FWC School of Apologetics

FWC School of Apologetics An in-depth program that aims to equip believers to give answers for why they believe what they believe Each class you take is worth one credit Credits build up to certificates Bronze Certificate in Biblical Apologetics - 5 Credits Silver Certificate in Biblical Apologetics - 10 Credits Gold Certificate in Biblical Apologetics - 15 Credits Platinum Certificate in Biblical Apologetics - 20 Credits

Certificates will be distributed (and those who’ve earned them will be recognized) at our annual apologetic conference Classes related to the one you are taking today Religious Apologetics: Islam Eastern Religion (Hinduism & Buddhism) Catholicism & the Protestant Reformation The Occult Minor World Religions Judaism

Galatians 1:6-9 “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.”

History & Overview of the Mormon Church Apologetics and Mormonism 1 Peter 3:15 “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:” Apologetics means “Speaking in Defense” From the Greek word: apologia Apologetics is a broad term, in this class we focus on Mormonism and Jehovah Witnesses

When dealing with the topic of Jehovah Witnesses and the Mormons there are two different approaches that much be taken When dealing with Jehovah Witnesses there is a narrow group of issues, but you have to known them in great depth With Mormons there is a huge group of issues, but you don’t need to know them in great depth For this reason we will be spending four weeks on the Mormons and two weeks on the Jehovah Witnesses

In this session we will focus on the history and a broad overview of Mormon beliefs While a lot of what Mormons believe is mind boggling to us, we need to approach this topic with love and respect for the Mormon people Statistics on the Mormon church today The proper name for the Mormon Church is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints It was originally called the Church of Jesus Christuntil 1837 when the name changed to include “of latter-day saints”

As of 2007, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, more commonly known as the Mormons, claims membership of a little more than 13 million worldwide: UnitedStates. . . . . . . . . . . .6 Million Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/2 Million Latin America. . . . . . . . . . . .3 Million Asia . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Million Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1/4 Million South Pacific & Africa. . . . . 1/2 Million While it is a small religion compared to other world religions, they have a large influence in the U.S.

There are approximately 50,000 full time missionaries world wide. Most of them are young males in their late teens to early twenties and spend 2 years in the field. There are approximately 800 converts to the Mormon church per day, 300,000 per year. There are 16 missionary training centers world-wide. Financial income is in excess of 2 million dollars per day. They are a wealthy church

Mormonism began with Joseph Smith Jr. who was born on Dec. 23, 1805, in Vermont. He was the fourth child of Lucy and Joseph Smith. Joseph senior was known as a money digger and sought after buried treasure, particularly that of Captain Kidd. His mother was highly superstitious.

Joseph Smith Jr. stated that he was disturbed by all the different denominations of Christianity and wondered which was true. In 1820, when he was 14, he went into the woods to pray concerning this and allegedly God the Father and Jesus appeared to him Let’s read what Joseph Smith Jr. said: Pearl of great price – Joseph Smith History 1:15-20 “After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God…

“…I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction. But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction — not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world,…

“… who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being — just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, about the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other — This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!...

“… My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right (for at this time it had never entered into my heart that all were wrong) — and which I should join. I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt”

Three years later, on Sept. 21, 1823, when he was 17 years old, an angel called Moroni, who was supposed to be the son of Mormon, the leader of the people called the Nephites who had lived in the Americas, appeared to him and told him that he had been chosen to translate the book of Mormon which was compiled by Moroni's father around the 4th century.

The book was written on golden plates hidden in Palmyra, New York. Joseph Smith said that on Sept. 22, 1827 he received the plates and the angel Moroni instructed him to begin translating. The translation was finally published in 1830 as the Book of Mormon. Joseph claimed that during this translation process, John the Baptist appeared to him and ordained him to accomplish the divine work of restoring the true church by preaching the true gospel which, allegedly, had been lost from the earth.

After the publication of the Book of Mormon, Mormonism began to grow. Because their religion was so deviant from Christianity persecution soon forced them to move from New York to Ohio, then to Missouri, and finally to Nauvoo, Illinois. After being accused of breaking some laws in Nauvoo, Joseph and his brother Hyrum ended up in jail. A mob later broke into the jail and killed Joseph and his brother.

After the shooting, the church divided into two primary groups: One led by his widow which went back to Independence Missouri. They are known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They claim to be the true Church and lay claim to the legal succession of the church presidency which was bestowed upon Joseph's son by Joseph Smith himself. Today they go by the name Community of Christ

The community of Christ represents the smaller of the two groups (with only 250,000 members) The other group was led by Brigham Young and they went to Utah where, in 1847, they ended up in Salt Lake and founded Salt Lake City. This is what we would know as Mormons & The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints It is the second group, lead by Brigham Young, that we will spend these four weeks focusing on

What do the Mormon’s believe different from Christians in their doctrines? The nature of God Mormons do not believe in the Trinity, but instead believe Jesus is a physical offspring of God the Father Mormons believe that God the Father has not eternally existed Mormons believe God was once a man who lived on a planet just like us, and we to can become Gods.

Joseph Smith said : “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. These are incomprehensible ideas to some, but they are simple. It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God, and to know that we may converse with him as one man converses with another, and that he was once a man like us; yea, that God the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did, and I will show it from the Bible”(Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp.345-346. Italics in original).

According to Mormonism, there are many Gods (an infinite number) that live in the different universes Joseph Smith: "Hence, the doctrine of a plurality of Gods is as prominent in the Bible as any other doctrine. It is all over the face of the Bible . . . Paul says there are Gods many and Lords many . . . but to us there is but one God--that is pertaining to us; and he is in all and through all (History of the Church, vol. 6, p. 474). The Mormon Church believes Jesus was not eternally God but was physically the offspring of God the Father (just like Satan and all of us)

"Now, we are told in scriptures that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God in the flesh. Well, now for the benefit of the older ones, how are children begotten? I answer just as Jesus Christ was begotten of his father ...Jesus is the only person who had our Heavenly Father as the father of his body." (Joseph F. Smith, Family Home Evening Manual, 1972, p. 125, 126). "Elohim is literally the Father of the spirit of Jesus Christ and also of the body in which Jesus Christ performed His mission in the flesh..." (First Presidency and Council of the Twelve, 1916, "God the Father," compiled by Gordon Allred, p. 150).

Because of what we just read, Mormon’s reject the idea of a Virgin birth "When the time came that His first-born, the Saviour, should come into the world and take a tabernacle, the Father came Himself and favored that spirit with a tabernacle instead of letting any other man do it," (Journal of Discourses, vol. 4, p. 218). "The birth of the Savior was as natural as are 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).

According to Mormonism Adam made the right decision when he ate of the tree According to Mormonism, the blood of Christ does not atone for your sins "There is not a man or woman, who violates the covenants made with their God, that will not be required to pay the debt. The blood of Christ will never wipe that out, your own blood must atone for it . . . " (Journal of Discourses, vol. 3, p. 247; see also, vol. 4, p. 53-54, 219-220).

According to Mormons there are many things you must do to be saved "One of the most fallacious doctrines originated by Satan and propounded by man is that man is saved alone by the grace of God; that belief in Jesus Christ alone is all that is needed for salvation," (Miracle of Forgiveness, by Spencer W. Kimball, p. 206). According to the Mormon faith, there are several steps to “Salvation” Faith is one, good works is another, baptism is required, and the laying on of hands

The Mormon Church has several Canonical books • Book of Mormon (1830 by Joseph Smith) • The book of Mormon is more correct than the Bible, (History of the Church, vol. 4, p. 461.) Pearl of Great Price (By Joseph Smith, Canonized in 1880) Doctrine and Covenants (By Joseph Smith and others, Published 1835) The Bible (So far as its translated correctly.)

Pre-existence of humans • We were first begotten as spirit children in heaven and then born naturally on earth (Journal of Discourse, vol. 4, p. 218). • The first spirit to be born in heaven was Jesus (Mormon Doctrine, p. 129). • The Devil was born as a spirit after Jesus "in the morning of pre-existence," (Mormon Doctrine, p. 192). We lost of memory (different reasons are given) when we came to earth

There are many more differences in doctrine between Christians and Mormons, and we will look at many of them as we go on in later sessions Often times Christians think that Mormonism and Christianity are very close in their teaching when in reality they are very, very far apart. Jude 1:3: “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”

Many Mormons do not know what they are caught up in, and it’s our job to share the truth about God’s Word (The Bible) and the true message of salvation Memory verse: 1 Peter 3:15 “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:”

FWC School of Apologetics