Even the belief that we have the potential to become Gods ourselves is supported by Psalms 82:6 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.

What do others think these scriptures mean?

The truth is, that if anyone cares to take a look, most of the “weird” Mormon beliefs are actually in the Bible. There are a few that are implied rather than said explicitly. The only thing I can’t seem to find in the Bible is the Word of Wisdom, saying don’t drink coffee, tea or alcohol, and don’t smoke. However, that is common sense because these things are bad for you. My husband has never smoked a day in his life, but developed asthma because of second hand smoke where he works. The Word of Wisdom, however, came out before people knew that any of these things were bad for them.

“I really don’t think God wants to confuse us. His gospel is quite simple.”

I agree, I don’t believe confusion comes from God, but rather from man misunderstanding the things of God. But the doctrine taught in the LDS Church, which perhaps seems confusing to some, seems simple, clear, and logical to me. I see no contradictions between Mormon doctrine and the Bible, at least not with my interpretation of the Bible, only with the interpretations others have of the Bible. What proof does anyone have that my interpretation of the Bible is wrong, and that their interpretation is correct? Yes, in order to arrive at the beliefs I have, I have relied on sources external to the Bible, but what is wrong with this approach as long as they are true and factual?

As for polygamy, might we not also ask why animal sacrifice was required in the Old Testament, but not after Christ? And why adulterers in the Old Testament were executed, but Christ forgave them and merely told them to go their way and sin no more?

“Likewise with the scripture from Isaiah (and pretty much all others) there is a … we have to add in there. You might call it a stretch, but it’s perfectly reasonable for the … to be omitted when you understand the context.”

The passage in Isaiah makes no reference to what you claim is the context. It comes elsewhere from Mormon doctrine. As I said before, an add on. You are trusting what Joseph Smith added to God’s word as presented in the Bible. What you call an interpretation is what Joseph Smith claims to be a revelation. God could have revealed to Isaiah that He is just one of an infinite number of Gods, but He is the one people on earth have to deal with. But he didn’t , he just said He is the only God and he knows of no other. I really don’t think God wants to confuse us. His gospel is quite simple. Here is some simple logic for you. If God is all-knowing and says that He knows of no other Gods, then there must be one God.

As far as contradictions within the Mormon doctrine, how much time do you have? Let me start with the doctrine of polygamy. Joseph Smith reveals God’s commandment of polygamy. The prophet Brigham Young expounded upon it. Years later, another prophet reveals that it is no longer to be practiced. In essence you could say that an eternal, unchanging God changed his mind. It only makes sense if you don’t think about it.

I’m not sure I understand…are you saying that because your interpretation of Biblical scripture is that man cannot become like God, and Mormonism teaches that man can, that therefore this is proof that your interpretation of Biblical scripture is correct?

“What amazes me is how intelligent people can accept Mormon doctrine which is filled with contradictions even after the blanks have been filled in.”

Would you care to point out some examples of these alleged contradictions?

The reason is because there is just one God, but there are many gods. Hence, if you ask a Mormon how many gods they believe in, he will answer “One.” If you ask him how many gods he worships, he will answer “One.” If you ask him how many gods exist, he will answer “Many.”

How do Mormons interpret a scripture like ” …I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.” Isaiah 46:9? Think of it this way. You have a job working for a company. That company has a CEO. It might be a bit strange for your CEO to say the following to you, an employee, but it would be factual: “I am the CEO, and there is no other. I am the CEO, and there is nobody else like me.”

What would the CEO be saying here? He would be saying that he’s in charge. There is nobody else higher than him. There is nobody else like him. Nobody else has the power he does. But there a dot-dot-dot (…) that comes after this statement, and then this bit “…in this company.”

Of course if your CEO had an ego trip and was taking you down to size he might speak this way, and he would be correct. Within your role as an employee of the company, there is no one else who is the CEO. There’s no one else to turn to. No one else who can decide whether you “live” or “die” at that company. Your fate is in the hands of this CEO, and this CEO only. Why wouldn’t the CEO add “…in this company” to his statement? Because it’s obvious what he means within the context.

Likewise with the scripture from Isaiah (and pretty much all others) there is a … we have to add in there. You might call it a stretch, but it’s perfectly reasonable for the … to be omitted when you understand the context. And so to paraphrase Isaiah, you might instead say ” …I am God, and there is no other you need to worry about; I am God, and there is none like me within the environment in which I operate.” Or in other words, as far as we’re concerned, there might as well be no other gods. It matters in the sense that we are children of God, destined to become gods, but it doesn’t matter in the sense that there is no other god we can turn to, no other god with a plan for us, no other god to pray to, no other god to worship, etc. There are other gods, but they are not our God, and therefore they don’t matter to us.

A follow up question might be, “If we really are destined to become Gods, isn’t that a big deal? Shouldn’t that be all over the scriptures, both the Bible and Book of Mormon?” I would say it is there, all over the place, but generally not in any explicit form. It seems to me that this idea may have been taken for granted by the early saints. If it was something everybody knew and understood, why focus on stating it explicitly? In addition, what difference does it make to our everyday actions? Are you going to keep the commandment to not steal differently if you know you are destined to become a god as opposed to if you’re destined for something else? I can imagine one of us from this day and age traveling back in time to talk with Paul or Peter or some other prophet/apostle and saying “Hey, you need to explicitly write about how we are supposed to become gods” and he would say “Why? Doesn’t everyone know that?”

He might follow up by saying “Besides, it is all over the place in the scriptures. Matthew wrote in Matthew 5:48 that Christ said ‘Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.’ Christ wasn’t commanding us to become perfect like God just because it’s a nice thing to be, but because our ultimate destiny is to become gods, and we can’t become gods unless we’re perfect like God. In Galations 4:7 Paul said ‘Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.’ If you’re an heir of God, what else does that mean but that you inherit what He has, which is godhood? And Paul again said in Romans 8:16 ‘The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.’ What offspring or child of a plant or animal doesn’t grow up to be like its parent? If we’re children of God, how could anyone interpret that as anything other than that we grow up to be gods?”

In other words, Mormons are well acquainted with all the scriptures cited above, but we don’t see them as saying there are not many gods, or that we do not become gods, but that there is only one God we need to be concerned about. Thus there is no discrepancy between the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and other LDS doctrines. There are only discrepancies between the interpretations people have of those scriptures and doctrines. How people have arrived at those incorrect interpretations is easy enough to see. But they are incorrect, and an understanding of the truth removes all confusion.

http://www.exmormon.org/whylft12.htm

“I am concerned about discrepancies between what the Church teaches, and the teachings of the Bible. The Mormon church teaches that there are many Gods. The Bible teaches that there is one only. Joseph Smith taught “that God the Father of Jesus Christ had a Father,” and that “you may suppose that He had a Father also.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith) Orson Pratt said, “If we should take a million worlds like this and number their particles, we should find that there are more Gods than there are particles of matter in those worlds.” (Journal of Discourses, vol.2, page 345) The Bible teaches throughout it’s pages of there being only one God. Even the Book of Mormon teaches monotheism:

“And Zeezrom said unto him: Thou sayest there is a true and living God? And Amulek said: Yea there is a true and living God. Now, Zeezrom said: Is there more than one God? And he answered, No.” Alma 11:26-30

“…I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.” 3 Nephi 9:18

“so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD and there is no other.” Isaiah 45:6

” …I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.” Isaiah 46:9

“…Is there any God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.” Isaiah 44:8

“Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein…” Nehemiah 9:6

The God who made the universe says he is LORD alone. I believe he leaves no room for doubt. If God had a father wouldn’t he know of him? If there really were other Gods why is there no mention of them in the Book of Mormon or the Bible? The message God sends time and time again is that he is the only God.

The Mormon Church teaches heretically that man can become a God, and that God was once a man. Joseph Smith taught, “First God himself who sits enthroned in yonder heavens, is a man like unto one of yourselves, that is the great secret…. I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined that God was God from all eternity…. God himself; the Father of us all dwelt on an earth the same as Jesus Christ himself did,… You have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves;…No man can learn you more than what I have told you.” This teaching is one of the root evils of Mormonism. Think about it- isn’t this very idea, that man can work his way up to being a God, a major tenant of humanism and new age belief? Think about it again- where is the first place in the Bible that one finds the idea of a man becoming like God? It was whispered by the serpent to Eve; saying eat of the apple and “…ye shall be as gods…”(Genesis 3:5) This was not whispered as a good thing, but as an enticement by the father of lies himself! The Bible does not teach about a changing God who once was a man, once died, and once sinned. It does not teach that a man can become a God. It teaches exactly the opposite. Again the Book of Mormon is in agreement:

“For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity.” Moroni 8:18

“For behold, God knowing all things, being from everlasting to everlasting,..” Moroni 7:22

“Behold I say unto you, he that denieth these things knoweth not the gospel of Christ; yea, he has not read the scriptures; if so, he does not understand them. For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variableness neither shadow of changing?” Mormon 9:8,9

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

“(God has)…no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” James 1:17

” …I am God, and not man…” Hosea 11:9

“Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.” Isaiah 44:6

“God is not a man that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind…” Numbers 23:19

“O LORD are you not from everlasting?…” Habakkuk 1:12

“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” Psalms 90:2

“I the LORD do not change…” Malachi 3:6

“Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD…before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.” Isaiah 43:10″

Please, don’t just ignore what this man has to say just because, in your view, that he is an apostate. Please examine the points he makes about there being just one God and his other reasons why he left the Mormon Church in his letter that you can access through the link at the top of this post.

Mormons, believe in Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross in our place and how He rose again on the third day and you will be saved, and not just from physical death with the chance to someday, maybe in the distant future, be in the presence of Heavenly Father, but you can be in the presence of Heavenly Father for eternity and good works will follow here on earth from that and you will do them because of your love for Him and not because you have to prove yourself worthy.

John 6:28-29

28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?

29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he
hath sent.

Again, saved from Romans 10 below means to be in the presence of Heavenly Father.

Romans 10:9-10,13

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

John 3:16

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Finally, everlasting life means what Mormons would consider eternal life so whoever believes in Him (Jesus) will be in the presence of Heavenly Father for eternity. So can know now, just have faith and call on the name of the Lord!

Today is the day of salvation!