Joseph Smith said, “I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.” This is a bold statement, as he is taking away how important and true the Bible is. Therefore, we will examine its teachings on God to see if the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints prescribe to the teachings of this book or their leaders instead. There are four core teachings about God that Mormons would disagree with, but are taught in the Book of Mormon. 1. How there is one Father, one Son, and one Holy Spirit, in one God. Meaning three persons in one God, thus the trinity. 2. How there is only one God. 3. That God never changes. 4. And that God has always been God and has always existed. I would actually agree with these teachings, for they are taught in the Bible also. However, even the members of the Mormon church disagree. You can see the teachings I just mentioned as you read the following verses in the Book of Mormon below…
The Book Of Mormon teaches the following….
1. The Trinity. How the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, are one God.
2 Nephi 31:21
21 And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen.
2. Only one God.
Alma 11:26-29
26 And Zeezrom said unto him: Thou sayest there is a true and living God?
27 And Amulek said: Yea, there is a true and living God.
28 Now Zeezrom said: Is there more than one God?
29 And he answered, No.
3. God never changes.
Mormon 9:9-11
9 For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variableness neither shadow of changing?
10 And now, if ye have imagined up unto yourselves a god who doth vary, and in whom there is shadow of changing, then have ye imagined up unto yourselves a god who is not a God of miracles.
11 But behold, I will show unto you a God of miracles, even the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and it is that same God who created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are.
Mormon 9:18,19
18 And who shall say that Jesus Christ did not do many mighty miracles? And there were many mighty miracles wrought by the hands of the apostles.
19 And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.
4. God has always been God and has always existed.
Moroni 7:21,22
21 And now I come to that faith, of which I said I would speak; and I will tell you the way whereby ye may lay hold on every good thing.
22 For behold, God knowing all things, being from everlasting to everlasting, behold, he sent angels to minister unto the children of men, to make manifest concerning the coming of Christ; and in Christ there should come every good thing.
Moroni 8:18
18 For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity.
However, Mormon teachings would say that there are three Gods in the godhead, not three persons in one God as the Book of Mormon says. How there are a plurality of Gods in the heavens above. This is not including people who will be exalted as Gods themselves in the celestial glory. That the Father was not always God, but was once a man like we are now. It is through Him living a life for His God hat He was also exalted to be a God like Him. Joseph Smith taught, “I will go back to the beginning before the world was, to show what kind of being God is. What sort of being was God in the beginning? God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens!” (Teachings Of The Prophet Joseph Smith pg.345) This sounds like a changeable God according to the Book of Mormon. The God that I read in this book would have never been exalted first, but always existed as God from all eternity to eternity. Now, for Mormon leaders to teach that the Father has not always been God, is to say that their own Book of Mormon is not important and untrue.
As for the Bible, we learn the following truths also that 1. there is one Father, one Son, and one Holy Spirit, in one God, thus the trinity. “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” (1 John 5:7) 2. How there is only one God. “Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.” (Isaiah 44:6) 3. That God never changes. “For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” (Malachi 3:6) 4. And that God has always been God and has always existed. “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” (Psalm 90:2) So yes, these verses in the Book of Mormon I quoted above do complement what the Bible says. However, this does not mean that the Book of Mormon is true, but that Joseph Smith once believed in certain parts of the Bible and wrote them in his book also. What is interesting is that the members of this church do not even believe in the verses I quoted from their own Book of Mormon. Amen.
Let us pray:
Oh Lord, I pray that You will teach me and others all things. Truly, people have tried to take Your Words for their own and publish them as if You said it to them in their own books instead of the Bible, which is very sad. What I know is that Your Words from the Bible come with much power and great authority. No wonder why people would try to take certain parts of it and change it, in order to cause less people to receive power through Your Words. As so-called churches and cults have come about, what their leaders now say is more important than even Your Words in the Bible. They say that their church leaders can contradict, speak against, or take away important verses in the Bible and they would still follow their leader’s advice. Truly, this is corruption in the making and I pray for people who are currently stuck in a religion like this that does not save. Help open their eyes to what is true, that they may cling to what is good and throw out what is evil. I know how hard it is for people who have been born and raised in a faith that appears to be good and then leave it behind. All I know, God, is that it is worth giving up things in order to be saved. I trust in You, Lord. I believe in You, God. I love You. Amen.
