It is for this last reason that I care about this. Yes, we do believe some crazy things. But at least think we are crazy for the things we actually believe in. And at least recognize that we see Jesus Christ as our Savior and Redeemer.
Recently, thanks to video-sharing websites like YouTube, this video is more available to the public than it otherwise would be, especially the cartoon segment purporting to portray our beliefs. The Fair Mormon wiki does not yet have an in-depth Analysis of this, so I decided to create my own. As best I can, I will give a line-by-line analysis of the claims made, and as I go, I'll try to describe what we really believe. I also made a post covering the same topics but only telling what we believe instead of the analysis in case that is more what you are looking for.
Mormonism teaches that trillions of planets scattered throughout theScience tells us that it isn't implausible for there to be trillions of inhabited planets throughout the universe. Mormons do believe that God is not just the God of only one planet, but we only teach about what happens on this earth. (Moses 1:33-35) In the same vein, we believe that there may be other gods out there, but we only care about our God. (1 Corinthians 8:5-6)
cosmos are ruled by countless gods who once were human like us.
The film is trying to immediately implant in the viewers mind the idea that we are polytheistic, which is not the case. While typical members will say we are monotheistic, we are somewhat closer to Monolatry. We worship only one God, while we acknowledge that other gods may exist.
They say, that long ago, on one of these planets, to an unidentified god and one of his goddess wives, a spirit child named Elohim was conceived. This spirit child was later born to human parents who gave him a physical body. Through obedience to Mormon teaching, and death and resurrection, he proved himself worthy and was elevated to godhood as his father before him.We don't really emphasize, or teach anything at all about God before He became our Heavenly Father. This is an idea that comes from a sermon by Joseph Smith called the King Follett sermon. This is not in our cannon, but is generally believed by the church. A later prophet condensed this belief into a couplet: "As man is now, God once was; as God is now man may be." It is the second half of this statement that is emphasized and taught in the church, not so much the first. Just as a mortal child grows up to be like their mortal parents, we believe that we are spirit children of our Heavenly Parents, and we have that potential that we can grow up to be like them. (Romans 8:17)
The reason this belief is brought up is to convince the viewer that we are blasphemous or that we don't really think God is divine. In no way does God passing through mortality diminish his divinity. In no way does our progression diminish God's role in our lives. Just as my mortal father will still be my father when I have children, Heavenly Father will always be my God no matter what happens. I think when people hear that Mormons can become gods, they think we replace Him. This is not true, He will always be our God.
It is interesting to note here that these evangelical critics seem to be ignoring that Jesus Christ was also born into mortality, received a physical body, died and was resurrected. But they are focused on making us sound crazy without applying the same standards to themselves. In the King Follett sermon, Joseph Smith taught along the lines of what is given in John 5:19, that Jesus only does what He sees the Father do. Again, anything about God before He became our Heavenly Father is pure speculation. But it may be that Heavenly Father lived a perfect life, like Jesus did.
Also in that paragraph, I think Elohim is more of a title than an actual name. But since there are three Gods (Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost), we sometimes use Elohim to refer to Heavenly Father (and Jehovah to refer to Jesus Christ). In normal conversation, we are much more likely to use the terms "Heavenly Father" or "God" rather than Elohim.
This is going to be a recurring theme, but one of the main tenants of many protestant religions is that we are saved only by Grace. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we also believe we are saved by the Grace of Jesus Christ. But we believe that we must be obedient to Him and His commandments in order for Christ's atonement to be effective in our lives. So when this paragraph says, "Through obedience ... he proved himself worthy" they are trying to say that we believe we are only saved by our works. In reality, we need both. But it would undermine their goal to say, "Through faith and obedience..." (Not to mention they had to throw in "to Mormon teaching" to tell the story that we are different.)
Mormons believe that Elohim is their Heavenly Father and that he lives with his many wives on a planet near a mysterious star called Kolob. Here the God of Mormonism and his wives, through endless Celestial sex, produced billions of spirit children.We believe God is our Heavenly Father, and is the literal father of our spirits. We also believe that we have a Heavenly Mother, but we do not know or teach anything about Her, let alone whether God even has more than one wife. Some early church leaders believed this, but there is no doctrine on it and is only speculation.
They sensationalize our family life there by saying there was "endless Celestial sex". It would be similar if a creationist were to sensationalize evolution by saying humanity was created "through endless mutant sex." The truth is we don't know whether spirit children are created in the same manner as mortal children. But we do know that we are spirit children of Heavenly Parents.
They attempt to lead the viewer into believing that we worship a different God by saying "the God of Mormonism" instead of just "God." This is brought up again and again in the remainder of the cartoon with the repeated phrase, "the Mormon Jesus."
Kolob is understood to be a star that is described as "nigh unto the throne of God." This is all we know about it, and it isn't emphasized nor is anything really taught about it in our church. If you ask a typical Mormon "Where is Heaven?" they wouldn't even think of Kolob, but instead think of the Celestial Kingdom (which is the Earth after the Final Judgement.)
Kolob comes from Abraham 3 where some astronomical principles are given. In my experience, most members take this scripture literally, but some see it only figuratively. Because the astronomy doesn't really make sense to our 21st century (or even 19th century) ears, one suggestion I like is that Abraham was using a geocentric astronomy. If that is the case, what would Kolob mean in this context? Maybe it merely refers to the outermost "crystal sphere" that contains all the stars. This also would make sense with the general belief that God is "outside" time. But again, this is all speculation. All we know about Kolob is what is in Abraham 3, and that isn't much.
We believe that He has a physical body, that we are created literally in His image. Physical bodies require a physical location, and so this is supposed to be the shocking part, that we believe God exists someplace instead of everywhere and nowhere. While we don't believe God is omnipresent in that sense, we do believe that His influence exists everywhere through His spirit. Much like the Sun is in only one location, but its light fills the Solar System and beyond.
To decide their destiny, the head of the Mormon gods called a great heavenly council meeting.As I said before, children have the potential to become like their parents. At this point, we had progressed as far as we could on our own, and were still very different from our Heavenly Father. He had a perfect physical body; we were just spirits. He also perfect, and we were imperfect and would still make mistakes.
There was a grand council in heaven. It was called by our Heavenly Father, and it wasn't to decide our destiny, but to present the plan.
Both of Elohim's eldest sons were there, Lucifer and his brother Jesus.Yes, and all of us were there, too. Jesus was Heavenly Father's oldest son. By switching the order and associating Jesus with Lucifer, the film is trying to get the viewer to feel that we don't much care for Jesus.
A plan was presented to build planet earth where the spirit children would be sent to take on mortal bodies and learn good from evil.Essentially, yes. The plan is that spirits would be born and receive a physical body, and that we could grow spiritually by overcoming evil by choosing the good. But our bodies would be mortal, we would eventually die. Also, we wouldn't be perfect and we would make mistakes and sin. Therefore, Jesus Christ was provided to be our Savior, that through Him we could be forgiven of our sins and that we would be resurrected and receive a perfect physical body. Notice how they leave Christ out of the plan?
Lucifer stood and made his bid for becoming savior of this new world. Wanting the glory for himself, he planned to force everyone to become gods.I don't think Lucifer planned to "force everyone to become gods." but rather solely wanting the glory for himself-- God's glory. I think it's likely that Lucifer came up with this plan because it would be appealing to others and he would get support. Not because he actually cared for them. In order to save everyone, it would require destroying our agency. Even if that were possible, I don't think it would give us the strength of character that being a god requires.
Opposing the idea, the Mormon Jesus suggested giving man his freedom of choice as on other planets.It was Heavenly Father's plan, and it was always the plan, not some suggestion. Jesus simply said, "Father thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever." (Moses 4:1-4)
The vote that followed approved the proposal of the Mormon Jesus who would become savior of the planet earth.There was no vote-- only Heavenly Father's plan would work, and only it would be selected. Heavenly Father chose Jesus in the beginning. And Jesus is the savior for all Heavenly Father's children, not just those on Earth.
Enraged, Lucifer cunningly convinced one-third of the spirits destined for earth to fight with him and revolt. Thus, Lucifer became the devil and his followers the demons. Sent to this world, they would forever be denied bodies of flesh and bone.We were all part of the grand council, and Lucifer was already convincing people with his plan, while followers of Jesus were convincing others how life should actually be. This is what we call the "war in heaven." So this is true, one-third of Heavenly Father's children chose to follow Lucifer and were cast out of heaven with him. They continue to exist as spirits who tempt us follow Satan so that we will be miserable like them. They will never be born and receive physical bodies.
Those who remained neutral in the battle were cursed to be born with black skin. This is the Mormon explanation for the negro race. The spirits that fought most valiantly against Lucifer would be born into Mormon families on planet earth. These would be the lighter skinned people, or white and delightsome, as the Book of Mormon describes them.This was taught by some church leaders, and was likely believed by many members of the church at the time this film was made, however this is not true, and such racist ideas have since been repudiated by the church. The nature of the war in heaven is the same as it is today, that there is no neutral ground between good and evil. It is possible people had varying levels of faithfulness, but how does one resolve black members who were born into Mormon families? Were they less valiant and therefore black? Or more valiant and therefore born into the church? There is no scriptural basis for this interpretation, and I'm glad we moved away from worrying about racial origins.
Early Mormon prophets taught that Elohim and one of his goddess wives came to the earth as Adam and Eve to start the human race.Brigham Young taught this, but it also contradicts other things he taught about Adam, so we really can't say what he meant by this and it wasn't even believed by the church when he taught it. What we do teach is that Adam was the archangel Michael. Perhaps one day we will understand what Brigham Young was trying to teach, but until then we believe and teach that Adam and Eve were, like us, spirit children of Heavenly Father. God created their physical bodies and joined their spirits with their bodies.
Thousands of years later, Elohim in human form once again journeyed to earth from the star base Kolob, this time to have sex with the Virgin Mary in order to provide Jesus with a physical body."Star base Kolob," really? If it hasn't been obvious that they are sensationalizing everything, it should be now. Might as well say Christians believe Christ "teleported" into heaven, instead of "ascended" for how much sense this is making.
On to the real point. We believe that Heavenly Father is literally the father of Jesus, but we do not believe that He necessarily had physical relations with Mary for that to happen. Some members of the church do believe this and have taught it, but this is not doctrine. The Bible and Book of Mormon they say Jesus was conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost and was born to the virgin Mary. Anything more than this is speculation.
After Jesus Christ grew to manhood, he took at least three wives, Mary, Martha, and Mary Magdalene. Through these wives, the Mormon Jesus, through whom Joseph Smith claimed direct descent, supposedly fathered a number of children before he was crucified.This was once taught by Orson Hyde, but this is not cannon, nor has anyone else taught this, nor do the members of the church believe this. This idea stems from that we believe that in order to be exhalted with God, we need to be married (or "sealed"). We know that Jesus was perfect, so many members follow this logic and conclude that Jesus was married. But Christ being married to one or more wives is not taught in the church.
I can't seem to find a source about anyone claiming Joseph Smith was a descendant of Jesus Christ, only that he was a descendant of Ephraim. We don't know if Jesus Christ was married. And if He was, we don't know if He had children. One interesting thing to note, if He did have children and if He has any living descendants, then we are all His children. But this is all just speculation. We really don't know or teach anything about descendants of Christ.
According to the Book of Mormon, after his resurrection, Jesus came to the Americas to preach to the Indians who the Mormons believe are really Israelites. Thus, the Jesus of Mormonism established his church in the Americas as he had in Palestine.Yes, this is correct. The Book of Mormon describes a group of people who escaped out of Jerusalem before it was captured by Babylon and were led by God to the Americas. The highlight of the book is when Jesus visits these people after His resurrection.
By the year 421 A.D., the dark skinned Indian Israelite, known as the Lamanites, had destroyed all of the white Nephites in a number of great battles.An earlier paragraph also mentioned skin color in the Book of Mormon, and also wasn't totally accurate. Soon after this small group of people arrived in America, they divided into two groups. The Nephites followed God, while the Lamanites wanted to destroy the Nephites. The Book of Mormon says that God gave the Lamanites a skin of darkness. At different points, the Nephites became wicked, and the Lamanites became righteous. After Jesus came, they were all converted and there were no more -ites. Eventually, they divided again not on heritage, but based on who believed in Christ. By the time of the final Nephite-Lamanite battle, no one had faith in Christ. Somewhere along the line there, I don't think skin color mattered anymore.
Also, although probably most members of the church take these scriptures to mean a literal change in skin color, some take it figuratively--that it was a metaphor for spiritual darkness.
The Nephites' records were supposedly written on golden plates and buried by Moroni, the last living Nephite, in the Hill Cummorah.Even though they are saying what we believe, they sure like the word "supposedly". I guess in case we forget that the narrator doesn't believe what we do. But, yes, Moroni was the last believer in Christ, and the last author in the Book of Mormon, which was written on metal plates having the appearance of gold. Moroni carefully buried these plates in a hill in what is now upstate New York
1,400 years later, a young treasure seeker named Joseph Smith, who was known for his tall tales, claimed to have uncovered these same gold plates near his home in upstate New York.Joseph Smith addressed the description of him as a treasure seeker in Joseph Smith History 1:56. The "tall tales" he was known for are his experiences with the divine, such as the angel that led him to the same plates near his home. While these may seem like "tall tales" to those outside of our faith, we believe these experiences are true.
He is now honored by Mormons as a prophet because he claimed to have had visions ...Do evangelicals honor Moses as a prophet because he claimed to have visions? No, we honor Joseph Smith as a prophet because we believe God chose him to be a prophet.
... to have had visions from the spirit world in which he was commanded to organize the Mormon Church because all Christian creeds were an abomination.It isn't the "Mormon church," It is the Church of Jesus Christ. Jesus set up His church in ancient times, but it had fallen into apostasy. Joseph Smith was called by Christ to restore the Church of Jesus Christ. Note that it is the creeds that Jesus called an abomination. Not the people, the religions themselves, nor Christianity itself. Of course the film adds in the modifier "Christian", to make it sound like we think Christianity is an abomination and therefore aren't Christian. (see Joseph Smith History 1:5-20)
It was Joseph Smith who originated most of these peculiar doctrines which millions today believe to be true.To an outsider, yes. But we believe it was Jesus Christ that taught us these "peculiar doctrines". Every faith believes things that those on the outside think are strange.
By maintaining a rigid code of financial and moral requirements, and through performing secret temple rituals for themselves and the dead, the Latter-day Saints hope to prove their worthiness and thus become gods.Here again they are emphasizing our belief in works, while ignoring our belief in the Grace of Christ. We are taught to pay tithing and to live moral lives. This is all in the Bible, but they are acting like it's something sinister. Possibly because they think we believe we can perfect ourselves, but it is only through Jesus Christ that we can become clean from sin and receive immortality and eternal life.
We go to the temple to perform covenants. A covenant is a two-way promise with God. We make a covenant at baptism. We promise to keep His commandments, and He promises us that we will be forgiven of our sins. Going to the temple, we make similar covenants.
We don't talk about our temple covenants because they are sacred. Unlike a government security clearance, we want everyone to go to the temple and receive this covenant. So why isn't the general public allowed to attend the temple? I think a lot of people don't understand that we only go there to make covenants, we do not attend church services at the temple. To put it in perspective, it's like asking, "I was in a Latter-day Saint church recently and looked at all the rooms. We were not allowed to go into the actual baptismal font and get baptized and were told that only those who wish to become Mormon were allowed to attend services there. Do you know why that is?"
We don't keep covenants so we "prove our worthiness", any more than someone makes mortgage payments on their house to "prove their worthiness" to own a house. We do it for various reasons, to keep our promises, because we recognize the benefit, because we have a love for others. In any case, Jesus Christ paid the price for our sins, and we are indebted to Him, and no one else.
We also preform these same covenants in behalf of those who have died. Many have wondered what happens to the billions of people who live and died without hearing about Jesus Christ, let alone hearing about His church. We believe that they are taught the gospel in the spirit world after they are dead. Baptism and other ordinances are still required, but they don't have a physical body, so if they accept the gospel, they wouldn't be able to be baptized. In temples, we believe that we can be baptized in proxy for those that have died, giving them the opportunity to accept that ordinance performed in their behalf. This doesn't benefit us at all, let alone "prove our worthiness" but we are providing much needed service for those who cannot help themselves.
The Mormons teach that everyone must stand at the final judgment before Joseph Smith, the Mormon Jesus, and Elohim.Just as Jesus told the 12 apostles that they would judge the 12 tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28), we understand that other prophets will be involved in the judgement for their dispensations. By the order and presentation, they are trying to make it sound blasphemous that Joseph Smith would be involved in judgement at all.
Those Mormons who are sealed in the eternal marriage ceremony expect to become polygamous gods in the Celestial Kingdom, rule over other planets and spawn new families throughout eternity.We do not expect to become polygamous in the afterlife. And temple marriage alone isn't going to make us gods and goddesses in the Celestial Kingdom -- we need to remain faithful to the covenants that we make with Jesus Christ. They like to make it seem like all we care about is planets. When we do look at the rewards of heaven, we usually think of the joy of being together with the one we love for eternity.
The Mormons thank God for Joseph Smith, who claimed that he had done more for us than any other man, including Jesus Christ.NO! It is explicit that Joseph did more for the salvation of men except for Jesus Christ.
The Mormons believe that he died as a martyr,He died because of his beliefs, that is the definition of a martyr, so it's not just our "belief" that he died as a martyr. This does not make him special or divine, but it does mean he was sincere in his beliefs.
... shed his blood for us, so that we, too, may become Gods.What?? No! Only the blood of Jesus Christ does anything for us. It's no wonder people think we aren't Christian if they think Joseph Smith died for us. (Knowing who died for you is kind of a big deal for Christians.)
Let me be clear: Jesus Christ died for our sins. This is what all Latter-day Saints are taught. The only way back to heaven is through Jesus Christ.
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