Dr Paul Allen

Samuel Emadu “That’s the thickest book I’ve ever seen!” My friend and I were discussing the differences between Christianity and Mormonism. He’d just pulled the Mormon “Quad” out of his locker, and I was amazed at its heft. Roughly two and a half inches thick, this collection of Mormon scriptures includes the KJV Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. As we continued our conversation, one thing was clear: the Bible may have been bound alongside the other Mormon scriptures, but it didn’t carry the same authority. What Do Mormons Believe About the Bible? Article 8 of the Mormon Articles of Faith reads, “We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.” Mormonism doesn’t view the Bible and the Book of Mormon equally. The Bible’s status as God’s Word is relativized by the phrase “as far as it is translated correctly.” The Book of Mormon is the word of God;...

In the last few months, a number of Latter-day Saints have found out that thier church’s founder, Joseph Smith, was married to more than 30 women, meaning that Emma was not his one and only wife. Many who know about Smith’s philanderous ways may assume that these women must have been widows or “old maids” and their prophet was doing a favor to them by marrying them.  However, the idea that Joseph Smith somehow rescued his plural wives from being single is just not accurate. The fact of the matter is that Smith met the majority of his wives when they were just preteens or teenagers.  In fact, about a quarter of Smith’s eventual wives (nine of them) were 12 or younger when Smith met them, even as young as 5 (Sarah Ann Whitney) or 6 (Nancy Winchester). Over the years, Smith nurtured these relationships until he married them, with the vast majority of these marriages taking place between 1841 to 1843. At least a quarter of his wives were no older than teenagers when Smith (who...

Does the Book of Mormon teach a Trinitarian concept of God? Some have assumed so because certain verses taken separately do seem to use Trinitarian language. However, taken as a whole, the Book of Mormon lends itself more to a modalistic understanding of God rather than Trinitarian. Modalism is an old heresy that attempts to defend monotheism, but does so at the expense of “confounding the persons” within the godhead. Modalists claim that God manifests himself in different  modes . For example, God is revealed as Father in creation, Son in redemption, and Holy Spirit as the giver of grace. Christianity affirms that there is one true and living God while also affirming that this one God exists eternally in three  Persons  — the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father is not the Son. The Son is not the Holy Spirit, nor is the Holy Spirit the same person as the Father. All possess the same divine nature but they do not represent three separate Gods. There is no e...

Smith's later false theology described Jesus and God the Father as two distinct physical beings. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Beloved, 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. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.” 1 JOHN 4:1–3 God’s children are able to discern false doctrine. A sure mark of every false religious system is doctrinal error, particularly about the Person and work of Jesus Christ. Those systems deny that He is Savior and Lord, God in human flesh, the only way to the Father ( John 14:6 ) because salvation comes only through Him (Acts 4:12). A sure mark, then, of all true children of God is that they ...

English: Temple garments, underwear worn by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS; Mormons). (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Baptists , Mormons , and Jehovah’s Witnesses . All three claim to believe in Jesus. Yet, only one of these groups can be rightly classified as a denomination rather than a false religion. With that in mind, the question we are asking today might be stated as follows: What are the marks of cult groups and apostate forms of Christianity that identify them as false religions—such that we can and should label them as heresies, rather than simply classifying them as different denominations? The New Testament articulates three fundamental doctrinal criteria by which false teachers (and false religions) can be identified: 1. A Wrong View of Salvation False religions (whether they claim to be Christian or not) attempt to add good works to the gospel of grace (cf. Rom. 11:6). Rather than trusting in Christ alone for salvation, they seek t...

English: Painting by an unknown painter, circa 1842. The original is owned by the Community of Christ archives. It is on display at the Community of Christ headquarters in Independence Missouri, where its provenance is explained. The painting was originally in the possession of Joseph Smith III (died 1914), who is recorded as commenting on the painting. The c. 1842 date is given by the Community of Christ, the painting's owner. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Mormons are the only true Christians . At least, that’s the official position of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . Shortly after Jesus’ original disciples had passed from the earth, the Christian church lost the Gospel . According to the Mormon scriptures , God restored the true Gospel to the earth through the prophet Joseph Smith , and he established the LDS church ( Pearl of Great Price , Joseph Smith—History , 1:1-75), “the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth” ( Doctrine & Coven...