THE BIBLE VERSES MORMONISM
The churches of Christ Greet You (Romans
16:16)
Dearly Beloved Readers: This article is being written to shed light on
SOME of the doctrines of Mormonism, officially known as the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS). It’s our sincere prayer
that Mormons and
Non-Mormons, wherever the INTERNET takes this lesson, will be blessed
by God
to better understand the WILL of God (Eph.
One of the difficulties in reaching out to Mormons is finding common
ground
in terminology. Terms that are typically understood to have a
particular
meaning within the context of “historic” Christianity are used in an
entirely
different sense in a Mormon context. For example, according to
their
book, “Gospel Principles” published by Deseret Book Company, Salt Lake
City,
Utah, 1978, the LDS HEAVEN is a place where at the final judgment one
will
be assigned to the kingdom he or she has EARNED. The choices one
makes
in life on earth will be the measurement as to which kingdom they EARN.
According to Mormon Doctrine, a person will be sent to one of four
places:
the celestial kingdom, which is the highest degree of glory; the
terrestrial kingdom, the middle degree; the telestial kingdom, which is
the lowest degree of glory; or outer darkness, which is the kingdom of
the devil and is not
a degree of glory.
Outer Darkness - These are they who had testimonies of Jesus
through
the Holy Ghost and had known the power of the Lord, but allowed Satan
to
overcome them. There is no forgiveness for THEM (apostate
Mormons).
They will live in eternal darkness, torment, and misery with Satan and
his
angels forever and ever.
In the Bible we can fine FIVE events connected with the doctrine of the
Last Things. They are: The Second Coming Of Jesus (Acts 1:9-11;
Rev. 22:12); The Resurrection from the Dead (John
When Jesus COMES AGAIN all the Dead will be RAISED (1 Cor.
THE JUDGMENT
The writer of Hebrews declares, “And as it is appointed unto men ONCE
to die, but after this the judgment” (Heb.
Paul in Athens said, “Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he
will
judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained;
whereof
he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from
the
dead” (Acts 17:31). This passage should bring GREAT joy to each
of
us. I am happy to know that not one of you reading this article
will be my judge at the last day. It is comforting to have no
worries about the unrighteous judgments of men (cf. John
The teaching of the Judgment was totally new to Greek and Roman
thought. Most ancient religions had some concept of a future
judgment, but not as
one great day in which all people would be judged. However, it is
basic teaching throughout the Bible that the righteous will be rewarded
and the wicked will be punished (cf. Gal. 6:7-9). The Bible
teaches that God
has appointed a DAY when HE will judge the world. He has assigned
Jesus
the task of being the JUDGE at that time (READ John
The Judgment will be UNIVERSAL - EVERYONE will be there. Even
those
who believe in God and obey Him will be there. The Judgment will
be
a REALITY. It does not depend upon whether one believes it or
not. EVERYONE, rich and poor, educated and uneducated, saint and
sinner will be there. The Bible says, “...For we shall all stand
before the judgment
seat of Christ” (Rom.
The Judgment will be conducted on an INDIVIDUAL basis. Paul said,
“For
we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one
may
receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done,
whether
it be good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10). Each person will give an
account
of the deeds he has done (Rev. 20:12).
The Judgment will be COMPLETE. Each will give account of the
thoughts
of the heart (Pro. 23:7; Acts
The Word of God, which is the Bible, affirms that the Judgment will be
FINAL.
There is one physical life, one physical death, and one judgment (Heb.
Another truth that MUST be understood is that the Judgment of God is
RIGHTEOUS.
God is a righteous judge (2 Tim. 4:8). The judgments HE makes are
true
and righteous (Rev. 19:2). This means two things. First, it
means
the judgment of God will be fair. God is no respector of persons
(Acts
There will be no CHEATING at the Judgment. The record will be
laid
bare, and we will be judged according to HIS Word. Jesus said,
“He
that rejected me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth
him:
the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day”
(John
Second, the righteous Judgment means that God has the right to judge
us. God created man. He has instructed man what is required
of him as stated in Micah 6:8, “He hath showed thee, O man, what is
good; and what doth the
Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk
humbly
with thy God.”
The business of living right is a dreadfully serious business.
Men
may revolt against the moral law and laugh at what they call the
restraints
of religion, and the narrowness of our principles. They may talk
about
the repressive and suppressive influences of the church and urge
revolutions
not only in the state, but also in the realm of morals that will throw
off
any binding influence. But righteousness is still the norm of
life
in the sight of God (Ps. 11:7; 45:7)! It is an unchanging and
eternal
attribute of God Himself (Ezra
It is time that we come face to face with the fact that God is
righteous,
and that God demands righteousness (cf. Phil. 3:9). We must face
the
fact that an hour is coming when men are going to stand before the
righteous
Judge, and unless they have believed, repented, and obeyed the Gospel
(by
being immersed in water to wash their sins away by the blood of Jesus),
they
will be condemned forever and ever.
EARNING SALVATION???
Remember now that the LDS HEAVEN is a place “where at the final
judgment one will be assigned to the kingdom he or she has
EARNED.” According
to Mormon teaching, “the choices one makes in life on earth will be the
measurement
as to which kingdom they EARN.”
Above, we described their THREE degrees of glory (the LDS
HEAVEN).
They are the
We can hardly contain our self for want of refuting these false
doctrines...
But, before dealing specifically with each of their “kingdoms,” we will
first
prove FALSE their above teaching that one must EARN his way into
Heaven.
Then, Lord willing, we will share with you the Bible teaching on
Heaven.
Friends and Loved Ones, Jesus paid the ONLY price that anyone will ever
pay to prepare a mansion for His children in Heaven (John
14:1-3).
He died so that each of us could be born again (John 3:5). Jesus
shed
His precious blood to PURCHASE the children of God (Acts 20:28; 1 Pet.
1:18-19). So, if the price (the blood of Christ) has
been paid (Rev. 1:5; Matt. 26:28), and a penitent believer obeys the
Lord’s command to be born again (immersed
in water for the forgiveness of sins - Acts
The LDS, the Catholics, the Jews, the Moslems, the New Age Movement,
and
all so-called Protestant denominations teach (or show by their actions)
that
one must EARN his salvation. To EARN one’s salvation is to DO
something to be saved that is NOT written in the Bible.
This is where the confusion lies in RELIGION. Doing things that
God has NOT commanded
is how one attempts to EARN a place in “Heaven.”
However, simply being OBEDIENT to the Will of God (through His Word -
the Bible) will GUARANTEE every soul a place in Heaven - not because
we’ve EARNED
it - but because Jesus PURCHASED, REDEEMED, and did all that can ever
be done
to RECONCILE us (return obedient souls to God - Heb. 2:17).
We who are members of the churches of Christ are often accused of
teaching
that one must EARN his salvation. No, we do not teach that vile
false doctrine. However, we DO teach that one must OBEY GOD’S
WORD to be saved
(Heb. 5:9; Acts
We challenge any RELIGIOUS LEADER (or anyone else) to prove (from the
Bible) that God will save people who do NOT obey Him (cf. 2 Thess.
1:7-9). Obeying God is NOT “earnings” one’s
salvation. Obeying God is
simply DOING what God has commanded each of us to DO to be saved.
Therefore,
we who are members of the churches of Christ are NOT trying to EARN our
salvation.
We know we are saved (cf. 2 Tim.
So friends, we beg each of you to stop teaching and following things
that
are NOT written in the Bible (cf. Rev. 22:18-19). STOP wearing
your
rosaries; STOP saying one is saved BEFORE he is baptized (cf. Mark
HEAVEN
The Bible teaches that there are only two roads in life. One road
leads to Heaven and the other road leads to hell (Matt.
The Word of God often affirms the existence of Heaven (READ Matt.
The Bible does speak of THREE kingdoms, but nowhere does it speak of a
Celestial,
Terrestrial, or Telestial kingdom. The Bible speaks of the (1)
kingdoms
of men (Gen. 10:10; Num. 32:33; 1 Kings 4:21; Ester 3:6; cf. Dan 2:37;
4:17,
25, 32), (2) a kingdom of priests (Ex. 19:6; cf. 1 Pet. 2:5, 9), and
(3) the
ONE everlasting kingdom of God (Ps. 145:13; 1 Chron. 29:11; Dan. 2:44;
4:3; Matt. 3:2; 6:33; Luke 9:27; 17:21; John 18:36; Acts 8:12; 2 Pet.
1:11). But again, nowhere does the Bible speak of the THREE
kingdoms of Mormonism.
The problem with the doctrine of our LDS friends (and all other
denominations) comes down to a matter of authority. The Mormons
want to follow the
Bible and thereby be considered Christians; yet, they want to follow
the
Book of Mormon so they can distinguish themselves as Mormons (or
so-called
Mormon Christians). However, where in the Bible do you read of a
Mormon Christian? Or for that matter, where do you read of a
Baptist Christian or Catholic Christian, etc.?
Friends, you cannot have it both ways. If you desire to become or
remain a Mormon, you must continue to follow the Book of Mormon.
However,
to be a Christian ONLY you must follow the BIBLE ONLY. The Bible
must
be your ONLY authority in religion. Trying to follow both books
at
the same time leads only to confusion. Why? Because (as we have
plainly
shown above) the Bible and the Book of Mormon contradict each
other.
The Bible and ANY of the false teachings of men contradict each other.
The Bible came from God (1 Tim. 3:16-17; 1 Pet. 1:20-21). The
Book
of Mormon came from a man (Joseph Smith, Jr.). CHRISTIANS don’t
follow the teachings of men (including men such as the pope, John
Calvin, Martin
Luther, Alexander Campbell, King Henry, etc.). Following the
traditions, doctrines and commandments of men simply make your worship
vain or useless (Mark 7:6-13).
As we think about Heaven (God’s everlasting kingdom), we see a
beautiful connection between the first and last books of the
Bible. Scripture resembles a flower. We find the seed in
Genesis, the growing plant
in the books which follow, and the fully developed and beautiful flower
in
the apocalypse or book of Revelation. Genesis tells us that "God
created the heaven and the earth" (Gen. 1:1). Revelation
describes "a new heaven
and a new earth" (Rev. 21:1ff).
In Genesis the luminaries are called to being: sun, moon, and stars
(Gen. 1:14-18). In Revelation we read, "And the city had no need
of the sun,
neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten
it, and the Lamb is the light thereof" (Rev. 21:23). Genesis
describes
a
Genesis describes the cunning and power of the devil. Revelation
tells
us that the devil was bound (Rev. 20:10). Genesis pictures man
fleeing
from God. Revelation shows the wonderful communion between God
and
redeemed man: "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will
dwell
with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with
them,
and be their God" (Rev. 21:3).
Finally, Genesis shows us the tree of life, with an angel to keep the
way
of the tree of life, lest man put forth his hand and take of its fruit
(Gen. 3:22-24). Revelation shows that the obedient man has his
right to the tree of life restored (Rev. 22:14). The Word of God
mentions Heaven
time and again, but the clearest picture is in the book of
Revelation.
Heaven is real. The redeemed will one day be there (Rev. 14:13;
HELL
Since there is a Heaven, there is also a hell. The Bible
declares that they both exist. Since the Word of God is true when
it declares
that there is a Heaven, then it is also true when it declares there is
a
hell. The Greek word for hell is used twelve times in the New
Testament,
and Jesus uses it ten of those times. He said in Matthew 25:46,
“And
these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into
life eternal.”
There are three basic reasons why there is a hell. First, Divine
justice demands it. God rules the universe (Dan.
Second, the exceeding wickedness of sin requires that there be a
hell. Sin earns its punishment (Rom.
Notice some of the descriptive names of hell: eternal fire (Matt.
25:41); eternal punishment (Matt. 25:46; hell of unquenchable fire
(Mark
Think of what this means...one can undergo and stand almost anything if
he has hope that one day things will be better. But in hell there
is
no hope. The second death implies eternal separation from God.
God
will not hear the prayers of those in hell. There is no second
chance.
There is no hope.
Hell is eternal. The same words used to describe the length of
Heaven
are used to describe the length of hell - “everlasting punishment and
eternal life” (Matthew 25:46). These are from the same Greek word
“anionis”
which means “eternal, everlasting, incessant, never ceasing.
Hell is prepared for those who are disobedient to God and
unrepentant. Hell is prepared for the devil and his angels
(messengers - Matt. 25:41). A blind man in the dark would be able
to see that Mormon doctrine contradicts the things above. Hell
(to the Mormon mind) is found in their fictitious
The nice think about it (according to the false teaching of Mormonism)
is
that these wicked people will only suffer in the Mormon hell until
after
the Millennium. Then they will be resurrected and visited by the
Holy
Ghost, but not by the Father or Son. What a COMFORTING bunch of
lies.
All you wicked people who are reading this article should immediately
become Mormons. But if you do, BEWARE! You will only be
deceived into thinking that you won’t suffer eternally as the Bible
plainly teaches (Matt.
25:46). As mentioned above, the Mormon “Outer Darkness” is their
eternal
HELL. However, conveniently, it is reserved only for apostate
Mormons.
Loved ones, we have no animosity against any people (Catholics,
Baptist, Mormons, homosexuals, or anyone else). However, we will
continue to expose the false teachings of your faith in hopes that one
day God will give you “repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
and that (you) may recover
(yourselves) out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by
him
at his will” (2 Tim. 2:25-26).
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