Mitt Romney and the Mormon Church

First I would like to say that Mormons deservedly have the reputation of being highly moral people. It is true that Mormonism shares a common ethic with Christianity. However that does not make them Christians and they are not. My goal in writing this is not to offend but rather to inform. I think it is important to understand what twelve million people believe. This is perhaps more true today than ever before, with a Mormon running for president. Please interpret what you read below as written with the humblest intentions in mind and check the facts for yourself.Mormonism or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) was founded by Joseph Smith. Mormons will claim that the Church was founded by Jesus Christ and merely restored by Smith. Smith claimed to be a prophet who received visions starting in 1820. In his first vision God and Jesus appeared to him and told him that all modern churches were an abomination. Subsequent visions were mostly from an angel named Moroni.Moroni directed Smith to a hill with “golden plates” buried in it. On these plates was inscribed an “account of the former inhabitants of this continent and containing “the fullness of the everlasting Gospel” as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants of this land.” The inscription was in a language known as “reformed Egyptian.” Buried with the plates were “seer stones” for aiding in the translation of the plates. Smith spent around three years translating the work. His primary method of translation was to place the stones in his hat and place the hat over his face. Upon doing this, the words would appear to him in the darkness. He would then dictate them to an aid. He did not need to look at the plates in order to translate them and often they were not even in his presence while he was translating. Smith’s translation of the plates became what is known today as “The Book of Mormon” and is considered divinely inspired scripture by the LDS church.

There are several problems here.

Smith’s highly unorthodox method of translating could be viewed as a problem. Why did he need the plates at all if he could translate them by looking at rocks in a hat?

The continent Smith is speaking about is North America. The former inhabitants were Hebrews who migrated to North America in 600 BC and lived there until 421 AD. They left no trace except the plates and other objects Smith found with them.

The Book of Mormon was supposed to have been written by the North American Hebrews who migrated 600 years before the birth of Christ yet it contains what appear to be direct quotes from the New Testament of Jesus. Not only that, but the quotes are from the King James version which was written in 1611 AD, 1811 years after the migration and 1190 years after the Hebrews were killed off.

Reformed Egyptian is not a language or writing system known to linguists. At one point Smith transcribed some of the “reformed Egyptian” and the transcription was taken to the linguist, Charles Anthon for examination. Anthon has been quoted as saying, ” the paper contained any thing else but ‘Egyptian Hieroglyphics.” It appears to contain characters from Greek, Hebrew, Latin, and a host of other writing systems, including Gregg Shorthand.

Later in life Smith bought four mummies and some papyrus scrolls from a traveling exhibit. He translated two of the scrolls and claimed that Abraham and Joseph (the son of Abraham) wrote them. They even had Abraham’s signature. The scrolls told stories about Abraham’s life including how he was nearly sacrificed to a pagan god and how he taught the Egyptians astronomy. These scrolls as translated by Smith became “The Book of Abraham” and are included in the “Pearl of Great Price.” The “Pearl of Great Price” is part of the cannon of scripture in the LDS church.

In 1968 three Egyptologist made separate but consistent interpretations of some of the scrolls after they were rediscovered. They found that the scrolls were funerary documents. They included such things as instruction on how to wrap a mummy properly. They were also 1500 years too young for Abraham to have written his signature on them.

All in all the Mormons hold four books to be scriptural including the King James Version of the Bible “as rightly translated“, the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. Because the Bible is said to have been mistranslated and abridged, it is the least authoritative of the four books. The Living Prophet is the Head of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and he is considered another source of doctrine.

Mitt Romney has said that the leaders of the LDS church would not inform his presidency, and I am tempted to believe him. However it seems that for him to not listen to the Living Prophet would be to go against the very doctrines which he holds so dear.

According to the official magazine of the Mormon Church until 1970, Improvement Era,

“When our leaders speak, the thinking has been done. When they propose a plan-it is God’s plan. When they point the way, there is no other which is safe. When they give directions, it should mark the end of controversy.”

Also note that, according to Ezra Taft Benson (former Living Prophet) the Living Prophet is “more vital to us than the Standard Works.”

There is one Mormon doctrine which I would like to touch on before closing out this post, that of God.

26 And Zeezrom said unto him: Thou sayest there is a true and living God?
27 And Amulek said: Yea, there is a true and living God.
28 Now Zeezrom said: Is there more than one God?
29 And he answered, No.
30 Now Zeezrom said unto him again: How knowest thou these things?
31 And he said: An angel hath made them known unto me.
                                                           –Book of Mormon, Alma, chapter 11:26-31So clearly for all their faults Mormons believe in one god, they are monotheists. Here are the words of Living Prophet, Joseph Smith, more vital than the Standard Works. “I have always declared God to be a distinct personage, Jesus Christ a separate and distinct personage from God the Father, and that the Holy Ghost was a distinct personage and a Spirit: and these three constitute three distinct personages and three Gods.”
                                                                    – From Joseph Smith’s “Plurality of Gods Sermon” 1844So they believe in three gods, the three people of the trinity. This is heresy to Catholics and Protestants alike but at least they are not polytheists in the traditional sense. Here is Smith, the Living Prophet again.“and you have got to learn how to be gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all gods have done before you”
                                                                       -From Joseph Smith’s “King Follet Sermon” 1844

Do we as Americans really want a president who either does not know how many gods he believes in or believes in a contradiction? Do we want a president who believes that a man in the 19th century translated a sacred book given to him by an angel in a form of writing that does not exist? Do we want a president who believes that a race of ancient Hebrews lived in North America for over a 1,000 years and left no trace? I certainly hope not.

“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:8 ESV, bolding mine.

“But though we, or an Angel from heauen, preach any other Gospel vnto you, then that which wee haue preached vnto you, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:8 King James Version 1611, bolding mine.