Will you choose the dark light of Joseph Smith, or the true light of Jesus Christ?
John recorded – “Then Jesus cried out and said, ‘He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him – the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.’” (John 12: 44-50)
Jesus came as the Old Testament prophets had prophesied. Isaiah wrote of Messiah’s coming – “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined.” (Isa. 9: 2) As John quoted above, Jesus said when He came – “’I have come as a light unto the world…’” Isaiah also said speaking of Messiah – “I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house.” (Isa. 42: 6-7) John also quoted Jesus as saying – “that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness…” The Psalmist wrote – “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119: 105) He also wrote – “The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.” (Psalm 119: 130) Isaiah wrote – “Who among you fears the Lord? Who obeys the voice of His Servant? Who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely upon his God.” (Isa. 50: 10)
Jesus came speaking God’s word. John wrote that in Him was life; and the life was the light of men (John 1: 4). He came to bring people out of the darkness and deception of this evil world. Speaking of Jesus, Paul wrote to the Colossians – “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” (Col. 1: 13-14) John wrote in his first epistle – “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 Jn. 1: 5-7)
God is light, and He does not want us to abide in darkness. He has revealed His love and His righteousness through the life of Jesus Christ. He offers us His righteousness, as we accept His death on the cross as full payment for our sins. Satan is continually attempting to lure people into his “dark” light. His “dark” light always appears as true light. It appears as good. However; it can always be discerned as dark, when it is revealed by the truth and light of God’s word in the Bible. Consider the following from the Mormon Church website: “In its fullness, the gospel includes all the doctrines, principles, laws, ordinances, and covenants necessary for us to be exalted in the celestial kingdom. The Savior has promised that if we endure to the end, faithfully living the gospel, He will hold us guiltless before the Father at the Final Judgment. The fullness of the gospel has been preached in all ages when God’s children have been prepared to receive it. In the latter days, or the dispensation of the fullness of times, the gospel has been restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith.” However, the biblical gospel is the simple “good news” of salvation through what Jesus Christ has done. How can a person “live” the gospel? What Jesus did for us is the good news. No doubt, to “live the gospel” implies required Mormon works and ordinances.
Consider what Scofield wrote about Gnosticim: “This false teaching assigned to Christ a place subordinate to the true Godhead, and undervalued the uniqueness and completeness of His redemptive work.” (Scofield 1636) The Gnostics used the word “fullness” to describe the entire host of intermediary beings between God and man (1636). Note, the Mormons claim that all the doctrines, principles, laws, and ordinances, and covenants of the “fullness” of the gospel (or of the Mormon Church itself) are necessary to enter heaven. The biblical gospel teaches that all that is needed for entrance into heaven is faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. The Mormon gospel and the biblical gospel are completely distinct.
I testify that salvation is in Jesus Christ alone. There is no need for a “fullness” of the gospel. The Colossians were listening to Gnostic teachers. Paul proclaimed the following to them about Jesus – “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.” (Col. 1: 15-20) The “fullness” of the Mormon gospel devalues and diminishes the completeness of Jesus’ salvation. Requiring people to make covenants in Mormon temples to give everything to the Mormon organization, focuses their time, talents, and efforts on fulfilling the requirements of the organization, rather than developing a vital relationship with Jesus Christ.
The root of Mormonism is based in and on Joseph Smith. He rejected the biblical gospel of grace. In order to build up his own kingdom, he convinced many people that he was God’s prophet. However, if you look at the historical evidence about him, you will see that he was a fraud. He was not only a fraud, but an adulterer, polygamist, counterfeiter, and a practicing occultist. The leaders of the Mormon organization know they are practicing spiritual fraud. They continue to lie about, and spin their true history. The Mormon church is not that stone cut out of the mountain that will crush all other kingdoms. Jesus Christ and His Kingdom is that stone, and He has not yet returned but one day He will.
I challenge any Mormons reading this to put down the doctrines and teachings of Joseph Smith and study the New Testament. Prayerfully consider what it teaches about Jesus Christ. The true gospel of grace can set you free from the “dark” light you have been encompassed by. Will you trust your eternity to the gospel of Joseph Smith, or to Jesus Christ?
References:
Scofield, C. I., ed. The Scofield Study Bible. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.
https://www.lds.org/topics/gospel?lang=eng
