One God?

Lesson 18 of the Gospel Doctrines Class covers Mosiah 12-17 of the Book of Mormon.  The lesson in the teacher’s guide is entitled “God Himself. . .Shall Redeem His People”.  This title is based on Mosiah 15:1 which states:  “And now Abinadi said unto them: I would that ye should understand that God himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people.”  This obviously refers to Jesus.  Verse 2 continues by saying:  “And because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God. . .”  Obviously here, and in many other places, the Book of Mormon refers to Jesus as God.

That sparks many questions.  For example, when and how, according to Mormonism, did Jesus become God?  It teaches that people must have a physical body to become a god since it believes that Heavenly Father has a body.  But it also teaches that Jesus was Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament. How, then, was Jesus God before he had a body?  How could he come down already as God to redeem us?  I repeat: How and when, according to Mormonism, did Jesus become God?

Mormonism’s identification with Jesus as Jehovah (LORD) and Heavenly Father as Elohim (God) also breeds confusion. For often the Bible places those two names together to describe one person.  Just one example, “And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone.  I will make him an help meet for him.” (Genesis 2:18)  Why would the Bible so frequently use LORD God as a description of one person when it is, according to Mormonism, two persons?

Or how about Isaiah 45:21?  “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 Saviour; there is none beside me.”  How does the Father fit into that verse if there is no God besides the LORD?

Something else that is puzzling is Mormonism’s interpretation of the passages that say there is only one God.  The most common explanation I have heard from Mormons is that this means that there is only one God whom we are to worship.  But who is that God?  Talking about Heavenly Father Gospel Principles says:  “God is the Supreme and Absolute Being in whom we believe and whom we worship.” (p. 5)

But Jesus often is referred to as the God of this world.  “Jesus Christ is the God of this world. He has made it very plain in his many self-introductions.” (Spencer W. Kimball, Oct. 1977 General Conference) In a news release dated October, Elder M. Russell Ballard answered the question, do you worship Jesus Christ in your Church services, in this way:  “Anyone that visits The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is welcome and you would be, they would be impressed, totally, with the devotion and the center of our faith being Jesus Christ, the son of God. You would hear the name of Jesus Christ mentioned time after time after time. We pray in His name. We teach in His name. We have the communion, or the sacrament we call it, all in His name in remembrance of His atoning sacrifice. We partake of the bread and the water in renewing our covenants we’ve made with Him. When the meeting is concluded we close it in the name of Jesus Christ.”

It’s interesting that he doesn’t come right out and say that they worship Jesus. Some might argue that I am straining at gnats but you see the same distinction made in other places. For example, under “Worship” in True to the Faith it talks only about worshipping the Father.  One example: “As you reverently partake of the sacrament and attend the temple, you remember and worship your Heavenly Father and express your gratitude for His Son, Jesus Christ.” (p. 188)

Does Mormonism espouse both the worship of Heavenly Father and Jesus?  If so, how does that coincide with its explanation of the Bible passages that there is only one God?

These are just some of the questions that arise from Mormonism’s teaching of Jesus.

GUILTY

That has to be one of the most earth-shattering words that could ever be directed at a person – especially when it is spoken by a judge.  We can almost see the defendant slump down as his or her family break out in tears.  This is magnified all the more when the guilty verdict results in the death penalty.

“Guilty” is the verdict that rang down on all of mankind from no less a judge than God himself.  “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”  (James 2:10)  As the footnote in the LDS edition of the Bible correctly states, “offend” means to stumble or err.  The breaking of the law in consideration is not an intentional, but an unintentional one.  It is a stumble, a mistake.  But that makes no difference.  The verdict is just as devastating.  Guilty!  “Guilty of all”.  You stumble at just one point – you break it all.  God’s commandments are a unified whole.  It only takes one pinprick to burst a balloon.  It only takes one sin to break the whole law.

And it doesn’t make any difference how much good a person did before or after – the verdict “guilty” remains.  He could have been the model citizen before and the model prisoner afterwards but he remains guilty.

But what makes matters even more sobering is the realization that James is talking hypothetically.  There has been no person who just erred once.  Reality is that we stumble and err regularly.  There are so many good things we fail to do – so many sinful thoughts, words, and actions that we end up doing.  No matter how hard we try, all we can do is dig ourselves into a deeper hole. This contrast: “offend in one point – guilty of all” makes for an airtight case.  If a person’s obedience isn’t perfect – if there is just one slip – he is guilty – guilty of all.

That’s why I am so thankful that Jesus took all my guilt and became guilty in my place – and served my sentence.  That is why I am so thankful that Jesus was perfectly obedient and God credited that perfect obedience to me.  That is why, when I think of living eternally with heavenly Father the only work that I base that on is his work for me.  “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”

The Various Stages of Immortality

Chapter 7 of the Teachings of George Albert Smith is entitled “The Immortality of the Soul”.  Instead of focusing on one topic, I’m going to comment on three different things mentioned in that chapter.

First of all, it was somewhat surprising to see Lorenzo Snow’s famous couplet (As man is, God once was, and as God is, man may become) quoted in an official manual copyrighted in 2011.  There has been a trend over the last years for official Mormonism, and many Mormons, to distance themselves from that couplet – especially the part that says that God was once a man.  Fewer things more clearly demonstrate the wide divide between Mormonism and Christianity than their respective views of the origins of God.  Christianity sees him as always existing as God.  It never sees him being anything less than God.  On this most important point of who God is, there is nothing comparable between Mormonism and Christianity.

This chapter also talks about Mormonism’s belief in the pre-existence and the belief that their worthiness there “earned them the privilege of coming to this earth”.  “We believe that our very existence is a reward for our faithfulness before we came here.” (p.70)  What is implied is that many didn’t get that reward, namely Lucifer and 1/3 of the spirit children that followed him.  I bring that up because many times Mormonism talks about how wrong it is to teach that God will send many people to hell. For example, in the Feb. 2012 edition of the Ensign, one of Mormonism’s 12 Apostles, states in regard to what Christianity teaches about people going to hell: “One of the great distortions of the Apostasy was that it cast God the Father’s plan of salvation as overwhelming harsh.” (p.36)

But, as one of my colleagues pointed out to me, according to Mormonism, Heavenly Father banished no less than 1/3 of all his spirit children to outer darkness – after just one act of disobedience on their part!   Doesn’t that fit Mormonism’s own description of being “overwhelming harsh”?  Where was the mercy offered them?  How can Mormonism claim that Heavenly Father will only send a few to outer darkness?  After all, Mormonism says those 1/3 were his very own spirit children.

Another thing this chapter talks about is the purpose for being here on earth.  “We are here to prepare ourselves and develop ourselves and qualify ourselves to be worthy to dwell in the presence of our Heavenly Father.”  This, to me, is the deadliest statement of all.  For it directs people to themselves (note the three “ourselves’).  They are to prepare themselves.  They are to develop themselves.  They are to qualify themselves.  It’s all about them.

But it really is all about Jesus.  It’s all about him paying for all our sins.  It’s all about him keeping all the commandments perfectly for us.  It’s all about him doing everything for us.  It’s all about how he qualified me to be worthy to dwell in Heavenly Father’s presence.  That’s my reason for being on earth.  To trust and glorify him as my Savior – my Savior who did it all for me.  It’s not about us.  It’s all about Jesus.

Before and After Pictures

There were two sets of before and after pictures.  They were pictures of two people’s mouths – before and after dental work.  The before picture in the first set showed some crooked teeth and a few others with cavities.  The after picture naturally showed the same mouth but now with perfectly straight teeth and not a cavity in sight.  This set touted the work of one dentist.

The second set, touting the work of another dentist, showed a much more drastic change.  That before picture revealed a mouth with major problems.  As you looked at the picture, you wondered how the person could even close his mouth or eat anything.  The after picture amazingly resembled the after picture of the first set – perfectly aligned teeth with not a problem in sight.  It was obvious that a highly skilled dentist worked on it.

Obviously, I don’t want to talk about dentists.  I want to talk about how wonderfully God has worked on me.  And one way that I can emphasize his incredible work is by showing people my before picture.  The Bible paints it vividly.  I was a lawless rebel.  (1 John 3:4).  I was totally corrupt and evil. (Genesis 8:21) I was spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1) always doing sin’s biding. (John 8:34)  I did no good; I was worthless (Romans3:10-12).  A viler picture could not be drawn. That was my picture – really, not figuratively.

But then the Lord worked on me.  He washed me and cleansed me (1 John 1:7).  He made me spiritually alive (Eph. 2 5).  He created a new heart within me (2 Cor.5:17).  He changed me from being a slave of sin to a slave of righteousness (Rom.6:17-18).  He adopted me into his family (Gal. 4:5).  He sanctified me and made me holy (Heb.10:10-14).  He did this all for me through Jesus Christ.

The tremendous contrast between my before and after pictures emphasizes the greatness of what God has done.  But when that contrast is lessened, when the before picture is of a basically good person who needs a little work, then God is robbed of his glory.  And robbing God of his glory is no small thing.

CAPTIVITY OF SIN

I recently read that during the fall of Cambodia the Communists used a simple but very effective way of controlling their prisoners as they forced them to walk through the jungle.  Using a long needle they would thread something like fish line through the palms of each of their captives.  If a prisoner lagged behind or tried escaping, the pain would be excruciating for all.

When people think of being under sin’s bondage they often think of the “big and dirty” sins like murder, adultery, addictions.  They picture sin’s bonds as heavy duty chains.  But the devil is smart.  He often controls people like those Communists in Cambodia controlled their captives – with slender threads of pride, bitterness, and the like.  One of his most common “threads” is self righteousness.  That was the thread the devil used to bind the Pharisees of Jesus’ day.

What is so devious about all this is that it’s very difficult for both the person bound and others to see that they are truly captives. Often nothing looks amiss.  Things look good.  So much so that the captive doesn’t even try to escape and thus doesn’t feel much pain.  Life is not that bad.  But whether their bonds are seen or not, they are captives of sin and are walking on the broad way that leads to destruction.

They too need to be rescued.  That is what Jesus did.  He came and defeated the devil.  He broke sin’s power.  He cut the bonds enslaving us.  “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part the same, that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” (Hebrews 2: 14-15)

It is my prayer that everybody sees that all sins – even the nearly invisible ones – are deadly. That they not only see them, but then see that in Jesus and in him alone, is deliverance.

Atonement

This Sunday, in their Gospel Doctrine classes, LDS members will be studying 2 Nephi 6-10, especially chapter 9 and its description of Christ’s atonement.  It’s interesting that Mormonism uses the word, atonement, as the most common way to refer to Jesus’ sacrifice for us, although it is rarely used in the Bible.  (The only New Testament reference is Romans 5:11.  Most Old Testament references are from Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, and refers to the Old Testament sacrificial system.)

Because it is a common word in Mormonism, it is one that deserves close scrutiny.  The LDS source that has been most helpful in explaining it is chapter 12 in the basic manual, Gospel Principles.  The whole chapter is on the Atonement.  A large portion of that chapter is taken up by a parable told by President Boyd K. Packer. It’s quite lengthy so I will summarize much of it here.  Heavenly Father is the creditor.  We are the debtors.  After a while we realize that we can’t pay back the debt. After a discussion about justice and mercy, Jesus, the mediator, steps in. He asks the creditor if he will free the debtor from the contract, if he, the mediator, pays the entire debt. The creditor agrees. Let me pick it up there by quoting a few sentences.

“The mediator turned then to the debtor. ‘If I pay your debt, will you accept me as your creditor?’

“‘Oh yes, yes,’ cried the debtor. ‘You saved me from prison and show mercy to me.’  “‘Then’ said the benefactor, ‘you will pay the debt to me and I will set the terms. It will not be easy, but it will be possible. I will provide a way. You need not go to prison.’”

Those sentences clearly illustrate that Mormonism views Jesus’ atonement in a vastly different light than biblical Christians do.  Many Christians are genuinely horrified to hear Jesus being described as a creditor and their having to pay the debt to him.  This goes against every grain of their being.

This horror on the part of Christians is mystifying to many Mormons.  They don’t see the problem.  They wonder what the big deal is.  To them seeing Jesus as their creditor is no big deal – it’s even natural.

For me, not only the parable itself, but then also the two differing and drastic reactions to it clearly illustrate the differences between Mormonism and Christianity.  The parable illustrates the different teaching; the differing reactions illustrate the different mindsets. As Christians talk with their LDS friends, they need to not only remember that many times words will be defined differently between the two, but also that their mindsets will be different from that of their LDS friends.

That might not lessen much of the frustration experienced by both, but it does help explain it.  Not only are we talking different languages, but we are on different wavelengths.  Thank God that the Holy Spirit has overcome that with many Mormons so that now they are rejoicing not in Jesus, their creditor, but in Jesus, the one who paid the debt and remembers it no more.  May the Holy Spirit open the eyes of many more to this wonderful truth.

Testimony of Jesus Christ

This coming Sunday, in Relief Society and priesthood quorum meetings, Mormons will pick up their study of the teachings of President George Albert Smith with chapter three.  (For the past three weeks they have been studying other material in these meetings.)  Chapter Three is entitled “Our Testimony of Jesus Christ” with the sub-title, “The restored gospel gives Latter-day Saints additional witnesses that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

The sub-title is instructive because it already indicates the main focus of Mormonism’s testimony about Jesus.  It places the highlight on his divinity – on the fact that he is the Son of God.  This emphasis carries through chapter three.  Repeatedly it underlines the fact of his divinity.

I think it is very important that both Mormons and Christians are aware of this emphasis.  Being sensitive to this emphasis can help both understand why many Christians say that the LDS don’t believe in Jesus.  (The chapter begins by acknowledging that fact.)  The problem is that what Christians mean when they say that they believe in Christ differs from what Mormons mean by that.

It is true that both describe Jesus as the Son of God.  But they don’t mean the same thing with that statement.  A key passage for Christians is John 5:23:  “That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father.”  These words of Jesus nicely summarize the biblical teaching that the Son is to receive the same honor as the Father receives. That is the force of the words “even as” in that passage.  It means “just as”.  The Son is to have equal honor with the Father.

This is something Mormonism doesn’t teach.  Admittedly, this is often not apparent.  But it is there.  I don’t know how many Mormons, over the years, have explained the Bible passages that talk about one God by saying that there is only one God for this world, namely, Heavenly Father.  Thus they do not see Jesus as the God of this world.  Otherwise, according to their interpretation and line of thinking, there would be two Gods over this world.

In this regard read carefully Mormonism’s first article of faith.  “We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.”  Who is called God in that sentence?  That it treats the Father and the Son differently is also brought out ever so subtly in how Mormonism describes worship.  Again read carefully this sentence from True to the Faith.  “As you reverently partake of the sacrament and attend the temple, you remember and worship your Heavenly Father and express your gratitude for His Son, Jesus Christ.” (p. 188)

Or how about prayer?  “Your Heavenly Father loves you and knows your needs, and He wants you to communicate with Him through prayer.  Pray to Him and no one else.” (True to the Faith, p.118)  “Prayer is a sincere, heartfelt talk with our Heavenly Father.  We should pray to God and to no one else.” (Gospel Principles, p. 35)  Over the years, Mormons have responded that they pray to the Father through Jesus, in his name. But that is different than praying to Jesus.  It is not giving Jesus equal honor.

In short, what Mormonism means when it calls Jesus the Son of God and what Christians mean when they call Jesus the Son of God are worlds apart.  Christians call Jesus God and not just the Son of God.  Christians worship Jesus as their God.  Christians pray to Jesus as their God.  Christians give Jesus equal honor with the Father.

Mormonism doesn’t.  Therefore we feel that it falls under the verdict of the second half of John 5:23.  After talking about giving the Son equal honor, Jesus said:  “He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.”