The Bible does claim
in 2 Peter 1.3 to give us all things that pertain to life
and godliness. 2 Timothy 3.17 insists that the scriptures "fully
equip" us with all we need in living she Christian life. Furthermore, we
are taught in Galatians 1.8: "But though we, or an angel from heaven,
preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let
him be accursed." And Revelation 22.18-19 says that those who add to or
take away from the scriptures are under the condemnation of God! The Bible
further teaches that all men will be judged by the Word of God. (John 12.48,
Revelation 20.12.)
Mormons put
The Book of Mormon and Doctrines and Covenants on par with the
Bible. Another book in which they have great confidence is The Pearl of Great
Price.
Mormonism has a bizarre
history. Its prophet, Joseph Smith, Jr. was born in Vermont but moved at an early
age with his family to New York. Due to the poverty of the family, education
for the children was almost nonexistent. The family preferred the
Presbyterian Church, but Joseph was confused by the disunity and conflict
among the denominations that were prominent in the area so he never joined any group.
In the early spring of
1820, after reading James 1.5, Joseph told of going into the woods to pray for wisdom.
While there he claimed to see a vision of two personages whose brightness and
glory defied all description. Calling him by name, one said of the other:
"This is my beloved son, hear him!" Joseph said he then asked the personages which
sect he should join and they said, "None for they were all wrong." He said later
that the angel Moroni appeared to him and promised him a book written on gold plates. Also
there would be two stones, Urim and Thummim, which would help him translate the
plates. In September 1827 he claimed that he was permitted by the angel to take
the book from Cumorah, a hill near Palmyra, New York, and translate the
"Reformed Egyptian" in which it was supposedly written into English.
This book came to be known as The Book of Mormon.
There are those
who claim that The Book of Mormon is a plagiarism of the novel
Manuscript Found written by Solomon Spaulding who left the unpublished book
with a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania printer to be published but died before the
work was completed. Spaulding's book dealt with the 10 lost tribes of Israel
and how they migrated to America to become ancestors of the Indians of North
and South America. Recent examinations by handwriting experts of parts of the
original manuscript of The Book of Mormon seem to indicate that it is in
Spaulding's handwriting.
The Mormon Church
was begun with six members. Joseph Smith was designated
"a seer, a translator, a prophet, and an Apostle of Jesus Christ,"
and was made Ruler of the church when he was 24 years old. The church grew
rapidly. Persecution came in New York so members fled to Kirtland, Ohio and
then on to Independence, Missouri and, afterwards, to Nauvoo, Illinois, a city
they built on the Mississippi River. In 1844, Joseph Smith and his brother
Hyrum were imprisoned in Carthage, Illinois for destroying an anti-Mormon
printing establishment. While imprisoned, they were killed by a mob which
stormed the jail. This became a rallying point for Mormons because they now had
a martyr.
Brigham Young became
President of the Mormons and led them to Salt Lake City, Utah. That city is now
headquarters for the main body of Latter Day Saints which today claims 4.7 million members.