Chapter 11 (BOMC)

Concerning the Book of Mormon, 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.” (The Introduction To The Book Of Mormon) This is a bold statement, as he is taking away from the importance of the Bible. Therefore, we will examine this book's teachings on God to see if the members of their church prescribe to them. There are four core teachings about God that Mormons would disagree with, but are taught in the Book of Mormon. 1. There is one God, and He is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They are three persons in one being, thus the Holy Trinity. 2. There is only one God. 3. God never changes. 4. And that God has always been God and has always existed. These teachings are also taught in the Bible. However, when telling the members of the Mormon church about these truths, they reject them. The four truths I just mentioned are found 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.
“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 Nephi 31:21)

2. Only one God.
“And Zeezrom said unto him: Thou sayest there is a true and living God? And Amulek said: Yea, there is a true and living God. Now Zeezrom said: Is there more than one God? And he answered, No.” (Alma 11:26-29)

3. God never changes.
“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? 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. 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 9:9-11)
 
“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. 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.” (Mormon 9:18,19)

4. God has always been God and has always existed.
“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. 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 7:21,22)
 
“For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity.” (Moroni 8:18)

LDS people disagree with those verses and teach that there are three Gods in the godhead.  There are not three persons in one God as the Book of Mormon teaches. Instead, they believe in a plurality of Gods in the heavens above. This is not including people who will be exalted as Gods themselves.  They believe this happens in the highest heaven, called the Celestial glory. That the Father was not always God, but was once a man like we are now. Because He lived his life for God, He was exalted to Godhood in His resurrection. 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 to me. The Bible and the Book of Mormon teach that God is eternal. He has always existed as God from the beginning to the end. It is interesting that Mormonism teaches the opposite.  That the Father was not always God.

As for the Bible, we also learn the following truths.  That 1. There is one Father, one Son, and one Holy Spirit.  They make up 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 complement what the Bible says. However, this does not make the Book of Mormon true.  Simply put, Joseph Smith once believed in certain parts of the Bible and wrote them in his book. What is interesting is that the members of his church do not believe in the verses I quoted.  They say we are adding to the text of their Book of Mormon.

A question Mormons need to think about is this. Has God always been God?  Is he unchangeable, or was he exalted to Godhood? Their Book of Mormon states that God has always existed. It reads, “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?” (Mormon 9:9) “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.” (Mormon 9:19) However, Joseph Smith taught something entirely different, which would make God to cease according to the Book of Mormon.  How God was a man, being exalted to Godhood. He wrote, “God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret. If the veil were rent today, and the great God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by his power, was to make himself visible.” (The King Follett Discourse) If I read this correctly, God was a man, being exalted to Godhood.

Thankfully, we have the Bible, and it teaches us about God always existing. Our Lord and God is from everlasting to everlasting. He is from the beginning and will continue forevermore. David wrote, “Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. 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 90:1,2) Jesus is that God, of whom the Father has always been with. Out of the mouth of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, He said, “and he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.” (Revelation 21:5,6) To be called the beginning and the end makes exaltation to Godhood impossible. Therefore, I urge all members of the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints" to renounce this false belief of attaining godhood.  There is only one God and He is from the beginning of time.

Another verse we can bring up to the Mormons comes from Moroni, chapter 8. It teaches that God has always existed and has never changed. He was not an exalted man to Godhood but has been God from all eternity.  He was and is God. It reads, “for I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity.” (Moroni 8:18) This is a teaching that Christians agree with, but Mormons do not. How interesting that they say the Book of Mormon is the most correct book on earth, but don't believe in many of the teachings. Even the author of this book, Joseph Smith, went against what he wrote about while teaching the exact opposite. Let’s look at the portion of the quote that is the most damning.  He said, “God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens!” (The King Follett Discourse)  I will admit that most of the Mormon people are not aware of this quote.  Many Mormon missionaries are, but the LDS people are not always privy to this information.  Therefore, the belief about God being an exalted man isn’t accepted by everyone in that church.  Thankfully, there are many that still believes that God has existed from time and all eternity.  How He is the first and the last.

Exaltation for people to Godhood is not what the Book of Mormon teaches, nor what the Bible teaches either. Therefore, Mormons should be careful believing this doctrine. The one true God of the heavens has spoken and said, “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. And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them. Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.” (Isaiah 44:6-8) To be called the first and the last means that there are no Gods beside Him. This puts a wrench into the doctrines of exaltations to Godhood. As explained, the one true God of the heavens has always existed.  Jesus said, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” (Revelation 22:13) The God we worship as Christians knows of no other Gods.  If He knows of no other Gods, then we will never reach Godhood. Let this sink in, for it is God’s truth. Amen.

Let us pray:
Oh Lord, I pray that You will become our teacher. It is sad when people try to lead others without being led by You in the first place.  This is when heretical teachings about You are taught. If only people would keep to the Bible, for it contains much power and great authority. It is awful to see people take certain parts of it and change it.  Fewer people are receiving Your wisdom and power because of this. Many false churches come about saying that their teachings are more important than even the Bible. They say that their church leaders can contradict, speak against, or take away important verses in the Bible.  How their leader’s advice is more important than Your Words in scripture. This is corruption in the making, and I pray for people who are currently stuck in a religion like this that does not save. Open their eyes to what is true.  May they cling to what is good and throw out what is evil. It must be hard for people who were brought up in a faith that appears to be good to leave it behind for Your name's sake. 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.