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 MORMON FALSEHOODS EXPLAINED

CATHERINA - I was just wondering who is the creator of our god Heavenly Father?

JOEL - There really is no official church doctrine that has been revealed to us by God about this. Church leaders have speculated that our Heavenly Father was created in the same way that Jesus and the rest of us were created. That He had a Heavenly Father (who also had a Heavenly Father, etc.) who created His spirit, and that He received a body and once lived on a planet like we do now, and died and was resurrected like Jesus was, and then became the God of this universe.
Our Prophet Joseph Smith once said:

"God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted Man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens." (Journal of Discourses Vol. 6, p. 3)

 KENDRA - I had heard or read that the Mormons believe women will be eternally pregnant and give birth to spirits in the afterlife. Is this true?

JOEL - When you put it like that I think my wife would rather go to Hell :-)
Our Doctrine and Covenants states:

"In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees; and in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood [meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage]; And if he does not, he cannot obtain it. He may enter into the other, but that is the end of his kingdom; he cannot have an increase" (D&C 131:1-4).

One aspect of this "increase" includes the ability to create spirit children after a husband and wife have successfully entered into the Celestial kingdom in the next life. These spirit children will eventually obtain bodies of flesh and bone and live on an earth as we do now.
The prophet Joseph Smith said:

"Except a man and his wife enter into an everlasting covenant and be married for eternity, while in this probation, by the power and authority of the Holy Priesthood, they will cease to increase when they die; that is, they will not have any children after the resurrection. But those who are married by the power and authority of the priesthood in this life, and continue without committing the sin against the Holy Ghost, will continue to increase and have children in the celestial glory" (TPJS, pp. 300-301).

JEREMY - What if you are confused about any religion and don't choose any religion, if you die is it still possible to go to the celestial kingdom of god.

DAVID - Were Jesus and Satan brothers?

JOEL - Many critics of the LDS Church love to use this one for great shock value as they try to prove how non-Christian the LDS Church is to their fellow non-LDS Christians:

John: "Did you know those Mormons believe that Jesus is the brother of Satan?!?"
Bill: "OOOOOH! Wow! No I didn't know that!"

In order to understand where this idea came from in the first place, you need to first understand the LDS concept known as the pre-existence. The spirits of everyone who have lived, are living, or who will live on this earth originate from a sphere of existence known as the premortal life. All spirits, including Satan's, were born of our Heavenly Father and Mother before this world and universe were organized. We existed with them, waiting for the time when we could come down to earth and gain a body for our spirits and continue on our path towards eternal life.
The name Lucifer means "light bearer" in Latin and is a translation of the Hebrew Heylel ben Shakhar, which means "herald son of dawn" or "morning star." He was also called "son of the morning" by Isaiah(Isa. 14:12). All these titles imply that he must have originally been someone of importance in God's eyes. But Satan and his fellow spirits, who were also born spiritually of our heavenly parents, rebelled against God and were cast down to earth, never to receive a body.
The prophet Isaiah (Isa. 14:12-15) and John the Revelator (Rev. 12:4-9) both referred to this "war in heaven", as we call it; and Jesus himself spoke of having "beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven" (Luke 10:17-18).
There are those of other Christian faiths who also accept this concept. Consider what Catholic scholar Giovanni Papini says as he quotes and comments on the writings of the early Christian Lactantius (26-340 AD):

"Before creating the world, God produced a spirit like Himself, replete with the virtues of the Father. Later he made another, in whom the mark of divine origin was erased, because this one was besmirched by the poison of jealousy and turned therefore from good to evil.... He was jealous of his older Brother who, remaining united with his Father, insured his affection unto himself. This being who from god became bad is called Devil by the Greeks."
[Papini comments:] According to Lactantius, Lucifer would have been nothing less than the brother of the Logos.... The elder spirit, filled with every divine virtue and beloved by God above all other spirits, can easily be recognized as Word, that think that the other Spirit, also endowed with every grace, was the second son of the Father: the future Satan would be, no less, the younger brother of the future Christ. (The Devil [NY:E.P. Dutton & Co., 1954], 81-82; original Lactantius, Divine Institutes II)"

KELLY - Do Mormons believe that Catholics are going to hell?

JOEL - It depends on which type of hell you are talking about. The Catholics and most other religions believe there are only two places you go after you die; Heaven or Hell. The LDS believe there are three main levels of heaven, two of which are where most all the inhabitants of the world will end up after the resurrection and Judgment, no matter what their religion.

The LDS also believe there are three types of hell:
(1) that condition of misery which may attend a person in mortality due to disobedience to divine law;
Everyone on this earth, including Catholics and Mormons, might experience this type of hell sometime in their life.

(2) the miserable, but temporary, state of disobedient spirits in the spirit world awaiting the resurrection;
This is the place where spirits of all people go after they die, who did not embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ while here on earth. The greater percentage of everyone living on this earth, including Catholics and a lot of Mormons, will go to this sphere of existence we also call hell, or spirit prison. It is a temporary state, however, and a place where all will have the opportunity to hear and accept the gospel of Jesus Christ, who did not get the chance while on earth, and have the opportunity to still be saved into a kingdom of God in Heaven after the resurrection.

(3) the permanent habitation of the sons of perdition, who suffer the second spiritual death and remain in hell even after the resurrection;
This hell is the realm of the devil and his angels, including those known as sons of perdition (2 Pet. 2:4; D&C 29:38; 88:113; Rev. 20:14). It is a place for those who cannot be cleansed by the Atonement because they committed the unforgivable and unpardonable sin. Only this hell continues to operate after the Resurrection and Judgment. According to Joseph Smith the only people living on this earth who will end up in this hell are those who have "received the Holy Ghost, have the heavens opened unto him, and know God, and then sin against him. After a man has sinned against the Holy Ghost, there is no repentance for him. He has got to say that the sun does not shine while he sees it; he has got to deny Jesus Christ when the heavens have been opened unto him, and to deny the plan of salvation with his eyes open to the truth of it;"
There are very few on this earth who would qualify to end up in this hell, except perhaps for a few Mormons who denied their testimony and turned against the church and God.

LAURA - If it is possible for a man to become a God, and God himself was born of Adam and Eve, why has there been no other recognized God since?

JOEL - In this universe and at this time there is no other God than the one we worship now. As far as we are concerned there is only one godhead(God the Father, Jesus Christ, Holy Ghost). Our scriptures and revelations we receive through our prophets are from the God of this universe and pertain only to us in this universe at this time. However, according to LDS doctrine, those of us who follow God's plan of salvation and are successful at reaching the Celestial Kingdom(after we die and are resurrected), will have the opportunity to become Gods also; but we will be Gods of other universes and at another time in the eternal future. None of this can happen though until Christ comes again and begins the resurrection. Our bodies must first reunite with our spirits before we can enter the Celestial kingdom or whatever kingdom God decides to send us to. These and many other things must happen before anyone else from this universe can become a god. No other God has been recognized because there is only one God that we are concerned with as far as our own salvation and eternal life is concerned. People of other universes and at other times have their own God who they worship.

LAURA - Why are temple practices/ordinances so secretive. Not allowed to be discussed with new members or prospective members of LDS church?

The reasons why the temple ordinances are kept out of the public's knowledge has to do with the sacred nature of the temple itself and the things that are learned within. The Temple is literally the House of the Lord; a place where God Himself can come and reside if He so chooses. Because of this only those who are righteous and worthy followers of Jesus Christ, who have lived His teachings and kept the commandments, may enter and participate in the ordinances. Those who are new to the church need time to learn all they can about the gospel and prepare themselves spiritually so that they will be able to understand what they learn in the temple and so they will be able to keep the promises they make with God, that are an important part of the ordinances. The church even has temple preparation classes that help new members learn what they need to know and do before they can participate in the Temple. Normally a member will not be considered ready for the temple until at least a year after baptism.
This restriction of temple admittance and discussion of the ordinances is consistent with ancient practice when, for example, only specifically qualified persons were admitted into the holiest precincts of the Tabernacle. For admittance into the temple LDS Members must meet with their Bishops and obtain "temple recommends" by correctly answering a number of questions that determine their status with God and His gospel. The function of local Church leaders in issuing temple recommends to church members is not only to establish the individual's worthiness and preparation but also to assure the sanctity of the temple.

"If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy,"(1 Corinthians 3:17)

THOMAS - Lucifer and 1/3 of the hosts of heaven were thrust down to this earth. We whom dwell on this earth have to be tempted by them. Are the other worlds of God also being tempted by this Lucifer or some other Lucifer. And if they are not, why are we so fortunate to have an evil spirit and his minions to plague us. And is this fair?

JOEL - Many of these details you ask for have not really been made known to us yet as far as I know, but I will offer my opinion based on what is available in scripture and latter-day revelation.

Joseph Smith received revelations explaining that through Jesus Christ, many worlds are created and inhabited (D&C 76:22-24; 93:9-10; Moses 1:33). Everyone who was going to inhabit those worlds, including our earth, were present in the pre-existence along with Lucifer and his 1/3 of the host.
Two thirds of us all agreed to follow Christ's plan of salvation. Therefore all of us who inhabit all the worlds must have the same opportunities to accept or reject the Gospel of Christ.
God is no respecter of persons. Therefore, it makes sense that when Satan and his followers were cast out of Heaven they were sent down to all the populated worlds that exist in the entire universe, not just to our earth. There was only one Lucifer for this universe but his invisible kingdom and influence to tempt us encompasses all of God's creations(If you have been to the temple, think about what Satan said to Peter, James and John when they asked him what he was doing there on earth). If this were not the case, those of the other worlds would not have the same opportunity to overcome temptations and prove themselves like we do on our earth.
Our earth is somewhat "special" considering the fact that the reason why Jesus came to this planet is because it was the most wicked of all of His creations(Moses 7:36). He knew that the inhabitants would be wicked enough to crucify Him, so that He could bring forth the atonement and thus continue the plan of salvation for everyone in the universe.

It is a little difficult to understand through our scriptures what is happening to other people on other worlds. Our scriptures are meant for us, living on this planet at this time. Because of this it sometimes seems like they are talking to us as if we are the only ones that exist in the universe. For example the scripture in Revelation states:

"And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, . was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." (Rev. 12:7-9.)

LISA - My husband heard brothers from our Ward say that in the last days, the Temple built in Jerusalem will be built by the Jews (not LDS Temple); built like in the ancient times, with burnt sacrifices etc. Jesus will appear in that Temple and prove them that he is the Savior of the World and show his wounds and tell them that they denied him when he came among them as Jesus. I see nowhere in the scriptures that it will be the Jew's temple built or that Jesus would appear to them in their temple. Could you please clarify this to me.

JOEL - Joseph Smith said:

"Judah must return, Jerusalem must be rebuilt, and the temple, ..... It will take some time to rebuild the walls of the city and the temple, etc., and all this must be done before the Son of Man will make His appearance." (TPJS, p. 286, Documentary History of the Church, vol. 5, p. 337.) (Zech. 2:12; 12:6; Ether 13:5, 11; 3 Ne. 20:29-36; D&C 77:15)

The keys to gather "Israel from the four parts of the earth" were bestowed upon Joseph Smith by Moses during his appearance in the Kirtland Temple on April 3, 1836.
In 1840-1841, Orson Hyde, an apostle, was commissioned by the Prophet to go to Jerusalem and dedicate the land. His prayer petitioned for the gathering home of the exiles, the fruitfulness of the earth, the establishing of an independent government, the rebuilding of Jerusalem, and "rearing a Temple in honor of thy name".
When Elder Hyde offered that dedicatory prayer, there were fewer than 5,000 Jewish people in the entire land of Palestine. Today there are over 2,250,000, and they have literally come from the four corners of the earth-from over 100 separate nations-and this in fulfillment of the prophecies.

But before the temple is built, the Jewish people will begin to believe in Jesus Christ and eventually the gospel will be preached to them:

"And I will remember the covenant which I have made with my people; and I have covenanted with them that I would gather them together in mine own due time, that I would give unto them again the land of their fathers for their inheritance, which is the land of Jerusalem, which is the promised land unto them forever, saith the Father. And it shall come to pass that the time cometh, when the fullness of my gospel shall be preached unto them; And they shall believe in me, that I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and shall pray unto the Father in my name." (3 Nephi 20:29-31)

Wilford Woodruff said in 1855: "When the Gentiles reject the Gospel it will be taken from them, and go to the House of Israel, to that long-suffering people that are now scattered abroad through all the nations upon the earth, and they will rebuild Jerusalem their ancient city, and make it more glorious than at the beginning, and they will have a leader in Israel with them, a man that is full of the power of God and the gift of the Holy Ghost; but they are held now from this work, only because the fullness of the Gentiles has not yet come in." (Journal of Discourses, vol. 2, p. 200.)

President Woodruff also identified who will build the temple when he said:
". the time is not far distant when the rich men among the Jews may be called upon to use their abundant wealth to gather the dispersed of Judah, and purchase the ancient dwelling places of their fathers in and about Jerusalem, and rebuild the holy city and temple." (Millennial Star, vol. 41, p. 244.)

Orson Pratt said:
"The Temple at Jerusalem will undoubtedly be built, by those who believe in the true Messiah. Its construction will be, in some respects different from the Temples now being built. It will contain the throne of the Lord, upon which he will, at times, personally sit, and will reign over the house of Israel for ever." (JD, vol. 19, p. 20. Italics added.)

Considering all scriptures and statements it appears that after the Gospel has been preached to the Jews they will rebuild the temple and will expect their "true Messiah" to come to them. When He does come He will reveal to them that He is the same one called Jesus Christ whom they did not recognize as the Messiah when He first came:

". they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him. " (Zech. 12:10.)

What are your thoughts on this article?