The California Collection/TheCaliforniaCollection.cdr/his075/lds20.lzh/LDS20.TXT

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CUL:God: Mormonism vs. Christianity  by Ken Simmons

   This file is designed to show the comparisons and contrasts existing
between the teachings of the person of God as defined in the Bible and
in the teachings put forth by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints or Mormons (hereafter referred to as 'LDS'). The differences
between the two are quite startling although the LDS purport to teach
the same doctrines the Bible does. I'll let you, the reader, judge the
accuracy of those claims. Note that in scriptural references where a
person is speaking (thus saith, I said, he said, etc.), I have put the
words in single quotes (') for the sake of CLARITY ONLY. They do not
appear in the texts used. Also, this is not a complete and exhaustive
study as there are so many related branches to the Biblical study of
God that things would only get confusing. Therefore, I have limited
myself to just the main doctrines of God as the LDS and the Bible teach
them.

   LDS Teachings: Joseph Smith, Jr.

   The roots of the LDS doctrines lie in their founding prophet Joseph
Smith, Jr. to whom the LDS hold a deep loyalty. Here are some of the
proclamations put forth by their "prophet":

   "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 all have got to learn how
to be Gods yourselves;... No man can learn you more than what I have
told you."

   "Times and Seasons" Vol. 5, pp. 613-614

   "God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits
enthroned in yonder heavens!... I am going to tell you how God came to
be God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all
eternity. I will refute that idea, and take away the veil, so that you
may see.... It is the first principle of the gospel to know for a
certainty the character of God, and to know that we may converse with
him as one man converses with another, and that He was once a man like
us; yea, that God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the
same as Jesus Christ himself did; and I will show it from the Bible....

   "Here, then, is eternal life to know the only wise and true God, the
same as all gods have done before you, namely, by going from one small
degree to another, and from a small capacity to a great one; from grace
to grace, from exaltation to exaltation, until you attain to the
resurrection of the dead, and are able to dwell in everlasting
burnings, and to sit in glory, as do those who sit enthroned in
everlasting power...."

   Joseph Smith, Jr., "History of the Church" Vol.6, pp.305-306

   "I will preach on the plurality of Gods. I have selected this text
for that express purpose. I wish to declare I have always and in all
congregations when I have preached on the subject of the Deity, it has
been the plurality of Gods. It has been preached by the Elders for
fifteen years.

   "I have always declared God to be a distinct personage, Jesus Christ
a separate and distinct personage from God the Father, and that the
Holy Ghost was a distinct personage and a Spirit: and these three
constitute three distinct personages and three Gods. If this is in
accordance with the New Testament, lo and behold! we have three Gods
anyhow, and they are plural: and who can contradict it?"

   Joseph Smith, Jr., "History of the Church" Vol.6, p.474

   "The head God organized the heavens and the earth. I defy all the
world to refute me. In the beginning the heads of the Gods organized
the heavens and the earth....

   "The heads of the Gods appointed one God for us; and when you take
[that] view on the subject, it sets one free to see all the beauty,
holiness and perfection of all the Gods. All I want is to get the
simple, naked truth, and the whole truth.

   "Many men say that there is only one God; the Father, the Son and
the Holy Ghost are only one God! I say, that is a strange God anyhow -
three in one, and one in three! It is a curious organization.... All
are to be crammed into one God, according to sectarianism. It would
make the biggest God in all the world. He would be a wonderfully big
God - he would be a giant or a monster."

   Joseph Smith, Jr., "History of the Church" Vol.6, pp.475-476

   "Daniel in his seventh chapter speaks of the Ancient of Days: he
means the oldest man, our Father Adam, Michael, he will call his
children together and hold a council with them to prepare them for the
coming of the Son of Man. He (Adam) is the father of the human family,
and presides over the spirits of all men, and all that have had the
keys must stand before him in this grand council. This may take place
before some of us leave the stage of action. The Son of Man stands
before him, and there is given him glory and dominion. Adam delivers up
his stewardship to Christ, that which was delivered to him as holding
the keys to the universe, but retains his standing as the head of the
human family."

   Joseph Smith, Jr., "History of the Church" Vol.3, pp.386-387

   "The Father has a body of flesh and bone as tangible as man's; the
Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is
a personage of spirit..."

   "Doctrine and Covenants" 130:22

   Smith himself was sure of his teachings and he tolerated no dissent
as the following quote shows:

   "God made Aaron to be the mouth piece to the children of Israel, and
He will make me be God to you in His stead, and the Elders to be mouth
to me; and if you don't like it, you must lump it."

   "History of the Church" Vol.5, pp.319-320

   You can see he had a big ego!

   LDS Teachings: Brigham Young ----------------------------

   Brigham Young not only continued the work of Smith, but also added
his own "brand" of God in his teachings; especially in his doctrine of
Adam (of the Garden of Eden fame) being the "God and Father of the
human family":

   "How many Gods there are, I do not know. But there was never a time
when there were no Gods and worlds..."

   Brigham Young "Journal of Discourses" Vol.7, p.333

   "My next sermon will be to both Saint and sinner.... Our God and
Father in heaven, is a being of tabernacle, or, in other words, He has
a body, with parts the same as you and I have;... I will tell you how
it is. Our Father in heaven begat all the spirits there ever were, or
ever will be, upon this earth; and they were born spirits in the
eternal world."

   "Journal of Discourses" Vol.1, p.50

   "Now hear it, O inhabitants of the earth, Jew and Gentile, Saint and
sinner! When our Father Adam came into the Garden of Eden, he came into
it with a celestial body and brought Eve, one of his wives, with him.
He helped to make and organize this world. He is MICHAEL, the
Archangel, the ANCIENT OF DAYS! about whom holy men have written and
spoken - HE is our FATHER and our GOD, and the only God with whom WE
have to do. Every man upon this earth, professing Christians or
non-professing, must hear it, and will know it sooner or later.

   "...Now, let all who may hear these doctrines, pause before they
make light of them, or treat them with indifference, for they will
prove their salvation or damnation.

   "...In the Bible, you have read things I have told you tonight; but
you have not known what you did read. I have told you no more than you
are conversant with; but what do the people know in Christendom, with
their Bible in their hands, know about this subject? Comparatively
nothing."

   "Journal of Discourses" Vol.1, p. 50-51

   "ADAM, THE FATHER AND GOD OF THE HUMAN FAMILY"

   "The above sentiment appeared in Star No.48, a little to the
surprise to some of its readers: and while the sentiment may have
appeared blasphemous to the ignorant; it has no doubt given rise to
some serious reflections with the more candid and comprehensive mind...
Adam is really God! and why not?"

   "Millennial Star" Vol.15, p.801

   "It has been said that Adam is the God and Father of the human
family, and persons are perhaps in fear and great trouble of mind, lest
they have to acknowledge him as such in some future day. For our part
we would much rather acknowledge Adam to be our Father, than hunt for
another, and take up with the Devil."

   "Millennial Star" Vol.15, p.825

   "...every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that he is the
God of the whole earth. Then will the words of Prophet Brigham, when
speaking of Adam, be fully realized - 'He is our Father and our God,
and the only God with whom we have to do.'"

   "Millennial Star" Vol.17, p.195

   Of note is the following statement of then Elder James A. Little (a
contemporary of Brigham Young):

   "I believe in the principle of obedience; and if I am told that Adam
is our Father and our God, I just believe it."

   "Millennial Star" Vol.16, p.530

   A few years before his death, Young preached the following:

   "How much unbelief exists in the minds of the Latter-day Saints in
regard to one particular doctrine which I revealed to them, and which
God revealed to me - namely that Adam is our Father and God... Our
Father Adam helped to make this earth, it was created expressly for
him... He brought one of his wives with him... We say that Father Adam
came here and helped make the earth. Who is he? He is Michael,... He
was the first man on earth, and its framer and maker. He with the help
of his brethren brought it into existence. Then he said, 'I want my
children in the spirit world to come and live here. I once dwelt upon
an earth something like this, in a mortal state. I was faithful, I
received my crown and exaltation. I have the privilege of extending my
work, and to its increase there will be no end. I want my children that
were born to me in the spirit world to come here and take tabernacles
of flesh that their spirits may have a house, a tabernacle, or a
dwelling place as mine has' and where is the mystery?"

   "Desert News" June 14, 1873

   As an aside, lest it be claimed that Young was misquoted in his
preaching, the following should dispel that thought:

   "This book was made possible because Brigham Young secured
stenographic reports of his addresses. As he traveled among the people,
reporters accompanied him. All that he said was recorded. Practically
all of these discourses (from December 16, 1851 to August 19, 1877)
were published in the 'Journal of Discourses', which was widely
distributed. The public utterances of few great historical figures have
been so faithfully preserved."

   John A. Widtsoe, Preface of the "Discourses of Brigham Young"

   "We do not wish incorrect and unsound doctrines to be handed down to
posterity under the sanction of great names, to be received and valued
by future generations as authentic and reliable, creating labor and
difficulties for our successors to perform and contend with, which we
ought not to transmit to them. The interests of posterity are, to a
certain extent in our hands. Errors in history and in doctrine, if left
uncorrected by us who are conversant with the events, and who are in a
position to judge of the truth or falsity of the doctrines, would go to
our children as though we sanctioned and endorsed them. Such a
construction could be very easily be put upon our silence respecting
them, and would tend to perplex and mislead posterity, and make the
labor of correction an exceedingly difficult one for them. We know what
sanctity there is always attached to the writing of men who have passed
away, especially to the writings of the Apostles, when none of their
contemporaries are left, and we, therefore, feel the necessity of being
watchful upon these points. Personal feelings and friendships and
associations ought to sink into comparative insignificance, and have no
weight in view of consequences so momentous to the people and kingdom
of God as these."

   Brigham Young "Millennial Star" Vol.27, p.659

   Well said, Brigham Young! The following should seal the issue
concerning what he preached and whether it was "correct":

   "In printing my remarks, I often omit the sharp words, though they
are perfectly understood and applicable here; for I do not wish to
spoil the good I desire to do. Let my remarks go to the world in a way
the prejudices of the people can bear, that they may read them, and
ponder them, and ask God whether they are true."

   "Journal of Discourses" Vol.5, pp.99,100

   As you can see, Young took great pains to make sure his meaning was
CRYSTAL CLEAR in his preaching. To be fair, though, the LDS no longer
teach the Adam-God doctrines of Young. They disavow that his
"Discourses" belong to the "standard works" of the church, even though
he is claimed to be a "prophet". In fact, so sure was Young in his
proclamations, and so sure was his belief in their "agreement" with the
other "scriptures" that he made this public statement:

   "In my doctrinal teachings I have taught many things not written in
any book, ancient or modern, and yet notwithstanding the many things I
have told the people, I have never looked into the Bible, the Book of
Mormon or the Doctrine and Covenants or any of our church works to see
whether they agreed with them or not. When I have spoken by the power
of God and the Holy Ghost it is the truth, it is Scripture and I have
no fears but that it will agree with all that has been revealed in
every particular."

   "Desert Weekly News" Vol. 26, p.274

   It's a shame he felt that way because none of his teachings agreed
with the Bible, and very few of his teachings agreed with what Smith
taught or other works released at that time. His attitude was like
other cult leaders, namely, "What I say is the truth and if it doesn't
agree with other scripture, tough!"

   Teachings of other LDS authorities ----------------------------------

   Heber C. Kimball, a member of the First Presidency with Young made
these statements:

   "...then shall we go back to our Father and our God, who is
connected with one who is still farther back; and so on..."

   "Journal of Discourses" Vol.7, p.19

   "...for our God is a natural man... the first of all mechanics.
Where did he get his knowledge from? From his Father, just as we get
knowledge from our earthly parents."

   "Journal of Discourses" Vol.8, p.211

   Apostle Orson Pratt, a contemporary of Smith and Young had this to
say:

   "The Gods who dwell in the Heaven... have been redeemed from the
grave in a world which existed before the foundations of this earth
were laid. They and all the Heavenly body which they now inhabit were
once in a fallen state... they were exalted also, from fallen men to
Celestial Gods to inhabit their Heaven forever and ever."

   "The Seer" Page 23

   "We were begotten by our Father in Heaven; the person of our Father
in Heaven was begotten on a previous heavenly world by His Father; and
again, He was begotted by a still more ancient Father; and so on, from
generation to generation, from one heavenly world to another still more
ancient, until our minds are wearied and lost in the multiplicity of
generations and successive worlds, and as a last resort, we wonder in
our minds, how far back the genealogy extends, and how the first world
was formed and the First Father was begotten."

   "The Seer" Page 132

   Bruce R. McConkie, a member of the present First Council of the
Seventy says this:

   "...God... is a personal being, a holy and exalted man, a glorified,
resurrected Personage having a tangible body of flesh and bones, an
anthropomorphic Entity,..."

   "Mormon Doctrine" Salt Lake City, 1966 Page 250

   "...as the Prophet also taught, there is 'a God above the Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ....'"

   "Mormon Doctrine" Salt Lake City, 1966 Page 322

   "Those who 'are raised to become gods' (Teachings, p.312) will
progress... until they are 'glorified in truth' and know 'all
things.'... God himself, the Father of us all, is a glorified, exalted,
immortal, resurrected man!"

   "Mormon Doctrine" Salt Lake City, 1966 Page 642-643

   The words of 10th president, Joseph Fielding Smith, are worth noting:

   "God is an exalted man. Some people are troubled over the statements
of the Prophet Joseph Smith... The matter that seems such a mystery is
the statement that our Father in heaven at one time passed through a
school of life and death and is an exalted man. This is one of the
mysteries,... The Prophet taught that our Father had a Father and so
on. Is not this a reasonable thought, especially when we remember that
the promises are made to us so that we may become like him?"

   "Doctrines of Salvation" Vol.1, pp.10,12

   Apostle LeGrand Richards had this to say:

   "There is a statement often repeated in the Church, and while it is
not in one of the Standard Church Works, it is accepted as church
doctrine, and this is: 'As man is, God once was; and as God is, man may
become.'"

   Letter from LeGrand Richards to Morris L. Reynolds July 14, 1966

   The "Nauvoo Expositor", an anti-Mormon publication in Smith's time
had this to say concerning Smith's doctrines of God:

   "Resolved 2nd, Inasmuch as... Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, and many
other official characters... have introduced false and damnable
doctrine into the Church, such as a plurality of Gods above the God of
this universe, and his (i.e. God's, note mine!) liability to fall with
all his creations;... we therefore are constrained to denounce them as
apostates from the pure and holy doctrines of Jesus Christ."

   "Nauvoo expositor" June 7, 1844

   The following from Sarah Scott, an early Mormon disciple, in a
letter written June 16, 1844 from the "Vicinity of Nauvoo" is revealing:

   "Joseph says there are Gods above the God of this universe as far as
he is above us, and if He should transgress the laws given to Him by
those above Him, He would be hurled from His throne to Hell, as was
Lucifer and all his creations with him."

   "Among the Mormons" Page 44

   In summary, the following are or were key points of Mormon theology:

   1) A plurality of Gods in the heavens 2) God was once a mortal man
like us 3) God was "appointed" by a "council of Gods" 4) God is a
separate being from Jesus and the Holy Ghost 5) God had to keep
climbing to further Godhood after becoming a "God" 6) His name was/is
"Adam, Michael" 7) He is the literal "father" (as in sexually) of
humanity 8) God and Jesus have mortal bodies of flesh and bone, but the
Holy Ghost hasn't one 9) God will turn over his authority to Jesus at
the resurrection. 10) God can, at any time, lose his place in heaven
and be cast into Hell, as well as His creation (i.e. His "children")
11) He has a father, grandfather, great-grandfather, etc. ad infinitum
12) He didn't create the universe from scratch (i.e. with nothing), he
merely "organized" the matter that was in existence into what we know
today as the universe. 13) As such, there is no knowledge of the "first
God" or how the universe came to be

   I'm sure there are more conclusions, but this should give one the
gist of the Mormon "God".

   God: As the Bible teaches -------------------------

   Now, it is time to give the Bible its due:

   "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."

   Genesis 1:1

   "And God said, 'Let there be light':and there was light"

   Genesis 1:3

   "And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under
the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it
was so."

   Genesis 1:7

   "And God said, 'Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together
unto one place, and let the dry land appear': and it was so."

   Genesis 1:9

   "And God said, 'Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding
seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is
in itself, upon the earth': and it was so."

   Genesis 1:11

   "And God said, 'Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven
to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for
seasons, and for days, and years: and let them be for lights in the
firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth': and it was so.
And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and
the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars too. And God set
them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,..."

   Genesis 1:14-17

   "And God said, 'Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving
creature that hath life, and the fowl that may fly above the earth in
the open firmament of heaven.' And God created great whales, and every
living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly,
after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind:..."

   Genesis 1:20-21

   "And God said, 'Let the earth bring forth the living creature after
his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and the beast of the earth after
his kind': and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his
kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon
the earth after his kind:..."

   Genesis 1:24-25

   "And god said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:
and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl
of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every
creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.' So God made man in his
own image, and in the image of God created he him; male and female
created he them."

   Genesis 1:26-27

   An interesting note: the words translated 'us' and 'our' are
additions from the Greek to denote the position that royalty takes in
relation to the first person. The best example is Queen Victoria (I
think) who was remarked to say "We are not amused!" when she wasn't
pleased. When put with the singular pronoun of God it denotes a
singular person speaking (as in "me, myself and I, we'll do the job",
or such to the effect.). Again, the context of first person, singular
in the above verses denotes one person.

   "These are the generations of the heavens and the earth that the
Lord God (note: the Hebrew words "Jehovah elohim") made the earth and
the heavens,..."

   Genesis 2:4

   "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed
into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul"

   Genesis 2:7

   "And the Lord God said, 'It is not good that man should be alone; I
will make a help meet for him.'"

   Genesis 2:21

   "...and the rib, which the Lord God had taken from the man, made he
a woman, and brought her unto the man."

   Genesis 2:22

   As we can see from these passages: God is a singular being, he
created the universe, stars, earth, etc. from nothing with just his
word. He created man to be the image (i.e. reflection, manner, etc.) of
God, then He created a man from dirt, breathed life into the man, and
created a woman from a bone (i.e. rib) of the man created from dirt.
These two would be later known as Adam and Eve. So much for the LDS
doctrine of Adam and Eve "coming from heaven in Celestial bodies". Let
us continue:

   "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord:..." Hebrew: "Jehovah"
our "elohim" is one "Jehovah"

   Deut. 6:4

   "For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior:..."
Hebrew: "Jehovah" thy "elohim", the "Sacred One" or "sanctuary" of
Israel, thy "redeemer, freedom, safety, etc."

   Isaiah 43:3

   "Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have
chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he:
before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I,
even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no savior. I have declared,
and I have saved, and I have showed, when there was no strange (i.e.
foreign, profane, other, different, etc.) god among you: therefore you
are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God." Hebrew: saith
"Jehovah",... there was no "elohim" formed,... I, even I, am "Jehovah":
...there is no "redeemer, freedom, safety, etc." ....saith "Jehovah", I
am "elohim".

   Isaiah 43:10-12

   "I am the Lord, your Holy one, the creator of Israel, your King."
Hebrew: I am "Jehovah", your "Sacred One" or "sanctuary", the
"creator"..., your "royal King".

   Isaiah 43:15

   "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.'" Hebrew: ..saith "Jehovah" the "royal King",... his "deliverer"
"Jehovah of the armies": I am the "beginning", and I am the "end";...
beside me there is no "elohim".

   Isaiah 44:6

   "Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that
time, and have declared it? Ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God
beside me? Yea, there is no God; I know not any." Hebrew: is there a
"elohim" beside me?... there is no "elohim";...

   Isaiah 44:8

   "I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I
girded thee, though thou hast not known me: That they may know from the
rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I
am the Lord, and there is none else. I form the light, and create
darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these
things." Hebrew: I am "Jehovah", and there is none else, there is no
"elohim" beside me: ...I am "Jehovah", and there is none else,... I
"Jehovah" do all these things.

   Isaiah 45:5-7

   "Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together:
who hath declared this from ancient time? Who hath told it from that
time? Have not I the Lord? And there is no God else beside me; a just
God and a Savior; there is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye
saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none
else." Hebrew: ...have not I "Jehovah"? And there is no "elohim" else
beside me: a just "elohim" and "redeemer" ...I am "elohim", and there
is none else.

   Isaiah 45:21-22

   Here we have demonstrated that the Hebrews had/have one God, He
was/is referred to as God (Hebrew "elohim"), Lord (Hebrew "Jehovah"),
or Lord God (Hebrew "Jehovah elohim"). There are no other "Gods" to the
Hebrews to be worshipped, and He is a creator, not an "organizer" which
denotes a lot of power. He is also known as "the first and the last"
and "beside me there is no God" meaning he is alone in His position and
power. Of note, the Hebrew word "elohim" can be translated "God" or
"gods". The difference between translations is dependent upon the
context of the passage it appears. "Elohim" is always translated "God"
when the context denotes "first-person, singular" with regard to
Jehovah, "god" when the context is "first-person, singular" with regard
to satan or a heathen god (i.e. Baal. One exception is when "god" was
used by Jehovah regarding the "perceived appearance" of Moses to
Pharaoh (Exodus 7:1)), and "gods" when the context refers to plurality,
as in the pagan/heathen gods of the Egyptians or Philistines. "Gods" is
NEVER associated with the singular Jehovah, as the LDS would have the
world believe, because the Hebrew grammar and language constructs don't
allow it. It (elohim) can be roughly compared to the english words
"sheep" and "deer" which can be both singular or plural nouns depending
on context and usage (i.e. one sheep, two sheep, one deer, many deer,
etc.). Continuing on:

   "God is not a man that he should lie; neither the son of man, that
he should repent:..."

   Numbers 23:19a Context: singular

   "And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is
not a man, that he should repent."

   1 Samuel 15:29 Context: singular

   Here we have testimony that God isn't a man, as the LDS teaches.
Therefore, let's see what he is, according to the Bible. Continuing on:

   "God is a spirit: and all who worship him must worship him in spirit
and truth."

   John 4:24

   "Now, the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is,
then there is liberty."

   2 Corinthians 3:17

   See also the complete 3rd chapter, the context of Jesus, God, and
the Holy Spirit/Ghost being one individual.

   Here, we have God described as a spirit. Even Jesus in Luke 24:39
described a spirit's attributes: "...for a spirit hath not flesh and
bones,..." because the disciples thought He was a spirit when He
appeared to them after His resurrection. All throughout the Old
Testament, the Holy Spirit is referred to as the Spirit of God, Spirit
of the Lord, Spirit of the Lord God; the logical conclusion being that
the Holy Spirit is God also, as man has a spirit and that spirit is
part of him and is referred to as being man (at times). The New
Testament also refers to the Holy Spirit/Holy Ghost being the same
person.

   "But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie
to the Holy Ghost,...thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God"

   Acts 5:3,4

   Here we have God and the Holy Spirit being equated as one person.

   "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father (God), and of the Son (Jesus), and of the Holy Ghost:..."

   Matthew 28:19

   Note the context of "the name" being applied to all three persons of
God inferring that they are the same person.

   "(Jeremiah praying) Ah Lord God! Behold, thou hast made the heaven
and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is
nothing too hard for thee:... (God replying) Behold, I am the Lord, the
God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?"

   Jeremiah 32:17,27

   "An the angel answered and said unto her, 'The Holy Ghost shall come
upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee:
therefore that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called
the Son of God.'"

   Luke 1:35

   Here we have omnipotence (all-powerfulness) being attributed to God
and the Holy Ghost.

   "Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from
thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my
bed in hell, behold thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning,
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand
lead me and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, 'Surely the
darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.' Yea,
the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day:
the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. For thou hast
possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb."

   Psalm 139:7-13

   Here David, talking to God, expresses His omnipresence and that the
Spirit is God's and is also omnipresent, making it a logical conclusion
that the two are the same person.

   "For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and
knoweth all things."

   1 John 3:20

   "But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit
searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth
the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so,
the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God."

   1 Corinthians 2:10,11

   Here, God and the Holy Spirit are described as omniscient. Note
especially that the Spirit is described as "knowing the things of God".
Only His Spirit has that kind of power, and as such is God. These are
some examples; there are more but this should give one the idea that
God and the Holy Spirit/Ghost are the same person. The Bible also
teaches that Jesus Christ was/is God also, and since we've seen that
God and the Spirit are the same, logically Christ is the same as the
Spirit also. Examples:

   "In the beginning was the Word (Jesus), and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. The same (the Word) was in the beginning with
God. All things were made by him (the Word); and without him (the Word)
was not any thing made that was made."

   John 1:1-3

   Here Jesus (the Word) is declared to be God, was with God in "the
beginning", and created the universe (See Genesis 1). The logical
conclusion: Jesus is the same God that is referred to in the Old
Testament.

   "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his
glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace
and truth."

   John 1:14

   Here, God was incarnated in the person of Jesus and lived with men.

   "For in him (Jesus) dwelleth the fullness of the Godhead bodily."

   Colossians 2:9

   Paul describing Jesus as being the Godhead manifest in flesh.

   "This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by
water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth
witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear
record in heaven, the Father, the Word (Jesus), and the Holy Ghost: and
these three are one (i.e. the same person). And there are three that
bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and
these three agree in one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness
of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath
testified of his Son."

   1 John 5:6-9

   Another testimony that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are the same
person.

   "(Jesus speaking) 'I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the
end', saith the lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come,
the Almighty."

   Revelation 1:8

   "(Jesus speaking) 'I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the
end, the first and the last.'"

   Revelation 22:13

   Here Jesus is stating to John that He is the Alpha and the Omega.
See Isaiah 44:6 where God is quoted as saying "I am the first and the
last". This makes Jesus Jehovah God because there cannot be more than
one "first and the last" type individual.

   There are many more examples of Jesus, God, and the Spirit being the
same person, but that would require the re-typing of a vast majority of
the Bible; this file is big enough as it is!

   The LDS teaches that God has a body because of the bodily parts
listed as being used by God (right arm, eyes, ears, footsteps, hind
parts, etc.). If those examples are to be taken literally, then God
(using LDS logic) must also be part bird (Psalm 17:8, 36:7, 57:1, 61:4,
63:7, 91:4) have detachable eyes, like grapes, with legs on them (2
Chronicles 16:9). Likewise, if LDS logic pertaining to God is to be
accepted, then Jesus was a freak-of freaks because he would be part
plant (vine, specifically: John 15:1,5), have a door in him (John
10:9), have a roadway issuing from him (John 14:6), be part bread (as
in Langendorf, or Wonder bread: John 6:51). Even the disciples must
have been plant-beings (John 15:5). There are many more such
absurdities because such comparisons are just that: comparisons. They
are used to illustrate concepts using reference points that humans can
identify with, and are not to be taken literally, only figuratively.

   The LDS tries to make the Bible appear to teach their doctrines of
God. One such example is 1 Corinthians 8:5b which states: "(as there
are gods many, and lords many,). On the surface, it would indicate the
Bible teaches a plurality of gods. However, when we look at the full
context, the meaning is quite different:

   "As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are
sacrificed unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in this world,
and that there is none other God but one. For though there be that are
called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there are gods many,
and lords many,) but there is to us but one God, the Father, of whom
are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are
all things, and we by him."

   1 Corinthians 8:4-6

   An explanation that although there are many "lords and gods", they
are nothing (zilch, zip, nada, zero, etc.) but imaginary. There is only
one God (Jehovah) and Jesus (whom as previously demonstrated is Jehovah
God).

   As you can see, what the LDS teach about God is not what the Bible
teaches of God. This automatically disqualifies them as a "christian"
denomination since the teachings of their "prophets" (i.e. mere men),
not the Bible determines their theology.

   God: As taught in the Book of Mormon
------------------------------------

   It's interesting to note that the LDS' own "Bible," the Book of
Mormon, agrees with the Bible in the teachings of God and Jesus:

   "...And also to convincing of the Jew and the Gentile that Jesus is
the Christ, the Eternal God,..."

   Title page, Book of Mormon.

   A declaration that Jesus and God are one and the same person.

   "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

   Here God is declared to be an unchangeable being.

   "And Zeezrom said unto him: 'Thou sayest there is a true and living
God?' And Amulek said: 'Yea, there is a true and a living God.' Now
Zeezrom said: 'Is there more than one God?' And he answered, 'No.'"

   Alma 11:26-29

   A declaration of the non-existence of the plurality of gods.

   "And after this manner shall ye baptize in my name; for behold,
verily I say unto you, that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost
are one; and I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father
and I are one.... And thus the Father bear record of me, and the Holy
Ghost will bear record unto him of the Father and me; for the Father,
and I, and the Holy Ghost are one."

   3 Nephi 11:27,36

   A declaration that God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost are the same
person (i.e. the Trinity)

   "O how great the holiness of our God! For he knoweth all things, and
there is not anything save he knows it."

   2 Nephi 9:20

   A declaration of the omniscience of God. As you see in these
examples, the Book of Mormon is at variance with the primary teachings
of God as taught by the LDS. Strange, since they claim that the BOM is
their Bible and it supposedly "agrees" with their teachings. It seems
that the BOM has more in common with Christianity than Mormonism. One
must not forget that Brigham Young declared that he never checked the
Bible, BOM, or any other works for agreement with his teachings; it
seems that neither Smith nor any other LDS teacher after Young has done
their homework on the LDS teachings since they are at variance with the
BOM and the Bible. So much for the LDS claim to "christianity".

   As an aside, the documents that relate to the Bible (ancient scrolls
and such) date back to about 250 BC for the Old Testament (the "Dead
Sea Scrolls"), and to about 150 AD for the New Testament (Rylands
Papyrus #457: Book of John fragments) whereas the BOM documents only
date back to about 1850 (2 BOM manuscripts in Smith's hand and the 1830
edition of the BOM). There is NO EVIDENCE of BOM documentation prior to
1828 (or so) when the "plates" were supposedly being "translated". What
a shame that the Bible has more documentation backing it up than the
BOM which only has Joseph Smith's "blessing" to its authenticity. Since
the "plates" are non-existent on this earth, there is no concrete proof
of the BOM being anything other than the product of Smith's imagination.

   Ken Simmons