21 Questions about Mormonism - In Black and White

To find out what this series is about look here.

Q: What specifically does the Mormon Church say about African-Americans and Native Americans?

A: Mormons believe that all mankind are sons and daughters of God and should be loved and respected as such. The blessings of the gospel are available to all.

Qu. “Though he was a rebel and an associate of Lucifer in pre-existence, and though he was a liar from the beginning whose name was Perdition, Cain managed to attain the privilege of mortal birth... he came out in open rebellion, fought God, worshipped Lucifer, and slew Abel...

As a result of his rebellion, Cain was cursed with a dark skin; he became the father of the Negroes, and those spirits who were not worthy to receive the priesthood are born through his lineage.” (Mormon Doctrine, Mormon apostle Bruce R. McConkie, 1958, p.102)

Qu. “And after the flood we are told that the curse that had been pronounced upon Cain was continued through Ham's wife, as he had married a wife of that seed. And why did it pass through the flood? Because it was necessary that the devil should have a representation upon the earth as well as God” (Mormon prophet John Taylor, Journal of Discourse, vol.22, p.304)

C. In summary then, Mormons traditionally teach and believe that in a pre-mortal existence blacks were the least valiant. Because of their unfaithfulness they were assigned to be born to an inferior race through the lineage of Cain. Their black skin is the Mark of Cain, an emblem of eternal darkness and a representation of the devil upon the earth. Being inferior, they were not entitled to the full blessings of the gospel, denied the priesthood, and barred from the temple.

The earliest example of this doctrine in the Mormon Church is to be found in the Book of Mormon story of the Nephites and the Lamanites, forebears of Native Americans according to traditional Mormon teaching. The Lamanites, having rebelled, were cursed with a dark skin.

“... as they were white, and exceeding fair and delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto my people the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them.

And thus saith the Lord God: I will cause that they shall be loathsome unto thy people, save they shall repent of their iniquities.

And because of their cursing which was upon them they did become an idle people, full of mischief and subtlety...” (BOM, 2 Nephi 5:21-24)

C. On the basis of this teaching only white people were allowed full participation in the church until social pressure made the church change its policy in 1978. The teaching illustrated above is substantial and extensive and still integral to Mormonism, enshrined in Mormon scripture and, in spite of what Mormonism does in relation to black people with a substantial input into African nations today, it says something different in its official documents and historical statements and has never renounced or repented of this teaching. Indeed, to mark the 3oth anniversary of that 1978 decision to grant full rights to Negroes in the Church there were calls for church authorities to renounce and condemn the teaching but nothing came of it. Now Mormons are claiming that it was never an official teaching but a cultural aberration despite numerous official statements and doctrinal teachings from Mormon "scripture".

Previous Posts:

Mormonism: A Cult?

Jesus: God the Son, or the son of a god?

Kolob: Where God Lives?

God, Mary and the 'S' Word

Jesus in America

What Every Mormon Wants: godhood

Mormon Women

Mormon Secret Underwear

More Than One Kolob?

Coming Up:

The Elusive Gold Plates

The Mormon Java Jive

Mission or Metaphor?

21 Questions about Mormonism - More than one Kolob?

To find out what this series is about look here.

More than one Kolob? Kolobs? Hmm. Is this an anagram?

Q: Does the Mormon Church believe in the existence of another physical planet or planets, where Mormons will "rule" after their death and ascension?

A: No.

Qu. "In the Heaven where our spirits were born there are many Gods, each one of whom has his own wife or wives, raises up a numerous family of sons and daughters... each father and mother will be in a condition to multiply forever and ever. As soon as each God has begotten many millions of male and female spirits, and his Heavenly inheritance becomes too small, to comfortably accommodate his great family, he, in connection with his sons, organizes a new world, after a similar order to the one which we now inhabit, where he sends both the male and female spirits to inhabit tabernacles of flesh and bones.... The inhabitants of each world are required to reverence, adore, and worship their own personal father who dwells in the Heaven which they formerly inhabited.” (Mormon apostle Orson Pratt, The Seer, March 1853, pp. 37-39)

C. In the most fundamental way this describes the Mormon Plan of Salvation, the plan by which God himself became God according to Mormonism. God made this planet to accommodate his spirit children (us) and faithful Mormons will go on to create and inhabit their own planets, which will be populated by their spirit children who will, in turn, worship them – and the whole process starts again. The answer, then, is that there are, or will be planets which Mormons expect to rule after their death and ascension.

It is strange that the Mormon Church should deny this since there is a hymn in the official Mormon Church hymnbook that speaks clearly of Kolob:

If you could hie to Kolob in the twinkling of an eye,

And then continue onward with that same speed and fly,

Do you think that you could ever through all eternity,

Find out the generation where God began to be?

 

Or see the grand beginning, where space did not extend?

Or view the last creation, where Gods and matter end?

Methinks the Spirit whispers, “No man has found pure space,

Nor seem the outside curtains, where nothing has a place”

 

The works of God continue, and worlds and livers abound;

Improvement and progression have one eternal round.

There is no end to matter; there is no end to space;

There is no end to spirit; there is no end to race.

(Hymn 284, Hymns, 1985 ed.)

Previous Posts:

Mormonism: A Cult?

Jesus: God the Son, or the son of a god?

Kolob: Where God Lives?

God, Mary and the 'S' Word

Jesus in America

What Every Mormon Wants: godhood

Mormon Women

Mormon Secret Underwear

 

Coming Up:

In Black and White

The Elusive Gold Plates

The Mormon Java Jive

21 Questions About Mormonism - Secret Underwear

To find out what this series is about look here.

Q: Is there such a thing as Mormon "underwear"? if so, are all Mormons required to wear it? What does it symbolize?

A: Like members of many religious faiths, Latter-day Saints wear religious clothing. But members of other faiths — typically those involved in permanent pastoral ministries or religious services — usually wear religious garments as outer ceremonial vestments or symbols of recognition. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, garments are worn beneath street clothing as a personal and private reminder of commitments to God.

Garments are considered sacred by Church members and are not regarded as a topic for casual conversation.

C: The Mormon temple garment is issued to each Mormon when they go through their first temple endowment ceremony. It carries significant Masonic marks that mirror marks on the temple veil referred to earlier. Mormons wear these garments at all times and they act as a continuous reminder of covenants made in the temple. To not wear your temple garment is as serious an offence as can be imagined.

It is noteworthy that nothing in the Bible even hints at the wearing of such garments in relation to the every-day devotional life of Israel or of the Christian Church. Members of different faiths, both in the Bible and in history, have worn special vestments, garments or jewellery etc. designed to distinguish them in society, much as a surplice distinguishes a priest, or as a wedding ring distinguishes a married person. These are more to do with convention and custom and temple garments cannot fall into this category since there is nothing distinguishing about them because they are invisible to society.

For some the temple garment is an occasion for mirth and mockery but it is quite wrong to take such an attitude to something that is important to someone’s faith. Trivialising it also detracts from the important fact that, actually, it is a first class method of control since its presence acts as a constant reminder and sort of “silent policeman”. In a person’s most private and intimate moments its presence is a check on the wearer and can be like a bridle, reflecting perhaps the power and control leaders wish to have and their lack of trust in their followers. It must be said that it is also a profoundly effective passion killer except perhaps for those few who might get a kick out of strange underwear.

Furthermore, it imposes someone else’s definition of modesty in that you have to wear clothes that cover the substantial (neck to knee) garment. Of course modesty is a characteristic of Christian life but one elects to be modest under the influence of the Spirit and Christian teaching. This practice of imposing a standard by effectual dictate has been problematic for the church down the years as the design of the garment which, like so much Mormon doctrine and praxis was considered unchangeable, has changed, from a neck to ankle one piece item to a neck to knee two pieces, to reflect changes in fashions. It also encourages an elitist attitude in followers who regard themselves as “superior” because of their involvement in secret ceremonies and their wearing of special clothing compared to others who are not initiated as are Mormons. In all these ways it forms a real barrier on several levels.

Previous Posts:

Mormonism: A Cult?

Jesus: God the Son, or the son of a god?

Kolob: Where God Lives?

God, Mary and the 'S' Word

Jesus in America

What Every Mormon Wants: godhood

Mormon Women

 

Coming Up:

Kolobs?

In Black and White

The Elusive Gold Plates

21 Questions About Mormonism - Mormon Women

To find out what this series is about look here.

If you think some previous answers have been curt take a look at this for an answer:

"No!"

First they want to tell you all about Mormonism – then they don’t. You don’t think this is another “bury it with John D Lee” moment, do you?

Q: Does the Mormon Church believe that women can only gain access to heaven with a special pass or codewords?

A: No.

Qu. “In the divine economy, as in nature, the man "is the head of the woman," and it is written that "he is the savior of the body." But "the man is not without the woman" any more than the woman is without the man, in the Lord. Adam was first formed, then Eve. In the resurrection, they stand side by side and hold dominion together. Every man who overcomes all things and is thereby entitled to inherit all things, receives power to bring up his wife to join him in the possession and enjoyment thereof.

In the case of a man marrying a wife in the everlasting covenant who dies while he continues in the flesh and marries another by the same divine law, each wife will come forth in her order and enter with him into his glory.” ("Mormon" Doctrine Plain and Simple, or Leaves from the Tree of Life, (Mormon apostle Charles W. Penrose, p.66, 1897, Salt Lake City)

Qu. “Do the women, when they pray, remember their husbands?... Do you uphold your husband before God as your lord? "What!—my husband to be my lord?" I ask, Can you get into the celestial kingdom without him? Have any of you been there? You will remember that you never got into the celestial kingdom [during the temple ceremony] without the aid of your husband. If you did, it was because your husband was away, and someone had to act proxy for him. No woman will get into the celestial kingdom, except her husband receives her, if she is worthy to have a husband; and if not, somebody will receive her as a servant.” (Mormon apostle Erasmus Snow, Journal of Discourses, vol. 5, p. 291)

C. When Mormons attend the temple for their “endowments” they go through a ceremony in which they are brought to “the veil”, a representation of the veil between this world and the next. Someone stands on the other side of the veil representing God and there is a rehearsal of what is expected to happen when we pass from this life. The Mormon candidate repeats certain words and signs to gain entry “through the veil.” When Mormons get married in the temple this part of the endowment ceremony is rehearsed as part of the marriage ceremony with the husband taking the place of God “behind the veil” who leads his wife through the veil. Hence Erasmus Snow’s teaching that “No woman will get into the celestial kingdom, except her husband receives her.”

Not only do Mormon women need to have passwords but they need the permission of their husband to access heaven.

Q: Does the Mormon Church believe that women must serve men on both Earth and in heaven?

A: Absolutely not. Mormons believe that women and men are complete equals before God and in relation to the blessings available in the Church.

Qu. "But if we have a heavenly Mother as well as a heavenly Father, is it not right that we should worship the Mother of our spirits as well as the Father? No; for the Father of our spirits is at the head of His household, and his wives and children are required to yield the most perfect obedience to their great Head. It is lawful for the children to worship the King of Heaven, but not the 'Queen of heaven.'... we are nowhere taught that Jesus prayed to His heavenly Mother..." (Mormon apostle Orson Pratt, The Seer, page 159)

C. Mormon men expect to obtain to the role described here as the role of “the Father” or God. Mormon women, then, take the role of “heavenly Mother”, yielding “the most perfect obedience to their great Head.” See also the previous answer.

Previous Posts:

Mormonism: A Cult?

Jesus: God the Son, or the son of a god?

Kolob: Where God Lives?

God, Mary and the 'S' Word

Jesus in America

What Every Mormon Wants: godhood

Coming Up:

Secret Underwear

Kolobs?

In Black and White

The Elusive Gold Plates

21 Questions about Mormonism - What every Mormon Wants: godhood

To find out what this series is about look here.

Q: Does the Mormon Church believe its followers can become "gods and goddesses" after death?

A: We believe that the apostle Peter’s biblical reference to partaking of the divine nature and the apostle Paul’s reference to being 'joint heirs with Christ' reflect the intent that children of God should strive to emulate their Heavenly Father in every way. Throughout the eternities, Mormons believe, they will reverence and worship God the Father and Jesus Christ. The goal is not to equal them or to achieve parity with them but to imitate and someday acquire their perfect goodness, love and other divine attributes.

Qu: “Brethren, 225,000 of you are here tonight. I suppose 225,000 of you may become gods. There seems to be plenty of space out there in the universe. And the Lord has proved that he knows how to do it. I think he can make, or probably have us help make, worlds for all of us, for every one of us 225,000” (Spencer W Kimball, Ensign, Nov.1975, p.80)

C: Mormon men intend to become gods, just as their god has done before them. Joseph Smith taught this and, in 1974, Mormon apostle Marion G Romney stated, “God is a perfected, saved soul, enjoying eternal life.” That is what “salvation” is to a Mormon, i.e. godhood. (Salt Lake Tribune, Oct.6, 1974)

Not only do Mormons teach that God has a physical body, but that He is an exalted man. Joseph Smith said ‘God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens.¹⁴ Mormon Apostle Orson Pratt went even further:

Qu. “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 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, Jan 1853, p.23 quoted in the Salt Lake City Messenger, Nov. 1994, p.6.)

The Mormon Plan of Salvation teaches that those who live worthy lives and fulfil all the ordinances of the church can become gods one day. This is an endless cycle: God was once a man and lived worthy to become a god. He created an earth to hold his spirit children, so that they in their turn could follow him. Mormon Apostle LeGrand Richards wrote a letter to Morris L. Reynolds on 14th July 1966, in which he stated: ‘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; as God is, man may become.”’

Previous Posts:

Mormonism: A Cult?

Jesus: God the Son, or the son of a god?

Kolob: Where God Lives?

God, Mary and the 'S' Word

Jesus in America

Coming Up:

Mormon Women

Secret Underwear

Kolobs?

21 Questions about Mormonism - Jesus in America?

To find out what this series is about look here.

Two questions; one answer – again. Are you getting the picture? You are certainly not getting the answers you expected!

Q: Does the Mormon Church believe Jesus appeared in North America after his crucifixion and resurrection?

A: The appearance of Jesus in the Western Hemisphere shortly after his resurrection is described in the Book of Mormon. Mormons believe that when Christ told his disciples in the Bible He had other 'sheep' who should receive his message he was referring to those people in the Western Hemisphere.

Q: If so, when did this happen? And under what circumstances?

A: The appearance of Jesus in the Western Hemisphere shortly after his resurrection is described in the Book of Mormon. Mormons believe that when Christ told his disciples in the Bible He had other 'sheep' who should receive his message he was referring to those people in the Western Hemisphere.

C: Jesus declared:

“And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd (Jn.10:16)

Of course, the sheep to which Jesus had come were the people of Israel (Mt.15:24) and the “other sheep” to whom he referred and to whom he sent his apostles (Mk.16:15) are Gentiles. Mormons teach that the Book of Mormon is a record of those "other sheep". If he had meant the “lost sheep” of the Book of Mormon however they would have been included in Israel and not “other” since they are purported to be Jews. There are two folds in Scripture, Israel and Gentile, and Paul echoed Jesus’ words when he wrote to Gentiles believers in Ephesus:

“Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called "the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands-- remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Eph.2:11-19)

The both that are made one are Gentiles who are “alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise” and those of “the covenant”, those who are “far off” – Gentiles – and those who “were near” – Jews.

People leave “footprints” in history and if we depended solely on evidence from the Americas there would no reason at all to believe that Jesus existed since there is no evidence of his having ever appeared in the Americas. His life in the old world on the other hand is not in dispute.

Previous Posts:

Mormonism: A Cult?

Jesus: God the Son, or the son of a god?

Kolob: Where God Lives?

God, Mary and the 'S' Word

Coming Up:

What Every Mormon Wants: godhood

Mormon Women

Secret Underwear

21 Questions about Mormonism - God, Mary and the 'S' Word

To find out what this series is about look here.

Q: Does the Mormon Church believe that God and Mary had physical sex to conceive Jesus?

A: The Church does not claim to know how Jesus was conceived but believes the Bible and Book of Mormon references to Jesus being born of the Virgin Mary.

Qu: “The Only Begotten of the Father (Moses 5:9). These name titles all signify that our Lord is the Only Son of the Father in the flesh. Each of the words is to be understood literally...Christ was begotten by an Immortal Father in the same way that mortal men are begotten by mortal fathers” (McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, pp. 546/7, c.f. Talmage, Jesus the Christ, p.81 where he writes of “celestial Sireship” and “the ordinary operation of the fundamental law of heredity”).

C: Jesus was naturally conceived and not supernaturally, and is just “the only begotten of God in the flesh”. In the spirit we are all sons of God (Joseph F Smith, Gospel Doctrine, p. 69). They avoid Mt.1:20 in this answer in which they claim to believe the Bible account. The answer they give here is simply dishonest and misleading since, in Mormonism, we are all spirit children of God and Jesus is marked out only by the facts that he is 1) the firstborn spirit child (our elder brother) and 2) the only one of God’s children who is literally the Son of God in the flesh. This is a well attested Mormon teaching, they know it, and to deny that knowledge is a lie.

Let me make this clear. All men and women were born to and lived with God in a premortal existence and Jesus is the eldest of that vast family. The only thing that otherwise makes Jesus different is that, while everyone else was born into this world as a result of mummy and daddy having sex, Jesus’ mummy was Mary and his daddy was God; otherwise the operation was no different. McConkie and Talmage are giants of Mormonism in theological terms and their books formative in Mormon thinking. Note McConkie’s words, “Christ was begotten by an Immortal Father in the same way that mortal men are begotten by mortal fathers”. Note Talmage’s reference to “celestial Sireship” and “the ordinary operation of the fundamental law of heredity”. This is what Mormons believe by the term “only begotten”, i.e. only begotten in the flesh but first begotten in the spirit.

Look, the Mormon god is a man with a physical body. He has a wife (or rather wives) with a physical body. Mormon men expect that one day they will be gods with physical bodies with wives who have physical bodies. Vive la difference!

Previous Posts:

Mormonism: A Cult?

Jesus: God the Son, or the son of a god?

Kolob: Where God Lives?

Coming Up:

Jesus in America

What Every Mormon Wants: godhood

Mormon Women

Mormon Teachers of the Law

"Watch out for the teachers of the Law. They like to walk around in long robes

And be greeted in the marketplaces

And have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at feasts.

They devour widows' houses and for a pretence make long prayers.


They will receive the greater condemnation."

Mark 12:38-40

BBC NEWS | Education | Warning over narcissistic pupils

You begin with a wacky liberal creed that insists the only lifestyle  worthy of the name is "alternative". You marginalise and then demonise traditional values and make the family irrelevant. Then you "celebrate" alternative as though it is orthodox, the more alternative the more orthodox, and, having undermined so much that contributes to the health and well-being  of our children, you make it the business of the schools and other agencies to pick up the pieces. This story is truly troubling.

The growing expectation placed on schools and parents to boost pupils' self-esteem is breeding a generation of narcissists, an expert has warned.

Dr Carol Craig said children were being over-praised and were developing an "all about me" mentality.

BBC NEWS | Education | Warning over narcissistic pupils

21 Questions about Mormonism - Kolob: Where God Lives?

To find out what this series is about look here.

Again we find the Mormon Church giving a pro forma answer to two questions; answers that don’t really explain anything.

Q: Does the Church believe that God lives on a planet named Kolob?

A: 'Kolob' is a term found in ancient records translated by Joseph Smith. Joseph Smith did not provide a full description or explanation of Kolob nor did he assign the idea particular significance in relation to the Church’s core doctrines.

Q: Where is the planet Kolob? What significance does the planet have to Mormons?

A: 'Kolob' is a term found in ancient records translated by Joseph Smith. Joseph Smith did not provide a full description or explanation of Kolob nor did he assign the idea particular significance in relation to the Church’s core doctrines.

C: This is a classic Mormon “How can we bury this?” idea. It is found in the Book of Abraham, Pearl of Great Price, which Joseph Smith claimed was a translation of papyri he bought from a travelling exhibition. The Pearl of Great Price has long been discredited as a serious translation but some of the most controversial Mormon teachings come from this source. Kolob is said to be the translation of a hieroglyph in the document. In Mormon cosmology the worlds move in concentric circles around a central point where an exalted man that Mormons call god lives. Time is reckoned according to the relative distance of each world to the centre and the world nearest that centre place is Kolob.

Qu. "Kolob, signifying the first creation, nearest to the celestial, or the residence of God. First in government, the last pertaining to the measurement of time. The measurement according to celestial time, which celestial time signifies one day to a cubit. One day in Kolob is equal to a thousand years according to the measurement of this earth, which is called by the Egyptians Jah-oh-eh."

(Book of Abraham, Facsimile 2, Figure #1 explanation)

What is informative is that there is a reckoning of god’s days:

Qu. "...Kolob was after the manner of the Lord, according to its times and seasons in the revolutions thereof; that one revolution was a day unto the Lord, after his manner of reckoning, it being one thousand years according to the time appointed unto that whereon thou standest. This is the reckoning of the Lord's time, according to the reckoning of Kolob.

"... The planet which is the lesser light...is above or greater than that upon which thou standest in point of reckoning, for it moveth in order more slow; this is in order because it standeth above the earth upon which thou standest, therefore the reckoning of its time is not so many as to its number of days, and of months, and of years. [This is in reference to the moon: see Genesis 1:16.]

"And where these two facts exist, there shall be another fact above them, that is, there shall be another planet whose reckoning of time shall be longer still; and thus there shall be the reckoning of the time of one planet above another, until thou come nigh unto Kolob, which Kolob is after the reckoning of the Lord’s time; which Kolob is set nigh unto the throne of God, to govern all those planets which belong to the same order as that upon which thou standest." (Book of Abraham 3:4-9; see also Book of Abraham, Facsimile #2, explanation to Figure #2.)

Confused? Surprised? Basically, what is being claimed is that as you move away from the earth and nearer to Kolob time slows down so that on “the lesser light” (the moon) time goes more slowly. As you move further towards Kolob again so time slows down further until you come to Kolob where time is reckoned in the same way that God reckons time, i.e. a day on earth is a thousand years on Kolob. In other words, the Mormon god is subject to time.

Mormons use Ps.90:4 and 2 Pe.3:8 to show that time is relative, even to God. This doesn’t work however because the psalmist compares a thousand years with a day and with a watch in the night. A watch in the night is a part of the night during which a person is set to watch over a ship or camp, or to patrol a community before the introduction of police forces (Judges 7:19). The point is that a watch in the night is usually four hours. The Psalmist is not saying that a day to us is a thousand years to God but that is demonstrating that God is not subject to time however it is measured. A day or a watch in the night, it is all the same to God.

Interestingly Mormon apostle Bruce R McConkie said that God had been presiding over our universe for almost 2,500,000,000 years (The Seven Deadly Heresies pp 146/7). From this we may safely infer that the reign of the Mormon god is subject to linear time. We may also infer that 2,500,000,001 years ago he did not preside over our universe.

Kolob illustrates again the idea that the Mormon god is relatively omniscient (an oxymoron), not an eternal God but an exalted man who is only eternal going forwards; going backwards he clearly decreases until that time when he did not reign. It does seem that, even for the Mormon god, tempus does fugit. A worrying thought.

Previous Posts:

Mormonism: A Cult?

Jesus: God the Son, or the son of a god?

21 Questions about Mormonism - Jesus: God the Son, or son of a god?

To find out what this series is about look here.

Today we look at three questions because the Mormon Church has responded to three with the same, rather brusque and less than ingenuous answer.

Q: Does the Mormon Church believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God?

A: Mormons believe Jesus Christ is literally the Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer, who died for the sins of humankind and rose from the dead on the third day with an immortal body. God, the Father, also has an immortal body.

Q: Does the Church believe in the divinity of Jesus?

A: Mormons believe Jesus Christ is literally the Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer, who died for the sins of humankind and rose from the dead on the third day with an immortal body. God, the Father, also has an immortal body.

Q: Does the Church believe that God is a physical being?

A: Mormons believe Jesus Christ is literally the Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer, who died for the sins of humankind and rose from the dead on the third day with an immortal body. God, the Father, also has an immortal body.

Qu: “God Himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens...If the veil were rent today...if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form ” (Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 345)

C: The god of Mormonism has a body and, like the Wizard of Oz, he only appears omnipotent. Pull back the veil and you see a man, indeed a huckster passing himself off as something he is not. Mormons use the phrase “literally the Son of God” as though it is a classic orthodox Christian tenet but by this deceptively simple phrase they are conveying their belief that an “exalted man” with a physical body had intercourse with an exalted woman and, from that union, came the “literal Son of God”.

While the Bible teaches and Christians believe that Jesus is “literally God the Son”, the eternal God, Mormons believe he is “literally the Son of God”, the offspring of a man they worship as God and a woman they regard as their goddess mother. Indeed, neither is he the “only Begotten” but the first of countless millions conceived and born in the same way. To answer the questions according to Mormon orthodoxy then:

Q: Does the Mormon Church believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God?

The Mormon Church believes that Jesus is the offspring of God but not God the Son as Christians understand him

Q: Does the Church believe in the divinity of Jesus?

The Church believes that Jesus is a god in a pantheon which Mormons intend to join

Q: Does the Church believe that God is a physical being?

Yes. The Mormon god is an exalted man

Previous Posts:

Mormonism: A Cult?

21 Questions about Mormonism - a Cult?

In the midst of the publicity storm surrounding Mormonism FOX News at the end of 2007 compiled a list of 21 questions to put to The Mormon Church. The Church objected to answering some of the questions on the grounds that they misrepresent the basic tenets of the Mormon religion.

Qu. "Many of these questions are typically found on anti-Mormon blogs or Web sites which aim to misrepresent or distort Mormon doctrines," the church said in a statement. "Several of these questions do not represent ... any serious attempt to depict the core values and beliefs of its members."

You may judge for yourself whether the questions are fair and whether they have answered or evaded them. However, Mormons have traditionally revelled in the title “peculiar people” so it does seem churlish to complain when others ask about those things that mark them out as peculiar. We begin today to look at the questions (Q) and answers (A) with comments (C) and quotes (Qu.):

Q: Why do some call the Church a cult?

A: For the most part, this seems to stem from a lack of understanding about the Church and its core doctrines and beliefs. Under those circumstances it is too easy to label a religion or other organization that is not well-known with an inflammatory term like 'cult.' Famed scholar of religion Martin Marty has said a cult means a church you don't personally happen to like. We don't believe any organization should be subjected to a label that has come to be as pejorative as that one.

C: I have commented before on how peculiar it is that a church claiming to be Christian should be so consistently “misunderstood”, even by “other Christians”. The Mormons seem to be constantly fighting a rearguard action against misunderstandings and misconceptions. This is all the more puzzling for a church with an ongoing professional programme of self-promotion. Is Mormonism hard to understand? Why does the church continually have to “explain” itself? It is a truism that someone who does a lot of explaining usually has a lot of explaining to do. Blaming your detractors is not good enough; the Mormon Church does have a lot of explaining to do and it would be wise to ask why.

As to the assertion that no organisation should suffer the pejorative label of cult, it should be remembered that Mormonism is founded on the teaching that all the creeds of “Christendom” (that’s your church and mine) are “an abomination” and that all who profess those creeds (that’s you and me if you are a Christian) are “corrupt”. Perhaps Mormons should remember that people who live in transparent dwellings should seriously consider the consequences before hurling things at others; that what goes around comes around; that people don’t so easily forget that Mormonism is established on terms that remain antagonistic to and pejorative of others.

The Mormon Church trades on the modern creed that every religion is of equal value, everyone’s right “in their own way”; there is no blame and therefore no shame; and the “everyone’s a victim” culture of today. However, Christians know that there is right and wrong, truth and falsehood, righteousness and sin and a way that seems right to a man but that leads to destruction (Prov.14:12). Mormonism is founded on the claim that the ways of Christendom lead to destruction. Christians, in turn, warn others that there is no salvation in Mormonism. They teach that we are apostate, and we teach that they are a cult and in serious error. It’s a messy old place sometimes but welcome to the real world.

And for those who want to jump in and declare “a curse on both your houses” – your going to fall out of bed in a minute. It’s your world too and you can be just as jealous and defensive of your own creeds. You know you can, don’t deny it, so stop claiming the moral high ground; it makes you sound too much like you have an axe to grind. And if you really think the world would be a better place if everyone left everyone else alone why not set the trend and keep it to yourself.

Coming up:

Jesus: the Son of God?

Kolob: Where God Lives?

Anglican Church of Canada Portrays Jesus as a Recovering Racist

We have known for some time that when it comes to issues of faith Canada has fallen out of the stupid tree and hit every branch on the way down. This is another example of how totally out of touch with reality and sound biblical exegesis you get when  you are driven by a profoundly liberal social and political agenda. This Lent they give us Jesus the racist. All I can say is come soon Lord Jesus because look at what they are doing with your holy name.

"In a brochure on '2009 Lenten Meditations' put out by the Anglican Church of Canada (ACoC), Jesus is portrayed as a recovering racist. 

The brochure's reading for March 27 is taken from Matthew 15, which relates the familiar story in which Jesus has a discussion with a Canaanite woman. According to the ACoC, "This is not a story for people who need to think that Jesus always had it together, because it looks like we've caught him being mean to a lady because of her ethnicity.""

Anglican Church of Canada Portrays Jesus as a Recovering Racist

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Dutch leave messages on God phone

Not everybody understands art and I suppose I am not always as savvy as I pretend or would like to be. But in a broad sense whatever art talks about people talk about and, while some may find this offensive, it seems no bad thing that an artist in Holland has aimed to use this exhibition to provoke people to think about God and the priorities of the modern world.

"An art exhibition opening in the Netherlands will allow people to call a telephone number designated for God - but they will have to leave a message.

Dubbed God's Hotline, it aims to focus attention on changes to the ways Dutch people perceive religion."

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Dutch leave messages on God phone

BBC NEWS | Technology | Britannica reaches out to the web

Britannica has gone Wiki and who looks surprised? They are producing a sort of halfway house between traditional "expert" driven encyclopaedias and the democratic Wiki we have all come to love and hate in equal measure. Knowing stuff is fun and knowledge has never been more accessible; although wisdom is something else again I suppose.

"The Encyclopaedia Britannica has unveiled a plan to let readers help keep the reference work up to date.

Under the plan, readers and contributing experts will help expand and maintain entries online.

Experts will also be enrolled in a reward scheme and given help to promote their command of a subject."

BBC NEWS | Technology | Britannica reaches out to the web

Darwin and Godlessness

Having slated TV in general yesterday for its parlous state it has to be said that there are some gems still to be found. The coverage of the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth has been excellent so far and two programmes tonight, both on BBC Two, promise to keep up that standard. Jimmy Doherty, in "Darwin's Garden", follows in the footsteps of the great man by recreating his experiments with plants at 8 PM while Andrew Marr (does he ever go home?) looks at "Darwin's Dangerous Idea" at 9 PM.

What caught my attention, though, were the respective reviews for these programmes in the Radio Times. Jane Rackham reviewed Darwin's Garden and seemed to take great pleasure in declaring that:

"The results of Darwin's many years of painstaking experimentation demolished the biblical view of creation and created uproar."

There was a certain irony, then, in the review of Darwin's Dangerous idea by Alison Graham who bemoaned the fact that Darwin's theory proved "so potent and divisive that it was immediately hijacked by godless intellectuals such as Karl Marx and Friedrich Nietzsche, the latter memorably declaring 'God is dead'."

In a few sentences these reviewers illustrated how important is how we think about things. Of course, Darwin's theory did not "demolish the biblical view of creation", although it did create an uproar. It did challenge the way Christians had traditionally thought about and understood the biblical view of creation and that is no bad thing. We may change the way we think about and understand these things but why, when we do that in science, is it called progress but when we do it in religion it is evidence of a devastating blow?

The history of Darwin's Dangerous Idea shows us that the hard science is not all we have to consider. As Alison Graham wrote, godless men did hijack it for their own political and ideological purposes, declaring God dead and man expendable because of the fallacious notion that this was "natural". The consequences demonstrate what ensues when people take comfort from a wrong understanding of Darwin and a simplistic view of the Bible; society becomes godless, this familiar misunderstanding of natural selection becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy and "every man does what seems right in his own eyes" (Judges 17:6)

BBC NEWS | Business | Troubled ITV cuts jobs and costs

With what barely disguised glee the BBC reported the problems at ITV this week.  Seems to me they have little to feel smug about since most TV is not worth saving, what with all the reality TV garbage, the production line soaps and endless rows of talking heads vying with each other for air time to tell us where we are all going wrong; why your souffle's go flat, why your children go off the rails, why you can't sell your house and how to make the best of staying where you are.

Meanwhile entertainers who have spent years honing their skills and developing their acts and who used to be seen on our screens regularly are working on cruise ships and at private functions. I actually saw a poll this week asking people which "entertainer" from a list of about eight was their favourite. Jade Goody was on the list! Now she is a lot of things and deserves our sympathies but an entertainer she is not. I think  BBCiPlayer should change its slogan:

"Making the missable unavoidable"

Do yourself a favour - buy a radio.

BBC NEWS | Business | Troubled ITV cuts jobs and costs

Hamlet

I heard this today on Radio 4 and had to post it just for the fun of it

Hamlet called his uncle a traitor
For having it off with his mater
Avenge his or father or not was the theme of the plot
Which he did nine soliloquies later