Mormonism

     None of the important Mormon doctrines of today are in the Book of Mormon. Yet the Church claims that this book “contains the fullness of the everlasting Gospel.” [According to the D&C and the General Authorities of the Church, “fullness of the Gospel consists in those laws, doctrines, ordinances, powers, and authorities needed to enable men to gain the fullness of salvation,” meaning that all doctrines leading to full salvation in the celestial kingdom are in that book, and one wouldn’t need any other books or information on how to gain salvation. (See D&C 20:9; 27:5; 42:12; 135: 3; Mormon Doctrine, p. 333; 512.)]

     As the following examples prove beyond any shadow of doubt, the Book of Mormon, as recorded by Joseph Smith, clearly contradicts today’s Mormon doctrine.

Polygamy

     “For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none;” —Jacob 2:27, also Jacob 1:15; 2:22-27; 3:5; Mosiah 11:2; Ether 10:5. (Note: Polygamy is not practiced by the mainstream LDS Church today, but it remains as doctrine of the Church; see D&C 132.)

Eternal Progression

     Eternal progression is a doctrine that God has progressed from a man to a god and that men can likewise become gods: “God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variableness…” —Mormon 9:9, also Alma 41:8, 21; 3 Nephi 24:6; Mormon 9:10,19; Moroni 8:18,23.

“Secret Combinations”

     Secret combinations (or oaths Mormons are put under in their temples): “Cursed be the land forever and ever unto those workers of darkness and secret combinations…” — Alma 37:31, also Mormon 8:27; 2 Nephi 9:9; 26:22; Alma 34:36; 37:23.

Creation or Organization?

     God created the heaven and the earth by His Word: “By his word the heaven and the earth should be; and by the power of his word man was created of the dust of the earth…” — Mormon 9:17, also Jacob 4:9. [The Mormon Church teaches that God did not create anything by His word but “organized” the world using existing materials. Joseph Smith said that spirit cannot be created or made; i.e., that God did not create the spirit of man at all (D&C 93:29; Teachings, pp. 350-53; Mormon Doctrine, pp. 169-70, 751.)]

One God or Many Gods?

     There is only one God: “…Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal God…” — Alma 11:44, also Mosiah 7:27; 13:34; 15:1-5; 16:15; Alma 11:26-33,38,39. Joseph Smith later taught that God was once a man and that God had a God before him, and that men will become gods, thus “plurality of Gods exists.” (Teachings, pp. 345-347; Mormon Doctrine, pp. 319-22; 576-77)

Work for the Dead

     There is no work for the dead: Alma 34:32-33. But the LDS Church is almost feverishly building more and more temples to perform “work for the dead,” “giving the dead a second chance for salvation,” and ignoring not only the Book of Mormon, but also what the Bible says in Hebrews 9:27—declaring that after death comes judgment (see also Luke 16:19-31).

     Doctrines such as “temple,” “eternal marriage,” “priesthoods,” etc., are not in the Book of Mormon—and, as we have already mentioned, one can see that the Book of Mormon speaks against polygamy, work for the dead, oaths (temple), men becoming gods, or that there is more than one God, etc. It becomes quite obvious to an investigator of Mormonism that after 1842, Joseph Smith changed his mind about who God is.

Other Examples

     Smith contradicted the Book of Mormon, Alma 34:36, that says, “And this I know, because the Lord hath said he dwelleth not in unholy temples, but in the hearts of the righteous doth he dwell…,” with D&C 130:3: “[T]he idea that the Father and the Son dwell in a man’s heart is an old sectarian notion, and is false….”

     The Book of Mormon says in Jacob 4:9, “For behold, by the power of his word man came upon the face of the earth, which earth was created by the power of his word. Wherefore, if God being able to speak and the world was, and to speak and man was created….” Joseph Smith changed that and said, “Men who are preaching salvation, say that God created the heavens and earth out of nothing? The reason is, that they are unlearned in the things of God….God never had the power to create the spirit of man at all” (Teachings, pp. 350-54). He had begun to teach that his god had once been a mere mortal man, just as he is now.