Mormonism

This is a delicate but necessary topic to address. Catholics must support individual Mormons in their search to know God. Yet, as long as the Mormon Church claims for itself the chair of St. Peter, which has belonged to the Pope in Rome for 2,000 years, and so long as The Book of Mormon for all practical purposes labels the Catholic Church as the, "whore of all the earth...whose founder is the devil" (1 Nephi 13 & 14), we must render a just defense and testify to the truth of Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church He instituted.

What is it that Mormons claim that should concern Catholics?

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints�better known as the Mormon Church�boldly claims to be what the Roman Catholic Church is . . . the one true Church established by Jesus Christ. It is unlike Protestant denominations which grew out of the Catholic Church beginning in the 16^th century and which admit the Catholic Church can still offer salvation. The Mormon Church is totally unassociated with all of Christian history, and it claims that everyone who is not baptized into the Mormon Church either in this world or the "spirit world" following death, will go to hell. Today, most Mormons lead exemplary moral lives and they must be respected for their deep religious convictions, but they will hide this, and all their peculiar beliefs from you by hiding the harsh reality of their beliefs by sugar-coating them with euphemisms and false-definitions (e.g. in Mormon terminology Jews are Gentiles).

What are some positive characteristics of Mormons?

Most Mormons are sincerely trying to serve the Lord as best they know how. They usually dress nice, work hard, attend church, and often dedicate years of their life to missionary work. Catholics today can learn a lot from how seriously Mormons put their faith into action.

What are some similarities between Mormonism and Catholicism?

Mormons accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and they honor the Bible (albeit an erroneous King James Version). They have many similar sacraments to Catholics and their church is organized similar to ours, with the leader called a "prophet" instead of a Pope. Anything the prophet says as prophet is considered the words of God.

What is the history behind the Mormon church?

Joseph Smith (1805-1844) founded Mormonism 1830 after he had supposedly found the Book of Mormon written on golden plates in New York (he claimed the plates were later taken into heaven). Smith was killed by an enraged mob in 1844, while he was in Jail for burning a publishing house which exposed him for practicing polygamy�up until 1852 the Mormon church claimed not to practice polygamy. The Mormon church was heavily persecuted at the time (they persecuted others, too), causing its members to move from Ohio to Missouri to Illinois and finally to Utah in the late 1840s.

What Mormons are unlikely to tell you is that Joseph Smith was a treasure hunter and even convicted of being a fraudulent fortuneteller in the 1820s. In 1837 church leaders organized the "Danite" vigilante band to combat all internal and external enemies, sometimes using murder. Mormon leaders also led the Mormon militia in the notorious "Mountain Meadows Massacre" in Utah in 1857 (look it up in the encyclopedia), and prophet Brigham Young cashed in on the affair.

What are some distinctive beliefs of the Mormon church?

1. It maintains that God was once just a man with a God above him. Mormons serve one Heavenly Father but accept that many may exist. They teach against the Trinity and believe that God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit are totally separate beings.

2. The Book of Mormon teaches that the devil founded all churches but their own (1 Nephi 13:26, 14:9-10).

3. It proclaims that all early apostles were killed or corrupted and thus Christ took His church from the earth in the first century AD!

4. It conducts baptisms for the dead.

5. "Righteous" Mormons believe that they will be married for all eternity and become a true God�with all the power our God currently has�plainly contradicting Matthew 22:30, Mark 12:25, Luke 20:35, Heb. 1:3, etc.

6. It officially encouraged polygamy from 1852-1890. Church prophets such as Lorenzo Snow, Brigham Young, and Joseph Fielding Smith also taught that God was lawfully married to, and had sex with, Mary to create Jesus, and that Jesus and the apostles were polygamous.

7. The Book of Mormon teaches that African Americans and American Indians have dark skin because of sins they committed before living on earth (II Nephi 5:21-22 and Alma 3:6).

How do I handle a Mormon missionary?

1. Love them and realize that YOU can be missionary for Christ to them.

2. Ask to see and read a copy of the Doctrine & Covenants and Joseph Smith's King Follett Discourse. The odd ideas speak for themselves!

3. Point out that the Book of Mormon teaches that God is God from all eternity and changeless (Mormon 9:9-10, Moroni 8:18, 1 Nephi 10:18), yet in 1844 Joseph Smith taught just the opposite�that God was once a man�in his King Follett Discourse.

4. Ask the missionary if they really believe the Catholic Church was founded by the Devil as 1 Nephi 13 & 14 state (and listen to how skillfully they deny it).

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