer gathered the army of one-third of the sons of the father that supported him and a rebellion and war ensued in heaven, which resulted in Satan and his supporters being thrown out of heaven and placed on the earth. As a result, this new physical earth and the beings that populate it are exposed to a protagonist, or devil (Lucifer-Satan), who personifies evil in a manner in which they can experience the concept of evil in order to understand the choice between good and evil. This new race of beings (human) must follow the tenets of the Mormon religion that are revealed from the father in heaven. But this is not a very satisfactory situation, because the father in heaven seems to be unable to keep his revelation to humanity clear and unadulterated. It is unclear how the father in heaven presented his revelation to humanity prior to the life of Jesus Christ, but after the revelation given by Jesus Christ and the establishment of His church, that church is said to have become apostate some 200 years after the death of Jesus Christ and was not re-established again until 1830 with the appearance of the self-proclaimed prophet Joseph Smith. As the first couple on earth, sent from the heavenly father, Adam and Eve produced physical children, a spiritual child was sent from the father in heaven to inhabit the body of each new child born on earth. As a result, all human beings born are inhabited by a spirit child of the heavenly father that originated in the "pre-existence" on the planet of the heavenly father. There is something grand and sublime in the contemplation of our pre-existence. How wonderful and interesting it is for us to know, that the beings whom we call ourselves, that now dwell in these earthly tabernacles (human bodies) -- existed thousands of years ago -- that we were present, when the foundations of the earth were laid -- that ...we were engaged with our oldest brother, the First Born (Jesus Christ), in organizing this world -- that we dwelt for ages in our Father's presence in a celestial of glorified world..."One might ask, why don't people remember this pre-existence, since they have a spirit that lived in that realm for many years? Mormons answer that in order for this life to be a true test and experience in which choices must be made without prejudice, the memories of the previous existence must be eliminated during this physical life. Therefore, those memories are erased by the heavenly father prior to those spiritual children being sent to earth. Orson Pratt, the early Mormon apologist, has a slightly different version of the process: When all these spirits were sent forth from the eternal worlds, they were, no doubt, not infants; but when they entered the infant tabernacle (bodies of human infants), they were under the necessity, the same as our Lord and Savior, of being compressed, or diminished in size so that their spirits could be enclosed in infant tabernacles (human infant bodies)... (W)hen Jesus was born into out world, his previous knowledge was taken from Him. This was occasioned by His spiritual body being compressed into a smaller volume than it originally occupied... when this spirit was compressed, so as to be wholly enclosed in an infant tabernacle (human infant body), it had a tendency to suspend memory... So it is with man. When he enters a body of flesh, his spirit is so compressed and contracted in infancy that he forgets his former existence..."Apparently, as the full-sized spirit is compressed to fit into an infant body, the memory of the previous existence is squashed out of a person. However, that does not explain why the memory does not return after the person becomes full-grown. Nor does it explain the destiny of Adam and Eve who were sent to earth as spiritual children, but never inhabited an earthly tabernacle, (human body). It is taught that Lucifer (Satan-devil) and all of his supporters were denied a body as a result of their rebellion, and to be without a human body is considered to be damnation. By the same token, Adam and Eve did not have a body (as well as the Holy Spirit) but are considered to have been exalted. A great difficulty is presented to Mormon teaching by the passage in Matthew 5:1-16. In this instance, Jesus Christ cast out numerous demons from a certain man. The demons said their name was Legion, because they were many in number. A legion in the Roman army could be from 3-6,000 soldiers. There were many of them, because Jesus allowed them to enter into a large herd of swine. The problem for the Mormon is, that in spite of the fact that there were many of these demons inhabiting the body of one man, who were part of the spirit children thrown out of heaven, none of them lost their memory as a result of being "compressed" in the body of the man. If many demons could live in one man, why does one spirit child lose their memory as a result of being "compressed" into the body of a human infant? Nevertheless, in spite of contradictions, it is taught that this earthly life becomes the testing ground and classroom of learning in which those who are faithful to the Mormon religion qualify themselves for exaltation in the next life. However, this life is not the true test that Mormons maintain it to be, because spiritual children, sent from the heavenly father's planet, come with handicaps that prevent them from attaining the highest potential in this physical life and, consequently, prevent them from attaining to the highest exaltation in the life to come. As a result of the previous war in heaven with Satan and his supporters, the participants were all required to make decisions regarding the conflict. Satan and his supporters chose to rebel against God and were thrown out of heaven. However the participants on the side of God also made decisions and were subject to a time of testing. Some of those on the side of God were less valiant in the conflict than others. Those who were the least valiant might have been the conscientious objectors or those who became cowards in the face of the conflict, and as a result they were cursed with a blackness of their spirit, which manifests itself in this physical life by that spirit being placed into an infant body of the Black race. Thus it is taught that persons of Black descent are cursed and cannot attain to the priesthood in the Mormon church. As the spirit children progressed in their devotion and pursuit of the conflict with Satan, the judgment of their skin color becomes lighter and lighter until those with the whitest skin are considered to be the most valiant. Thus, a person on this earth with a very white skin is considered to be the most pure and deserving of exaltation. It was considered that the Black person was unredeemable, but the American Indian, whose skin was not nearly as dark, could be redeemed and their skin color could be changed by marriage to a Mormon believer who had lighter skin. Thus the origin of skin color and races is tied in to the pre-existence and how valiantly a person performed in the war against Satan and his supporters. The curse of skin color is supported in several places in the Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 12:23, 2 Nephi 5:21, 2 ephi 30:6, Alma 3:6, 3 Nephi 2:15. Spencer W. Kimball, who later became president of the Mormon church, said: I saw a striking contrast in the progress of the Indian people today...they are fast becoming a white a delightsome people. ...For years they have been growing delightsome, and they are now becoming white and delightsome, as they were promised. ...The children in the home placement program in Utah are often lighter that their brothers and sisters in the hogans on the reservation. Verily, I say unto you, that the wisdom of man, in his fallen state, knoweth not the purposes and privileges of my holy priesthood, but ye shall know when ye receive a fulness [sic] by reason of the anointing: For it is my will, that in time, ye should take unto you wives of the Lamanites (American Indians) and Nephites (American Indians), that their posterity may become white, delightsome and just, for even now their females are more virtuous than the gentiles." LDS Prophet Joseph Smith, 1831As a result of the curse regarding skin color and race, the playing field in regards to the testing of this life is not level for all races and skin colors. Those with the whitest skin, who are Caucasian, have the greatest ability to obtain exaltation, while those with darker skins have an increasingly more difficult time to obtain exaltation. As skin color deepens and racial characteristics become more pronounced, the culmination is in the Black person who cannot not be a member of the Mormon priesthood no matter how devout and dedicated they might be. So, Black persons were sent to this earth to be tested and be part of the learning experience, but were already judged by conduct in the pre-existence which they could not even remember. Those who were less valiant in pre-existence and who thereby had certain spiritual restrictions imposed upon them during mortality are known to us as the Negroes."Mormon historian B.H. Roberts stated that in the pre-existence, the Negroes:: "...through their indifference or lack of integrity to righteousness, rendered themselves unworthy of the priesthood and its powers, and hence it is withheld from them to this day."The reality is, that this life is not the true test and learning experience that it is claimed to be. For many, the test is only efficacious in bringing about slavery in the next life, and that has been the fate of the Black person in the Mormon church until recently. Is there reason then why the type of birth we receive in this life is not a reflection of our worthiness or lack of it in the pre-existent life? ...can we account in any other way for the birth of some of the children of God in darkest Africa, or in flood-ridden China, or among the starving hordes of India, while some of the rest of us are born here in the United States? We cannot escape the conclusion that because of performance in our pre-existence some of us are born as Chinese, some as Japanese, some as Latter-day Saints. These are rewards and punishments, fully in harmony with His established policy in dealing with sinners and saints, rewarding all according to their deeds...As a result of the civil rights movement of the 1960's and 1970's, the Mormon church was forced into a position in which it could no longer stonewall a doctrinal position that was not acceptable. As a result, a new revelation from God was proclaimed by Mormon President Spencer W. Kimball on June 9, 1978, that Black persons could hold the priesthood in the Mormon church. This was considered to be a great victory and the revelation was presented in the manner that it was God who had changed his mind on the subject as a result of great concern and pleading on the part of the Mormon hierarchy. Both claims were entirely false. Firstly, the Mormon church had engaged in a program of profound opposition to the participation of Black persons in the priesthood that cannot be denied, and culminated in great discourses in the 1960's and 1970's by Mormon Apostle Bruce R. McConkie and Mormon Apostle Mark E. Peterson. Secondly, God had never proclaimed the inferiority of Black persons and had never stated that they could not hold the priesthood in the Mormon church. It was Joseph Smith who had made that claim in the Book of Abraham, a book that he claimed to have translated from Egyptian papyri that came into his possession. Those same papyri came to light, and in 1967 and it was subsequently revealed that the papyri were copies of the Egyptian Book of the Dead called The Breathings and their "translation" by the founder, Prophet, Seer and first President of the Mormon church was a complete forgery by Joseph Smith himself. The denigration of Black persons, their alleged being cursed by God and their denial of the priesthood in the Mormon church was based on a lie presented by Joseph Smith and perpetuated by the hierarchy of the Mormon church for 130 years. There was no revelation from god abolishing the prohibition against Black person holding the priesthood, because god had not established the prohibition in the first place. The claim of a revelation was a sham and pretense that was instituted in order to extricate the Mormon church from an appallingly immoral position that it could no longer hold. The great tragedy is that the lies taught by Joseph Smith and their subsequent acceptance and defense by the leadership of the Mormon church were not admitted by that leadership, but instead the guilt was placed on God Himself by the leadership of the church. The leadership of the Mormon church presented themselves as having spent 130 years pleading with God to change His mind, regarding the position of Black people, when they were the liars and perpetrators of a false doctrine to which they would not admit because of their own racist bigotry. It is one thing to deny responsibility for the lies that one perpetrates, it is quite another to place that responsibility on God. The hierarchy of the Mormon church used god as their scapegoat to protect their reputation and cover the lack of integrity and immoral character of their first prophet, Joseph Smith. To the leadership of the Mormon church, God will judge harshly when they stand before Him and they will not survive His decision against them. As the devout Mormon progresses through life, they look forward to the next life and the exaltation that they expect will follow. Many believe that in that exaltation, they will attain to the ultimate position of godhood, the same as their father in heaven. With that attainment, they will begin the cycle that has just proceeded. This cycle is referred to as the "eternal progression" and Mormons believe that it has been happening from eternity past and will continue through eternity in the future. Therefore, there are already an infinitude of Mormon gods in the pantheon and there will be an additional infinitude in the future. Mormons are polytheistic in their belief to the maximum extent. One difficulty in regards to the eternal progression is in the reaction of each new god to its structure. Apparently each new god forgets the history of his own progression and the difficulties that were encountered by his father in heaven. The same processes are encountered and the same events occur over and over again in an infinitude of repetitions. Spiritual children are born, the fist-born supports one plan of salvation and another son presents his own plan of salvation. The father in heaven chooses the plan of the first-born and the other son rebels and gathers his supporters to create a war in heaven, from which he is ultimately expelled to the environs of a new earth, where he tempts the inhabitants. The process is a relentless repetition of the past that cannot be changed and cannot be stopped. Since the process has been going on for an infinitude of time, the numbers of gods and individuals now existing are now incomprehensible. The numbers of gods, people and words now being created and ending every second are staggering, and to project the numbers into the infinity of the future is incredible. Lost in the infinity of the numbers of people is any sense of identity of uniqueness for the individual. All are part of one huge process that continues forever. The gods created have no unique character, but are all of the same mold. They are gods who are continual learners, because they do not have all knowledge. They are organizers of existing matter and not creators of that matter. They are superseded in their existence by the tiny, invisible living entities that compose all matter, individuals and the gods themselves. The power of the gods is limited to their own universe and sphere of influence, not extending in to the realm of other gods. The place of the gods in limited to that in which they stand at any one time. They are not omnipresent. They cannot be in more than one place at a time, because they are physical beings, limited by their material nature. The gods are not only limited as to the place in which they stand, they are also limited as to their size, being that of an average human being. They cannot transcend the limitations that are placed on them by Mormon doctrinal beliefs. Far from Mormon gods defining their reality, it is Mormon doctrine that formulates the definition of Mormon gods into the likeness and character of human beings, with all the limitations that are imposed on human beings themselves. By definition, Mormon gods are simply exalted human beings. There is no remarkable difference between us and Jesus, if he was anointed because he loved righteousness. What is the difference? We have the promise of becoming heirs of god, and joint- heirs with him to all those extensive domains possessed by the father, upon the conditions that we are as obedient to the commandments of god as Jesus was." There was nothing about Jesus but the Priesthood that he held and the gospel that he proclaimed that was so very singular. But he died for the world. Yes; and what man that ever died for the truth that he died for, did not die for the world? Prophets have died in our day. Men have testified to the truth, and for that truth have died; but has their blood redeemed us from the sin and transgression we were previously guilty of? Have we found redemption through them? As far as we have obtained it, it has been by walking in the truth. Jesus, who was the bright and full reflection of the character of his Father, was himself a perfect pattern of obedience. ...and through that obedience merited that which was conferred upon him. ...and it is that same principle that saves you and me.It is claimed that the faithful Mormon can be the same as Jesus Christ through obedience; the obedience to the doctrines of the Mormon church which are equated to be the same to which Jesus Christ was obedient. The impossibility of that accomplishment by any Mormon individual should be apparent by a reading of the requirements contained in the 10 Commandments. Mormons believe that their performance of duties and works will bring them exaltation, but the requirements of the 10 Commandments are perfection of performance. There can be no commandment or no duty that can be left without being performed to absolute perfection. Mormons wish to be exalted by their performance of works, but they deceive themselves by refusing to admit to the standard of perfection that those works require. Just as their god is a reflection of human beings, their standard of performance is that of human performance, which being without power, cannot attain to the standard of perfection. Acknowledgments Ideas, quotes and information provided by: Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Utah Lighthouse Ministry - www.utlm.org The Mormonism Web - http://mormonism-web.com ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: On This Website: God Jesus Christ Eschatology Heaven The God of the Bible Is Different From The God Of The Mormon Church Mormons Are Polytheistic, Believing In An Infinite Number Of Gods The God Of The Mormon Church Was Once Just A Man Adam Was A Spirit Child Of His Heavenly Father And Was Not Created The Spirits Of Human Beings Have Existed In The Spirit World For Thousands Of Years The Spirits Of Human Beings Are Born On Another Planet, Fathered By A Mormon God Other Resources: The Utah Lighthouse Ministry, Jerald & Sandra Tanner The Mormonism Web Alpha & Omega Ministries, James White |
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