| MORMON CHURCH (LDS) | HUMAN BEINGS DO NOT REMEMBER THEIR PREVIOUS SPIRITUAL EXISTENCE, BECAUSE WHEN THEIR SPIRITUAL BODIES ARE COMPRESSED, THEIR MEMORY IS SQUEEZED OUT OF EXISTENCE |
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One of the cardinal doctrines of the Mormon church is the belief in the eternal, pre-existence of
the human soul. It is taught that the basic, core being of the human soul has always existed,
never having been created. This proto-human soul is referred to as an "intelligence" and owes no
allegiance to any being, since it was not created or ruled over by any god. These infinite number
of "intelligences" exist prior to that of any god, because in Mormon theology, God is not the
beginning, but the end and is an exalted human being. Since that is the case, there must be a
human being prior to there ever being any god.
...the soul, the mind of man, the immortal spirit. All men say God created it in the beginning. The very idea lessens man in my estimation; I do not believe the doctrine, I know better...I am going to tell of things more noble...In Mormon theology, the Mormon god lives on his own planet and has many wives. Since the Mormon god is an exalted man, he, along with his many wives, have physical bodies of flesh and bone. As a result of their physical nature, they can produce children and do so continually throughout all eternity. Although the Mormon god and his wives have physical bodies, the children they produce are spiritual in nature. These spiritual children have a function by providing the covering for the "intelligences" that pre-exist. These intelligences become enclosed in the spiritual bodies of the children produced by the Mormon god and his wives and are the completed souls of human beings. The Mormon god and his wives continue to produce spiritual children for the "intelligences" to inhabit for thousand or even millions of years. The spiritual children live on the planet with their heavenly father and do what ever is required of them as sons and daughters. This time of existence on the planet of the heavenly father is called the "pre-existence" and also referred to as the "first estate". We were begotten by our Father in Heaven; the person of our Father in Heaven was begotten on a previous heavenly world by His Father; and again, He was begotten by a still more ancient Father, and so on from generation to generation, from one heavenly world to another still more ancient...At some point in time, determined by the heavenly father, he along with his sons begin to organize matter into a new planet. This new planet is a temporal, earthly planet which is designed to be the new home for the spirit children and the "intelligences" which constitute their being as souls. The heavenly father, his wives and the spirit children are composed of a highly refined substance that cannot be seen or detected by normal human senses, but they can be affected by the temporal nature of the new planet. The heavenly father chooses a son along with the son's wife, the wife can only be a sister to the son, and sends them to the newly organized planet to be the progenitors of the race of beings who will subsequently live there. This couple is an Adam and Eve such as were sent to this earth in order to be the progenitors of the human race. After men...have become gods, ...they have the power then of propagating their species in spirit; and that is the first of their operations with regard to organizing a world. Power is them given to them to organize the elements, and then commence the organization of tabernacles. How can they do it? Have they to go to that earth? Yes, an Adam will have to go there, and he cannot do without Eve; he must have Eve to commence the work of generation, and they will go into the garden; continue to eat and drink of the fruits of the corporeal world, until this grosser matter is diffused sufficiently through their celestial bodies to enable them, according to the established laws, to produce mortal tabernacles for their spiritual children. Mankind are here because they are the offspring of parents who were first brought here from another planet, and power was given them to propagate their species. 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...There is a problem that must be faced by the couple, because they are composed of the highly refined substance and cannot produce the physical children necessary to populate the new planet (earth). However, since this new planet has a temporal and physical nature, that nature, over time, becomes infused into the couple and they are transformed from the refined substance into the physical beings of humanity and they are then able to produce the physical babies that become the human beings of the world in which they live. Each child that is born on the new earth is given a human spirit which is one of the spiritual children of the heavenly father that is the "intelligence" and is sent from the heavenly father from his planet to be infused into the new human baby. Again, there is a problem, because these spiritual children have a form and size which is the same as an average human being and is much larger than the human baby which it must inhabit. Fortunately, this spiritual child is very elastic in nature and can be compressed to fit into the human baby. This compression of the spiritual child (human spirit) is not without serious consequences. In order for the spiritual child to be compressed sufficiently, its memory must be suspended or removed. Therefore, when the spiritual child has entered the human baby, it no longer has any memory of the previous existence and life that it had on the planet with the heavenly father. The commencement of life on the new planet (earth) by the human baby and its indwelling spirit is known as the "second estate". It is during this time of life on earth that those children must grow to adulthood and be tested during their lifetime in relation to the religious revelation given to them by their father in heaven. Mormons state that the father in heaven revealed the proper religious beliefs through the Mormon doctrines given to Joseph Smith. As a result all people must follow the tenets of the Mormon religion, and those who are the most dutiful and dedicated will, after death, be resurrected to exaltation and become gods just like their father in heaven, where they will begin the process of producing spiritual children and organizing planets of their own. This continual process, which it is claimed has gone on from all eternity past and will continue throughout all eternity future, is called the "eternal progression". How many earths are there? ...they are continually coming into existence, and undergoing changes and passing through the same experience that we are passing through... Sin is upon every earth that ever was created. ...consequently every earth has its redeemer, and every earth has its tempter...This teaching about the "eternal progression", while sounding very sophisticated in nature, always begins with the heavenly father on his planet, but ignores the most fundamental issues raised by the doctrine. The origins of man are completely ignored in the doctrine. At one time there were only "intelligences" and matter in the Mormon universe. How did man and planets come into being when there was no god to create or organize them? How did Mormon gods come into being in order to produce spiritual children when there were no human beings to become gods. Where did the religious revelation regarding obedience to Mormon doctrine come from when there was no god to give the revelation and no human being to receive it? The connection between the existence of the "intelligences" the appearance of Mormon gods and human beings is never made or explained as to how it could occur. This connection cannot be made, because Mormon theology begins with man as the foundation and god in a subservient position to man. Not only is god secondary in existence to man, since there must first be a man who can be exalted to godhood, but god himself is only the end of human progression to that state of being. But there is an additional problem, because for a man to be exalted to godhood, there must be an existing god to accomplish the process. What Mormon doctrine teaches is a circular and closed process of "eternal progression", but in that closed process there is no allowance for the origin or beginning of the process. There is no opening in which the eternal "intelligences" first enter the process, because there is no eternally existing physical man or god to be the first cause. For the Christian who has a Biblical perspective regarding origins, the Mormon doctrine is an absurdity of logic. The Christian view has God as the first cause, who is self-existent from eternity past, and man is the subordinate being created by the absolute will and power of God. It is God who creates, out of nothing, everything that is, including man, matter, the universe and time itself. There is no eternal progression which springs from nowhere and continues on eternally by its own motion and power. Mormons must deny the creation account of the universe and man, as revealed in the Bible, because it does not agree with what they believe. In order to reject the account, they must find a reason to do so, but their standard reason for rejecting the portions of the Bible that do no support their other teachings, namely that the Bible was altered by corrupt Catholic priests or has been translated incorrectly, will not stand the test in the case of the book of Genesis. Historical and manuscript evidence prove those claims to be false. So they must simply deny the Biblical record as being untrue and substitute their own doctrine in its place, but in the process they remove the authority, truthfulness and accuracy of the Bible which they claim to be one of their scriptural authorities. By engaging in this action, the Mormon church reveals its true position regarding the authority of the Bible, making it subservient to their own doctrines rather than the Bible having authority over what they believe. The Mormon hierarchy only use the Bible in an authoritative manner when they believe that it supports their own pre-determined doctrines. In all other cases, where the Bible contradicts Mormon doctrine, it is rejected, claimed to have been altered and mistranslated. The Mormon church places itself in a position from which it cannot extricate itself, because Joseph Smith, the first Prophet, President, Seer and Founder of the Mormon church made his own translation of the Bible, claiming the translation came through revelation from God, and left the Genesis account of creation virtually unchanged. So in rejecting the biblical, Genesis account, the Mormon church also rejects the authority of their own prophet, Joseph Smith, but they refuse to admit that is the case. They simply ignore the contradiction, and most adherents seem not to know or care about the problem that is created. 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 When Exalted, Mormon Men Will Rule Over Their Own Planets 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 The Mormon God Other Resources: The Utah Lighthouse Ministry, Jerald & Sandra Tanner The Mormonism Web Alpha & Omega Ministries, James White |
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