Worldview Analysis: Mormonism

WORLDVIEW ANALYSIS MORMONISM BENNIE W. BAKER APOL 500 September 30, 2012 Table of confine Introduction2 Summary2 Critique 3 Conclusion6 Bibliography8 Introduction Mormonism is a multilayered spectral organization with m whatsoever faces. The words multilayered and organization atomic number 18 carefully chosen as they represent the bulk of what we will discuss as we seek to reveal the align essence of the Mormon demesne as they see it. We will summarize this organization and in so doing we will discover that it was built on hu piece fallacy and conjuring trick from its inception.We will thence follow with a critical research the claims, doctrines, and documents that frame their beliefs. Summary Mormonism is maven of the fastest and red-hotest religions on the world scene today. It had its beginnings in 1820 in the woods of Palmyra, New York when 14-year-old Joseph Smith went out to pray. During this prayer session he was visited by none separate the idol the Father and s avior, the son of graven image, who is Himself recognized by all authentic saviorians as very God Himself the second somebody in the Trinitarian godhead.This visit was the c at a timeption of what is one of the haughtiest worldviews among religious organizations to date. It was during this visit that the young Joseph received the message that he should not unite with any of the local performes because they are all equipment casualtyall their creeds are an abominationthose professors are all corrupt. This announcement set the item for what was either the biggest revelation or the most cleverly devised scam in the history of gentle humanskind. Some trio years later, plot of land sleeping Joseph saw a light shining. It was an angel.The angel Moroni came from the presence of God harmonize to Joseph, to give him the location of a book written on golden plates that contained the fullness of the Gospelas delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants. Thus, the foundation of the Mormon worldview is built on the restoration of the Christian church. They mustiness be fullly because everyone else is wrong. Yet they insist that they should be considered on as an option categorically with Baptists, Methodists, Episcopalians, and other Christian denominations. Critique of the Mormon WorldviewThis worldview has to be one of, if not the most pious that is and has been promoted as genuine to this day. Those who live their lives seeing the world through the looking glass of Mormonism exist under a vary range of exposure to the truth as seen by its founder. Regardless of their understanding of their religion, each layer has a measure of deception that feeds the ego of those endorsing and propagate its fraudulence. On the exterior layer they would have the world imagine that they are a Christian denomination that they are among those to be considered followers of the Jesus upon whom the Christian church building is built.The church has a website for its off icial press releases. The Facts and Statistics page of this site boasts of 55,410 missionaries carrying this primary layer of deception into 340 missions worldwide. To further cloak what lies beneath the organization has humanitarian aid missions in 179 countries. Thus, when pitching the depth of their Christian union they are quick to point out all the good that they do in the make of Jesus. If you scroll their sites there is nothing on the surface that leads you to believe that theyre any different from any other Christian denomination.Bill McKeever and Eric Johnson in their article Mormonism Christian, Cult, or tell the story of a child who came home base from school confused after High School friends questioned her Christianity. When she came home here mother assured her, As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, you are a Christian, and I am too. Later in this article the authors note the results of a survey conducted by The Pew Forum on Religious and Public Life on over 1,000 Mormons in the USA. The results show that 97% of Mormons think that theyre Christian, and 51% of the general public agrees.This demonstrates the overwhelming success that this organization has had on chicken outing the wool over, not only their members eyes, but also that of the average American. Im not affect since Biblical knowledge is so lacking in our country. Alarming stats found on barna. org reveal that while 84% of Americans believe that the Bible is sacred, 43% believe that it shares the aforementioned(prenominal) spiritual truths as does the Koran and the sacred scripture of Mormon, and only 26% believe that its the actual word of God. Taking these stats into consideration you shouldnt be surprised that so some have fallen for the lies of Joseph Smith.On the surface this religion looks Christian if you dont look too hard. Even on the outer layer you should question why we can visualise the ruins of the ancient Aztecs but cant find any sign o f the presence of Jesus on our continent as claimed by this church. Theres been no archeological validation of a single geographic reference found in the Mormon scriptures. One of the most obvious absurdities is right there on the surface. Joseph claims that he was blessed with a visit from the Father and Son while he was praying to find out which church was true, which he should join.As quoted above, he was told to join none of them because theyre all wrongall their creeds are an abominationthose professors are all corrupt. Yet this church is spending billions to appear to be as one of the very churches that its founder said that God condemned and forbade him from joining. Furthermore, they claim that the Bible is the word of God insofar as it is translated correctly, and that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and the most correct book ever written. Yet, its the Bible that they use to validate the Book of Mormon.It should bring a question to even the average person who is sin cerely desire the truth that these claims just dont pass the common sense test. As you peel the layers back you find stench. On the surface they state that they believe in the Jesus of the Bible, as do all other Christian denominations. However, when you peel back the Jesus layer youll find that they really believe that He was married, to be brought into the relation whereby he could see his seed, before he was crucified. On this same layer in direct contradiction to the basic foundational Christian doctrine of the virgin birth, Mr. modern states Now recover from this time forth, and forever, that Jesus Christ was not begotten by the Holy Ghost. Lets pull back another layer and see what this organization teaches about God. Of course we Christians believe that He was, is and ever will be. David best capsulated what Christians believe about our God Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever g-force hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. However the LDS Church embraces the doctrine of double-dyed(a) progression whereby each Mormon male himself may one day be a God.Brigham unseasoned verbalise in ledger of Discourses 7238 that Gods exist, and we had better strive to be prepared to be one with them. Lorenzo Snow paraphrased his revelation of the doctrine in this summarized statement As man now is, God once was. As God now is, man may be. If thats not enough to reveal the true heart of Mormon ambition and to paint the stained glass through which they see the world, Joseph Smith himself stated in his work History of the Church, Volume VI, pp. 408-409 that I have more to boast of than any man ever had.I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of AdamNeither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I Conclusion In conclusion, when sharing Christ with a Mormon it would behoove you to keep in mind that these peo ple are deceived. They have the first layer of revelation of what their church truly represents. Even that layer contains damning evidence of the lies and deception of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and the leaders of this organization.They have very lofty ambitions and looks at the world as though its in need of their revelation. Their objectives are about themselves and their organization. Theyre not concerned with the eternal damnation of their fellow man in fact they dont believe in the hell or eternal damnation that is taught in the Bible. They are proud to be a part of this unique organization with a new message that started right here in America. Theyre proud to be a part of Gods new chosen peoplesthe new Jews. This is a very difficult wall to climb in sharing Christ with them.You must first reveal the foundation upon which their faith is built namely, the lies of their leaders and the subjective history found in their writings. It would also help to demonstrate the illogical reasoning that is rampant in their message, such as the Bible validating the Book of Mormon, which was written because the Bible if filled with errors and has so many missing parts. The best method is to challenge their sincerity as proud seekers of truth and ask them to look at some key verses, not as a Mormon, but as one seeking the truth of God and that you will do the same, not as a Baptist, or Methodist, but just as a seeker of truth.Then you pray and let God do the rest. Bibliography Barna throng Ltd. Barna Group Examine. Illuminate. Transform. Barna Group Ltd. Oct 19, 2009. http//www. barna. org/faith-spirituality/317-new-research-explores-how-different-generations-view-and-use-the-bible? q=bible+knowledge+statistics (accessed Sep 29, 2012). David, King. Psalms. Vol. 902, in Holy Bible. Wichita, KS Heirloom Bible Publishers, 1988. Johnson, Bill McKeever and Eric. Mormonism Christian, Cult, or redact by Elliot Miller. Christian Research Journal (Christian Research Institut e) 35, no. (2012) 63. Smith, Joseph. History. In Pearl of Great Price, by Joseph Smith. Salt Lake City, Utah The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1982. Smith, Joseph. The Articles of Faith. In Pearl of Great Price, by Joseph Smith. Salt Lake City, UT The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1982. Snow, Lorenzo. The Teachings of Lorenzo Snow. In The Teachings of Lorenzo Snow, by Clyde J. Williams. Salt Lake City, UT Bookcraft. Sumner, Robert L. Mormonism A Destructive, Soul-Damning Cult. Murfreesboro, TN Sword of the Lord Publishers, 1981.The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. tidingsroom The Official Resource for News Media, Opinion Leaders and the Public. September 2012, 2012. http//www. mormonnewsroom. org/facts-and-stats (accessed September 29, 2012). Widtsoe, John A. Discourses of Brigham Young. Salt Lake City, UT Desert Book Company, 1978. Young, Brigham. Journal History. Vol. 2. Salt Lake City, UT Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1 846. . Journal History. Vol. 1. Salt Lake City, UT The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1846.