FAQ About Latter-day Saints (LDS)
(Source: LDS FAQ)
Question: Do Mormons believe in Jesus Christ?
Answer: “Jesus Christ is the central figure in the doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or LDS Church. Latter-day Saints believe that salvation is possible only through the life, death, resurrection, doctrines, and ordinances of Jesus Christ, and in no other way.” (Read more)
Question: What is the Book of Mormon?
Answer: “The Book of Mormon is a volume of ancient scripture that, along with the Bible, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price, forms the doctrinal foundation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the history of a group of ancient Israelites who, directed by God, traveled from Jerusalem to the American continent around 600 BC.” (Read more)
Question: What do Mormons believe about salvation?
Answer: “Latter-day Saints believe that God, in his wisdom and mercy, formulated a plan of salvation whereby his children could experience a physical existence on earth and then return to live with him. This plan provides both the way and the means for everyone to receive salvation and eternal life.” (Read more)
Question: Who was Joseph Smith?
Answer: Joseph Smith Jr. (1805–44) was the founding prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. LDS Church members accept his revelations as scripture and believe that through Joseph Smith the true gospel of Jesus Christ was restored to the earth. Joseph Smith was the first prophet in this, the last dispensation of time before the Second Coming of the Savior…. (Read more)
Question: What does a Mormon prophet do?
Answer: “Latter-day Saints recognize the biblical and Book of Mormon prophets, as well as latter-day prophets, as servants of Jesus Christ. They believe that Joseph Smith and all subsequent Presidents of the LDS Church were and are prophets, representing and receiving revelation from Jesus Christ.” (Read more)
Question: Why do Mormons have temples?
Answer: “In the [LDS] temple, holy truths are taught and solemn covenants are made in the name of Jesus Christ, both by the individual members on their own behalf and as proxies on behalf of others who have died (the latter have the choice in the spirit world to accept or reject such vicarious service).” (Read more)
Question: Why does the Mormon Church send out missionaries?
Answer: “Latter-day Saints believe that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints contains the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ restored to Joseph Smith and that this fulness is not found elsewhere. Therefore, they feel a responsibility to make the message of the restoration of Christ’s Church available to all who will hear.” (Read more)
Have more questions about the Mormon Church? Check out LDS FAQ.
Mormons believe another Jesus, the Jesus of Mormonism is one of “three Gods”, he is “a God” who was born of a heavenly mother and whose brother is Satan and whose father has a body of flesh and bones.
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Stephanie Reply:
May 17th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
Is that really true? I’ve recently had mormons come to my door and I’m trying to understand the religion…
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Luke Bishop Reply:
June 10th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
Johnny
I have a question why would you go tho a site that is not run by mormons to find out what you believe. wouldn’t it make more sence to listen to what mormons say the mormons believe? To find more accurate information why dont you look at or other mormon sites.
It is like this: why would you ask an astronomer abou plants, when there is a botanist avalible.
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johnny Reply:
June 11th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Luke Bishop, does this site (whymormonism.org) present Joseph Smith’s teaching of “three Gods”. I have looked at other web sites, the information I provided about Joseph Smith teaching of “three Gods” is from an accurate LDS web site, the site is http://www.lds.org.
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Luke Bishop Reply:
June 10th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
This is true but the way you put it can be misleading, and you may have been misled yourself if this is how you were taught it.
Saying jesus is one of 3 gods you are refering to the trinity (god, jesus, and the holy ghost). mormon belief in the trinity is that they are 3 seprate beings that work together as one.
saying thefact that jesus is the brother of satan is also misleading because we are all spiritual brothers of Jesus and satan,because we were all born of god (and it is also believed that he has a wife, or the Heavenly Mother) The fact that his father has a body of flesh and bone is because in mormon doctorine God has a body. We believe that every time it is mentioned that god is pure spirit is be cause the third god of the trinity( the holy ghost) does not have a body.
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johnny Reply:
June 11th, 2009 at 4:54 pm
Luke Bishop, Trinitarians believe in one God, not three. No matter how closely together three gods work, they remain three gods, not one.” Jesus and his apostles taught “one”, not “three” like Joseph Smith.
To say Jesus and Satan are brothers because they have the same heavenly mother is contrary to the Bible. The Bible reveals angels were NOT born of a heavenly mother but reveals that the LORD created all angels (e.g. Satan) with a command (Psalm 148:2.5; Neh 9:6; Isa 45:12; Col 1:16,17; John 1:1,3).
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Jesus is a god but we worship heavenly father in jesus name. you say he is one of 3 gods, does the other denominations of the church teach the trinity saying god is three in one? our jesus is not the same jesus? the jesus who atoned for our sins. this is the jesus of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints and the jesus of all mankind inculding yourr. those sites are propaganda. mormon.org has 24 hour missionary service to help you and answer your questions
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Johnny, this website is for people to learn about Mormonism. Please take your anti-Mormon diatribes elsewhere. You have been on many LDS lists now, and continually twist the things we believe.
Stephanie,
LDS believe in the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. We believe in a “social trinity”, believed anciently by many Christians, such as Origen and Eusebius of Caesarea (leading Church authorities of their day).
In the 4th century AD, there was a disagreement over how the Trinity or Godhead was composed. Some believed in what is now known as the Nicene Creed, where the Trinity is composed of three persons in one God. Others believed in three persons who were one in all things, except in body. LDS believe in this second description of the Trinity, known as the Godhead, or social Trinity.
We believe and worship the same God the Father and God the Son, as the rest of Christianity.
If you look deep enough, you’ll find major differences in all Christian faiths. The key is to seek what for you has the greatest truths and direction for your life. We hope you will keep an open mind to what the missionaries teach you. I know that the revealed truths of the LDS Church have guided me well for over 30 years. And I have a very powerful witness of Christ as my personal Savior.
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Rameumptom,
Do you believe in “three Gods”?
Did Jesus and his disciples teach “three Gods” or “one God”, if so please provide the verses?
The LDS publication Ensign says “three Gods” (see below):
“I have always declared God to be a distinct personage, Jesus Christ a separate and distinct personage from God the Father, and that the Holy Ghost was a distinct personage and a Spirit: and these three constitute three distinct personages and three Gods” (Joseph Smith, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 41–42) (“Plain and Precious Truths,” Ensign, Mar 2008 68–73)
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Aaron Reply:
June 9th, 2009 at 9:25 am
St. Matthew 3:16-17
“And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
And lo a voice from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
This passage shows the true nature of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. If people would just be humble and read the words of God first, no one would doubt about the true nature of Trinity; by just reading and being humble…
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johnny Reply:
June 9th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
Rameumptom, why did you ignore the simple question of do you believe in “three Gods”?
Did Jesus and apostles teach “three Gods” like Joseph Smith taught?
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Luke Bishop Reply:
June 10th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
His point by this quote is that there are in fact 3 diferent beings. Hevenly father, jesus, and the holy ghost. in this quote you see that Jesus is there, and at the same time the “Spirit of God” or the holy ghost, is desinding, and at the exact same time the “voice from heaven” is speaking( teh voice is obviously Heavenly father becaus he says that jesus is his son).
The point is that thay are all seperate because they are all in different places doing different thing at the same time.
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johnny Reply:
June 11th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
Rameumptom, again you ignore the simple question … do you believe in “three Gods”?
Clearly Joseph Smith says “three Gods”.
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We believe in the father son and holy ghost as was already stated. you ask do we believe in 3 gods. as if you are trying to infer that we pray to 3 seperate gods. now many denominations say that there is one god with two other idividuals bound together which makes it okay to pray to jesus, one day, then god, elohim, the next day etc. because they are 1 in substance supposely, isnt this worshiping 3 gods in a sense? if you are trying to trip us up in our statement then you you shouldnt. churches like baptist, methodist,lutheran etc do not want to be accused of polytheism so they lumped god the father, jesus, and the holy ghost together. now we the latter day saints acknowledge that this makes no since. god is seperate the almighty and jesus and the holy ghost are 1 with god in purpose not substance. we do not lump these 3 together just to make things “EASY” as i said before jesus is a god but is seperate from GOD but WE PRAY TO HEAVENLY FATHER IN JESUS NAME AND THE HOLY GHOST TESTIFY OF JESUS AND WE EXPERIENCE THE BURNING OF THE BOSOM. So do you consider the trinty to be 3 gods? I know your looking for a yes or no answer but i would like you to continue to study
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Jessica Reply:
June 10th, 2009 at 11:35 pm
I will give you a helping hand. Elohim, the father, is a god. jesus, is a god. the holy spirt is a god. All who obey all commndments of the lord my also become gods. The world doesnt accept the gift of the holy ghost in which everything is understood. paul explains in 1 cort 2:11 The plurality of gods is plainly taught by paul in 1 cort 8:5-6 paul explains that god the father is one god of all
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Jessica Reply:
June 11th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
I would also like to touch on as someone has already explained perfectly about jesus and lucifer being brothers. indeed they are brothers as all men are brothers but jesus is on one side of a specturm and lucifer the other. jesus chose to do the will of his father and agree with freewill, where as lucifer did not agree thus cast out. Jesus is a brother to all and savior of all
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johnny Reply:
June 11th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
Jessica, the LDS church teaches Jesus and Satan are brothers because they have same heavenly parents (see LDS GP Chapter 3).
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johnny Reply:
June 11th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
Jessica, 1Cor 8:5-6 is not teaching “three Gods” like Joseph Smith. 1Cor 8:5-6 clearly says “one”, these verses rephrases the monotheistic confession of v 4 in such a way as to contrast it with polytheism (1 Cor 8:5) and to express our relationship with the one God
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johnny Reply:
June 11th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
Jessica, I am not inferring that Mormon’s pray to 3 seperate gods …
As a Mormon do you believe in “three Gods” like Joseph Smith taught (see teaching above)?
The Trinity is not “three Gods”.
Jesus and his apostles did not teach “three Gods” like Joseph Smith.
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Rameumptom Reply:
June 18th, 2009 at 9:29 am
Johnny,
Your sad denial of all the evidences given you over the years on several sites is exhausting. Many Bible Scholars today DO say that Jesus and his apostles taught Three Gods.
The Johannine Comma was a later interpolation, placed in the writings to “prove” the Trinity. Most scholars today know it was not written by the apostle John.
Scholars, such as Margaret Barker, show that there was a belief in multiple divine beings. She shows that Jesus was believed by the early Christians to be the Angel of the Lord’s Presence, the Name, the Messiah. This was a divine being who was not the head God.
The early Christian Father, Origen, as he studied the apostolic writings, came to conclude that Jesus and the Father were separate beings.
So did the historian Eusebius. So did Arius. So did most of the early Christian Fathers.
If they are “One God” as you say, then how does One God have two wills? Jesus prayed, “Not my will, but thine be done.” If they are the same being, then they would have the identical will.
You do not have to agree with the evidence. But you need to stop making false statements, as the evidence shows that early Christians DID believe in several divine beings.
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johnny Reply:
June 18th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
Rameumptom,
Please provide the names and links of the “many Bible Scholars” that taught “three Gods” like Mormonism.
Clearly scripture shows Jesus and his apostles taught one God (see below):
- Mark 12:29-32 “Jesus answered him … thou hast said the truth: for there is one God”
- 1Cor 8:4 “… there is none other God but one …”
Clearlay the early Christian Father’s taught one God. Ignatius, a first century Christian bishop of Antioch appointed by the apostle Peter wrote:
- “there is one God, who has manifested Himself by Jesus Christ His Son, who is His eternal Word” (Epistle to the Magnesians)
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Would you like my email address? because its hard to come to this site everyday because we post at different times. Its ldsgirl25@yahoo.com im going to use my friends account hope to hear from you or anyone else =)
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New address jessenoel1017@aol.com
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I actually have a question about mormonism, and I was hoping you could clarify it for me. According to Joseph Smith, he recieved a divine revelation about the book of mormon. But, in Revelation 22:18, it says “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will ad to him the plagues described in this book”. Isnt this in direct contradiction to the book of mormon. And I am not trying to start an arguement, I just want some clarification on this. Thanks
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Rameumptom Reply:
June 18th, 2009 at 9:23 am
In addition to Margaret’s response, I’d like to add the following:
First, it was common to write curses at the end of books, because plagiarism and the changing of books was common in John’s day. He was not talking about the entire Bible, but only his book on Revelation.
Second, John’s epistles and gospel were written AFTER the Revelation. This being the case, if we were to use your interpretation of the verse, we’d have to exclude John’s other books from the Bible.
Third, no MAN can add/delete from the scripture. But God CAN add or delete whatever he chooses to do. The Bible shows a pattern of God working through prophets and apostles, making changes as He sees fit. That pattern should continue today.
Fourth, John foresaw in the Revelation a day when two prophets would stand in the streets of Jerusalem and give their prophecy. That seems to show that revelation and prophecy are not finished with the Bible, but continues.
Fifth, A loving God will continue to speak to us today, as he did anciently. He spoke anciently through prophets and apostles. Today, he will speak to us again through prophets and apostles.
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James Reply:
June 19th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
Thank you both for clarifying this detail with me. I was a little confused on that , but not anymore. Thanks =D
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This is a common misunderstanding of the verse on Revelation because you are considering the whole Bible to be a book and Revelation to be the concluding chapter of that book. However, when the ‘Book of Revelation’ was written there was no such thing as a Bible. Revelation itself was and is the book referred to in that verse and the warning is about changing the meaning of the revelations therein by adding bits or taking bits out.
The Bible was compiled centuries later so in effect it has already ‘added to’ the Book of Revelation. It is also worth considering that the accepted canon of scripture we have today has not always remained static and that some books were considered worthy of inclusion in the Bible at different times. In fact at one stage the Book of Revelation itself was excluded.
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I have a question if this is a true religon why was this only founded in 1805? not trying to start anything.
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Good question. The Lord gives to all mankind the amount of truth and light they are ready to receive. So, in the Bible, we see times when the people had greater blessings of God, and other times when they did not.
In Noah’s time, so many people rejected the prophet and his teachings that God swept them from off the face of the earth.
For Abraham, the people of Ur were so wicked, the Lord commanded him to travel elsewhere to a land of promise. Abraham retained the great blessings, while those left behind were left without a prophet-leader. Meanwhile, both Josephus and the Book of Abraham (in the Pearl of Great Price) teach us that Abraham taught the Egyptians astronomy and other things.
When Joseph, who was sold into Egypt became Pharaoh’s right hand man, the Lord greatly blessed the Egyptians. And they continued being blessed, until a new Pharaoh came that did not know Joseph (Exodus 1). For 4 centuries, Israel languished without a prophet to guide them, until Moses came.
After Malachi (the last book of the Old Testament), there is another 400 year gap until Christ and his apostles. Each time there was a loss of prophets, there was a loss of spiritual blessings (but not entirely), until the Lord restored his gospel through new prophets and apostles.
All of these big gaps among the children of Israel and their neighbors. And this doesn’t include those in the rest of the world, who did not have access to the Israelite prophets.
The Lord allowed a diminished knowledge of his gospel to remain in the world after the death of the apostles, and many plain and precious things were lost. But to prepare for the Lord’s Second Coming, Jesus had to bring back all the lost teachings so as to help people prepare for His Return in glory.
We are in the last days, and the work to preach the gospel, or even portions of it, to the world is very important. The Lord needs traditional Christians to preach their knowledge of Christ to the world. And the Lord needs to also prepare the world even more with the higher and more complete truths of the restored gospel.
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