The Community of Christ Temple in Independence, Missouri
On a recent visit to Kansas City I stopped in Independence, Missouri. It was a beautiful spring day, so I took a short stroll covering approximately a five-block area near the LDS Visitors Center. Of course, the Community of Christ’s temple dominates the landscape, but the small area is further dotted with churches that spring from Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon.
The Community of Christ used to be known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It once claimed to be the “one true church” but has lately chosen a more ecumenical perspective. It is about this church that LDS President Joseph Fielding Smith said, “The truth is that the founders of the ‘Reorganized’ church were the ones who followed every will-o-the-wisp, bowed the knee to Baal, and departed from the faith. …the pretentions of the ‘Reorganized’ church are fraudulent. Judged by its history, doctrines and the unstable character of its founders, it is proved to be a counterfeit and nothing more” (Doctrines of Salvation, 1:248, 253).
The Church of Christ (Temple Lot) in Independence, Missouri
The Church of Christ (Temple Lot) says of itself, “The Church of Christ is the true Church restored in the last days by Christ himself to prepare the world for His final return. Organized by His divine revelation and patterned after the primitive New Testament Christian Church, the Church of Christ possesses true priesthood authority and spiritual gifts given by Christ…” This church clearly and unapologetically claims the Mormon Church is apostate. “The Church of Christ grew rapidly as the gospel was spread and was accompanied by the power of the Holy Ghost and with miracles. Unfortunately the devil was also hard at work at this time, trying to destroy the Church from without and within …in short order there were ideas and doctrines introduced which were not a part of the Gospel of Christ. …These doctrines included the consolidation of power into the hands of one man as ‘Prophet’ (not unlike the Pope) the offices of a High Priest and a First Presidency, the practice of baptism for the dead, the belief in a changeable God and the mysticism of Free Masonry. The name of the Church had even been changed to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”
The Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Independence, Missouri
The Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints claims, “From its restoration in 1830 thru the Reorganization of 1860 and Renewal in 2000 the Remnant Church has remained the true successor of Christ’s New Testament Church.” This church believes the Community of Christ “has turned aside from some of the most basic beliefs of the Restored Gospel,” and that the Utah Mormon Church holds to “many spurious doctrines such as progression, multiplicity of gods, Adam as a god, polygamy, and many unscriptural temples ordinances foreign to the Bible, Book of Mormon, and Latter Day Revelation given through Joseph Smith Jr. and his true successors in office.”
The Church of Jesus Christ (Zion's Branch) in Independence, Missouri
The Church of Jesus Christ (Zion’s Branch) says in its Statement of Purpose, “We believe and are prepared to defend the Church of Jesus Christ as restored in 1830, and according to the covenants and commandments of God at its Reorganization in 1860, which today exists only where the servants of God have disassociated and abstained from the ordinances by that organization which once bore the name of Christ in purity, but now finds itself apostate and abhorrent in the sight of Almighty God” (Steven Shields, Divergent Paths of the Restoration, 291).
A Restorationist Camper in Independence, Missouri
This camper with Missouri plates was parked on the street near the Church of Christ (Temple Lot). Covered with writing, it was difficult to determine which religious group it represented, but its abundant quotes from the Book of Mormon coupled with doomsday warnings would seem to indicate yet another restorationist follower of Joseph Smith.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Visitors Center in Independence, Missouri
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints joins the crowd of “true churches” clustered on this small piece of real estate. This church also claims to be the real–the only–restoration of Christ’s New Testament church. But each of these other churches pictured above (along with many, many others that continue to grow out of Joseph Smith’s teachings) might be pleased to turn Joseph Fielding Smith’s words back on himself and his own LDS church: “the pretentions of the [Mormon] church are fraudulent. Judged by its history, doctrines and the unstable character of its founders, it is proved to be a counterfeit and nothing more” (Doctrines of Salvation, 1:253).
Those who believe Joseph Smith was a true prophet are in a quandary. They very well may personalize Joseph Smith’s own dilemma: “In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often [say] to myself: What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?” (Joseph Smith—History 1:10).
Friends, “join none of them…they teach for doctrines the commandments of men” (Joseph Smith—History 1:19). Instead, open your Bibles and seek the One who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Oh boy,
One of my all time favorite Mormon topics; the proliferation of all of these Mormon sects claiming to have “the truth”. I like to say that after the death of Joseph Smith confusion reigned among those believing in the restored gospel…………..The reader can fill in his/her own narrative here contending that the form of Mormonism they embrace is the one true super duper restored gospel.
This is really the legacy of Joseph Smith i.e. confusion. And what’s really funny is our Mormon posters who rant about all of the different denominations of Christianity and thus making the claim of the lack of legitimacy of these various Christian sects.
There must be one true church that has all of the answers and that church, of course, is the Salt Lake City denomination of Mormonism. I always thought there were about seventy different Mormon sects but recently I read there are around one hundred. I suppose the numbers change as new prophets emerge with the true revelation and the real restoration.
Smith loved revelation. All false prophets do. Revelators live in a blue sky sort of world where anything that pops into their head is a revelation from God. The revelations can be total nonsense and be changed at will as more new and improved revelations come forth.
The real problem is that people follow these idiots.
I think the proliferation of Mormon sects each claiming to be the one true church and containing the restoration of the Mormon gospel ought to give the everyday Mormon pause.
People are told to read the BoM and pray for a sign, generally identified as a “burning in the bosom”, to “know” that the (BoM) is the real deal. Now here’s the problem. The BITB experience is then generalized to several other things including Joseph Smith, the Mormon church, the current living prophet, and lastly someone Mormons call “Jesus”.
As far as I can figure out the BITB is suppose to cover just the BoM right? All these other things are add-ons. My guess is that all of these other Mormon sects also use the BITB experience as a sign of the truth of the BoM. I don’t know if they have come up with some canned five point testimony also but the way I’ve got it figured the BITB only holds a promise for the BoM.
Mormons think that revelation and knowing put them in some sort of spiritual gifted and talented group. All of these other sects of Mormonism work off of revelation and knowing also. So I suppose the SLC bunch will say that these other groups are being deceived by Satan, however they don’t take into consideration that the other groups say the same thing about them.
So knowing, and feeling and experiencing aren’t really good tests for the truth even though they can be very emotionally satisfying. The truth doesn’t always feel good. In fact before the truth sets us free, it can make us miserable.
Checking out Mormonism for the truth can indeed make someone who’s had a BITB experience pretty miserable. That’s because the whole question of having gotten it wrong is no fun to consider.
I have heard it said, If you throw a rock into a pack of dogs, the one the barks the loudest is the one that got hit.
Fred seems to be the one barking the loudest on this topic as he keeps saying to us, we must not have the truth if we have so many denominations. So I really looking forward to Fred coming here with his evidence and setting us straight over this issue. LOL. Right, like that will happen.
The quote from Joseph Fielding Smith that Sharon cited above where he evaluates the
RLDS , ( now the Community Of Christ ) was quite revealing. It appears to be a classic
example of the pot calling the kettle black !
Rick,
As I’m sure you are aware, Mormons can make anything work. It’s part of the mentality of aberrant religious groups and cults. It’s a form of thinking, reasoning and creative logic. They’ve bought the program emotionally and now they have to come up with some sort of explanation that makes the whole thing work.
Mind bending, cognitive dissonance, and all sorts of mental gymnastics are used to explain away anything that doesn’t fit the narrative.
I’ve read enough about groups like this to know that there’s a totally different way of thinking within the group.
I know someone whose son got into what I’d call a “Christian” cult while in college. This group totally controls his life right down to the number of days he’s allowed to visit his parents. The boy’s mom got right in the face of the leader and told him he was a liar but that didn’t budge the kid out of the group.
Truth in advertising ? Mormon authorities advertise that there was a complete , total
apostasy from the Christian religion , that Jesus’ gospel of salvation became unavailable
to man shortly after the death of Jesus original apostles. This gospel was again available
because it was restored in 1830 when God restored the Church of Christ thru Mormon
prophet Joseph Smith . That’s the claim by Mormon leaders . To prove this claim Mormon
leaders teach that a distinquishing mark of the true church of Jesus Christ is that it will have
His name in the Title of it , thus Mormon apostle LeGrand Richards proudly proclaimed :
” …the name of the Church was not obtained through study or research , but by revelation
direct from the Lord . Does it not seem incredible that of all the churches in the world, there
was not one that bore his name when the Lord restored his church in this dispensation”?
It was April of 1830 when this alleged restoration of Jesus’ church took place, it was called
“The Church of Christ ” by Mormon leaders. Interestingly, author Sharon Bannister , on
page 379-380 of her book ” For Any LDS: One Investigator’s Unanswered Questions,” she
offers a photo-copy of “The Christian Messenger” of Nov. 1826 where it lists the name of
an Elder in the Georgetown , Ky , ” Church of Christ ” . There is also an obituary of a woman
a Mrs Davis , who was a member of the Church of Christ for upwards of 20 years , this was in
the May 1832 issue . This seems to cast the claim by Mormon apostle Richards as false
advertising.
Interesting post Sharon, thanks for sharing. While I doubt I will ever make a point of going to Independence (or any other Lds “tourist site” for that matter) it does look like it would be interesting, at least from the experience you showed.
I actually think the CoC temple looks rather pretty from the outside. I will have to Google and see what it looks like inside.
Why all the different denominations of Mormonism?
Which of all of these Mormon denominations is the “one true church”?
Which of all of these Mormon denominations has the “real revelation”?
Does the promise made in the BoM of a sign to know that it is true extend to all other aspects of Mormonism?
Who owns the temple lot where the millennial Mormon temple is to be built?
Who owns the copyright for the Joseph Smith translation of the King James Version of the Bible?
I would think a Mormon might want to delve into these questions and get some answers. To a Christian it’s all bogus anyway but the questions do point out the confusion that can reign within these aberrant religious groups.
Revelation is fun for Mormons. It’s their religious entertainment. Joseph Smith made a huge mistake when he said that anyone within his group could receive direct revelation from the Mormon god. He had to modify this revelation hook that he used to get people to join his fledgling religion. Because if anyone could receive revelation, they could oppose his revelations and challenge him. False prophets can’t tolerate opposition.
For a very fascinating quick look at the spin-off phenomenon in Mormonism check out the article on Wiki.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Christ_%28Temple_Lot%29
Like I said before, I love how Mormons get on us over all the different church denominations.
Yet when the same is pointed out to them they are strangely silent. I hope everyone who comes here to read and look into Mormonism, all you lurkers as we say, take note of the lack of replies from the Mormons to all these questions that are asked and posed and give serious thought to this false religion before joining.
I find it very interesting that Joseph Smith’s family did not follow Brigham Young West. Even his own Mother stayed and followed James Strang. Why? These are the people who were closest to him. That should tell the LDS something. If they know about it that is. I knew Emma didn’t come West, but she was considered an apostate and Brigham Young said that if Joseph wanted her in Heaven he would have to go to Hell to get her.
“Joseph used to say that he would have [Emma] hereafter, IF HE HAD TO GO TO HELL FOR HER, AND HE WILL HAVE TO GO TO HELL FOR HER AS SURE AS HE EVER GETS HER.” (Statement of Brigham Young in the Journal of Discourses, Volume 17, page 159).
One of the forged documents that Mark Hoffman was working on was a copy of Joseph Smith’s oldest son’s patriarchal blessing which stated that he was the next prophet. Hoffman was trying to sell it to both the LDS and the COC (then known as the RLDS. )
Was there something to that? Did Joseph tell his family members that his son was to be the next prophet? Is the Church of Christ the true Mormon Church? The more I read about Brigham Young, the more I see what an evil, conniving man he really was.
Kate,
I think that Joseph Smith’s son was the prophet, seer and revelator of what is today known as the Community of Christ. They use to be the “Reorganized” bunch. The Church of Christ, I think, are the temple lot people.
Hard to keep all of these Mormon sects and “prophets” straight!
Indeed Joseph Smith III eventually became the leader of the RLDS (now CoC). From the Wiki artical about him:
“Joseph Smith III (November 6, 1832 –December 10, 1914) was the eldest surviving son of Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, and Emma Hale Smith. Joseph Smith III was the Prophet–President of what became known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, now called Community of Christ, which considers itself a continuation of the church established by Smith’s father in 1830.”
Artical can be found here :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Smith_III
Mormon leaders advertise that they alone have the true Church of Jesus Christ, the same
gospel , organization , name , as that of those who constituted the body of believers in Jesus ,
His church , 1900 years ago. In the N.T. there was not one single title that true believers
were known by , it seems that the important factor was the gospel they embraced and
preached— Gal.1:8-9 ; 1Cor.15:1-4 ; 2Jn 9 . Mormon leaders claim to offer that same gospel
and that same Church today and they advertise that the testimony of the New Testament
apostles would concur with them . So I’m grateful for ministries like MRM which provide a
means for people to take the time to evaluate the claims of Mormon prophets/apostles .
The information that Sharon shares above sheds light on one claim of Mormonism to be
the only true N.T. church of Jesus , and what that light exposes raises serious questions
to that claim .
falcon,
Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention when I typed Church of Christ 🙂 I meant Community of Christ.
He was the prophet of the COC, but he was too young when his father died, so Joseph Smith’s family followed James Strang. I think they knew that Joseph Smith III would eventually become prophet as his father had told him he would. My point is that Joseph Smith’s family did not endorse Brigham Young. Did they know of the patriarchal blessing that named his son as his successor? Did they talk about the future of Joseph Smith’s new religion at family gatherings? I’m sure his own family knew more about what he wanted than anyone else. Just one more reason to believe that the COC is the true church started by Joseph Smith. What’s interesting about this sect is that they follow the teachings of the BOM more closely than the LDS or the FLDS. They don’t push the BoM on anyone and people are allowed to use it as a spiritual book rather than as scripture. They believe in the traditional Christ of the Bible. They believe in the Holy Trinity as told by both the Bible and the original BOM. They have denied that Joseph started or ever practiced polygamy. I’m not sure where they stand on that now. They have denounced the Book of Abraham as just a figment of Joseph Smith’s imagination. They don’t practice baptism for the dead, never believed in the Mason rituals, on and on it goes.
Kate,
Joseph Smith’s family really struggled with his polygamy. His son had trouble coming to grips with it. He did say that if his father practiced it, he was wrong in doing so. The CoC has an interesting position on the history of Mormonism. Actually they are kind of refreshing in that they are open to explore all of it and do so honestly. They aren’t into the games the SLC bunch plays.
I think it would be good for Mormons to study the history of Mormonism from the time that Joseph Smith founded it until today; taking into account the various off-shoots. James Strange was an interesting dude. I’ve read some about him and his death by assassins is quite a story.
I also find interesting what happened when Smith made a power move when he went from the Book of Commandments to the Doctrine and Covenants. He lost some folks because of his reorienting of the structure of the church. That’s where, as far as I can tell, the first break away group came from.
TJay,
Would you consider joining the Community of Christ since they are what Mormonism looked like at the on-set?
OK, I know there are some LDS that point out the many different denominations in the Traditional Christian community which prove that it is not true, but the majority of the LDS actually say that this proves that there was an apostacy – in other words the differences in theology shows that there was a divergence of beliefs creating divisions between the groups. All it points to is that one of those groups could be rightt, or all could be wrong. Especially when the original reason for the divergence was because one group thought that the other one it separated from was wrong – a point that has been either lost or muted by time so that most Trinitarian group have decided to accept each other as true.
We accept that there are apostate groups from our belief and that they point towards us and say that we have apostasised. What it points to is that one of these could be right or none of them are correct.
Falcon,
Did you know that the members of the Smith family (even in these days) teach within their family that everything JS did and went through was true? A friend of mine tracted one of them out the back of Wallsend and found that out. Apparently there are a number of descendants of the Smith family out here as a couple of years ago they hired out a hall up Taree way and showed the movie about Emma Smith to all who wanted to watch. Even my church promoted the event. So even if the Reorganised church has lost its belief in the BoM, the Smith family has not lost its belief in the angels and miraculous way it was interpreted.
Ralph,
First of all about the Smith family, I’d like some substantiation of what you wrote so that we know it’s not a Mormon urban legend or another case of Mormon folklore. But even if true I say so what? So the Smith survivors believe all form of spirit beings appeared to him. That proves what?
I have on several occasions pointed the reader to all of the spirit beings that have appeared to various other people. Go take a look at Lourdes and Fatima for example. The Blessed Virgin Mary is quite active with Catholics and some “miracles” accompany these devotions. I’m hearing all the time about angelic appearances especially with Christians of the Pentecostal persuasion.
Go and read the testimony of Charles Finney who lived about the same time and same area as Joseph Smith.
So Ralph, I’m just not overly impressed with Smith’s claims especially since he changed his story about as often as he changed his magic underwear.
The other point is Ralph that the CoC more closely follow Mormonism as it was originally constituted. Examine very carefully the changes made not only in the BoM but also the Book of Commandments when it was changed to the Doctrine and Covenants. One thing we know about Mormonism and that is it’s a religion that can’t keep anything straight.
http://www.ewtn.com/fatima/index.htm
http://olrl.org/stories/lourdes.shtml
http://www.watchman.org/lds/firstvsn.htm
Important is his testimony regarding what he saw on a spring, New York morning in 1820. At first glance his experience seems extraordinary. However, upon further review, similar experiences shared by others of his the day, coupled with chronological problems, seem to negate the uniqueness of Joseph Smith’s testimony. More important, the parallelism between Smith’s testimony and Charles G. Finney’s prior written declaration seems also to negate Smith’s story as original.
Falcon said:
“TJay,
Would you consider joining the Community of Christ since they are what Mormonism looked like at the on-set?”
Joseph Smith ordained women and openly LGBs to the priesthood? I had no idea.
TJay,
Aren’t you aware that early Mormon men were sealed to other men?
Ralph,
What Mormons dont seem to understand is this, You said
The problem is this, their is not a major doctrinal difference between all our different denominations,
We all here, Falcon, me, Sharon, Bill, Kate, Mike R, etc, belong to different denominations, and we all agree on the basics, Jesus is God, Jesus Died for us, GRACE alone Etc.
So their was not and is not a total apostasy between us. The major differences between us are minor things like, Can we smoke, drink, dance, women pastors, dress in robes vs blue jeans, Etc. Even things like the timing of the rapture, but that will not keep us out of heaven if we get that wrong.
Your many LDS denominations have and are about major doctrinal issues. So yes it is a big deal. Also their cannot be a total apostasy as JS taught if the apostle John and his 3 friends are alive till this day as the BoM mentions. That is another huge problem.
If there is any doubt that Mormonism was an “experimental” religion with revelation little more than someone’s “good idea” take a look at this article.
http://blogs.standard.net/the-political-surf/2011/01/27/temple-adoptions-were-part-of-lds-evolution-toward-genealogy-work/
Is there any wonder that there is so much confusion in Mormonism? Our buddy TJay can’t wrap his mind around the concept of a heavenly mother; a concept that is excepted in SLC denominational circles.
TJay like Mormons of the past has a few good ideas also. He’s folded those ideas into his own particular brand of Mormonism.
Why not women in the priesthood as well as practicing homosexuals? Someone could certainly get a revelation concerning this. How do Mormons know if something like this could be right around the corner? Perhaps the CoC Mormon denomination got a revelation concern this. Maybe it was all apart of the original Mormon restoration but it was lost and now needs to be restored.
With so many denominations and so much confusion, it’s difficult to know how Mormons can claim to have the one true church. From my perspective, the Mormon restoration really hasn’t gone very well.
The early Mormon experimenters would practice something for a while and then that practice, which was obviously ordained by the Mormon god, would be jettisoned. The confusion continues even in these modern times with the ban on blacks in the priesthood and the changing of the “sacred” temple rituals by the SLC denomination of Mormonism.
Mormons may as well face it. What they consider the one true church and the restoration of first century Christianity and progressive revelation is simply the mental meanderings of a bunch of guys trying to invent a religion and unable to get it right.
Falcon asked “Aren’t you aware that early Mormon men were sealed to other men?”
In father/son type relationships linking priesthood and having nothing to do with homosexuality.
CoC doesn’t believe in sealings either.
TJay,
Did you read my follow-up post? I see you focused on homosexuality regarding men being sealed to men. I think if you read the article that I linked to, you will see what a patchwork quilt religion Mormonism is. These guys you venerate as “prophets” are basically religious entrepreneurs with an idea a second mentality.
I can see why you are at home in such an environment. The fact of the matter is that early Mormonism couldn’t even get “salvation” right. It’s just a grab bag mish mash free-for-all with no real direction driven by creative revelation.
Mormonism is basically a do-it-yourself project with new prophets spinning off in various directions where ever their fancy leads them.
You say that CoC doesn’t believe in sealings. OK there we go again. Delineate the differences between the various Mormon sects and it’s pretty obvious what Joseph Smith created is a mess.
There is no “restoration” because there is no Mormon group that can bring forth any evidence that what they practice was practiced in the early first century Christian church.
The various Mormon sects can’t agree on who God is, who Jesus is, what is considered “scripture”, and what the eternal destiny of individuals is.
The fact that Brigham Young and company were sealing men to men and building their individual Celestial organizations ought to serve as a wake-up call.
Just think of what these “prophets” can do via “progressive” revelation. Everyday is a new day with thrills and chills and exciting news from the Mormon god on Kolob.
falcon,
The information in the link you provided is unbelievable. It’s also something that I’ve never heard of. Adopt yourself to a prophet or apostle lol. I thought you were teasing about men sealing themselves to other men. What else is hidden in the wood pile? I’ve also read several times where some women in early Mormonism held the priesthood. It was later changed to just men.
Falcon
“Did you read my follow-up post?”
No, I didn’t see it when I posted.
“I see you focused on homosexuality regarding men being sealed to men.”
Because I assumed you where bringing it up in response to my comment on the CoC’s former policy of ordaining open homosexuals to the priesthood. I didn’t realize you where spinning off on another tangent.
“You say that CoC doesn’t believe in sealings.”
You made the claim that the CoC are what Mormonism looked like at the on-set”. Then you stated that “early Mormon men were sealed to other men”. So if the early Mormons believed in sealing, and the CoC don’t, then the CoC isn’t what Mormonism looked like. If you backing away from that accusation then great. Thats all I was getting at.
TJay,
What I was getting at is in terms of fundamental doctrine, there’s no relationship between the CoC and SLC denominations of Mormonism. I was specifically referring to doctrines associated with the nature of God etc. which the CoC patterns after traditional Christianity and was what early Mormonism and the BoM in fact supported.
My point is that SLC Mormonism doesn’t reflect early Mormonism whereas a couple of the other Mormon sects do.
My point also is that Mormonism, as practiced by the SLC sect is a hodge podge of strange ideas that are held to for a while and then placed in the “doesn’t count” column and relegated to “opinion” of the prophet or Mormon “folklore”.
So Mormonism isn’t what it’s billed to be by the SLC sect. Take yourself for example. You would be a prime candidate to start your own Mormon group. The fact that you don’t subscribe to the heavenly mother co-god program takes you out of the main stream of SLC thinking. I don’t know how you can play this buffet game with fundamental doctrine of the Mormon sect you swear allegiance to along with prophets whose teachings you reject.
That indicates that the prophets aren’t prophets at all but merely religious free thinkers, tinkerers, and guys chasing moon beams.
The article that I linked to provides a perfect example of what sort of tradition was established by these founders of Mormonism. These guys were clueless. They were just having themselves some fun being creative and when it didn’t work they just keep moving on like it never happened.
This is what happens when people buy into the fantasy of a guy with a magic rock.
Kate, you asked, ” what else is hidden in the woodpile ? ” Answer: more “spiritual truths”
of the ” restored ” gospel taught by modern-day apostles ! This particular important gospel
truth was discarded after years of being accepted by sincere Mormons by way of relying on
their own spiritual witness that the personal revelation of their apostles was in fact coming
from the Holy Ghost . After years of endorsing this ” spiritual truth “, subsequent prophet
Woodruff, himself a willing participant in practicing this Mormon gospel started
feeling uneasy about it so it was discarded by way of ” revelation” . Thus it joined other parts
of the Mormon gospel that have been discarded and thus relegated to false doctrine status
by subsequent Mormon leaders . Mormons have declared that their church , their gospel is
the same church , the same gospel as the apostles in the New Testament preached . It was
lost but then restored in 1830 . The New Testament reveals the gospel of Jesus Christ
and is clear that those to whom His apostles taught it , that these people received the message
of how to gain reconciliation with God , a saving relationship that results in Eternal life to
all who come to Jesus . False prophets just can’t seem to let the gospel of Jesus’ apostles
stand . So in order to promote their particular gospel they have to try and convince people
that there is more to gaining a relationship with God resulting in salvation from what the N.T.
reveals. However , these false prophets are continually having to alter their gospels–Eph4:14
Here’s an excerpt from an interesting article regarding this “spiritual” practice of adoption in early Mormonism. Now I must ask, has anyone seen any reference to this in the Bible? Some restoration!
Brigham Young had been sealed by the law of adoption to Joseph Smith, and in January and early February 1846 (before leaving for the Rocky Mountains on 15 February 1846), Young was sealed to 38 young men by the law of adoption in the Nauvoo Temple.[5] On 23 February 1847, Young “went to see Joseph” in a dream and Young said that he spoke with Joseph about the law of adoption.[6]
On April 6, 1862, Brigham Young said of the law of adoption: “By this power men will be sealed to men back to Adam, completing and making perfect the priesthood from this day to the winding up scene.”[7] It is reported by Brigham Young’s grandson, Kimball Young (chairman of the Department of Sociology at Northwestern University) that in a letter Brigham Young stated that there will be a future time “when men would be sealed to men in the priesthood in a more solemn ordinance than that by which women were sealed to men, and in a room over that in which women were sealed to man.”[8]
Wilford Woodruff, the fourth president of the LDS Church, stated in August 1896 that between 1843 and 1894 he “officiated in adopting 96 men to men”.[9] Woodruff also stated that by 1885, he had “had 45 persons adopted to me”.[10] Woodruff recorded in his diary that when the sealing rooms of the St. George Temple were dedicated in January 1877, Woodruff—who was the temple president—adopted two couples to Brigham Young.[11] Of the seventeen LDS Church apostles who died in the faith prior to 1894, fourteen had persons adopted to them.[12]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_adoption
What we’ve learned from this thread by Sharon is that a closer look at the Mormon church concerning it’s claim of being the only true church , the restoration of the church Jesus
established 1900 years ago is in large part just an empty claim , one that looks good because
of careful advertising . While Mormon authorities point their finger at all other churches
as being guilty of changing Jesus’ gospel, of indecision or confusion over ordinances , and
of teaching their own ideas as being accurate gospel truth , the fact of the matter is that
Mormon leaders have been guilty of the same type activity themselves . The Mormon
people are a decent people who strive to live good lives , they’ve been detoured into
following apostles who have convinced them that they alone are supervised by God to teach
His saving truths . However , God has provided for all to come to know Him , and it’s not
through joining a particular church with a particular title over the door . It’s through a one
on one relationship with His Son Jesus , the Savior and Mediator . The exciting details of this
relationship is available thru God’s Word recorded in the New Testament .
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