Mormons Answered Verse by Verse

By John R. Farkas and David A. Reed

One of the most thorough presentations in print on Mormon theology compares each teaching with what the Bible says. Designed for quick reference.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
• Release date: Feb 1, 1992
• ISBN: 9781441233523

John R. Farkas

John R. Farkas is president of Berean Christian Ministries, which ministers to Mormons and ex-LDS members.

Book preview

Mormons Answered

Verse by Verse

© 1992 by Baker Books

Published by Baker Books

a division of Baker Publishing Group

P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287

www.bakerbooks.com

Ebook edition created 2011

ISBN 978-1-4412-3352-3

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Occasionally texts are quoted (Phillips) from The New Testament in Modern English © 1958 by J. B. Phillips, and (NKJ) from the New King James Version

To

Wesley Preston Walters

1926–1990

On November 9, 1990, the Reverend Wesley P. Walters was called home to be with the Lord.

He was pastor of the Marissa Presbyterian Church in Marissa, Illinois, since 1957.

Rev. Walters is best known in the counter-cult mission field for his research into the early history of the Mormon Church and for discovering the Joseph Smith the Glass Looker Bainbridge, New York, trial documents. He spent much of his free time searching in musty basements for documents concerning Joseph Smith and the beginnings of Mormonism.

His knowledge of Mormonism and the Bible were astounding. He truly was a living computer and shared his vast knowledge freely for the love of Christ.

Wesley P. Walters will be sorely missed.

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. A Capsule History of Mormonism

2. What the Mormon Church Teaches

3. Mormon Scripture

4. Verse-by-Verse Answers for Mormons: Old Testament

5. Verse-by-Verse Answers for Mormons: New Testament

6. Verse-by-Verse Answers for Mormons: Book of Mormon

7. Some Techniques for Sharing the Gospel with Mormon

8. Testimonies of the Authors

Notes

Recommended Reading

Subject Index

Scripture Index

Mormon Scripture Index

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Phyllis Farkas for her insightful comments and corrections to the manuscript, and Penni Reed for her patient endurance.

Also, we have special thanks and gratitude to the writers and researchers who went before us for making their information available for our use.

But above all we thank our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for giving us this opportunity to witness for the truth of his gospel.

Introduction

For some years the Mormon Church, officially the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has been working hard for acceptance as a mainline Christian denomination. To a large extent that is how the general public now views it. We are accustomed to their TV ads portraying closely-knit families who worship together and uphold traditional values, and many Christians can be found playing favorite pieces of Christmas music sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

Yet, few realize how great a turnaround this represents. About a century ago Mormonism was locked in a life-or-death struggle with the American public over the issues of polygamy and the church’s temporal power. In 1844 founder Joseph Smith died in a blazing gun battle, amid circumstances that threatened to pit the armed Mormon militia of Nauvoo (Illinois’ second-largest city) against forces from surrounding towns and neighboring states. To avoid open conflict, in 1846 Brigham Young led a migration westward, only to have warfare threaten again by the mid-1850s. At that time the United States Army was actually advancing on Utah to use force, if necessary, to replace Brigham Young as territorial governor. The Utah militia never did engage the army, but more than 120 non-Mormons were killed by Mormons and their Indian allies in the infamous Mountain Meadows Massacre in 1857. In 1889 Mormon leaders were fugitives from justice, operating underground after the United States Congress declared them outlaws, dissolved the LDS Church corporation, and seized its property through the antipolygamy Edmunds-Tucker Act of 1887.

In 1890 Congress was drafting legislation to disenfranchise all Mormons in the United States, but relented when Church President Wilford Woodruff issued a Manifesto instructing believers to obey the law of the land rather than continue the practice of polygamy. That move ended much of the anti-Mormon hostility and opened the way for Utah’s admission to the Union. It also began a long and largely successful campaign to rehabilitate the church’s public image.

But, has the Mormon Church itself really changed that much, or have the changes been chiefly cosmetic for public consumption? Although it presents a mask of monotheism, LDS theology is still polytheistic.[1] Although Mormon men are required to obey the law and limit themselves to one wife, the scripture they use still shows God’s favor on plural marriage.[2] Although Jesus Christ is given prominence in Mormon worship, this is not the same Jesus Christ known to Bible-reading Christians. In fact, many other familiar-sounding names and words take on different meanings for those fully initiated in LDS beliefs.

The sacred and secret rites performed in Mormon temples are strictly off limits to outsiders, or gentiles in the insiders’ terminology, and are even off limits to members who have not qualified for a temple recommend from their local leadership. And, just as few outsiders are aware of the temple garments that temple Mormons wear constantly underneath ordinary street clothes, so also few are aware that Mormonism is actually a wolf in sheep’s clothing (Matt. 7:15).

From around 200 thousand members in 1890 the Latter-day Saints have grown to over 8 million strong today, worldwide. Brigham Young University projects that there will be more than 265 million Mormons by A.D. 2080, if the present growth rate continues. With polygamous marriage discontinued more than a century ago, it becomes obvious that conversions account for a sizable amount of the increase, both past and projected. LDS television advertisements are effective, and so are the visits by pairs of young missionaries who arrive by bicycle, scriptures in hand, at doors across the United States.

No, it is not the Book of Mormon that these missionaries open to persuade potential converts, at least not at first; rather, it is the Bible that furnishes dozens of citations the missionaries use to prove all other churches false and to reveal their own organization as the restoration of Christ’s true church today. It is to refute this misuse of the Bible that Mormons Answered Verse by Verse is written.

1

A Capsule History of Mormonism

2

What the Mormon Church

Teaches

The tendency today in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also called Mormons, LDS, Mormon Church, or Mormonism) is to stress the areas of agreement with Christians rather than the areas of disagreement—especially in discussions with outsiders. And even when speaking with someone they hope to convert, Mormons realize that the newcomer is not ready to hear the deeper doctrines until a foundation has first been established. So they try to steer conversations onto common ground.

Moreover, many rank-and-file members actually remain unaware of certain teachings officially espoused by the LDS Church. In part this is due to the complex historical development of Mormon doctrine, with new publications and speeches by living prophets redefining and reinterpreting earlier thought. Also, the organization’s hierarchical structure allows for beliefs to be embraced by the leadership without being communicated to the general membership or to the public. A prime example of this was the indulgence in plural marriage by Joseph