Countercult ministries/Tower to Truth Ministries/50 Questions to Ask Mormons

Answers to 50 Anti-Mormon Questions

Anti-Mormon literature tends to recycle the same themes. Some ministries are using a series of fifty questions, which they believe will help "cultists" like the Mormons. One ministry seems to suggest that such questions are a good way to deceive Latter-day Saints, since the questions "give...them hope that you are genuinely interested in learning more about their religion."

This ministry tells its readers what their real intent should be with their Mormon friend: "to get them thinking about things they may have never thought about and researching into the false teachings of their church." Thus, the questions are not sincere attempts to understand what the Latter-day Saints believe, but are a smokescreen or diversionary tactic.^[1]

The questions are not difficult to answer, nor are they new. This page provides links to answers to the questions. It should be noted that the questions virtually all do at least one of the following:

1. misunderstand or misread LDS doctrine
2. give unofficial material the status of official belief
3. assume that Mormons must have inerrantist ideas about scripture or prophets like conservative evangelical Protestants do
4. apply a strict standard to LDS ideas, but use a double standard to avoid condemning the Bible or their own beliefs if the standard was applied fairly to both.

Questions About LDS Prophets

1. Why does the Mormon church still teach that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God after he made a false prophecy about a temple built in Missouri in his generation (DC 84꞉1-5

)

This was not a prophecy, but a command from God to build the temple.  There's a difference.  Jesus said people should repent; just because many didn't doesn't make Him a false messenger, simply a messenger that fallible people didn't heed.

Learn more here: [link]

I responded to this issue earlier by noting how we believe the Lord works with and through his prophets. The promise in D. & C. 84:1-5 is, as are all divine promises, conditioned on obedience. At times the Lord also gives instructions that he knows cannot be met, but does so to help his followers become more obedient and to test their faith. Two answers to this item are found in D. & C. 101:2 where the Lord informs the saints that they were driven out of Jackson County (and thus could not build a temple there) "in consequence of their transgressions." He also noted later that if the saints are not entirely righteous, and even if they might be, God will not at this time, as he didn't either with Moses and the children of Israel after their arrival the first time at the border of Israel, go in and destroy or pressure their enemies simply so that he can fulfill his promise (D. & C. 124:49)

2. Since the time when Brigham Young taught that both the moon and the sun were inhabited by people, has the Mormon church ever found scientific evidence of that to be true (JD 1870, 13-271)

This is a curious opinion by Brigham Young, and certainly not revelation or Church doctrine.

It is worth pointing out that in Brigham (and Joseph's) day, there had been newspaper articles reporting that a famous astronomer had reported that there were men on the moon and elsewhere. This was published in LDS areas; the retraction of this famous hoax never was publicized, and so they may not have even heard about it.

So, Brigham and others were probably just repeating what had been told them by the science of the day. (Lots of Biblical prophets talked about the earth being flat, the sky being a dome, etc.—does it make them false prophets because they believed things that others in their environment believed about the physical world?)

Since LDS doctrine taught that God had other creations and other spirit sons and daughters, the idea of inhabited worlds beyond earth would have seemed natural to Brigham and company.

Learn more:

http://en.fairmormon.org/Joseph_Smith_and_moonmen

I don't know what he meant. Was Brigham speaking in jest? Did the audience laugh? Did David Evans who recorded this talk get it right? It is a puzzlement, one of a number of personal opinions Brigham expressed that we don't understand.

3. Why did Brigham Young teach that Adam is "our Father and our God" when both the Bible and the Book of Mormon (Mormon 9:12) say that Adam is a creation of God? (JD 1852, 1-50)

The Adam-God statements, and there were several, are also puzzling. As I have thought about these statements I think, unlike the one above, I might know what Brigham may have meant. We teach that Adam was created by God as the first human on the earth. Thus Adam is the father of the human race, the first male child of God on this earth. As to his being our God and the only one with whom we have to do, one reasoning behind Brigham's statement may lie in the fact that Jesus Christ, the God and Savior of this world, is a good delegator. Perhaps he designated Adam, as the father of the human family, to carry out his instructions with respect to the prophets from the beginning. In that sense Adam is a sort of a god-figure for all other humans. Here is another issue I hope to ask Brigham about if I have the opportunity to talk with him once I have passed on.

The problem with "Adam-God" is that we don't understand what Brigham meant. All of his statements cannot be reconciled with each other. In any case, Latter-day Saints are not inerrantists—they believe prophets can have their own opinions. Only the united voice of the First Presidency and the Twelve can establish official LDS doctrine. That never happened with any variety of "Adam-God."

Learn more:

http://en.fairmormon.org/Adam-God

4. If Brigham Young was a true prophet, how come one of your later prophets overturned his declaration which stated that the black man could never hold the priesthood in the LDS Church until after the resurrection of all other races (JD 1854, 2:142-143)

Again we have an opinion expressed unofficially which turned out to be incorrect. It verifies our belief that a prophet is only a prophet when acting as such. Some personal opinion expressed by those called as prophets are not correct. When a revelation on this topic was given in 1978, one apostle then said that we should forget all earlier opinions expressed on this matter, that they were wrong, since they were replaced by clear revelation, distinctly superior to personal opinion.

I am happy, though, that the issue was finally resolved. It bothered me and a number of other good Church members. We are happy it is behind us. My own personal feeling, just another opinion, is that the priesthood was withheld because so many of the "white" Church members still harbored prejudices which made total acceptance difficult, and it took the civil rights movement to alter their attitudes enough to allow the change to be made.

There is a parallel in the New Testament, and that is the strong conviction early in Christianity held by Peter and other leaders that the Gospel should be taught only to the Jews, the one recognizable remnant at that time of the house of Israel. The Apostles then may have been confused about instructions about missionary work given in Matthew 10:6. It took a revelation to Peter for the Church to officially change its policy in this matter (Acts 10:9-16, 34-35).

A good point—and, many members of the Church continued to fight about this point and how to implement it—even Peter and Paul had disagreements. Yet, Bible-believing Christians, such as the Latter-day Saints, continue to consider both as prophets. Critics should be careful that they do not have a double standard, or they will condemn Bible prophets as well.

5. Since the Bible's test of determine whether someone is a true prophet of God is 100% accuracy in all his prophecies (Deuteronomy 18:20-22), has the LDS Church ever reconsidered its teaching that Joseph Smith and Brigham Young were true prophets?

See: http://en.fairmormon.org/Joseph_Smith_and_prophetic_test_in_Deuteronomy_18

Believing Christians should be careful. Unless they want to be guilty of a double standard, they will end up condemning many Biblical prophets by this standard.

Those who proposed this question may give the Bible too much credit. We mentioned the case of Moses in an earlier letter. Look at all the commandments given by prophets, revelations from the Lord that were rescinded. Just two might be illustrative, animal sacrifice and circumcision. It appears early Christian leaders prophesied that the Second Coming was just around the corner, which led many members to fail to teach their children properly. Then there is Peter telling Jesus that he should not suffer (Matthew 16:21-23). Certainly this comment by the chief apostle was not fulfilled.

What do we do then if prophets are allowed to express their opinions as we are, and that sometimes these opinions are not correct? We could insist that they not say anything unless they obtain an absolutely clear message that it is of God. If this were the case, most prophets would have said little and the Bible would be pamphlet-size.

We have a good method for determining whether statements by modern prophets are of God or simply personal opinions. That method is to ask God if what we have heard is true or not.

6. Since the current LDS prophets sometimes contradict the former ones, how do you decide which one is correct?

Most "contradictions" are actually misunderstandings or misrepresentations of LDS doctrine and teachings by critics.

The LDS standard for doctrine is the scriptures, and united statements of the First Presidency and the Twelve.

The Saints believe they must be led by revelation, adapted to the circumstances in which they now find themselves. Noah was told to build an ark, but not all people required that message. Moses told them to put the Passover lamb’s blood on their door; that was changed with the coming of Christ, etc.

Later prophets from the beginning have either added to or changed earlier prophetic pronouncements. God's will is usually, as Joseph Smith said "given unto my servants in their weakness, after the manner of their language, that they might come to understand." (D. & C. 1:24). The rule I have followed, and I believe it is a basic reason why continuous revelation is important, is that what the living prophet says as a prophet comes from God now and thus, if different from earlier instructions or guidance, supersedes what earlier prophets received.

Probably the most dramatic evidence in the Bible about inspired changes in doctrine comes from the many times Jesus said to the Jews at that time "you have heard that it was said by them of old time (meaning the prophets)…but I say unto you…" (e.g. Matthew 5:27-28). One reason Jesus was persecuted by the then Jewish leaders is because he updated, thus altered the teachings they had received from the Old Testament prophets (who of course received their truth from this same Jesus when he was known as Jehovah). Those who have an "every word in the Bible is true," view will, if they look carefully, have problems with the many insistencies between Old Testament and New Testament teachings and instructions.

7. Since there are several different contradictory accounts of Joseph Smith's first vision, how did the LDS Church choose the correct one?

The First Vision accounts are not contradictory. No early member of the Church claimed that Joseph changed his story, or contradicted himself. Critics of the Church have not been familiar with the data on this point.

Start here: http://en.fairmormon.org/Only_one_Deity_appears_in_the_1832_account

And then see here to answer virtually any question about the First Vision:

http://en.fairmormon.org/First_Vision_accounts

The shortest answer is that the Saints believe the First Vision not because of textual evidence, but because of personal revelation.

We have identified a least nine different accounts of Joseph Smith's First Vision, given to different people in response to different questions and circumstances. I am not sure but I believe that most of these were written down by others. When it came time after Joseph's death to select as official history the most complete and significant of the accounts, the Church settled on the 1838 version.

I had a remarkable spiritual experience almost 30 years ago. As I have told it to several people over the years I realize that with each telling aspects of it come to mind that I had not remembered to mention previously. I also probably left out parts that did not seem pertinent to the occasion I was in. Remember that for Joseph this was such an overwhelming experience that he may not have remembered all of the details in any one recitation. If fact, when I hear remarkable stories that appear to be told exactly the same way each time I begin to suspect that the story is made up.

8. Can you show me in the Bible the LDS teaching that we must all stand before Joseph Smith on the Day of Judgment?

This is a misunderstanding of LDS doctrine.

There is however the Biblical doctrine that the apostles will help judge Israel.

Ye [the apostles] are they which have continued with me in my temptations. And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

(Luke 22:28-30; see also Matthew 19:28.)

Since the saints believe in modern apostles, they believe that those modern apostles (including Joseph) will have a role in judgment appointed to them by Jesus.

Joseph's participation in the judgment (at the command and sufferance of Jesus) is no more or less than the role assigned to the Lord's apostles at the Last Supper.

No mortal's role in the judgment supercedes the role given to Jesus, as the Book of Mormon bears witness:

...the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it be by the gate; for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is his name.(2Ne. 9:41.)

Those who condemn Joseph on these grounds must also condemn Peter and the rest of the Twelve.

See here: http://en.fairmormon.org/Joseph_Smith's_status_in_LDS_belief

Foonotes

1. Template:Anti1 Tower to Truth Ministries, "50 Questions to Ask Mormons," towertotruth.net (accessed 15 November 2007).