"Take up the Bible, compare the religion of the Latter-day Saints with it and see if it
will stand the test"
(Brigham Young, May 18, 1873, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 16, page 46.)
| Topic | Christian | LDS |
| GOD | There is only one God (Isaiah 43:11; 44:6,8; 45:5) | "And they (the Gods) said: Let
there be light: and there was
light (Book of Abraham 4:3) |
| God has always been God (Psalm 90:2; Isaiah 57:15) | "God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens!!! . . . We have imagined that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea and take away the veil, so that you may see" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 345 | |
| It must be noted that both of these gods may not coexist. The god of Christianity has either survived throughout the ages or the Restoration brought him back to mankind. | God is a spirit without flesh and bones (John 4:24; Luke 24:39) | "The Father has a body of flesh
and bones as tangible as man's"
(Doctrine and Covenants
130:22. Compare with Alma
18:26-27; 22:9-10) "Therefore we know that both the Father and the Son are in form and stature perfect men; each of them possesses a tangible body . . . of flesh and bones."(Articles of Faith, by James Talmage, p. 38). |
| TRINITY
The doctrine of the Trinity is a distinct Christian doctrine that may not be modified but called the same. The LDS Church clearly believes in a Tri-theistic and could be poly-theistic view of Divinity. They are not Trinitarian. |
The Trinity is the doctrine that there is only one God in all the universe and that He exists in three, eternal, simultaneous person: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. | The trinity is three separate
Gods: The Father, the Son, and
the Holy Ghost. "That these
three are separate individuals,
physically distinct from each
other, is demonstrated by the
accepted records of divine
dealings with man." (Articles of
Faith, by James Talmage, p.
35.)
|
| JESUS
These Doctrines cannot coexist any more than the Doctrines of God. The LDS people don't see a significant difference in these because they equate the Divine origin and nature as the same as mankind. The Divine nature being perfect and eternal removes any possibility of it being the same nature as man. God created man in his likeness but, not in His same substance and nature. |
Jesus was born of the virgin Mary (Isaiah 9:6; Matt. | "The birth of the Saviour was as
natural as are the births of our
children; it was the result of
natural action. He partook of
flesh and blood - was begotten
of his Father, as we were of our
fathers." (Journal of
Discourses, Vol. 8: p. 115) "Christ was begotten by an Immortal Father in the same way that mortal men are begotten by mortal fathers" (Mormon Doctrine," by Bruce McConkie, p. 547) |
|
|
Jesus is the literal spirit-brother of Lucifer, a creation. (Gospel Through the Ages, p. 15) | |
| THE HOLY SPIRIT |
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. He is not a force. He is a person. (Acts 5:3-4; 13:2) | Mormonism distinguishes
between the Holy Spirit (God's
presence via an essence) and
the Holy Ghost (the third god in
the Mormon doctrine of the trinity). "He [the Holy Ghost] is a being endowed with the attributes and powers of Deity, and not a mere force, or essence (Articles of Faith, by James Talmage, p. 144) |
|
SALVATION Salvation is a key word that must be defined clearly. The result of the Crucifixion of Christ and what it means is crucial. The question must be answered: What is God's gift to man? Is it an opportunity to become a god or to become Holy and Blameless and dwell in His presence forever? |
Salvation is the forgiveness of sin and deliverance of the sinner from damnation. It is a free gift received by God's grace (Eph. 2:8; Rom. 6:23) and cannot be earned (Rom. 11:6). Salvation (forgiveness of sins) is not by works (Eph. 2:8; Rom. 4:5; Gal. 2:21) |
Salvation has a double meaning
in Mormonism: universal
resurrection and . . . |
| "As these sins are the result of
individual acts it is just that
forgiveness for them should be
conditioned on individual
compliance with prescribed
requirements -- 'obedience to
the laws and ordinances of the
Gospel.'" (Articles of Faith p.
79)
| ||
| BIBLE
If the Bible has been corrupted in its message, the Restoration may be necessary. This puts the LDS god at a degree of liability. A sovereign god wouldn't allow his message to mankind to be corrupted and have to fix it later. A truly fair and just God would protect it from corruption for all who would seek Him. The God of the Bible is an "equal access" God. |
The inspired inerrant word of God (2 Tim. 3:16). It is authoritative in all subjects it addresses. | "We believe the Bible to be the
word of God as far as it is
translated correctly. . ." 8th
Article of Faith of the Mormon
Church.
|
The point to this comparison is not to demonstrate anything beyond the fact that there are significant differences in the teachings of the LDS Church and those that fall into the categories of Protestant, Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox Christianity. This comparison is necessary because the LDS Church uses Historical Christian terms with Latter-Day semantical differences. This is also to show that the god of the LDS Church is not the same as the God described in the Holy Bible. This is significant in light of the First Commandment of the Ten Commandments given to Moses on Mount Sinai. This again, gives the investigator the decision to make over the Restoration of the Church. If the God of Christianity is an adulterated version of God, one must consider the LDS God may be the true god. If the God of the Bible is still the same in the Bible as he has always been, the LDS God is a false god and the believers in him are sinning the first commandment. The two Gods may not coexists.