Mormons: Does the follow statement give me authority to look for error in your doctrine?

Question

If Joseph Smith was a deceiver, who willfully attempted to mislead the people, then he should be exposed; his claims should be refuted, and his doctrines shown to be false, for the doctrines of an impostor cannot be made to harmonize in all particulars with divine truth.
President Joseph Fielding Smith
D. of S. Vol. 1, p. 188

I have been told and told how hateful I am for pointing out problems in LDS doctrine. Them I read President Smith and he says I should bring up your doctrine that is unbiblical and point you in the right direction.. So dear faithful member of the church. Are you willing to put away feeling and trust what God says in His word, or will you cling to those warm feelings as proof scripture is wrong? Any one here ready to hear some questions? IHS Jim

Why is it that your warm feelings of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon are of the Holy Ghost, but my feeling that it is false are not? I could pray all month and thought of the italicized words from the KJV of the Book of Matthew ending up as part of the Book of Mormon still cause serious doubt. How did Nephi know what wording the translators in the year 1611 would use to make the word flow properly in English. You always say how poor their work was and yet.. Same wording.. Do you need a side by side comparison?

I see the label "anti" being used here again. This has become an easy way to dismiss anyone who questions the church. Then you don't have to listen to them because they are just mean and hateful, right? I don't Hate Mormons. I live among you. I find that you are some of the finest people in the world. I don't want you lost to error. I want you to find the Jesus of the Bible and in so doing find life. You are all important to me. I can truly say I love you as Christ has taught me to do.. If you won't answer me as I ask my doctrinal questions, all I can say is you are unwilling to obey your own leaders, or your leaders are inconsistent in their teachings.. I guess they only speak for God when they say things you agree with... IHS Jim

Answer 1

Dear sincere LDS: How can you make sure that you are not following demon spirits instead of the Holy Spirit? Because your doctrine does not line up with the Holy Scriptures. The bible has been written by the Holy Spirit, through holy men of God. Any other books written are nothing but books.

Answer 2

IF Joseph Smith was a deceiver, but no one has, as yet, been able to convince of that.


>>Are you willing to put away feeling and trust what God says in His word<<


Guess what? I did that. Not the part about feelings, cause I DOfeel in my heart that Jesus is calling me, telling me what is right.

>>Any one here ready to hear some questions?<<

Sure, fire away.

>> my feeling that it is false are not?<<

Maybe you aren't praying in teh right spirit.

>>How did Nephi know what wording the translators in the year 1611 would use to make the word flow properly in English.<<

He didn't write it in English, he wrote in "reformed Egyptian". I don't know if one can write "reformed Egyptian in the King's English.

>>I see the label "anti" being used here again. This has become an easy way to dismiss anyone who questions the church. Then you don't have to listen to them because they are just mean and hateful, right?<<

Anti-Mormon is used for those who don't just disagree with our church, but go out and print their opposition, usually using lies and/or halftruths.

>>I find that you are some of the finest people in the world. I don't want you lost to error.<<

How do such fine people come from such an evil church?

>>I want you to find the Jesus of the Bible and in so doing find life. You are all important to me. I can truly say I love you as Christ has taught me to do<<

If you TRULY love us, then why not find out what we REALLY believe? And the very fact that I ask this question should tell you very clearly that you do NOT know what we believe.

>>If you won't answer me as I ask my doctrinal questions, all I can say is you are unwilling to obey your own leaders, or your leaders are inconsistent in their teachings..<<

Another devious anti-Mormon trick: If you don't follow YOUR prophets the way *I* interpret what they say, then we "are unwilling to obey our own leaders" or they are inconsistent or whatever. But, don't you think it should be up to US, to OUR leaders, to tell us what God wants us to know? I say yes.

>>I guess they only speak for God when they say things you agree with<<

They speak for God when they say they speak for God. You might make this statement, but it's YOU who does not believe what they say when they speak for God.

Answer 3

Typical antimormon argument using ellipses and posting things out of context. You know Joseph Fielding Smith never said Joseph Smith was a deceiver.
Besides what's found in Doctrines of Salvation is only the words of Joseph Fielding Smith. Any book written by our G.A. is the responsibility of that author only, and is not considered Mormon Doctrine. Only the Standard Works of the Church and any new doctrine sustained by the General Assembly at any General Conference.


Edit: Those warm feelings are just warm feelings you make fun of, it's the Holy Ghost confirming to that person that he is on the right path to God.

Edit: To Effect, Do you have a reliable source for JS shooting two people? Yes he had a gun to defend himself, but he didn't use it.

Answer 4

I am no longer a Mormon, but if you don't mind, I'd like to tackle this. One does not need authority or permission to be a seeker. All the LSD church asks is that you pray sincerely and listen for a response, in your heart. They will tell you, the faith is not an intellectual argument. But, if you ask a Mormon missionary a question and they do not have an answer, they will search it out for you. By all means challenge and question. Why join a church if you cannot believe its precepts? I know. I "tortured" and challenged missionaries with questions for over two years before I joined. And they were always gracious, non-judgmental and found answers for me. My own religion - I was raised catholic- told me my questions were cop-outs. (Found out years later my question was one philosophers had asked for decades/centuries - maybe I met a poorly educated priest). I feel the Mormon church is the closest to the truth available, but it is not a good fit for me. They have a beautiful religion when practiced righteously. But, living in Utah cured/soured me. The hypocrisy and elitism really turned me off. In all fairness though, the church is constantly challenging the members in Utah to actually live and practice their religion - not just the law, but the spirit. So challenge away. I think you'll find a lot of what outsiders, even other ministers say is false and misguided.

Answer 5

I'm not sure that it is wise to seek a group's permission or doctrinal sanction in order to criticize their theology.

Furthermore, notice that, in the quotation you cited, permission to refute Joseph Smith's claims is conditioned on his being a "deceiver, who wilfully attempted to mislead the people..." This is a "Campus Crusade" / Josh McDowell kind of rhetorical trick: If anything in a revealed text is wrong then its advocates must be wilfull deceivers. This is an arbitrary assumption: It is also possible that Joseph Smith was simply mistaken, or was engaged in rhetorical flourish. This is not tantamout to wilful deception, but requires criticism nontethe less.

Answer 6

What you should be looking into is church History. Mormons have changed it and tried to cover it up. Yet we know noone can cover up the inquisition, where 80 million perished and noone can cover up Jim Jones were another 911 followers were killed. That is a surefire way to determine whether or not Joseph Smith was a prophet.... My mom is mormon, my grandma catholic... I am a christian and love them both, however I do not agree with catholism because of their church history, nor mormonism because of theirs. One of the most disturbing claims is that Joseph Smith shot two people before they took him down. Scripturely, that's not a christian. A christian is martyred without resistance, like Christ and Stephen who humbly gave their lives without resistance and prayed for their murderers until they gave up the Ghost. It's hard in this life for someone who has been raised in a certain belief system to accept something new, yet we all must remain teachable, just in case Christ tells us something new. If Saul had not been teachable, he wouldn't have became Paul, but rather continued his mission of killing christians. God can use you powerfully if you listen and obey. I love you all... Take care!

Matthew 5:39 - "But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also."

Answer 7

Yes, it does give you permission to do that. In fact, the church encourages one to find out for themselves if it is true or not.

I know it is true. The Holy Ghost has confirmed this to my heart. Do the research, be open minded, never give up, and be sincere. Be willing to give up everything if you find out it is true.

I promise you will not find error in the doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the Lord's church. He leads it and guides it even today.

Do not search for a church based on whether or not it fits your beliefs but, instead, search for a church based upon whether or not it teaches truth. That is open minded.

Answer 8

People hold onto their beliefs even more than their own lives. The "prophet" Joseph Smith did the same, and was murdered by an angry mob because of it. The Mormons have chosen to add their books to the doctrine of Christ, and therefore re-write the truth.

Answer 9

no!

Your sources should be enough to show you that many before have made such a claim before. Ask God rather than rely on heresay it'll save you from looking like a fool.

Answer 10

Yes it does. Look away. But to be honest, of the numerous anti-Mormon books which have been written (and I wrote one myself many years before my conversion), none have ever managed to make a good enough argument to persuade me.