Mormons (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, LDS) with world headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, teaches that Mormons can become gods, live forever, and have sex forever. It is taught that Mormons will populate other planets or earths (plural), after they die. Are these things true? Can they be verified?
Three major sources for its doctrines (teachings) are "The Book of Mormon," which is thought to be divine, and some Mormons call it "the Bible", in a sense. Actually, "The Book of Mormon" is spurious, erroneous, and not at all divine. Another writing is "The Pearl of Great Price" which is supposed to contain various revelations to the founder of Mormonism. The LDS Church claims to be "The Pearl of Great Price". The LDS Church claims to be the only true church and it claims that it restored Christianity. None of this is true. The "Pearl of Great Price" is Jesus Christ. See Matthew 13:45-46. Biblical Christianity is not an institutional church organization with a man made (human made) hierarchy. The LDS Church is all of these things. Several onlyistic church groups claim that Christianity or its doctrines were lost, and that they, the onlyistic churches (there are several) restored Christianity and its doctrines. But the contradictory onlyisms are wrong because Christianity and Biblical doctrines were never lost. The Mormon Church herself split up because of disagreements over several issues. "Doctrine and Covenants" is a writing claimed to be a third volume of scripture. Most sections are claimed to have come as revelations to the LDS founder, Joseph Smith, Jr. These writings are more collective illusions.
By using these three so-called scriptures, and the Bible, Mormon doctrine makers and "god makers" seemingly can prove anything by proof texting. They find some kinds of quotations which to them prove their doctrines.
Joseph Smith, Jr. (1805-1844) is claimed to have been pre-existent as a spirit and to be a prophet and his teachings were supposed to be from God through Joe Smith himself as God's prophet. Smith also produced his own bible, Joseph Smith's so called translation, much of which is a plagiarism of the King James Version Bible. Smith claimed, and many Mormons believe, that Smith's bible is the only one which is correct.
Joe Smith, Jr., by the age of 14 was given to seeing things which were not there and to hearing voices. He had severe mental difficulties and finally became dangerous. He was especially fond of young girls, and he proclaimed polygamy for men, plural marriages, for which the Mormons became famous. When jailed in Illinois, among other things because of being a sexual danger to young girls, a mob murdered him by shooting him when he was in jail. Instead of admitting Smith's mental illness Mormons claimed him as a martyr. This is a typical action in some religions, church denominations and cults.
Joe Smith's voices and visions with his fondness for young girls would indicate a personality disorder and pedophilia. Joe Smith was a mystic dedicated to digging for buried treasure and he counterfeited money. Smith's practice of magic, using magic stones, and hallucinations actually placed him in the occult category.
Mormon faithful believe in three Gods. God is a God. Jesus is a God. The Holy Spirit is a God. This means that there are three Gods with the first God being Almighty. This is polytheism, the belief in more than one God. The Jewish faith believes in and accepts only one God. It is a monotheistic Faith and always rejects polytheism. Some people claiming to be prophets and Christians have made gross errors about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When non-educated people like Joe Smith try to explain complex doctrines, then gross errors prevail.
Mormon literature calls God a God, Christ a God, and the Holy Spirit a God. Hence, three Gods and polytheism. (Emphasized)! Mormonism is a polytheistic religion.
After messing up the doctrine of God, the Mormon leaders were ready to turn Mormons into Gods (or gods). This godhood, marriage and plural marriages (polygamy) are tied together in Mormon religion so that finally the faithful can have sexual relations forever.
"Prophet" Joe claimed that God restored the "keys of salvation" to him. Catholicism claims that the pope has those keys. Prophet Joe thought that a man was to have only one wife at a time unless the Lord revealed through a modern prophet that it is all right to have more than one wife at a time. (Convenient). Prophets proclaimed plural marriages, and Smith practiced polygamy and Brigham Young had many wives. When Young died he left 17 "wider women" among his survivors and many children. Today there are flare-ups of Mormon polygamy in the United States and they often make the news. But some Mormon writers assure us that polygamy is not essential to salvation. (That is nice.) Smith had 42 wives. This is the fantasy of many men.
Celestial marriages are performed in Mormon temples (plural) and those marriages continue into God's celestial kingdom so say the Mormons. A Mormon man, married to several wives at the same time, will have things worked out so that he can love, and have sex with all of his wives forever! How? By being baptized as a Mormon, and by living like the LDS church says to live. When people do these things, they are said to become gods and they will live forever. A Mormon woman cannot have plural husbands. No polygamy for women such as men can enjoy.
Where will the Mormon gods live? (Notice that this is more polytheism.) It is claimed that these humans who become gods and will live on earths (plural) in the celestial kingdom. Some Mormons call some of these earths "planets". What will a man and his wives do on their own earth or planet? The claim is that they will have sexual intercourse forever and populate their own earth or planet. This teaching evidently appeals to many people. All of the babies born on the earths are supposed to become part of the Mormon kingdom of God. Will the babies grow up and marry their own relatives as Mormon polygamists often did?
Sadducees tried to confuse Christ by telling him that a woman had seven husbands, one after another, and they all died. Then the woman died. They asked whose wife she would be after the resurrection. Christ answered, "Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven." --Matthew 22:29-30. This is clear that people do not marry or reproduce children in Heaven. Therefore the Mormon doctrine that Mormons can become gods and have sex forever and populate their own earths or planets is another false doctrine. One more cult myth! Of course the twisters of Scriptures explain away everything or so they believe.
Mormons, and the LDS Church have often been criticized and opposed because of their beliefs and practices about marriage and families. Many Mormons become ex-Mormons when they learn about these practices. The Mormon practice of men trading their young daughters to each other to be wives drew much opposition. Later child sexual abuse laws were enforced by the American federal government and polygamy was made against the federal law. Congress passed the Anti-Bigamy Act in 1862. Later, many Mormons were prosecuted and sentenced to jail because of violating this law.
Mormonism and the LDS Church runs television ads and other advertisements about pro-family values. The ads make Mormons appear to be traditional family people. But the opposite was true, and is partly true today in some places, and it can be again in the future. Since the Mormon Church teaches it has prophets today, these prophets can receive new instructions by revelation to change or revive practices. Ongoing changes cause confusion and so do contradictory prophets. The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and some other Mormon denominations split off the main Mormon denomination. Other splits will happen.
Polygamy (plural marriages) is practiced by many people in the United States at the present time. Law enforcement is lax about it. There are seven adult unmarried women for each adult unmarried man today (1998). Many women are not going to marry (some do not want to) unless polygamy is again made legal. The real Bible teaches that the time will come when seven women will want to take a man's last name so they will appear to be married when they have babies. See Isaiah 4:1. Mormons were forced to stop polygamy. Some other religious groups practiced polygamy and so did some American Indian tribes. In order to prevent or slow down lesbianism and in order for most women to get married and have husbands, there is a possibility that polygamy will again become legal in the future.
During the time of the 13 American colonies there were nine church denominations which established themselves as official state churches in different colonies. This included the British Parliament compromise over the fighting of Anglicans and Roman Catholics over which church denomination, the official state church in England, the Church of England (Anglican) or the Roman Catholic Church which was the state church elsewhere, would become the officially established church in the colonies. The British Parliament compromised in 1774 and established the Church of England (Protestant) and the Roman Catholic Church as officially established state churches. This meant that they could be financed with religious taxes as in Europe. This also made 9 established church denominations. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 and the war for independence started. Over six years later the American victory made it possible for the framers (makers) of the United States Constitution to knock down the established church denominations and to provide freedom of religion with the wall of separation between the church (religion), and the state (government). But tearing down this wall is the goal of some church denominations today. The Mormon Church in Utah fused, united, church and state. Freedom of religion was denied until after the Mormon War.
Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and other framers fought a hard fight against the nine church denominations, to break their political and tax power. (There were few denominations in existence in the colonies at that time). Americans seldom learn of this fight. The battle was too realistic and too hard. State textbook committees, various religious efforts, and other groups censored books, banned books, and brought pressure on different publishers not to publish such things in textbooks. The American Library Association publishes a list of 100 books each year that are censored or banned in the United States. These practices violate the First Amendment rights of the American Constitution which includes freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press.
Thomas Jefferson, and other framers of the American Constitution made it easy for people to start churches, religions, and cults. Jefferson was hotly criticized because of this, and the fact that he would not become a member of a church or religious group. But he, and the framers, believed strongly in the separation of powers in government and the separating of powers in religion. The federal government separation of powers is found in the three branches of the federal government, and in the federalism which divides federal government and the state governments. Political parties, although not in the Constitution, further divide political powers. Hundreds of church denominations, cults, and religions divide religious power to the extent that no one super church or super religion can gain enough power to control government and law. That happened in the dark ages when the Roman Catholic Church (an Italian church denomination) hierarchy seized control of much of Europe. The framers, unlike most Americans, and other people today, knew history, politics, religions, and philosophy. (See my writing in this part of the web site titled, "Religious Ignorance".) People can be grateful for psychotic Joe Smith, and multitudes like him, because they help keep religious power split up and divided. In this disunity there is political and governmental weakness.
Mormons, the LDS church, became the tenth church denomination to establish herself as an official church in this country. This was in Utah territory which Mormons called the Land of Zion. The territory, taken away from Indians, became an armed Mormon power. Brigham Young became such a dictator that some of his own people appealed to the American government for help.
Meadows Mountain Massacre was the Mormon ambush of a wagon train headed for California. Mormon leaders thought that it was headed for Utah territory. So many dressed as Indians, ambushed, and massacred almost all of the wagon train people, but a few escaped. The incident was reported to the federal government and eventually American troops, many of them Black, were sent to Utah territory. The Mormon War occurred. It was brief and was defeat for the Mormons. Then the federal government started murder trials. Bishop John D. Lee was hanged for murdering young girls in the wagon train. Brigham Young ordered the attack and was almost hanged, but the trials ended with mercy! Some Mormons consider the murderer J. D. Lee to be a another martyr. Many so called martyrs are made of such stuff.
Mormons would start emphasizing that Indians are the lost tribes of Israel. Today American Indians can get scholarships to Brigham Young University because of this doctrine which is not true. I am one-fourth Mohah Choctaw and I am not an Israelite. I also hold an Indian Studies degree from a state university. The LDS Church was embarrassed because she brought reproach upon herself when she tried to frame Indians for the Meadows Mountain Massacre. Next, the LDS Church taught that Blacks were the cursed race. Later, when the federal government was preparing to file a federal lawsuit against the LDS Church because of racial segregation in educational institutions, a Mormon prophet received a revelation to integrate. Just in time, too!
National news media report the business wealth of the Mormon Church in everything from mining, railroads, chain stores, hotels with liquors (Mormons teach against drinking alcohol, tea and coffee), gambling interests in Nevada, and many other profit making businesses. Many other church denominations and religions in the United States and other countries do the same things. Of course, the Church in the New Testament, with Christ as its head (Leader and Savior), did nothing like any of these things.
In 1985, three bombs rocked Salt Lake City, Utah. Two people were killed and another injured. Among other things these Mormon murders, as they are called, centered around a secret document which was thought to disprove the divine claims of the LDS Church. Investigations, and the murder trial which followed once again involved high ranking LDS Church leaders, reflecting the murder trials after the Meadows Mountain Massacre. Many other church denominations, religions, and cults have also been involved in murders and other violence.
Religious church politics, godhood for Mormon faithful, polygamy, sexual intercourse forever in God's kingdom, on earths which will be populated with new Mormon babies! A history of false and contradictory prophets, murders, a war against the United States, money, and economic enterprises in the name of religion, along with church tax exemptions, and a list of teachings from the "Book of Mormon", the "Pearl of Great Price", "Doctrines and Covenants", and Joseph Smith's so-called translation of the Bible (which is not really a translation)! All of these things conflict with teachings in the real Holy Scriptures.
Why do so many people stay in such a religious institution? And there are multitudes of really evil religious, denominational, and cultist organizations around the world! Why reader? Multitudes of people in Utah are members of churches, cults, or religions other than the LDS Church. It is a state where effective Christian evangelism is said to work.
Again see my writing in this section of the web site titled, "Religious Ignorance" and my logic textbook, "Logic: Catalogue of New Fallacies," Part II, "Fallacies in Religion," at www.potentools.com/mind/logic/.
You can see why many Bible scholars and Christian theologians call
the Mormon church a cult.