Victor R. Claveau, MJ
The following tenets of Mormonism are selected excerpts from the 1958 First Edition of Mormon Doctrine,” by Bruce McConkie[1]
Abominations – “Those practices which are so vile, hateful, and detestable as to excite and deserve loathing are called abominations. Idolatry and every form of sex immorality, for instance, are also classified. The doctrines, traditions, practices, and policies of the Catholic Church comprise some of the most wicked of all abominations.” (p. 13)
Note: Mormonism has a history of anti-Catholic bias. The root of the conflict is doctrinal. Mormonism teaches that the Bible is a corrupt and incomplete account of God’s revelation, which is an implicit criticism of Christianity in general. The Book of Mormon also makes reference to an evil “church which is the “great and abominable church,” described more vividly as the whore of all the earth.”[2] Though the Book of Mormon does not specifically identify this evil institution as the Catholic Church, many Mormons have believed the two to be one and the same since the [3]publication of the Book of Mormon in 1830.
Obviously, as noted above, McConkie was very specific in his denunciation of the Catholic Church as the “great and abominable church, the whore of all the earth.” As noted previously, this was one of the many objections that caused Mormon authorities to criticize the initial publication of Mormon Doctrine. (See also, Church of the Devil.)
Derogatory references to the Catholic Church were removed from later editions of Mormon Doctrine.
Adam – “Our knowledge about Adam, and the exalted station held by him in the eternal providences of the Almighty, begins with an understanding of his pre-existent work and mission. By his diligence and obedience there, as one of the spirit sons of God, he attained a stature and power second only to that of Christ, the Firstborn. None of all the billions of our Father’s children equaled him in intelligence and might, save Jesus only. He sat in the council of the Gods in the planning and creation of the earth, and then, under Christ, participated in the creative enterprise. He was foreordained to come to earth as the father of the human race, and when Lucifer and one-third of the hosts of heaven rebelled, Adam (with the exalted title of Michael the Archangel) led the hosts of the righteous in the war in heaven.” (p. 16)
Note: We Catholics have a surer and purer source of information, which is far superior to the complicated and often immoral myths and legends preserved in the books of Mormonism.
The biblical account of the first man and woman surpass all legends found in Mormon documents.
In the early chapters of Genesis, Adam became the father of the human race. The biblical account states explicitly that “the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”[4]
It is an Article of Faith of the Catholic Church that our first parents in regard to body and soul were created by God: It is certain that their souls were created immediately by God.[5]
The theory that Adam pre-existed and helped Jesus create the earth has no foundation in Christianity. Neither, does the idea that Adam equaled Christ in “intelligence and might,” nor, the convoluted description that Adam was Michael the Archangel, battled against Lucifer, and then became a lowly human being in order to populate the Father’s kingdom. This teaching goes far beyond credibility!
Adam-God Theory – On April 9, 1852, Brigham Young, the second President of the Mormon Church, publicly preached the Adam-God doctrine. In a sermon he stated:
“Now hear it, O inhabitants of the earth, Jew and Gentile, Saint and sinner! When our father Adam came into the garden of Eden,[6] he came into it with a celestial body, and brought Eve, one of his wives, with him. He helped to make and organize this world. He is Michael the Archangel, the Ancient of Days! About whom holy men have written and spoken—He is our Father and our God, and the only God with whom we have to do. Every man on earth, professing Christian or non-professing, must hear it, and will know it sooner or later.…the earth was organized by three distinct characters, namely Eloheim, Yahovah, and Michael, these three forming a quorum, as in all heavenly bodies, and in organizing element, perfectly represented in the Deity, as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.”[7]
Note: The above statement is contrary to the biblical description of the creation of Eve: “So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh; and the rib which the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.”[8]
Joseph Fielding Smith[9] taught that “Jesus, our elder brother, was begotten in the flesh by the same character that was in the Garden of Eden, and who is our Father in Heaven.”[10]
In other words, both Brigham Young and Joseph Fielding Smith taught that Adam was both the father of Jesus, the Father in Heaven, and Michael the Archangel as well.
Further, in stating, “the earth was organized by three distinct characters, namely Eloheim, Yahovah, and Michael, these three forming a quorum, as in all heavenly bodies, and in organizing element, perfectly represented in the Deity, as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost”, Brigham young is saying that Michael the Archangel is also the Holy Ghost.
I ask, by what necessity, would God the Father find need to fulfill any human role, since He has at his disposal the power to delegate? Would this not detract from His attribute of Sovereignty?
Adultery — Sex immorality stands next to murder in the category of personal crimes; it is most abominable above all sins save it be the shedding of innocent blood or denying the Holy Ghost.” (Alma 39:5.) Anciently the penalty therefor was death; “the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.” (Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:21-29.)
In the initial day of judgment, at the Second Coming of our Lord, Christ “will be a swift witness… against the adulterers,” and they shall be burned as stubble. (Mal. 3:5; 4: 1.) Adulterers shall be cast down to hell to suffer the vengeance of eternal fire; and their eventual destiny—after suffering the torments of the damned until the second resurrection—shall be that of the telestial kingdom. (D. & C. 76:103-106.) They shall not inherit the kingdom of God. (l Cor. 6:9-11.) Adultery opens the flood gates of wickedness in general. Physical disease, divorce, illegitimacy, violence, broken homes, and a host of evils always attend adulterous acts. There never was an adulterer, for instance, who was not also a liar; the two always go together. (p. 23)
Note: Joseph Smith stated:
“We have among us,” he said in part, “thieves, adulterers, liars, hypocrites. If God should speak from heaven, he would command you not to steal, not to commit adultery, not to covet nor deceive, but be faithful over a few things. As far as we degenerate from God, we descend to the devil and lose knowledge, and without knowledge we cannot be saved .. .. The Church must be cleansed, and I proclaim against all iniquity. A man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge.”[11]
Plural marriage was not considered adultery in the minds of many of the early Mormons as Joseph Smith simply changed the rules.
“Joseph could with a certain honesty inveigh against adultery in the same week that he slept with another man’s wife, or indeed several men’s wives, because he had interposed a very special marriage ceremony. And who was to say him nay, since in the gentile world the simple pronouncement of a few timeworn phrases by any justice of peace was all that was necessary to transform fornication into blessed matrimony. The spoken word stood between him and his own guilt. And with Joseph the word was God.”[12]
American Indian – “When Columbus discovered America, the native inhabitants, the American Indians as they were soon to be designated, were a people of mixed blood and origin. Chiefly they were Lamanites, but such remnants of the Nephite nation as had not been destroyed had, of course, mingled with the Lamanites. Thus the Indians were Jews by nationality, their forefathers having come out from Jerusalem, from the kingdom of Judah.…Since the days of the Spanish conquests and colonization’s of Mexico and South America, there has been a further dilution of the pure Lamanitish blood. But with it all, for the great majority of the descendents of the original inhabitants of the Western Hemisphere, the dominant blood lineage is that of Israel. The Indians are repeatedly called Lamanites in the revelations to the Prophet, and the promise is that in due course they ‘shall blossom as the rose’, that is become again a white and delightsome people as were their ancestors a great many generations ago.” (1958 ed. pp. 31-32)
Note: “Since the late 1990s pioneering work of Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza[13] and others, scientists have developed techniques that attempt to use genetic markers to indicate the ethnic background and history of individual people. The data developed by these mainstream scientists tell us that the Native Americans have very distinctive deoxyribonucleic acid markers (DNA),[14] and that some of them are most similar, among old world populations, to the DNA of people anciently associated with the Altay Mountains area of central Asia. This conclusion from a genetic perspective supports a large amount of archaeological, anthropological, and linguistic evidence that Native American peoples’ ancestors migrated from Asia at the latest 16,500–13,000 years ago.
“The mainstream scientific consensus about the origin of the ancient Americans and peoples is apparently at odds with the claims put forth in the Book of Mormon, though Mormon apologists have made efforts to reconcile these apparent contradictions.”[15]
Antichrists – “To a greater or lesser degree, all who belong to the great apostate churches of the day are antichrist.” (p. 38)
Note: Father Vincent P. Miceli, S.J., writes, “Have saints and scholars finally decided whether the word Antichrist is merely a generic term comprising in its meaning all evil movements of heretics, schismatics, apostates and impious empires? Is it now definitely proved that the Antichrist is not a mere evil ethical spirit, or political system, or racial dynasty, or succession of rulers, or some cosmic power? Or have we now further proof that the Antichrist will be, according to the universal tradition of the Church, one man, an individual of extraordinary powers who will with genius organize and lead all evil persons and movements in a total war against Christ and his Church?
“Saint John the Evangelist distinguishes the Antichrist from all other adversaries of Christ. Moreover, Sacred Scripture imprints upon the mind, even after allowing for the figurative character of prophetic language, the strong impression that the Antichrist is to be an individual man. Consider this passage:
“Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. …And then the lawless one will be revealed, and the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by his appearing and his coming. The coming of the lawless one by the activity of Satan will be with all power and with pretended signs and wonders.”[16]
Now consider this passage from Daniel:
“Another shall arise after them; he shall be different from the former ones, and shall put down three kings. He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, two times, and half a time. But the court shall sit in judgment, and his dominion shall be taken away, to be consumed and destroyed to the end.”[17]
And Daniel once more:
“Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an exactor of tribute through the glory of the kingdom; but within a few days he shall be broken, neither in anger nor in battle. In his place shall arise a contemptible person to whom royal majesty has not been given; he shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom by flatteries… And the king shall do according to his will; he shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods. He shall prosper till the indignation is accomplished; for what is determined shall be done.”[18]
And in much the same vein St. John the Evangelist writes:
“And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months; it opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and tongue and nation, 8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, every one whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain.”[19]
Such specific titles and characteristics cannot refer to an abstract ethical force for evil or to a collective body to movements of evil. An individual is specifically pointed out and identified by his supreme capacity and stunningly unique career in the pursuit of evil. He is the ultimate culmination of all wicked precursors in the perpetration of evil against God and Christ.[20]
Apostles Creed – “According to tradition—the source of authority for so many apostate doctrinal and historical conclusions for which there is neither evidence nor proof—this creed dates back to apostolic times.” (p. 45)
Note: The Apostles’ Creed is a formula of belief, in twelve articles, containing the fundamental doctrines of Christianity, whose authorship (in substance if not in words) tradition ascribes to the Apostles.
“I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord, who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried.He descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.” Amen.
“The Apostles’ Creed is so called because it is rightly considered to be a faithful summary of the apostles’ faith. It is the ancient baptismal symbol of the Church of Rome. Its great authority arises from this fact: it is “the Creed of the Roman Church, the See of Peter the first of the apostles, to which he brought the common faith”[21]
Apostasy – “To Adam the Lord gave the true gospel and the true government so that all matters pertaining to this mortal sphere could be governed and arranged in harmony with the order of heaven. Apostasy consists in the abandonment and forsaking of these true principles, and all those who do not believe and conform to them are in an apostate condition, whether they are the ones who departed from the truth or whether they inherited their false concepts from the apostate fathers.…This simple test of the authenticity of any church claiming to be the Lord’s may be made by finding answer to such questions as: Where is there a church that has (according to the New Testament pattern some combination of the names of Christ as its name? Where is there such a church claiming to have priesthood of both the Aaronic and Melchizedek orders? Where are there apostles, prophets, seventies, and all the officers put in the Church by our Lord? Where do we find all of the gospel ordinances, among others—baptism for the dead, the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and administering to the sick? (p. 41)
Note: Who decided that the “simple test” above should be the reference standard to determine the true church? Are we to accept this rule simply because McConkie says so?
“So there shall be one flock, one shepherd.” (John 10:16)
Today, there are Thousands of denominations or sects in a fractured Christianity. Ask them to solve the problem: ‘What does the Bible teach?’ Each will give you a different answer. But we know that only one can be the true Church; one truth, the rest are false.
You cannot have one-Fold and one-Shepherd, one-Faith and one Baptism, by allowing every person to distort and pervert the Scriptures to suit his or her own pet theories. This is tantamount to Bible sabotage.
Though Catholic doctrine has been subjected to the strictest sort of examination, thousands of times over, no one has ever proven that it is in any way contrary to sound reason or good morals. Catholicism is a full and complete system of religion. It is also a very beautiful, awe-inspiring religion. Each dogma is indissolubly interlinked with one another in such a way that one flows from one to the other; one calls for and presupposes another. Only a divine intellect could have possibly formulated such a religious system.
The Bible teaches that the true Church began with Christ and not with men — 15 to 19 centuries later. It also teaches that the visible Church of Christ has had, and will ever have, an uninterrupted existence. This Jesus Himself promised, ‘I am with you always, to the close of the age’” (Matthew 28:20).
The Council of Trent (1545-1563) taught there are four marks of the one true Church:
“The distinctive marks of the Church are also to be made known to the faithful, that thus they may be enabled to estimate the extent of the blessing conferred by God on those who have had the happiness to be born and educated within her pale.
“The first mark of the true Church is described in the Nicene Creed, and consists in unity: My dove is one, my beautiful one is one. So vast a multitude, scattered far and wide, is called one for the reasons mentioned by St. Paul in his Epistle to the Ephesians: One Lord, one faith, one baptism.
“The second mark of the Church is holiness, as we learn from these words of the Prince of the Apostles: You are a chosen generation, a holy nation. (Eph. 4:3-4)
“The Church is called holy because she is consecrated and dedicated to God; for so other things when set apart and dedicated to the worship of God were wont to be called holy, even though they were material. The Church is also to be called holy because she is united to her holy Head, as His body; that is, to Christ the Lord, (Eph. 4:15-16) the fountain of all holiness, from whom flow the graces of the Holy Spirit and the riches of the divine bounty.
“The third mark of the Church is that she is Catholic; that is, universal. And justly is she called Catholic, because, as St. Augustine says, she is diffused by the splendor of one faith from the rising to the setting sun. (S. Aug. Serm 240, 2. 4.) Unlike states of human institution, or the sects of heretics, she is not confined to any one country or class of men, but embraces within the amplitude of her love all mankind, whether barbarians or Scythians, slaves or freemen, male or female. Therefore it is written: Thou . . . hast redeemed us to God, in thy blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, and hast made us to our God a kingdom.(Rev 5:9-10) Speaking of the Church, David says: Ask of me and I will give thee the Gentiles for thy inheritance, and the utmost Parts of the earth for thy possession; (Psalm 2:8) and also, I will be mindful of Rahab and of Babylon knowing me; and man is born in her. (Psalm 86:4-5)
“The true Church is to be recognized from her origin, which can be traced back under the law of grace to the Apostles; for her doctrine is the truth not recently given, nor now first heard of, but delivered of old by the Apostles, and disseminated throughout the entire world. Hence no one can doubt that the impious opinions which heresy invents, opposed as they are to the doctrines taught by the Church from the days of the Apostles to the present time, are very different from the faith of the true Church.”
“That all, therefore, might know which was the Catholic Church, the Fathers, guided by the Spirit of God, added to the Creed the word Apostolic. For the Holy Spirit, who presides over the Church, governs her by no other ministers than those of Apostolic succession. This Spirit, first imparted to the Apostles, has by the infinite goodness of God always continued in the Church. And just as this one Church cannot err in faith or morals, since it is guided by the Holy Spirit; so, on the contrary, all other societies arrogating to themselves the name of church, must necessarily, because guided by the spirit of the devil, be sunk in the most pernicious errors, both doctrinal and moral.” [22]
In the strict sense, Apostasy is the total repudiation of the Christian faith”[23] Apostasy designates an abandoning of the faith on the part of a baptized member of the Catholic Church. This rejection can be made either by joining a non-Catholic religion, or by professing doctrines contrary to the teaching of the Church.
It is interesting to note that the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon apostatized and were eventually excommunicated from the church.
Martin Harris accused Joseph Smith of lying and licentiousness.
Oliver Cowdery accused Smith of adultery, lying and teaching false doctrine.
David Whitmer made this statement:
“If you believe my testimony to the Book of Mormon; if you believe that God spake to us three witnesses by his own voice, then I tell you that in June, 1838, God spake to me again by his own voice from the heavens, and told me to ‘separate myself from among the Latter-day Saints., for as they sought to do unto me, so should it be done to them.’ In the spring of 1838, the heads of the church and many of the members had gone deep into error and blindness.…About the same time that I came out, the Spirit of God moved upon quite a number of the brethren who came out, with their families, all of the eight witnesses who were then living (except the three Smiths) came out; Peter and Christian Whitmer were dead Oliver Cowdery came out also. Martin Harris was then in Ohio. The church went deeper and deeper into wickedness.”[24]
Articles of Faith – “Joseph Smith wrote 13 brief statements which have become known as the Articles of Faith, statements which summarize some of the basic doctrines of the Church. These Articles of Faith are scripture and are published as part of the Pearl of Great Price.
“For brevity, clearness, and forth-rightness of doctrinal presentation, they are unexcelled. When compared with the muddled creeds formulated by the supposedly greatest religious thinkers of apostate Christendom—creeds born amid the strife, bitterness, and debates of councils that struggled at length over every word and comma–the Articles of Faith, coming forth as the spontaneous and inspired writing of one man, are a marked evidence of the spirit of revelation that rested upon the Prophet.” (p. 51)
Note: Two years before he died, the Prophet Joseph Smith wrote of the Articles of Faith in a letter to a newspaper editor, John Wentworth, who had asked for information about the Church.
For background on the origin of the Articles, here is an excerpt from the semi-offical Encyclopedia of Mormonism, article “Articles of Faith” by David J. Whittaker:
In 1842, in response to a specific request from John Wentworth (editor of the Chicago Democrat), Joseph Smith sent a succinct overview of his own religious experiences and the History of the Church over which he presided…. At the end of the historical sketch, he appended a list summarizing the “faith of the Latter-day Saints.” Later titled “Articles of Faith,” these thirteen items were first published in the Nauvoo Times and Seasons in March 1842 and were later included in the 1851 British Mission pamphlet The Pearl of Great Price, compiled by Elder Franklin D. Richards. That pamphlet was revised in 1878 and again in 1880. In 1880, a general conference of the Church voted to add the Pearl of Great Price to the standard works of the Church, thus including the thirteen articles. The Articles of Faith do not constitute a summation of all LDS beliefs, and they are not a creed in the traditional Christian sense, but they do provide a useful authoritative summary of fundamental LDS scriptures and beliefs….[25]
There are significant differences between today’s 13 published Articles of Faith and the original 14 as set forth by Joseph Smith. (See Appendix Nine)
Athanasian Creed – “Of all the major creeds, the so-called Athanasian is by far the most senseless, unintelligent, and incomprehensible.” (p. 55)
Note: The Athanasian Creed is a profession of faith dating from the fourth century. Whether the Creed can be ascribed to Saint Athanasius (296-373 A.D.) or not, it undoubtedly owes its existence to his influences. Internal evidences seem to justify the conclusion that it grew out of several provincial synods, chiefly that of Alexandria, held about the year 361, and presided over by Saint Athanasius.
It differs from the other standard creeds in its extraordinary length and in embodying anathemas against those who would deny the doctrines it professes. Its opening word Quicumque is also the Latin title of the creed, whose first sentences declares, “If anyone wishes to be saved, before everything else he must hold to the Catholic faith.”
Baptism – “Baptism by immersion under the hands of a legal administrator, one empowered to bind on earth and seal in heaven, is the initiatory ordinance into the Church on earth and the celestial Kingdom in the world to come. It is of two kinds: 1. Baptism in water by the power of the Aaronic priesthood; and 2. Baptism by the Spirit by the power of the greater or Melchizedek priesthood.
“As with other doctrines and ordinances, apostate substitutes of the real thing are found are found both among pagans and supposed Christians.
“It goes without saying that the apostate perversions of sprinkling or pouring, where supposed baptisms are concerned are an abomination.” (pp. 67; 69)
Baptism is administered “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”[26]
Note: Infant baptism is condemned in Mormonism. “This wicked notion assumes that to be cleansed from this original sin they must be baptized. The road to hell, it is said, is paved with the skulls of infants not a span long because such were not baptized before death.”[27]
Moroni urged that “ye should labor diligently, that this gross error should be removed from among you.” “…wherefore, little children are whole, for they are not capable of committing sin; wherefore the curse of Adam is taken from them in me, that it hath no power over them” (Moroni 8:6, 8).
During the time of the Apostles, baptisms were conducted primarily by immersion. However, when there were large numbers or lack of water, pouring or sprinkling was the accepted practice.[28]
The necessity of baptism for salvation is supported by the words of Christ, “Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 2:5). St. Paul writes that we are saved “by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5) which is a direct reference to baptism.
From the time of Jesus, the entire Church unanimously and universally baptized infants. Were all these in error? “Yes,” say the anti-pædobaptists. It is obvious to anyone willing to examine the evidence that the anti-pædobaptists are reformers fighting against a reliable history of infant baptism.
Baptismal regeneration and infant baptism were taught by the Catholic Church since her inception by Christ. The first time in Christian history where we find a controversy concerning infant baptism is in the middle of the third century. The issue was when babies should be baptized, not should they be:
“As to what pertains to the case of infants: you said that they ought not to be baptized within the second or third day after their birth, and that the old law of circumcision must be taken into consideration, and that you did not think that one should be baptized and sanctified within the eighth day after his birth. In our council it seems to us far otherwise. No one agreed to the course which you thought should be taken. Rather, we all judged that the mercy and grace of God ought not to be denied to no man born.”[29]
While Mormons reject this practice, the supporting evidence is demanding.
Belief is not an absolute prerequisite to baptism in the case of children or mentally handicapped. Further, there is ample evidence in the writings of the Church fathers to attest to the practice of baptism for babies.
There are numerous references in the writings of the early Church Fathers which attest to the practice of infant baptism. A scant few are cited here:
“He came to save all through Himself, — all, I say, who through Him are reborn in God, — infants, and children, and youths and old men.”[30]
“Baptize first the Children; and if they can speak for themselves, let them do so. Otherwise, let their parents or other relatives speak for them.”[31]
“Baptism is given even to infants. And indeed, if there were nothing in infants which required a remission of sins and nothing in them pertinent to forgiveness, the grace of Baptism would seem superfluous.”[32]
Mormonism limits baptism, which is the seal of the Christian covenant, to believers only, citing Moroni 8:6-8. They say that a person must verbally confess and declare their faith before being baptized. Believers must declare their faith by a verbal declaration. In effect they actually say, we shall permit none to be baptized except those who believe and can speak about the matter. Babies cannot speak, they are infants – that is, infants, “non-speakers”.
For those who make infancy or non-speaking a disqualification for baptism is to show that God intends that these souls, whom his Son redeemed, are to be excluded from his covenant simply because they are infants. Where is this found in Scripture? If our Lord intended to exclude any class of person from his covenant, we would expect to find it clearly stated. In “The Great Commission” as recorded in Matthew 28:18-20, the command is general and unlimited.
The Baptismal ceremony of the Catholic Church and that of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints differ essentially, both for what concerns faith in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in whose name Baptism is conferred, and for what concerns the relationship to Christ who instituted it. As a result of all this, it is understood that the Catholic Church has to consider invalid, that is to say, cannot consider true Baptism, the rite given that name by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Holy See issued the following response concerning the question as to whether or not Mormon baptism is valid:
Response to A ‘Dubium’ on the validity of baptism conferred by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, called “Mormons”
Question: Whether the baptism conferred by the community “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints”, called “Mormons” in the vernacular, is valid.
Response: Negative.
The Supreme Pontiff John Paul II, in the Audience granted to the undersigned Cardinal Prefect, approved the present Response, decided in the Sessione Ordinaria of this Congregation, and ordered it published.
From the Offices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 5 June 2001. + Joseph Cardinal RATZINGER, Prefect
Baptism for the Dead – “Based upon the eternal principle of vicarious service, the Lord has ordained baptism for the dead as the means whereby all his worthy children of all ages can become heirs of salvation in his kingdom. Baptism is the gate to the celestial kingdom, and except a man be born again of water and the Spirit he cannot gain an inheritance in that heavenly world. (John 3:3-5) Obviously during the frequent periods of apostate darkness when the gospel light does not shine, and also in those geographical areas where legal administrators are not found, hosts of people live and die without ever entering at the gate of baptism so as to be on the path leading to eternal life. For them a just God has ordained baptism for the dead, a vicarious-proxy labor.” (D. & C. 124:28-36; 127, 128; 1 Cor. 15:29.) (p. 70)
Note: The LDS teach that the spirits of people who have died without the blessings of being a Mormon here on earth cannot enjoy the peculiar rewards of the LDS heaven until a Mormon here below is baptized by proxy for them. All non-Mormon baptisms are considered invalid.
“Mormons believe that everyone who lives and dies on this earth goes to a place called the Spirit Prison, with the exception of faithful Mormons, who go to Paradise. Mormon spirit missionaries go down from Paradise to the Spirit Prison and teach the Gospel of Joseph Smith to the lost Christians and others there. Those who accept Mormonism must remain in this prison until a worthy Mormon performs the essential ‘ordinance’ rituals for them. They are then released from Spirit Prison to join the Mormons in Paradise. These rituals or ordinances require a physical body to be washed, anointed, baptized, etc., so they can only be performed by a living person in the place and manner prescribed by Deity acting under universal cosmic laws.”[33]
LDS people could save themselves such bother if they would read carefully the entire 25th chapter of Saint Matthew’s gospel. In the last fifteen verses Jesus speaks about the last judgment. Jesus says there is simply no opportunity for salvation in the next world.
The Book of Mormon contradicts LDS teaching on baptism for the dead.
“For behold if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold ye have become subjected to the spirit of devil, and he does seal you his: therefore the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from you and hath no place in you; the power of the devil is over you and this is the final state of the wicked.” (Alma 34:35)
As referenced above, Mormonism claims for its foundation the expression of St. Paul found in 1 Corinthians 15:29-30:
“When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things under him, that God may be everything to every one. Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? Why am I in peril every hour? I protest, brethren, by my pride in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day!” (1 Corinthians 15:28-31)
Here we have an example of the use of the Christian Bible by the LDS of taking a phrase out of context and forcing a meaning into it that the entire context will not permit.
Admittedly, this passage continues to baffle some exegetes, since neither the form nor the meaning of this practice is familiar to Christians today. Most likely, living believers were receiving baptism for the sake of deceased persons, hoping its benefits would accrue to them in the afterlife.
Another possibility, suggested by the verses that follow (15:30-34), is that Paul is talking about people who endure baptism of suffering for the sake of others who are physically or spiritual dead (Mark 10:38; Luke 12:50). Either way, Paul reasons that such belief demonstrates Christian belief in a future resurrection.
No other passage in the Bible gives even an apparent approval of such a practice.
This passage, moreover, is relieved from most of its difficulties, and certainly from such a perversion, by the interpretation of Saint John Chrysostom, who as early as the mid-second century had to contend with the Marcionites, [34] a similar heresy that denied the resurrection of the dead. Bishop Marcion seceded from the Church in 144 A.D.
The Marcionites practiced the vicarious baptism of the living for the dead, which is described by Saint John Chrysostom as follows:
“What then is that which he means? Or will ye that I should first mention how they who are infected with the Marcionite heresy pervert this expression? And I know indeed that I shall excite much laughter; nevertheless, even on this account most of all I will mention it that you may the more completely avoid this disease: viz., when any Catechumen dies, they conceal the living person under the bed of the departed. Then they stand before the bed, and ask the dead person whether or not he is willing to be baptized? Instead of the dead, who is unable to answer, the person under the bed replies in the affirmative. Hereupon they baptize him instead of the deceased, and thus make quite a farce of the whole matter. Such power has Satan over the minds of foolish men.” [35]
Didymus the Blind[36] (c. 313-398), commented on this passage:
“The Marcionites baptize the living on behalf of dead unbelievers, not knowing that baptism saves only the person who receives it.”[37]
Another of the early Church fathers, Ambrosiaster[38], in his Commentary on Paul’s Epistles wrote:
“It seems that some people were at that time being baptized for the dead because they were afraid that someone who was not baptized would either not rise at all or else rise merely in order to be condemned.” [39]
Saint Paul never preached baptism for the dead as a doctrine of the Church.
Birth Control — In the beginning the Lord commanded man to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth with posterity, thus providing bodies for the hosts of pre-existent spirits. (Gen. 1:28.)
Marriage is ordained of God … that the earth might answer the end of its creation; And that it might be filled with the measure of man, according to his creation before the world was made.” (D. & C. 49: 15-17.)
It follows that those who practice birth control- the regulation of the number of births in a family by the employment of artificial means or contraceptives to prevent conception—are running counter to the foreordained plan of the Almighty. They are in rebellion against God and are guilty of gross wickedness. (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 2, pp. 85-89.)
President Brigham Young stated the position of the Church relative to birth control in these words: “There are multitudes of pure and holy spirits waiting to take tabernacles, now what is our duty? To prepare tabernacles for them; to take a course that will not tend to drive those spirits into the families of the wicked, where they will be trained in wickedness, debauchery, and every species of crime. It is the duty of every righteous man and woman to prepare tabernacles for all the spirits they can.” (Discourses, new ed., p. 197.) (p.81)
Note: Although Joseph Smith and Brigham young were adamantly against artificial birth control, present day Mormon thinking is that it may be permissible under certain circumstances.
“Church members are taught to study the question of family planning, including such important aspects as the physical and mental health of the mother and father and their capacity to provide the basic necessities of life. If, for personal reasons, a couple prayerfully decides that having another child immediately is unwise, birth control may be appropriate.”
The Catholic Church teaches that all marital relations must be open to procreation. “The Church, which is ‘on the side of life,’ teaches that ‘it is necessary that each and every marriage act remain ordered per se to the procreation of human life.”
Artificial contraception is forbidden in all instances:
“Periodic continence, that is, the methods of birth regulation based on self-observation and the use of infertile periods, is in conformity with the objective criteria of morality. These methods respect the bodies of the spouses, encourage tenderness between them, and favor the education of an authentic freedom. In contrast, “every action which, whether in anticipation of the conjugal act, or in its accomplishment, or in the development of its natural consequences, proposes, whether as an end or as a means to render procreation impossible is intrinsically evil.”
Blood Atonement Doctrine – “But under certain circumstances there are some serious sins for which the cleansing of Christ does not operate, and the law of God is that men must then have their own blood shed to atone for their sins. Murder, for instance, is one of these sins, hence, we find the Lord commanding capital punishment…Joseph Smith taught that there were certain sins so grievous that man may commit, that they will place the transgressors beyond the power of the atonement of Christ. If these offenses are committed, then the blood of Christ will not cleanse them from their sins even though they repent. Therefore their only hope is to have their own blood shed to atone, as far as possible, in their behalf.” (pp. 87-88)
Note: Atonement is “The satisfaction of a legitimate demand. In a more restricted sense it is the reparation of an offence. This occurs through a voluntary performance that outweighs the injustice done. If the performance fully counterbalances the gravity of the guilt, the atonement is adequate. And if the atonement is done by someone other than the actual offender, but in his stead, it is vicarious.
“Applied to Christ the Redeemer, through his suffering and death he rendered vicarious atonement to God for the sins of the whole human race. His atonement is fully adequate because it was performed by a divine person. In fact, it is superabundant because the positive value of Christ’s expiation is actually greater that the negative value of human sin.”[40] (emphasis mine)
The Blood Atonement doctrine was first promulgated by one of Brigham Young’s counselors and endorsed by him, amounting to human sacrifice for the remission of sins.
It was first announced by Jedediah M. Grant, Second Counselor to the President, in the following language:
“Brethren and sisters, we want you to repent and forsake your sins. And you who have committed sins that cannot be forgiven through baptism, let your blood be shed, and let the smoke ascend that the incense thereof may come up before God as an atonement for your sins, and that the sinners in Zion may be afraid.”
Again:
“We have been trying long enough with this people, and I go in for letting the sword of the Almighty be unsheathed, not only in word, but in deed.”
In accordance with such bloody teaching, it is said that an altar of sacrifice was actually built by Grant, in the temple block, upon which these human sacrifices were to be made.
On the 21st of September, 1856, Grant said:
“I say there are men and women here that I would advise to go to the President immediately, and ask him to appoint a committee to attend to their case; and then let a place be selected, and let that committee shed their blood.”[41]
This proposal to immolate upon the altar of sacrifice the erring saints was fully endorsed by Brigham Young as follows:
“There are sins that men commit for which they cannot receive forgiveness in this world, or in that which is to come; and if they had their eyes open to see their condition, they would he perfectly willing to have their blood spilt upon the ground, that the smoke thereof might ascend to Heaven as an offering for their sins, and the smoking incense would atone for their sins; whereas, if such is not the case, they will stick to them, and remain upon them in the spirit-world.
“I know, when you hear my brethren telling about cutting people off from the earth, that you consider it is strong doctrine. It is to save them, not to destroy them. I will say further, I have had men come to me, and offer their lives to atone for their sins. It is true that the blood of the Son of God was shed for sins, through the fall, and those committed by man, yet men can commit sins which it can never remit. As it was in ancient days, so it is in our day; and though the principles are taught publicly from this stand, still the people do not understand them; yet the Law is precisely the same. There are sins that can be atoned for by an offering upon the altar, as in ancient days, and there are sins that the blood of a lamb, of a calf, or of turtle-doves cannot remit, but they must be atoned for by the blood of the man. That is the reason why men talk to you as they do from this stand. They understand the doctrine, and throw out a few words about it.” [42]
Book of Mormon– “The holy document known as the Book of Mormon is a volume of sacred scripture which was known anciently and has been revealed anew in modern times. It contains the fullness of the everlasting gospel, and an abridged account of God’s dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the American continent from about 2247 B.C. to 421 A.D.”…”Almost all of the doctrines of the gospel are taught in the Book of Mormon with much greater clarity and perfection than those same doctrines are revealed in the Bible. Anyone who will place in parallel columns the teachings of these two great books on such subjects as the atonement, plan of salvation, gathering of Israel, baptism, gifts of the Spirit, miracles, revelation, faith, charity, (or any of a hundred other subjects), will find conclusive proof of the superiority of the Book of Mormon. (pp. 92-93)
Note: As published in its present form the Book of Mormon consists of 15 books: the First Book of Nephi, Second Nephi, the Book of Jacob, Book of Enos, Book of Jarom, Book of Omni, the Words of Mormon, the Book of Mosiah, Book of Alma, Book of Helaman, Third Nephi, Fourth Nephi, Book of Mormon, Book of Ether, and Book of Moroni. Each book is named after its principle author.
Orson Pratt (1811 – 1881), elder and member of the original Quorum of the LDS Church wrote: “The Book of Mormon claims to be a divinely inspired record, written by a succession of prophets who inhabited ancient America. It professes to be revealed to the present generation for the salvation of all who will receive it, and for the overthrow and damnation of all nations who reject it.
“This book must be either true or false. If true, it is one of the most important messages ever sent from God to man, affecting both the temporal and eternal interests of every people under heaven to the same extent and in the same degree that the message of Noah affected the inhabitants of the old world. If false, it is one of the most cunning, wicked, bold, deep-laid impositions ever palmed upon the world, calculated to deceive and ruin millions who will sincerely receive it as the word of God, and will suppose themselves securely built upon the rock of truth until they are plunged with their families into hopeless despair. The nature of the message in the Book of Mormon is such, that if true, no one can possibly be saved and reject it; if false, no one can possibly be saved and receive it. Therefore, every soul in all the world is equally interested in ascertaining its truth or falsity.”[43]
Every Book of Mormon provides the testimony of three men who claimed to have seen the gold plates. See Appendix Four – The Testimony of Three Witnesses for additional information about these “witnesses.”
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain wrote this acerbic, but apt, description of the Book of Mormon:
“All men have heard of the Mormon Bible, but few, except the elect have seen it or at least taken the trouble to read it. I brought away a copy from Salt Lake. The book is a curiosity to me. It is such a pretentious affair and yet so slow, so sleepy, such an insipid mess of inspiration. It is chloroform in print.
“If Joseph Smith composed this book, the act was a miracle. Keeping awake while he did it, was at any rate. If he, according to tradition, merely translated it from certain ancient and mysteriously engraved plates of copper, which he declares he found under a stone, in an out of the way locality, the work of translating it was equally a miracle for the same reason.
“The book seems to be merely a prosy detail of imaginary history with the Old Testament for a model followed by a tedious plagiarism of the New Testament. The author labored to give his words and phrases the quaint old-fashioned sound and structure of our King James translation of the scriptures. The result is a mongrel, half modern glibness and half ancient simplicity and gravity. The latter is awkward and constrained, the former natural, but grotesque by the contrast. Whenever he found his speech growing too modern, which was about every sentence or two, he ladled in a few such scriptural phrases as, “exceeding sore,” “and it came to pass,” etc. and made things satisfactory again. “And it came to pass,” was his pet. If he had left that out, his bible would have been only a pamphlet.[44]
“The Mormon Bible is rather stupid and tiresome to read. But there is nothing vicious in its teachings. Its code of morals is unobjectionable. It’s smooched from the New Testament and no credit given.”[45]
[1] McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, First ed., 1958.
[2] The following passages in the Book of Mormon refer to the “great and abominable church, the whore of all the earth”:1 Nephi 13:5-6; 13:8; 13:26; 13:28; 13:34; 14:3; 14:9-13; 14:15-17; 22:13-14; 2 Nephi 6:12; 10:16; 2 Nephi 28:18.
[4] Genesis 2:7.
[5] Pope Pius XII, Humani Generis, August 12, 1950, #36.
[6] Mormonism teaches that the Garden of Eden was located in Missouri (D. & C. 116). “One of the greatest spiritual gatherings of all the ages took place in the Valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman (the place or land where Adam dwelt), some 5,000 years ago, and another gathering–of even greater importance relative to this earth’s destiny—is soon to take place in that same location…At that great gathering Adam offered sacrifices on an altar built for that purpose. A remnant of that very altar remained on that spot down through the ages. On May 19, 1838, Joseph Smith and a number of his associates stood on the remainder of the pile of stones on which Adam offered sacrifice at a place called Spring Hill, Daviess County, Missouri. There the Prophet taught them that Adam again would visit in the Valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman, holding a great council as a prelude to the great and dreadful day of the Lord…At this council, all who have held keys of authority will give an accounting of their stewardship to Adam. Christ will then come, receive back to keys, and thus take one of the final steps preparatory to reigning personally upon the earth.” (Mormon Doctrine, p. 20-21)
[7] Journal of Discourses, Vol. 1, p. 50-51.
[8] Genesis 3:21-22.
[9] Joseph Fielding Smith, Jr. (1876 –1972) was the tenth president of the LDS Church from 1970 until his death in 1972. He was the son of Joseph F. Smith, who was the sixth president of the LDS Church, and grandson of Hyrum Smith, brother of LDS Church founder Joseph Smith.
[10] Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft), 1956, Vol. 1, p. 101.
[11] History of the Church, Vol. IV, pp. 585-8, for a complete report of the minutes of this conference.
[12] Brodie, No Man Knows my History, p. 308.
[13] Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza (born 25 January 1922) is an Italian population geneticist born in Genoa, who has been a professor at Stanford University since 1970 (now emeritus). He was the first to propose a coherent genetic history of the human species which proved instrumental in removing racism from scientific orthodoxy. (Wikipedia)
[14] DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, contains the biological instructions that make each species or person unique. DNA, along with the instructions it contains, is passed from adult organisms to their offspring during reproduction.
[15] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetics_and_the_Book_of_Mormon
[16] 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, 8-9.
[17] Daniel 7:24-26.
[18] Ibid., 11:20-21, 32, 36.
[19] Revelation 13:5-8.
[20] Father Vincent P. Miceli, S. J., The Antichrist, (Harrison, N.Y.: Roman Catholic Books), 1981, pp. 17-18.
[21] Catechism of the Catholic Church, § 194.
[22] Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part I: The Creed, Article IX , The Marks of the Church, (New York: Joseph F. Wagner, Inc. 1949, p. 102- 107.
[23] Catechism of the Catholic Church, §2089.
[24] An address to all believers in Christ, by David Whitmer, 1887, pp. 27-28.
[25] See also the History of the Church, Vol. 4, pp. 535-541.
[26] Doctrine and Covenants, 68:8.
[27] Mormon Doctrine, p. 347.
[28] Didache, The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, Ancient Christian Writers Series, edited by Johannes Quasten, (Westminster, MD: The Newman Press.) 1848, 7. p. 19.
[29] St. Cyprian of Carthage, Letter of Cyprian and his colleagues in Council to the Number of sixty-six: To Fidus. A.D. 251/252.
[30] St. Irenaeus [ca. A.D. 140 – ca. A.D. 202], Against Heresies, 2, 22, 4.
[31] St. Hippolytus of Rome [ca. A.D. 215], The Apostolic Tradition, 21.
[32] Origin, [ca. A.D. 244], Homilies on Leviticus. 8, 3.
[33] Chuck Sackett, What’s Going on in There? (Thousand Oaks, CA.: Sword of the Shepherd Ministries.) 1982, p.5.
[34] Marcionism was an early heresy led by Marcion, who proposed the first canon of Christian texts. The proposed canon consisted of the Gospel of Luke and several of Paul’s epistles; however, Marcion edited the writings by deleting any references that appeared to approve of the Old Testament and the creator God of the Jews. Marcionism thus rejected the Old Testament God, claiming that Jesus represented the true sovereign God who was different from the God of the Hebrew people.
[35] Homily, XL In 1 Cor..
[36] Didymus was an Alexandrian exegete who was much influenced by Origen and admired by Saint Jerome.
[37] Didymus the Blind: The Marcionite Practice. (NTA: Pauline Commentary from the Greek Church: Collected and Edited Catena Writings, 15:8).
[38] Ambrosiaster is the name given to the writer of a commentary on St Paul’s epistles, “brief in words but weighty in matter,” and valuable for the criticism of the Latin text of the New Testament. The commentary itself was written during the papacy of Pope Damasus I, that is, between 366 and 384, and is considered an important document of the Latin text of Paul before the Vulgate of Jerome, and of the interpretation of Paul prior to Augustine of Hippo.
[39] CEL: Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum. Vienna, 1866, 81.175.
[40] John A. Hardon, S.J., Modern Catholic Dictionary, (Bardstown, KY: Eternal Life), 1999, p.46.
[41] Deseret News, October 1, 1856.
[42] Sermon by Brigham Young published in the Mormon Church’s Deseret News, 1856)
[43] Introduction, Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon, 1850.
[44] Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad – Roughing It -A Personal Narrative, (The Library of America), Chapter XVI, 1984, p. 617.
[45] Ibid., p. 624.