LDS Doctrine Q&A

The following is an interestesting post with my responses on supposed inconsistencies in LDS Doctrine which uses a similar tactic that atheists use against Evangelicals using the Bible.

Is God An Exalted Man?
NO! "Believest thou that this Great Spirit, who is God, created all things." Alma 18:28. BOM
YES! "The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's, the Son also..." D&C 130:22
NO! "God is a Spirit.", John 4:24 ; God is not a man.", Num. 23:19 God has an eternal Spriit and an eternal glorified body.

[Ammon was building on common beliefs. It was the Lamanites who thought of God as a The Great Spirit.]

Are The Father, Son And The Holy Ghost One God?
YES! "Which Father, Son and Holy Ghost are one God, infinite and eternal."D&C 20:28
NO! ..."Father, Son, and Holy Ghost comprise the Godhead. As each of these persons is a God...a plurality of Gods exists." M.D. , pps. 576,577.
YES! "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one." 1 John 5:7

[LDS Godhead = 3 Persons, 3 Beings, 1 God
Evangelical Trinity = 3 Persons, 1 Being, 1 God

LDS explain how 3 beings can be 1 God because they are 1 in purpose. Evangelicals have difficulty explaining how 3 Persons can be 1 God other than saying its a mystery.]

Is God Eternal?
YES! "For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity." Moroni 8:18 BoM
NO! "We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea.." M. D. p.321
YES! "The eternal God is thy refuge." Deut. 33:27

[Yes, God is self-existing and never had a beginning. God is a dynamic being always increasing in glory. God is not increasing in power or knowledge but increases in glory through the progression of His creations. The progression of His children adds to His glory but God remains all-powerful and all-knowing.]

Does God Change?
NO! "There is a God in heaven, who is infinite and eternal, from everlasting to everlasting, the same unchangeable God." D&C 20:17
YES! "We believe in a God who is Himself progressive,...whose perfection consists in eternal advancement.." Articles of Faith, p.430
NO! "For I am the LORD, I change not." Mal. 3:6
NO! "God is Spirit.", John 4:24 ; God is not a man.", Num. 23:19

[God is not static but unchanging in that God is always dynamically increasing in glory.]

Is There A Plurality Of Gods?
NO! "The Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost are one,""..and whoso shall declare more or less that this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil." 3 Nephi 11:27,40 BOM
YES! "These three are the only Gods we worship. But in addition there is an infinite number of holy personages, drawn from worlds without number, who...are gods."M.D. p.576,77
NO! "I am He. Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me." Isaiah 43:10

[There is only 1 God. There will only ever be 1 God. The 1 True God will always be the only 1 True God over us and we under Him. There may be other beings called gods, but they are not worthy of worship. ]

Can Men Be Gods?
NO! "Now Zeezrom said: Is there more than one God? And he answered, No." Alma 11:28,29 BOM
YES! "Then shall they (those resurrected) be gods, because they have no end." D&C 132:20
NO! "Thus saith the Lord...besides me there is no God." Isa.44:6

[The children of God will be called the sons of God, heirs of God, and be worthy to be called gods. Heirs of exaltation and eternal life will be blessed by God to participate in Gods work of creation. Heirs of eternal life and exaltation on God's right hand will be the managers as opposed to angels on God's left hand who will be the doers. (see Heb 1:1-14)]

Did God Create Man?
YES! "And I, God, created man in mine own image." Moses 2:27 P.G.P.)
NO! "Man was also in the beginning with God"..."For man is spirit." D&C 93:29,33
YES! "And the LORD God formed man..." Genesis 2:7

[God formed man's spirit and brought it into being (not brought into existence) as a spirit child of our Heavenly Father. But that spirit although formed and brought into being is self-existent and co-eternal with the Father and the Son.]

Can God Be Seen?
NO! "For without this (the authority of the Priesthood) no man can see the face of God, even the Father and live. D&C 84:22 (J.Smith did not have Priesthood when he claimed to see God.)
YES! "And he (Moses) saw God face to face, and he talked with him...Moses could endure his presence." Moses 1:2, P.G.P.
NO! "No man hath seen God at any time...the only begotten Son...hath declared him." John 1:18

[Yes, but only through spiritual eyes and after being transfigured or changed by the power of the Holy Ghost and through the mercy of the atonement of Jesus Christ.]

Is Jesus The One True God?
YES! "Blessed be the name of the Most High God. And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus and did worship him. 3 Nephi 11:17 BOM
NO! "Jesus Christ a separate and distinct personage...three distinct personages and three gods." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith by J.F. Smith, page 370)
YES! "Now unto the King Eternal, immortal, invisible, the ONLY wise God..." (Speaking of Jesus Christ) 1 Timothy 1:17

[LDS Godhead = 3 Persons, 3 Beings, 1 God
Evangelical Trinity = 3 Persons, 1 Being, 1 God

LDS explain how 3 beings can be 1 God because they are 1 in purpose. Evangelicals have difficulty explaining how 3 Persons can be 1 God other than saying its a mystery.]

Is Jesus Christ Eternal?
YES! "..from all eternity to all eternity, the Great I AM, even Jesus Christ." D&C 39:1
NO! "Christ, the Firstborn, was the mightiest of all the spirit children of the Father." M.D. p.590 YES! "whose goings forth have been...from everlasting." Micah 5:2

[Jesus is self-existent, Jesus Christ is Jehovah of the Old Testament. Jesus Christ is 1 God with the Father and the Holy Ghost. Jesus is the I AM THAT I AM or the "self-existent of self-existent."]

Was Jesus Born Of A Virgin?
YES! "And behold, he shall be born of Mary at Jerusalem (!)...she being a virgin." Alma 7:10 BOM
NO! "Christ was begotten by an Immortal Father in the same way that mortal men are begotten by mortal fathers." M.D.p.547
YES! "When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child." Matthew 1:18

[Yes, "Mormon Doctrine" is not mormon doctrine. Jesus Christ was begotten by our Heavenly Father but there is no mention of mechanism. There are lots of ways humans can achieve conception without sex, I am sure God knows a few other ways too.]

Is Jesus The Way To Salvation?
YES! "Behold, Jesus Christ is the name...there is none other name whereby man can be saved." D&C 18:23
NO! "the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holds the keys of salvation for all men now living..." M.D. p.411
YES! "...one mediator between God and men, the man, Jesus Christ." 1 Timothy 2:5

[Jesus Christ gave the keys and ordinances for baptism and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. So, by receiving these ordinances which are Christ-given, we show we accept Christ.]

Does Christ's Blood Cleanse Us From All Sin?
YES! "..salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent." Mosiah 3:18 BOM
NO! "..for the blood of Christ alone under certain circumstances will not avail." (for atonement of sins) M.D. p.93
YES! "...and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from ALL sin." 1 John 1:7

[The blood of Christ will not cover those who refuse to repent and reject Christ by their works.

Titus 1: 16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.]

Is Salvation By Grace, Not Works?
YES! "And we know that justification through the grace of our Lord and Saviour, is just and true." D&C 20:30
NO! "That by keeping the commandments they might be washed and cleansed from all their sins..." D&C 76:52
YES! "For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God; Not of works..." Eph. 2:8,9

[Both, Grace without works is dead just as works without faith is dead. But even the works are done by the power of Christ in us and are a manifestation of Christ's grace over us and our saved state. If we are not improving, repenting, and doing good works daily maybe we are not saved. Christ's atonement is both grace and transformative power, that will empower us to reject sin, and purify us like silver and sanctify us. The atonement is both justification and sanctification.]

Is There Salvation After Death?
NO! "For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death...the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked." Alma 34:35 BOM
YES! "..in relation to the dead...For their salvation is necessary and essential to our salvation...that they without us cannot be made perfect." D&C 128:15
NO! "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement." Hebrews 9:27

[There are no second chances. But everyone will get a fair first chance.

D&C 137: 7-8 Thus came the voice of the Lord unto me, saying: All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God; ]

IS Hell Everlasting Destruction?
YES! "yea, they were encircled about by the bands of death, and the chains of hell, and an everlasting destruction did await them." Alma 5:7 BOM
NO! "Whosoever, therefore receives God's punishment receives eternal punishment, whether it is endured one hour, one day, one week, one year or an age." Plan of Salvation p.30 (Pamphlet Distributed by Elders)
YES! "And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever; and they have no rest day or night. Revelation 14:11"

[Those that go to hell and endure eternal punishment with Satan until the second resurrection when the unjust will also be resurrected and stand before God to be judged. They will have paid for their own sins in hell to that point. But, if they accept that it was Christ who saved them then they will receive a degree of salvation but will suffer eternal loss and regret and separation from the Father in a lower degree of glory or having received a lower reward because they were not valiant. Salvation without Exaltation is still Damnation.

Acts 24: 15 And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.

1 Cor. 3: 15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Rev. 20: 5-6 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Heb. 11: 35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:

1 Pet. 3: 19 By which also he (Christ) went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

Rom. 10: 9-10 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.]