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Category: Ask Me Questions
Did Joseph Smith drink wine the day he died? If so, how can he go to Heaven?
As asked in a comment thread on this blog…
Q: “I find it interesting that the day before he was killed that Joseph Smith drank wine and don’t Mormons have to be temple worthy to worship in the temple and one of the things that make them temple worthy is that they can’t drink alcohollic beverages? So wouldn’t that make Smith not be able to enter the Celestial Kingdom when he passed from this earth if he wasn’t temple worthy at the time of his death?”
A: The simple answer is that drinking wine wasn’t considered a violation of the Word … Read the rest of this entry »
What’s with Satan and the fruit in the Garden of Eden?
In response to a question asked in the “Ask a Mormon Anything” section.
Q: Mormons think the fall was necessary to bring about God’s plan, so why would Satan encourage the fall? Wouldn’t that be helping to bring about God’s plan? Wouldn’t he have tried to get Adam and Eve NOT to eat of the fruit, so no spirit children would get bodies?
Also, if God had a plan for all spirit children to come and get a body, but then sent Adam and Eve to earth telling them not to eat the fruit of the tree of … Read the rest of this entry »
Mormons and Isaiah 44:6
As asked in the “Ask Me Questions” portion of this website:
Q: How do Mormons explain Isaiah 44:6?
This verse says that God does not even know of another god. Now if Mormons believe that God the Father is married to multiple mother goddesses, who He would clearly know of if He was, then how can the possibly claim to believe the Bible and deny the basic doctrine of Isaiah 44:6.
A: Let’s start by reading the scripture:
Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and … Read the rest of this entry »
Do Mormons Worship Joseph Smith?
In responding to comments on another post I did quite a bit of research on the question of whether Mormons worship Joseph Smith, so I thought it was worthy of it’s own post.
The question seems to arise due to the amount of praise and attention heaped on Joseph Smith by Mormons. I won’t deny this is the case. We have pictures of Joseph Smith in our churches, we have lessons about him in our classes, we study his life, and we do honestly revere him. But we don’t worship him. Some quotes from LDS leaders past and present should
Do Mormons Believe No One Can Enter Heaven Without Joseph Smith’s Consent?
This question is sparked in response to a statement from Church President Brigham Young, who said “that no man or woman in this dispensation will ever enter into the celestial kingdom of God without the consent of Joseph Smith. From the day that the Priesthood was taken from the earth to the winding-up scene of all things, every man and woman must have the certificate of Joseph Smith, junior, as a passport to their entrance into the mansion where God and Christ are—I with you and you with me. I cannot go there without his consent.”
It therefore seem fair … Read the rest of this entry »
Does Mormonism Pass “The Test”?
A commenter on this blog recently gave me the following set of questions as a “test” I could use to escape deception. I thought it might be interesting to see how the LDS Church performs on this test.
(1) Does it claim to have a special revelation that ignores the clear teaching of the Bible?
The LDS Church does claim to receive special revelation, but does not ignore the clear teaching of the Bible, so it appears Mormonism easily passes this first question.
(2) Does it lift up the Lord Jesus Christ or itself?
The entire purpose of the LDS … Read the rest of this entry »
Does DNA evidence disprove the Book of Mormon?
I’m not sure how such a post has never made it on to the website, given the name of the website, but better late than never, I suppose. There are quite extensive posts on this elsewhere, although I think the best resource for detailed information on Mormons and DNA is from Jeff Lindsay’s site. But I’ll give my summary and own thoughts here.
The question goes like this–The Book of Mormon and Mormons in general claim that all Native Americans are descendants of the people of the Book of Mormon. If this is true, then we should find matching … Read the rest of this entry »
How do Mormons interpret Isaiah 43:10?
Isaiah 43:10 says “Before me there was no God formed; neither shall there be after me.” This scripture is commonly used to “trick up” Mormons who claim that we humans are children of God, destined to become Gods like him. But the response to that has been adequately answered here, here, and perhaps best, here, so I’m not going to respond to it here. However, a recent commenter on this blog asked a different question about this scripture, which is this:
How do you interpret the passage where Jehovah God says to Isaiah, “Before me there was … Read the rest of this entry »
Do Mormons See Other Christians as Non-Believers?
Q: If Mormons think they belong to the one and only true church of Jesus Christ, then does that mean they see the members of all other faiths as non-believers? After all, read this stuff from your own scriptures and founding “prophet”
“Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the Church of the Lamb of God [i.e. the Mormon Church] and the other is the church of the devil [i.e.. the Christian Church]; wherefore whosoever belongeth not to the church of the lamb of God belongeth to that great church; which is the mother of abominations; and … Read the rest of this entry »
Do Mormons believe Jesus, and only Jesus, can save them?
I don’t know much about Billy Graham. I’m sure he’s a nice guy, but if I can assume that this article is referring to Mormonism, then he has some facts wrong about what Mormons believe. In the article he answers a question that asks “How do we know that the books we have in the Bible are the only ones that are supposed to be there? A man I work with belongs to a religious group that claims the Bible wasn’t complete until their founder discovered some additional books that God revealed to him.” Now, if that question isn’t … Read the rest of this entry »
Do Mormons believe the Bible is complete?
If you ask a Mormon if the Bible contains all the words Jesus or the apostles ever taught, then the short answer is “no.” Now, if you ask whether the Bible is complete, well, that’s a bit harder to answer because one would have to explain what they mean by such a question. How does one define “complete”? If by “complete” you mean perfect, then no, Mormons do not believe the Bible is perfect, assuming we have the same definition of “perfect”. If by complete you mean that it contains everything God ever said to man, then no, we … Read the rest of this entry »
Why are Mormons so secretive about what goes on in their temples?
Some religions call their normal meetinghouses “temples”. For Mormons, temples are quite different than the church buildings we meet in each Sunday. At the church we have Sunday School, learn about the gospel, have opportunities to serve in various “callings” (like being the librarian or a Sunday School teacher), and most importantly, take the sacrament (bread and water representing the body and blood of Christ) in order to renew the promises we make when we’re baptized.
Just as baptism is an ordinance by which a person becomes a member of the LDS Church, receives forgiveness of his sins, and pledges … Read the rest of this entry »
Why do Mormons erroneously believe Lucifer is Satan?
The argument goes something like this:
The word “Lucifer” in Isaiah 14:12 presents a minor problem to mainstream Christianity. It becomes a much larger problem to Bible literalists, and becomes a huge obstacle for the claims of Mormonism…The first problem is that Lucifer is a Latin name…Lucifer wasn’t equated with Satan until after Jerome [in the fourth century BC]. Jerome wasn’t in error. Later Christians (and Mormons) were in equating “Lucifer” with “Satan”…Mormons claim that an ancient record (the Book of Mormon) was written beginning in about 600 BC, and the author in 600 BC supposedly copied Isaiah in … Read the rest of this entry »
How could God have been a man and have created everything?
For those of you who aren’t sure what the question is referring to, here’s the expanded version:
Q: Mormons believe that God used to be a man, like us, and that we can become gods, like God. But this doesn’t seem to make sense if you read the creation story in Genesis 1:1-19.
- In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
- And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
- And God said, Let there be light: and
Does the Bible teach there is no such thing as eternal marriage like the Mormons practice?
As posted in a comment here on this blog, “The Mormon Church teaches that when people are married in the temple they are married for eternity but the Bible teaches otherwise as seen by the words of Jesus Himself.”
The author of the comment then quoted this passage of scripture from Matthew 22:
25 Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother.
26 Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh.
27 Last of all the woman died also.
28Therefore, in … Read the rest of this entry »Do Mormon believe in many Gods?
From questions by Ann Mere in comments on Sep 7th, 2010.
“Are there many gods? Are gods more holier than each other?”
This question requires some explanation beyond a simple “yes” or “no” answer, because both answers are correct and incorrect at the same time.
Mormons believe that every human being is a God in “embryo” form, or childlike form. Just as a boy becomes a man or a girl becomes a woman, we believe men and women become Gods and Goddesses. We believe the purpose of this life is to move us along that path, and that this … Read the rest of this entry »
Do Mormons believe God changes?
Note: Much of what I’ve put here was inspired by the content at FAIRMormon.org on the matter of God changing/not changing.
This is a branch off of a question asked in the comments of another post, and also a widely disseminated “gotcha” question for Mormons, which is that if Mormon claim that God was once a man, and that men can become Gods, then how does that reconcile with scriptures such as follow:
James 1:16: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation … Read the rest of this entry »
Do I Really Believe? And if So, Why?
A friend of mine left the LDS Church a few years ago. He’s not an anti-Mormon, or even a motivated “ex-Mormon”. Maybe you could say that he’s Mormon the same way Jerry Seinfeld’s character on his TV show was Jewish. Mmmm, no, I don’t think that’s exactly accurate either. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. He was raised Mormon, went on a mission, got married and all that jazz, but now he doesn’t go to church anymore, and he doesn’t believe the LDS Church is what it claims to be. But the real point is that I’ve never run into someone who … Read the rest of this entry »
Why Do Mormons Use the King James Version of the Bible Instead of the Joseph Smith Translation?
That’s a darn good question. For those of you who don’t know, “A revision or translation of the King James Version of the Bible begun by the Prophet Joseph Smith in June 1830. He was divinely commissioned to make the translation and regarded it as “a branch of his calling” as a prophet. Although the major portion of the work was completed by July 1833, he continued to make modifications while preparing a manuscript for the press until his death in 1844, and it is possible that some additional modifications would have been made had he lived to publish the … Read the rest of this entry »
David Eccles Hardy – Letter to Elder Boyd K. Packer on Mormon Homosexuals
Question:
Do you think Bruce Hafens, treating different, and less than with shunning, or high voltage electro shock Mormon aversion therapy would have best solved the following situation?
Dear Elder Packer:
Although we have met briefly before, it is through the context of my family that you would be able to place me. I am the younger brother of Ralph W. Hardy, Jr. and Clare Hardy Johnson, and the son of Ralph W. Hardy, Sr. and Maren Eccles Hardy. I most recently served as bishop of the Salt Lake University 29th Ward, Salt Lake University 5th Stake. My wife, Carlie, … Read the rest of this entry »
Egyptians, Horses, and Rocks in Hats
Question:
Joshua,
I would appreciate the name of just one secular encyclopediaa and page which provides supporting information that:
1. “Reformed Egyptian” was really an ancient language.
2. “Domesticated” horses existed in the America’s prior to Columbus.
3. That ancient languages can be translated by looking at a rock in a hat. See: (Ensign » 1993 » July A Treasured Testament By Elder Russell M. Nelson)
Answer:
Of course there isn’t any secular encyclopedia that provides supporting information, but here are some explanations of perhaps why:
1. Reformed Egyptian was a language perhaps known by no one else but the
The Hypocrisy of Mormons in Opposing Gay Marriage
Question:
Joshua,
How is it possible for you to support your church with it going against its own scripture? “We do not believe it just to mingle religious influence with civil government, whereby one religious society is fostered and another proscribed in its spiritual privileges, and the individual rights of its members as citizens, denied.” (D&C 134:9)
United Church of Christ
The resolution “In support of equal marriage rights for all”, supported by an estimated 80% of the 884 General Synod Delegates, made the United Church of Christ General Synod the first major Christian deliberative body in the U.S. to … Read the rest of this entry »How did Joseph Smith carry home the golden plates of the Book of Mormon, and how did the witnesses lift them so easily?
The full question asked as part of many anti-Mormon pamphlets is:
How did Joseph Smith carry home the golden plates of the Book of Mormon, and how did the witnesses lift them so easily? (They weighed about 230 lbs. Gold, with a density of 19.3 weighs 1204.7 lbs. per cubic foot. The plates were 7″ x 8″ by about 6″. See Articles of Faith, by Talmage, page 262, 34th ed.)
I’d love to give my own answer to this, but it’s already been answered by others. Here is a link to the standard LDS response about the weight of the … Read the rest of this entry »
“Difficult” Questions for Mormons
To kick off this section, I figure I’ll try and answer some of the questions out there. This page comes up first in Google for “questions for Mormons” and claims to contain “Difficult Questions for Mormons” so let’s see how difficult they really are. I haven’t read more than one or two of them so we’ll see how this goes. This is going to take more work than I can do in one sitting, so I’m going to post all the questions here. Where the answers are short, I’ll answer them on this page. Where they are longer I’ll create … Read the rest of this entry »
Ask a Mormon Anything
I figure since I’ve got a question where I ask anti-Mormons and others to answer my questions, it’s only fair that I have a section where I take questions. Actually, it’s my blog and I can do what I want with it and fair has nothing to do with it, so let’s just say I’d enjoy entertaining any questions people would like to ask. I’m as interested in learning the truth as anyone, and I’ve found that responding to questions from anti-Mormons helps me learn more about my faith. If you’ve got a question feel free to post a comment … Read the rest of this entry »