The Wrath of God

This blog applies not just to Mormons, but to many kinds of people with many kinds of beliefs. I’ve been thinking about the wrath of God a lot lately. It’s not a popular doctrine in America anymore, and those who do know much about it largely don’t understand it.

A lot of people think that God is completely full of wrath, anger, and destruction in the Old Testament but not at all in the New Testament. This is simply wrong. We do see the love of God in the Old Testament, and if you don’t believe me, read Psalms, or even read the Old Testament with an eye to what he does for those who believe in and rely on him. In the New Testament, Jesus himself talks about hell more than anyone else in the Bible, and the New Testament makes it obvious that Jesus took on the wrath of God for the sins of humanity and then closes with a book that details the wrath of God pouring out his wrath as Jesus comes tattooed and furious as he makes the blood of the wicked run like rivers.

We protest this as if it’s unjust and without logic. Then we turn around and want justice for wrongs done to us. What good father would not seek justice for his daughter if she is raped? If you haven’t watched the movie “Taken,” do so. It’s about a father going after his daughter when she’s kidnapped and sold for sex trafficking on her trip to Europe. Her father hunts her down like an avenging angel, and woe betide any and all who stand in his way. Watching the final scenes, as he kills those who are trying to snatch his daughter away, and if I remember right that includes the man who was only minutes away from raping her, I know I didn’t sit there and think, “Well that’s not fair of him to do that to those people.” I was cheering him on, sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for justice to be served and for him to take his daughter from those who would hurt her, knowing he did it all out of love.

I have heard so many times that Jesus was loving to everyone—that he never got angry or condemned people. People these days have this idea of Jesus as a tolerant and indulgent person, speaking only loving things and never harshly. These people need to sit down and read the gospels a little more closely, because they’re so wrong it’s not even funny. As I already said, Jesus spoke of hell more than anyone else. He got angry. He threw tables and kicked people out of their own shops in anger. He warned of false prophets and false righteousness. He called people hypocrites and vipers. If you can get the subtlety while reading, he even mocked self-righteous people, though he always did so with truth and with the intent of causing repentance in those he mocked and causing those who were not self-righteous to avoid becoming so.

Can you honestly say you’re a good person in every way, inside and out? If you say yes, you’re prideful and self righteous, which are some of the worst sins because they keep us from seeing other sins. Everyone should say no. You have lied. You have cheated. You have probably stolen. You’ve raised your voice in unrighteous anger. You’ve done something illegal. You’ve probably committed adultery, either literally or by lusting after someone who wasn’t your spouse. The Bible says that God hates sin. How could he not hate sin, and still be just and perfect and right? We hate sin, although we often do so imperfectly. He hates it perfectly. He will not abide sin to live with him. That means that we all don’t deserve to live with him, and we all have his wrath upon us. None of us can fix that ourselves, because we will continue to sin our whole lives in one way or another. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to go before God and say, “Look how good I am,” and have him say, “Well, no, look how bad you are. You broke this commandment this time, and this one that time, and really you broke the first two every time you broke the other ones…”

There’s only one way to fix this, and God did it for us because he loves us even as he hates the sin and wickedness in us. 

2 Corinthians 5:21
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Martin Luther calls this the “Great Exchange” because our wickedness was given to the only righteous person who ever lived—and only God is completely righteous, remember—so that our sin could be put to death and Christ’s righteousness could become our own. This is why we are saved from hell, to sin.

All this is also why there are huge problems with the teachings of Mormonism. They don’t really have a hell. They don’t really acknowledge the wrath of God. They don’t even like the term “fear of God,” which is kind of ironic because Proverbs says that fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. In Mormon theology, even the worst sinners get a level of heaven. While it’s not the sort of place you’d want to make your goal in their theology, it’s still heaven. It’s still paradise. All these unrepentant murderers and rapist get to enjoy, to at least some degree, the rest of eternity. I don’t think it’s even taught that they’re fully excluded from the presence of the Godhead, although I believe it’s thought to be limited. Even their “outer darkness” is not really a place of eternal torment, which is why they tend to call it outer darkness instead of hell. And perhaps worst of all, even those who are good people, who fear God, who had faith their whole lives, who pursued righteousness through Christ, are not good enough if they weren’t or don’t become Mormon and if they didn’t do or accept the works required. They just get stuck in paradise just like all the unrepentant rapists and murderers; their paradise is just a little nicer.

How is that justice on God’s part? How is that love?

We do need to have a fear of God. Not a fear that makes us want nothing to do with him, but the sort of fear where you respect and are in awe of the power he commands and what he could do to you, personally, with it if you remain an unrepentant sinner. You will be to him like a daughter’s rapist would be to the father, because you hurt and are in opposition to what he loves and what is good. I know, most of us aren’t rapists. But every kind of sin is a sin against God, and all are sinners regardless of the degree of sin. We will be punished according to the degree of our sinfulness—an unrepentant murderer will be punished far worse than an unrepentant generally good person—but we are all guilty.

The question is not whether a good God will punish the unrepentant sinner. The answer is obvious when we consider the nature of justice and wrongdoing. The real question is whether you will accept the gift he gives you out of love, the promise to impart perfect righteousness upon you through your faith in the greatest sacrifice this world has ever seen.

Church Discipline

I've been there in the Mormon church. I was never disfellowshipped or excommunicated, it was a fairly typical teenage "major" sin, but it was eight very painful months. And guess what? Despite all the heartbreak and guilt and work to be "forgiven," I repeated the sin later on. The Mormon church would say that was because I hadn't fully repented before, and that therefore I still had to repent of the old one and the new one.

Nor was it a process of comfort, redemption, and positive change. Nor was my sorrow so much for what I'd done as for all the pain it had caused me. I knew intellectually that it was wrong, for sure, but actually feeling it was wrong for the sin itself was always just beyond my grasp.

It also confused me why the bishop determined when I was "forgiven." It made me wonder if I could go my whole life seeking forgiveness from God but never finding it, if the sin was bad enough or something along those lines. In fact, the Mormon church says the answer to that is yes, it is possible, usually in the case of murder or an extremely terrible sexual sin, like rape. Or at least, people like Spencer W. Kimball, who wrote the handbook of forgiveness, say that.

What bothered me was the manner of church discipline. I tried very hard not to question it while I was a member, but I quickly realized after I left that it bothered me. I found places in the Bible where we were told to confess to Jesus and he would forgive. I never found anywhere in the Bible that it would take a long period of time to achieve forgiveness. Instead, it seemed to be a gift freely given.

Discipline in the Christian church is also far different, and outlined clearly. If there is an offense/sin serious enough to merit interference, there are steps to be taken, but the actual forgiveness is ready to be given the moment the sinner seeks it, not eight months after a lengthy process. Sanctification takes much longer than the actual forgiveness, of course, but that is much different.

In the Christian church, we are to that we are to judge fellow Christians. Not in an arrogant or self-righteous way, of course, but more like a judicial system--we are to call them out on their sin and beg for them to come to repentance. This is first to be done individual to individual. Whether it is one church member to another, or an elder to a member, or elder to elder, it should be one on one (although in the case of members to elder, there should be more than one member, since elders have such a tough job but are held to higher accountability). Then, if sincere supplication for repentance and outlining of the sin committed does not cause the offender to repent sincerely, then more than one person is to go together to try to do the same thing. I just imagine a few loving people sitting down someone and saying lovingly and carefully, "you need to consider what you've done. This is what we're seeing. Please turn from it, its not good for anyone, especially you." If that fails, more public or firm discipline might be needed, such as presenting the situation to a larger group of believers or having an arbitrator or mediator for the offended parties. And finally, if all else fails, the one at fault is to be basically excommunicated out of love, in hopes that they will find that when their sin is not welcomed or allowed, they will realize what it has done to them and will finally repent and return. The moment true repentance is displayed at any stage, the guilty party is to be welcomed back, comforted, and helped immediately.

Does that sound like Mormon discipline? I went to my bishop and confessed my sin, willing to repent (although, not having given my life to Jesus yet, it was doomed to fail or not be full at some level) and instead of saying, "thank you so much for telling me, know that God forgives you, now let me help you in overcoming this," I got, "You are not worthy to take the sacrament or attend the temple, and you must do this this and this, and we'll see after a while how things are going, because forgiveness will take time...oh, and read The Miracle of Forgiveness."

I can attest to the huge difference between these two things. While I've never experienced formal church discipline as a Christian because its never been necessary--are major sins have gotten left behind since becoming a Christian, although I really only had one "major" one--I think many of us have experienced what its like for a friend or loved one to talk something out with us, and we've had to admit we were wrong, and that friend or loved one was ready to repair things with us and work with us the moment we admitted it. I certainly think that good friend or loved one is a far better representation of God's forgiveness than the Mormon church is.

If the Mormon Church is True, God is Sinful

The Bible says that the first lie that Satan ever told mankind was that they could become gods. Mormonism says this is not a lie, but is truth, and that mankind can become gods. If this is true, then God meant for mankind to sin, and wanted Adam and Eve to eat of the fruit which means God lied to Adam and Even when he told them they they should not eat the fruit of knowledge of good and evil!

This is not really a surprise, considering that then sinful men can become gods and goddesses, which means that it is statistically far more likely that our God was a sinful man who achieved godhood through his world's equivalent of Mormonism than that he was a perfect savior on his world.

But what does the Bible say about God?

Deuteronomy 32:4 He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.
Psalm 90:2 Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
Isaiah 43:10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD,
   “and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
   and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
   nor will there be one after me.

God is perfect and always was God. How could he have ever been a sinner. How could he have ever desired mankind to sin? That is completely contrary to his nature.

No parent wants their child to do wrong, and God is the ultimate, perfect father.

How Will I be Judged?

Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned

Can anyone deny that they have sinned? Or, since the concept of "sin" might be hard for some to wrap their head around, have you ever done anything wrong? Failed to do your best? Didn't do something you should have? Hurt someone? Harbored ill-will or bad thoughts towards someone? Wanted something you shouldn't have? Done something that wasn't good for you and/or someone else? No one can say "no."

Now, the question is whether we'll be judged for these things or not. You have to believe in an afterlife and a higher power of some sort to believe that everyone will be judged for it. And then the question is, what is the standard? What is required?

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

If you go before a judge for a crime, you're not going to be able to say, "Well, yeah I did that, but I've done good things, too." He (or she) is going to say, "Well that's great, but you're still guilty." So if we all fall short of God's standard (which is what we do every time we sin) then we're all guilty.

Guess what happens to the guilty when God judges them?

Exodus 23:7 Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty.
Jude 1:14-15 “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones ¹⁵ to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
Revelation 20:12-15 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. ¹³ The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. ¹⁴ Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. ¹⁵ Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

All of us have sinned and will be found guilty. It doesn't matter that we might not be murderers--we're still guilty, just like someone convicted of petty theft is still guilty. Our punishment may not be as severe, but according to the Bible, that just means that things won't be as bad. We'll still be punished by being thrust out of God's presence. How, then, can anyone be judged favorably?
 
2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Jesus was perfectly righteous. He never sinned. And yet, God punished him for all sin. It was poured upon him on the cross as he was tortured severely and killed, and since he was perfectly righteous and gave his life for all sin, he made is possible to impute his righteousness--the righteousness of God. We cannot do this for ourselves, because we are sinners. It required perfect righteousness, which no mere human can achieve, so the Son became flesh and did it because of his love for us.

We are forgiven of our sins through his blood.

Hebrews 9:22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace

Perhaps we can understand how our own goodness cannot save us. We are guilty no matter how good we are, because we have sinned at some point. Guilty is guilty, no matter how guilty it is. This means that no amount of good works or just generally being an acceptably good person is "good enough." So what do we do to get this gift of righteousness that Jesus died to give us?

We don't get it for free.

Hebrew 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Faith is the requirement, because faith in God pleases God and he will give to them all his gifts, including the gifts of Christ's atonement. This theme echoes again and again throughout the New Testament.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.
Romans 3:22-24 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Its a beautiful picture of choice. We can try to justify ourselves to become "not guilty" because we don't want God's help. God will let us do that, and when we stand before him and say, "Well, I did this and this and this and this and this right," he will say, "Yes, but you did this and this and this wrong, and you did not accept me, so I will give you what you want and let you be without me for eternity. You are guilty." Or, we can look to God through Jesus, who atoned for our sins, and at judgment say, "I trusted you," and he will say, "For this, you have been forgiven and will spend eternity with me as you desired. Well done, good and faithful servant."

Our choices are simple: turn our back on God and try to do it ourselves, and fail like we've failed to be perfect so many times throughout our lives and receive the punishment of being guilty, or we can reach out our hands to God and he will place in them the gift of eternal life and forgiveness so that we are not found guilty. He will give us what we ask for, and will never force one or the other upon us.

The question is not, "How good am I?" The answer will always be, "Not good enough." No, the question is, "Am I forgiven?" The answer is "Yes" if we have found forgiveness through Jesus.

Good people don't merit heaven. Forgiven people do.

Living Like God is Real

Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

So often, this world asks us to believe what we believe but not really live it out. Think about that. As a Christian, what does that look like?

Believe that God answers prayers, but then act like he's not going to answer them after you've prayed.
Believe that God wants you to give, but then fear he won't make that possible when you're tight financially.
Believe that God wants you to have peace, but then worry constantly because you don't trust him to make it possible.
Believe that God wants you to spread the gospel, but then take no role in doing so, whether it be support for missionaries or going and doing it yourself.
Believe that God wants you to live by faith, but then try to earn your salvation too.
Believe that God wants you to live a good life, but then take his grace for granted and live in sin.
Believe that God wants your marriage to work, but then think you're an exception when you hit hard times and get a divorce.
Believe that God wants you to rejoice in your salvation, but then focus on worldly worrisome things to the exclusion of all else.
Believe that God wants you to believe in the face of suffering, but then fall away the moment it gets difficult.
Believe that God wants you to speak the truth in love, but then back off in silence when people criticize you.

Is this really how we're meant to live? Believing one thing, and acting out another? I think often we don't do what we believe we should from fear of failing and hurting. We need to remember that if we live in faith, we will please God. It is when we do not have faith that we will not. God promises us certain things if we live in faith, if we walk by the Spirit. Kindness, long-suffering, love, peace, joy...these are amazing things. But we can't get them if we're not walking by the Spirit, if we're not living by faith.

I've been convicted of these things recently, between experiences I've had and some sermons I've heard. Speaking out against falsehoods and for truth is hard. There are those that will criticize and find anything and everything wrong with it and with you that they can, even if that isn't true. They will tell you that you're rude for telling people about your belief when you know they don't share it. They will tell you that you're doing something wrong for not keeping it within the walls of your home.

They will criticize you for living like you believe.

But what does God tell you? He says go and tell the world, to the ends of the earth. He says love and help others. He says that life will be hard sometimes, but he is worth it in the end. He says he will provide if we're trusting him and seeking the Kingdom first.

God wants you to live like you believe.

So the question becomes, which is most important to you? What others say and think or what God says and thinks? Maybe its time for more Christians to step up to the plate and live out their belief--live like God is real and that your life is nothing without him, because you sincerely believe that to be true. Live like you want to do the things God tells us to do, live the way God tells us to live. Give to people, even when it means you can't go out to dinner with your spouse like you usually do. Pray for missionaries, give financially to them, be a missionary yourself, even just in your office or neighborhood--you don't have to get in everyone's face, you can show them what it is to be a Christian. Pray like you know God will answer, and trust him to follow through in doing the best he can for you. Give credit to the grace of God and don't live in sin, but don't expect to earn your salvation because you're doing good.

Living like anything less than God's Word is true while saying you believe is living a half-truth at best.

I've yet to see a person who truly did so unable to say that they were blessed for it. So challenge God in your life, and live like he's there.

The Reality of Hell

What is the Mormon hell? Good question. There isn't really one. I suppose it would be considered "outer darkness," or the nothingness into which apostates and those who blaspheme against the Holy Ghost (the two are sometimes synonymous) are cast. This is little spoken of and generally a vague concept to members, however. Some might call the Telestial, or lowest, Kingdom hell, but really it is still a level of heaven or paradise. The only thing that would make it hell is that a person who is placed there is with the lowest of the low--unrepentant murders, rapists, etc. Yet even they are not completely denied the presence of God, and have a relatively decent eternity secured, albeit one where they are stuck, which is the Mormon form of damnation.

Some of this concept comes because Mormons don't really want to acknowledge that many people will be eternally sent to hell. Its a harsh concept, there's no way around it, and many people want to find a way to keep their unbelieving loved ones out of hell. This is why Mormons and other universalists believe that God gives at least one more chance to people after death and that everyone can achieve salvation somehow.

The realities in the Bible are far different than this, though. Its hard to swallow, but if we can accept that Jesus was the perfect sacrifice for our sins, the vessel for God's wrath against us, only if we're faithful to him, then we also have to accept that those who do not accept him must become vessels of God's wrath.

Let me make this clear from the start. There is no where--no where--in the Bible that indicates a second chance after death. Death seals the deal. After death comes judgment. Any waiting period between the two is not a chance to learn and change one's mind. Either one accepted the one true God, or they didn't. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that one must have faith and believe in his existence when coming before God or they cannot please him. Since all will have faith in him when confronted with the reality of his being before us, this means that we have to have this faith before we have reality in front of us after death.

There is also no indication that hell lasts only X amount of time and then is finished. It is true, though, that people will be punished in hell according to their lives. Someone who lived a good life but never believed will be punished far less severely than someone who was the worst sort of criminal. None of it will ever bring them into the presence of God for eternity (heaven), however.

Here's some things taught about hell in the New Testament.

"When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, open to us,' then he will answer you, 'I do not know where you come from... Depart from me, all you workers of evil!' In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, where you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out." Luke 13:25-28

"So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 13:49-50

"'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into everlasting life." Matthew 25:45-46

"God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to use, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might." 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9

"The dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened...and the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done...and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." Revelation 20:12-15

These, of course, are not the only references in the New Testament to hell and eternal punishment. Although it develops over time, we see hints of hell in the Old Testament as well. Hell is generally associated with fire or darkness, and is often referred to as everlasting or a similar term. It is very clear that those who do not believe in God and follow Christ will not be saved from hell.

Its not a pretty doctrine, but it does do one thing for us. It shows God's power, mercy, and love on the cross even more brightly and amazingly.

Pharisees, You Hypocrites!

A number of times, I have had Mormons--including friends and family--tell me that Jesus would never tear down another religion. He wasn't mean to people like that. He didn't tell people they were wrong in their beliefs, or warn people of those who lead others from truth.

Wait...what?

Quite the opposite!

I understand why Mormons say that Jesus wouldn't do this. Jesus was emphatic about showing love to people, and Mormons wish to cling to this aspect of him so that they can believe their faith should not be attacked--that good people who follow Christ wouldn't do this, so it must be a "bad" person saying things against the church, and therefore what they say is invalid. Sometimes, though, it is more loving to show people why they are wrong. Revelation 3:19 says "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline." Jesus and his apostles showed this type of love often, and often with harsh or firm words, either in rebuke to people or in warning believers about who to watch out for and fight against. Here's some examples in the New Testament.

Matthew 3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he [John the Baptist] said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
 Matthew 16:6 “Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
 Matthew 23:15, 23, 25, 27, 29 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!"
Luke 11:39 Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.
Matthew 7:21 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves."
Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
 2 Peter 2:1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.
1 John 4:1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

 The Bible shows a theme of correcting and revealing wrong teachings and wrong teachers. From the beginning, sin was punished and false teachings were revealed as such. God does not destroy sinners the first time they sin, like he could, out of love...but neither does he not tell them that they're wrong, because letting them continue to believe wrongly would be an extreme disfavor.

Acts 20:25 “Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. 26 Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. 27 For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God." 

Was a Restoration Needed?

One of the LDS church's greatest claims is that its the restored church--the only church that holds all truth. Other churches hold some, more than others, they say, but only they have it all because it has been restored to them through Joseph Smith, the first prophet.

This is all founded on the idea of a great apostasy and its consequences.

James E. Faust, a General Authority, recently said, "I wish to testify today of the fulness of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, which adds to the religious beliefs of other denominations, both Christian and non-Christian. This fulness was originally established by the Savior in His earthly ministry. But then there was a falling away." (http://lds.org/general-conference/2006/04/the-restoration-of-all-things?lang=eng&query=great+apostasy)

Similarly, Boyd K. Packer said, "The Church you belong to, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is the restored Church. ³ When you know what restored means, you will understand why standards of conduct are as they are.

Following the Crucifixion of Christ an apostasy occurred. Leaders began to “teach for doctrines the commandments of men.” ⁴ They lost the keys of authority and closed themselves off from the channels of revelation. That lost authority could not just be repossessed. It had to be restored by those who held the keys of authority anciently. ⁵

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not a remodeled version of another church. It is not an adjustment or a correction or a protest against any other church. They have their “form of godliness” ⁶ and their goodness and value." (http://lds.org/general-conference/2003/10/the-standard-of-truth-has-been-erected?lang=eng&query=great+apostasy)

 Thankfully, these claims of a great apostasy and its results can be examined. The idea of a "great apostasy" quite simply doesn't fit into history. Here's a few reasons why.

Oral tradition at that time period was outstanding--there have been studies done that show that the same story could be passed over generations with no significant changes. This is for a few reasons. First of all, memorization skills were more keenly honed, developed, and utilized at this time period. It was not unthinkable for a rabbi or student of the Law to have whole books of scripture memorized. Oral tradition was held as sacred; an elder would quickly correct a younger person who got an important detail wrong. This was not like a game of telephone, where a person only hears it whispered once and has to pass it on. This was a community effort to maintain and pass on tradition and knowledge. The stories of Jesus would not have been ruined by the few decades where it existed only orally.

The Gospels were written either by eyewitnesses or people who had interviewed eyewitnesses. These people had motivation to write it down correctly, and the people who had been there were still around to correct anything that had been written down incorrectly. This contributes at least in part to the consistency of the Gospels, especially the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke)--while small details sometimes vary, the core of the stories match extremely well. A lawyer, judge, or other expert in modern law would tell you that this is not only expected in stories where witnesses are telling you the truth, it is also vital, because if the stories were to match 100%, there would be accusations that the witnesses had gotten together to concoct a story, which would then bring its truthfulness into question.
The epistles of Paul were written even earlier--even closer to the events.

The Gospels and epistles were written early enough that there was not enough time for legendary development--the adding in of events that were untrue and often larger-than-life. Studies show that it usually takes much longer than the couple of decades that the writers had at this time, and the people writing still had a vested interest in getting it right. The legendary development can be seen later, in the Gnostic gospels, which is why these are not accepted into canon.

There is plenty of manuscript evidence to show that there were no significant changes in scriptural texts, and enough manuscripts being written that it would have been hard for a group or individual to make a change that would have gone unnoticed and been perpetuated. Even when the Christian faith began to have organized religion--the Catholic church--there were many manuscripts, and it would have been impossible to completely erase the evidence of significantly changing the contents of that many Bibles, especially since some of those early Bibles and many partial manuscripts are still preserved today.

There is no evidence of much of the practices of the LDS church being done in ancient times. Temple marriages were not performed. Baptisms for the dead in the temple were not performed--neither were endowments. There was no hierarchical order where there was a single prophet at the top, with apostles underneath him, and an organization that trickled down from there--any hierarchy was imposed by men. Even in the Old Testament, if often speaks of multiple prophets and female prophets, and there were no apostles at that time. In the New Testament, there were no prophets as leaders after John the Baptist:
Luke 16:16 The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached.
While the spiritual gift of prophecy still exists today, there are not prophets in the same way that there were in the Old Testament.

The councils that the LDS church so vilifies were not for men to impose their own views on the gospel, but for what already existed to be made official. The Trinity was made official because of heresies that contradicted the Bible--but the Trinity existed in the gospels and the epistles, and was written of by the earliest church fathers, before the councils ever convened. The canon was not chosen because they were books men wanted in scripture--they took the books generally accepted as scripture and, with strict standards that kept anything incorrect out of the God's Word, compiled those books into the accepted canon that is now the Bible.

There is also Christ's own promises that we can rely on when it comes to the preservation of the Word of God and the true church:
Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
Matthew 16:18
And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

If Christ promised it and the evidence backs it up, why should we not believe it?

In truth, it is not that the gospel was lost, but that men do not always understand it. There is a reason for some of the things Christ said:

Matthew 7:21 Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
 Matthew 7:13 Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

The narrow gate is very simple to find, but its so hard for many people:
John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 10:9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

We can see that there was no apostasy. The Bible is preserved. No important doctrines were lost. The ordinances and temples that the LDS hold up so high are unnecessary and contradict the Bible. All we need...is Jesus. His Word is sufficient to guide us to him.

Godhood: Exaltation or Damnation? A Woman's perspective

In Mormon theology, a worthy Mormon couple can become a god and goddess of their own world and populate it with their own spirit children. Unfortunately, for a woman, being a goddess is not all that it's cracked up to be.

The first downside is that she cannot hope to have eternal marriage unless her husband calls her at the resurrection. If he fails to do so, she will be resurrected, but not as his wife, which can potentially keep her from becoming a goddess.

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 some one 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. (Journal of Discourses, vol. 5, p. 291)

 Women who go through the temple receive a name. The only person she is to tell this to is her husband. A husband does not have to tell his wife his name. This is because God will call a man into the Celestial Kingdom, but a man--not God--calls his wife there. These names are usually from the Bible, which means that many women probably bear identical names. It leaves one to wonder how they'll know who is who in the resurrection, with all those "Rachels" and "Eves" waiting to hear their husbands call them.

Then comes the role of a woman in eternity. It is much like the role of a woman on earth: to bear children. On earth, it is for the purpose of giving bodies to as many spirits possible. In many cases, there are women and families--especially early on or in fundamentalist sects--that prohibit or strongly discourage birth control, and see anything sexual that is not for reproduction as impure, even between a man and wife. Although this has relaxed a little in the mainstream church, there is still a push to have as many children as possible and to start young. Masturbation is still seen as a sin, and while sex is allowed for pleasure even when a woman isn't fertile in the mainstream church, I have had the impression before, both as a member and as an ex-member, that anything for pleasure outside of sex itself is somewhat discouraged. I don't know if leadership are told to actively discourage this if they learn of it, however, or if they used to but no longer have to.

In eternity, the purpose of bearing children is to create spirits to continue the race of gods. Presumably, these spirits will repeat the same pattern we are supposedly repeating--they will go to earth, sin will come to test them, they will have to prove themselves worthy and faithful, there will have to be a savior to justify those who are worthy and faithful, and then the select few who meet the rigid requirements will be exalted to godhood eventually as well. Considering that billions upon billions of people have lived on this earth, and more are being born every day, the amount of spirit children a woman has to have is staggering. Even assuming gestation for a spirit is significantly shorter than women must deal with on earth, and that birth is not nearly so arduous a process, it would still take a long time for even multiple women to bear one man that many children, and the idea is simply exhausting.

This, of course, gave rise to polygamy. Polygamy was not, as most Mormons are led to believe today, just to take care of women whose husbands had died. Marriage is not necessary to do that, anyways. The church could have made other arrangements to care for the widows and orphans. There's also no indication in early membership records that there was a significantly larger proportion of women than men due to the persecutions. In reality, polygamy was to fulfill the dual purposes of a family creating bodies for as many spirits as possible (and fundamentalist sects believe more children means more guarantee of exaltation and great eternal rewards), and then given an exalted man--a god--as many spirit children as possible.

Polygamy can still be seen in the mainstream church, just in a "legal" way--since polygamy being illegal is what made them stop practicing actively in the first place (the Manifesto was not a "revelation" and wasn't God commanding it to be stopped forever; go read it yourself). Now, if a Mormon man dies and his wife remarries later on, she has to chose which husband she wishes to be sealed to, she can't be sealed to both. On the other hand, if a Mormon woman dies, and her husband remarries later on, he can be sealed to both, and both will be his wives if he becomes a god. Although I do not know for sure, I would not be surprised if women who are unmarried when they die are sealed by proxy to worthy Mormon men. As far as I'm aware, there is also a belief that if a woman is worthy and is either a Mormon with an unworthy husband or accepts Mormonism after death and her husband does not, she can still be given to a worthy Mormon man. Whether or not this is official taught, I know there are members who believe it, which makes sense in light of all their other beliefs on marriage and exaltation.

To add insult to injury, if our own "Heavenly Mother" that the Mormons believe in is any example, a goddess won't even be acknowledged by most of her children, and the few who do know she exists won't worship her, don't pray to her, and will barely talk about her. The Mormons say things like, this is to protect her from insults and blasphemy, but I would think a goddess could handle herself. No, in reality, this is because our heavenly mother--or mothers--are inferior to their husband and less powerful than him because of a single thing: the priesthood. He is the priesthood head in their family, so he is in charge, and therefore he is the one who is involved with his earthly children and their world; the women do not have the power to do anything in their childrens' mortal lives. It is his earth, and she is just one of the necessary components in his eternal exaltation.

Women, I have to ask you: does this sound like exaltation...or damnation?

Should a Christian be a Homophobe?

As homosexuals try to fight for the ability to marry and be recognized as legal couples with the same rights as heterosexuals, American Christians are making grave mistakes by going to extremes in either accepting or rejecting gays.

The first extreme is outright homophobia. Should a Christian be a homophobe? No. At least, no more than they should be and adultery-phobe, or a fornication-phobe, or a lying-phobe.

The Bible tells us a few things we should remember when dealing with the homosexual issue. The first is that we are all sinners, we all fall short, and we all need a savior.
Romans 3:²² This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

The Bible tells us that sexual immorality in general is wrong. It does not specify that one type is worse than another. Sin is sin, and sexual immorality in all its types is sinful. This means that we should not exclude a homosexual man or woman anymore than we should exclude an adulterer or the couple that is living together for marriage. In fact, if anything, we should welcome them for the healing, change, and improvement that faith in Christ will bring into their lives if a person accepts him wholly and sincerely.

The other extreme is to downplay the sinfulness of being gay. We can accept being a person who has relations with the opposite sex, but what it comes down to is that it is still a sin, and we should not accept the sin. Let me make this clear; I'm not picking on one type of sexual sin. Anything outside of a heterosexual monogamous marriage is contrary to the will of God, as he has outlined in the Bible. Christians should accept all sinners, as all of us are sinners, but pretending it is not a sin for public image purposes is just as wrong as rejecting the sinner completely.

I think the worst part is seeing religions allow gays to become leaders.

1 Timothy 3 says this about church leaders:
 ¹ Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. ² Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, ³ not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. ⁴ He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. ⁵ (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) ⁶ He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. ⁷ He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.
 ⁸ In the same way, deacons are to be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. ⁹ They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. ¹⁰ They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. 
¹² A deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well. ¹³ Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus. 


And Titus 1 says this:
An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. ⁷ Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. ⁸ Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. ⁹ He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

Leaders will of course fall short sometimes, but they should not be participating in the serious sins as outlined in Galatians 5:
¹⁹ The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

A person who is trying to be a leader but who will not follow God's Word and follow Christ fully cannot effectively lead the church in following Christ fully and correctly.


The beautiful thing about follow Christ is this: that he promises to make us new, to help us abandon the old man and put on the new, to guide us out of our sins and into a relationship with God. We are born as sinners. Some sins are more inherent to a person's nature than others. Those who feel that they were born homosexual do not have to feel that God does not love them. Instead, they can rejoice in the changes that God can make in them. It is the job of Christians to see it as a sin, to accept the sinner, and to support them in letting Christ change them into what he wants for them.