“I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.” (Pearl of Great Price – Joseph Smith, 1:19)
According to Mormon (LDS) founder, Joseph Smith, the above quote comes directly from Jesus in a vision where God the Father and Jesus spoke directly to him in 1820 telling him to join none of the Christian churches because they were all corrupt.
The “gauntlet,” therefore, was thrown down not by Christians to Mormonism but from Mormonism to Christians. They claim the true Christian church became corrupt shortly after the death of the apostles, and the church’s power was removed by God:
“Following the death of Jesus Christ, wicked people persecuted and killed many Church members. Other Church members drifted from the principles taught by Jesus Christ and His Apostles. The Apostles were killed, and priesthood authority—including the keys to direct and receive revelation for the Church—was taken from the earth. Because the Church was no longer led by priesthood authority, error crept into Church teachings. Good people and much truth remained, but the gospel as established by Jesus Christ was lost. This period is called the Great Apostasy.” (Quoted from the LDS website)
Then, Mormons believe, the true church was restored in 1820 when God the Father and Jesus reestablished it through Joseph Smith.
But, you might say “Wait. We have the New Testament written by the apostles at the time, and there is no reason to believe the church today has lost what it taught there,” and you would be right. To get around this, the Bible is the least trusted of the Mormon holy books. To show this, let’s look at the eighth LDS Articles of Faith:
“We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.” So, if the Bible says something to contradict the other three sacred books, it is considered to be incorrectly translated.
Look what Jesus says about this. First the early teaching of the Church: Matt. 24:35 (ESV) Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. So, the idea of a Great Apostasy is counter to Jesus’ own words. The message of the New Testament has not been lost and never could be.
The thought of a Great Apostasy also means the true Church ceased to exist for the centuries from just after the apostolic times until 1820 when it was restored through the Mormon prophet, Joseph Smith, Jesus has an answer for that as well:
Matt 16:18 (ESV) And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Jesus Himself said His word would not pass away nor would the church He established. Of course, the Mormon might claim these passages have been mistranslated. The King James was the best known and most commonly read English Bible Translation in Joseph Smith’s time so there might have been room for some doubt. It was a little hard to understand even in that day. Today there are nearly a thousand Bible translations into English. None of these present the Mormon gospel of many Gods, the priesthood, temple endowments, or salvation by grace along with works. We know what the Bible truly says. The translation is not corrupt.
Why is this important?
We need to understand well the Mormons teach not a reformation of Christianity but a restoration. They teach we all believe a false gospel, are members of a corrupt church, are all following the commandments of men and, of course, that only they have the truth.
The Christian Gospel is simple. It is salvation through faith by grace alone through Christ’s work on the cross. It is when someone adds something to that simple gospel that that the gospel becomes corrupted. Jehovah’s Witnesses tell us we need the Bible plus the Watchtower’s publications, and works. Mormonism teaches the Bible is not enough, in fact it’s not reliable for accurate teachings. We need it plus the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price for the true teaching of God plus works. This waters down the true Gospel enough to deceive and draw sincere people away from the truth.
Our Mormon friends, neighbors and family are wonderful sincere people. They are, however, sincerely deceived. They have a false gospel brought to them by the angel Moroni passed on by Joseph Smith telling them to go after other gods. The Bible warns of this too:
Gal 1:6-8 (ESV) I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.
Deut. 8:19-20 (ESV) And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. 20 Like the nations that the Lord makes to perish before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God.
God has warned us to flee from such doctrines.
Believers Armed and Dangerous 