According to Mormon theology, Jesus was born through physical sexual relations with Mary. Brigham Young said Jesus' birth was as natural as ours. "The birth of the Savior was as natural as the births of our children; it was the result of natural action. He partook of flesh and blood--was begotten of his Father, as we were of our fathers." (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 8, p. 115).
"When the time came that His first-born, the Saviour, should come into the world and take a tabernacle, the Father came Himself and favoured that spirit with a tabernacle instead of letting any other man do it." (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 4, Page 218.) Note: the late Bruce McConkie who was a member of the First Council of the Seventy stated "There is nothing figurative about his paternity; he was begotten, conceived and born in the normal and natural course of events..." (Mormon Doctrine, by Bruce McConkie, page 742).
Brigham Young said that Jesus was not begotten by the Holy Spirit. "I have given you a few leading items upon this subject, but a great deal more remains to be told. Now, remember from this time forth, and for ever, that Jesus Christ was not begotten by the Holy Ghost." (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 1, page 50-51).
According to the Bible, Jesus is not the literal son of god and his goddess wife. He was not born through physical sexual relations. Mary was a virgin was Jesus was born. There is no such thing as a goddess wife. Jesus was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit through a virgin (see Matthew 1:20). Mary was a virgin when she gave birth to Jesus.
According to Mormon theology, Jesus was born at Jerusalem (Book of Mormon, Alma 7:9,10) and is of the Tribe of Benjamin. The land of Jerusalem (Jebusi) belonged to the tribe of Benjamin (Joshua 18:21-28).
According to the Bible, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, of the Davidic, kingly line of Judah (Matthew 2:1, Hebrews 7:14). Jesus is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5). Jesus is a descendant of David, a Bethlehemite (Matthew 1:6, 1 Samuel 16:1). Several other verses refer to Jesus as "Son of David" (Matthew 15:22; 21:9; Mark 10:47). The line of King was through the Tribe of Judah and not Benjamin (Genesis 49:9-10).
According to the Bible, Jesus has always been God. (John 1:1,14) - "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth". Notice that it didn't say Jesus became God. It says Jesus is already God before taking on human flesh. (Colossians 1:19, 2:9) - "For it pleased [the Father] that in him should all fulness dwell". "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily".
Mormonism teaches that humans can become gods and that God had a father, who in turn had a father ... thus God has a great grandfather and so on and so on. According to LDS theology, there are a countless number of gods.
According to the Bible, Jesus teaches us that God is a spirit. Man was not co-eternal with God. Jesus created man. God did not pro-create with celestial wives. In the Garden of Eden, Satan told Adam and Eve the lie that humans can become gods. According to the Bible, there is ONLY ONE God. He is the ONLY ONE that created all the many stars, galaxies, and planets. Beside Him, there is no other.
Mormons say verbally that they believe in one God but their writings show that they believe in a plurality of Gods.
God the Father was once a man:
All men in pre-existence were the spirit children of God our Father, an exalted, glorified, and perfected Man (Mormon Doctrine, p. 751). I wonder who created this man?
Joseph Smith said: "God himself (Elohim) was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! ... I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea, and take away the veil, so that you may see .... (Mormon Doctrine, p. 321). Since Elohim (the current Heavenly Father) was once a man, he had a Heavenly Father and a Heavenly Father too. Elohim's wife (once a human female) also is supposed to have exalted to Heavenly Mother. The LDS teaches that earthlings are their spirit children. When she was once a human female, she also had a Heavenly Father and
Heavenly Mother (before Elohim).
Mormons believe that the Heavenly Father is God [1]. The Book of Mormon also teaches that Jesus is God [2]. At the same time, Joseph Smith taught that God the Father and Jesus are two separate beings. Heavenly Father has a Father [3] and a Mother [4]. Heavenly Mother has a Mother [5] and a Father too [6]. So far, you have 6 gods. Joseph Smith denounced the idea of the Trinity (1 God, 3 Persons). When you add up all the deceased Mormons who are believed to have reached godhood and those who hope to someday reach godhood, you have have thousands and thousands of gods.
The Heavenly Father has a body of flesh and bones:
Therefore we know that both the Father and the Son are in form and stature perfect men; each of them possesses a tangible body, infinitely pure and perfect and attended by transcendent glory, nevertheless a body of flesh and bones (Articles of Faith, p. 38).
God the Father had a Father:
... there is "a God above the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ .... Hence if Jesus had a Father, can we not believe that he had a Father also?" (Mormon Doctrines, p. 322).
There is also a Heavenly Mother, who is also a Deity:
Implicit in the Christian verity that all men are the spirit children of an Eternal Father is the usually unspoken truth that they are also the offspring of an Eternal Mother .... that man is the "offspring of celestial parentage," and that "all men and women are in the similitude of the universal Father and Mother, and are literally the sons and daughters of Deity (Mormon Doctrines, p. 516).
And you have all the gods that LDS faithful hope to be exalted into a position of.
Those who receive exaltation in the celestial kingdom through faith in Jesus Christ will receive special blessings ... They will become gods. Gospel Principles, Chp. 47 p. 302.
Brethren, 225,000 of you are here tonight. I suppose 225,000 of you may become gods. There seems to be plenty of space out there in the universe." Past Living Prophet and President Spencer W. Kimball, quoted in the Doctrine & Covenants Student Manual, p. 358.
And here is the foundational passage for your doctrine of godhood: Doctrine and Covenants (D&C) 132:19,20. These verses describe the final destiny of faithful Mormons: They shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever. Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them. D&C, 132:19,20.
According to the Bible, there is only ONE God on earth and/or everywhere else.
Isaiah (43:10) "Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me".
Isaiah (44:6) Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
Isa 44:8 Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.
Isa 45:5 I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
Isa 45:14 Thus saith the LORD, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else.
Isa 45:21 Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
How much clearer does God have to be? I don't know how He could say this any clearer. He says it over and over and over again in Isaiah. He said there were NO gods formed before Him (wouldn't God remember his own father if He had one?) He said there will be no gods after Him. He said He is the FIRST...He is the LAST. He knows of no other gods besides Himself.
As far as the other gods mentioned in the 1st commandment, God was not speaking of real gods like Himself. In Exodus, when Moses was given the 10 commandments, God spoke to Moses about the other nearby nations.
Exodus 34:11 "I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.( vs.13) Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles. (Asherah was the name of the wife of El, the chief Canaanite god.) Do not worship any other god, for the Lord whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God." In vs. 15-16, God goes on to warn Moses not to eat the sacrifices made to the false gods.
So the gods that God referred to in the 1st commandment weren't REAL gods like himself. They were the made up gods of the other nations that lived in the land of Israel. (Unless you think these nations were worshipping REAL living gods? If they were, then God was asking the Israelites to destroy religious relics of His relatives ... maybe His own father or grandfather.
Mormons often use John 10-34 and Psalms 82-6 to show that there are gods. But these verses talk about the prophets of God who were viewed as being gods by the Israelites. But these prophets were not gods since the Bible clearly shows that there is only ONE God.
Thus, you can see that the Mormons (LDS) do not teach the great truths of the Holy Bible.
According to the Bible, Jesus is not one of 3 gods in the godhead. The Trinity is 3 persons in one God. Jesus is God. There is only 1 God, but many false gods.
According to Mormon theology, Jesus continued the Aaronic
priesthood. At age twelve, Mormon boys
become members of the Aaronic, or lesser priesthood, and at nineteen become
eligible for the Melchizedek, or higher priesthood.
According to the Bible, Jesus replaced the old testament priesthood with a new one. “For the priesthood being changed …” (Hebrews 7:11-13). The new priesthood is the "holy priesthood of believers in Jesus" (1 Peter 2:5, Revelation (1:6, 5:10, and 20:6)). Jesus is the mediator of the new covenant in His Blood. This is what he teaches during the Last Supper.
According to Mormon theology, Jesus is the brother of all spirits born in heaven. He is also the spirit brother of Lucifer.
According to the Bible, Jesus is not the brother of all spirits born in heaven and he is not the spirit brother of Lucifer. Lucifer is an angel created by Jesus (who created all angels). Lucifer rebelled against God. Only those that do the will of the Father are considered spiritual brothers and sisters of Jesus (Mark 3:35). Jesus even told some Jews that their spiritual father was the devil (John 8:44).
According to Mormon theology, Jesus was married and had wives. Thus, in Heaven, Jesus will continue to be married to his wives forever.
According to the Bible, Jesus was not married and did not have wives. Jesus said there is no celestial marriage. “For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven” (Matthew 22:30).
According to Mormon theology, Jesus was a polygamist (Journal of Discourses, Volume 4, page 259).
According to the Bible, Jesus was not married and did not have wives.
This teaching is causing much confusion within the "Latter-Day
Saints" Church.
Even the Book of Mormon contradicts itself as to whom Jesus died for. Jesus atoned for the sins of all the world
(Alma 42:15)? or only for those who believe on his name (Alma 11:40)?
You will get a different answer depending on which LDS member you speak too.
Some Mormons will say that Jesus only atoned for the sins of those who who believe on his name. This is in their Missionary
Discussion guide booklet 2 (on page 2-9) and its also found in the Book of Mormon. Alma (11:40) - "And he shall come
into the world to redeem his people; and he shall take upon him the transgressions of those who believe on his name;"
On a contradictory note, other Mormons will say that Jesus atoned for the sins of ALL mankind. They base this on their
inspired and official Gospel Principles handbook. In the "Visual Aids" section of Gospel Principles on page 58, it
states, "In the Garden of Gethsemane, the Saviour took upon
himself the sins of all mankind. Jesus died for our sins at Calvary". In "The Atonement" chapter 12, page 73, it states,
"The Saviour atoned for our sins by suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane and by giving his life on the cross". This is
also found in (Alma 42:15) where it says that Jesus atoned
for the sins of all the world.
Joseph F. Smith taught that Christ atoned for the sins of the world (Gospel Principle, 270).
But 2 Nephi 2:26 says "And the Messiah cometh in the fullness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall.
And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves
and not to be acted upon". This teaches that the atonement is only for the sin of Adam that passed upon all mankind. According
to 2 Nephi 2:26, Jesus did not atone for personal sins.
But this is also contradicted by Doctrines and Covenants (76:41) - Jesus came to atone for ALL sins and ALL unrighteousness.
So who did Jesus atone for? For the sins of all mankind (Alma 42:15) or for only the sins of those who believe in his
name (Alma 11:40)? Did Jesus atone for the sins of the world (Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Principle, page 270 and D&C 76:41) or
only for the sin of Adam that passed upon all mankind (2 Nephi 2:26)?
There are many Biblical passages which show that Jesus atoned for the sins of all mankind (Isaiah 53:5, Ephesians 1:7,
Luke 23:34, Romans 5:6, Romans 5:19, and John 3:16).
It is these great Biblical truths that Mormons reject.
According to Mormon theology, Jesus offered a plan of salvation in addition to the one offered by Lucifer. Also, there is no salvation without accepting Joseph Smith as a prophet of God, Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. 1, p. 188.
According to the Bible, Jesus is the only plan for salvation. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. This is no salvation in any other name
According to Mormon theology, Jesus is expected to return to a future temple in Missouri.
According to the Bible, Jesus will return to the Jerusalem in Israel (Zechariah 14:4).
According to Mormon theology, Jesus sweat blood in the Garden of Gethsemane.
According to the Bible, Jesus did not sweat blood in the Garden of Gethsemane. “And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44).
According to Mormon theology, when Jesus died darkness covered the land for three days (Nephi 8:19, 23).
According to the Bible, when Jesus died darkness covered the land for three hours (Luke 23:44).
According to Mormon theology, Jesus came to the United States to preach the gospel.
According to the Bible, Jesus did not go to the United States or any other country after his resurrection to preach the gospel for that matter. He told his disciples to go to the ends of the earth and preach the gospel. This is called the Great Commission (Mark 16:15).
In Mormon
theology, Jesus’ church ceased to exist and Joseph Smith came to restore it.
According to the Bible, Jesus built his Church and it would exist for all time (Matthew 16:18).
Mormons believe that one's salvation is based on such good works as baptism, good deeds, missionary work, and following Mormon teachings. In The Articles of Faith, by James Talmage, justification by faith in Jesus Christ is called a "pernicious doctrine" twice and he states that it has been "an influence for evil." (pp. 107, 480) Bruce McConkie once stated at Brigham Young University that a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is "improper and perilous" (Church News, March 20, 1982, p. 5)
Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Romans 4:5 says that salvation comes to those who do not work for salvation, but believe on Jesus Christ instead!
Jesus Christ came into this world to lay down His sinless life for YOU--to pay for your sins because you couldn't. Jesus is your only hope for salvation. Only by receiving Him as your Saviour can you enter the gates of Heaven. There is no other way. "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me." (John 14:6) "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)
The Lord Jesus Christ has come and PAID for your sins by shedding His own Blood on Calvary. By receiving Him as your Saviour, you can be WASHED from all your sins in His precious Blood (Rev. 1:5; Col. 1:14; Acts 20:28; I Pet. 1:18-19). Notice these important words from Romans 5:8-9: "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him."
Jesus PAID your way to Heaven! Your church cannot save you! Only by receiving Jesus Christ as your Saviour can you escape the damnation of Hell. Are you willing to forsake YOUR righteousness and receive Jesus Christ as your Saviour, your ONLY HOPE for Salvation? Romans 10:13 says, "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10:9 says, "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." Why not pray right now and ask the Lord to come into your heart and cleanse you from all sin? He will save you just as He promised.