First Vision - Foundation of Mormonism

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First Vision - Foundation of Mormonism

Joseph Smith's Story Examined

Marshall Almarode

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Joseph Smith's First Vision account separates Mormonism from every Christian denomination when it claims that God commanded Joseph Smith not to join any church because "they were all wrong" and "all" their creeds were an abomination to him. Stating that priesthood authority was lost on earth when the apostles died, the Mormon Church justifies their "authority" to operate the saving ordinances of the gospel through the restoration of the priesthood they claim was given to Joseph Smith. However Mormon Scripture claims some of Jesus' apostles never died so there couldn't be a total apostasy of the church needing "restoration" through Joseph Smith.

More from Witnessing to Mormons in Depth

Does the LDS Church Blame Jesus for Joseph Smiths Fake Translation?

Christina R Darlington

Joseph Smith claimed he translated the Book of Abraham (one of the four Mormon books of "scripture") from ancient Egyptian papyrus manuscripts obtained from Michael Chandler, an antiquities dealer visiting Smith's area in 1835. Egyptologists today have since examined Joseph Smith's "translation" of the text and found it to be completely false, with no reference whatsoever to the original meaning of the text. His inability to accurately translate these documents, puts into question Joseph Smith's ability to translate any document at all, even the Book of Mormon which he claims he translated from Reformed Egyptian plates. If he couldn't accurately translate the Egyptian papyrus of the Book of Abraham, how do you know you can trust anything else he has created? What's worse is instead of admitting to Joseph Smith's fraud with the Book of Abraham, the LDS Church blames Jesus for his fake translation and claims "God gave to Joseph Smith a revelation about the life of Abraham, even if that revelation did not directly correlate to the characters on the papyri." (Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham) So the excuses for Joseph Smith’s lies continue to abound in Mormonism. For more information, see our tract: What Does the LDS Church Now Admit About the Book of Abraham?

3 Keys of All Faiths - Marshall Almarode

July 1, 2022 • Marshall Almarode

Picking topics to discuss when witnessing to Mormons, it's important to recognize the 3 keys to understanding all faiths: 1.) What is Their Source of Truth? 2.) Who is God? 3.) How is Salvation Obtained? This training was presented to a youth group in Utah that was preparing to witness to Mormons.

Discussing the Mormon Jesus and First Vision

July 7, 2022 • Marshall Almarode

Talking to a group of youth in Utah, Marshall explained the differences between the Mormon Jesus and the Biblical Jesus. He also discussed problems in Joseph Smith's First Vision and the Mormon claim that there was a total apostacy of Christianity that required the faith to be restored by Joseph Smith. There are two separate points Marshall Almarode makes in this video. The first one is about the Mormon view of Jesus and how their descriptions of Him are different from the views of Christians. Unlike the Christian teaching that the human body of Jesus was conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost, Mormons leaders have taught that Jesus Christ was conceived in the typical way a human father impregnates his wife. This false view of the conception of Christ stems from the Mormon teaching that God the Father is nothing more than a glorified (exalted) man, so the Mormon "God" cannot supernaturally impregnate Mary. He had to physically do it. Such teaching runs contrary to God's Word that says the Christ was "conceived...of the Holy Ghost" not the Father (Matthew 1:20). Now it's important to point out that the average LDS person you meet today doesn't know about this Mormon teaching that was popularized under Brigham Young and revived under Bruce R. McConkie. It is quite possible your LDS friends would strongly disagree with LDS Apostle Bruce R. McConkie if you were to read to them his statements in Mormon Doctrine and other books. Yet, he was a leader in the Church and the LDS Church has never repudiated this doctrine officially. The second point Marshall makes is that Joseph Smith’s First Vision In Pearl of Great Price talks about total apostasy – the idea that the truth left, disappeared, and then the truth came back, which is what Mormons call the restoration of the Gospel. Yet, there are real problems with this LDS Claim and Marshall discusses these in this video.