"Christianity Contrasted to Mormonism" - Who is God? recap

On Monday November 28^th, 2016 we had our fourth meeting to study “Christianity Contrasted to Mormonism.” This meeting was spent contrasting the Mormon concept of God with the Christian concept of God. As we studied the attributes of God we did a little systematic theology, examining the scriptural support for the biblical, Christian characteristics of God. 

You can check out the slides we reviewed and/or a video of the class here. A written recap is provided here…

It was important to distinguish between the “Mormon God” and “Christian God” so that there was no confusion when we talk about “God”. We both use the same word (God) but mean different things, as we will see.

Mormon God: Dependent, Changing, Morally Imperfect, Not Omnipotent

The Mormon God is only god in virtue of there being other gods before him who made a way for him to have become god. Additionally, the Mormon God earn godhood. He was once a man who became god. So the Mormon God has not always been god but has changed in status by “overcoming problems, just as we have to do on this earth” (LDS church manual). This implies that the Mormon God may have sinned and is, in any case, not morally perfect or flawless.

The Mormon God is also not all-powerful. Being one of many gods there are higher gods that the Mormon God is subject to and thus not the all-powerful (omnipotent) being. Further, the Mormon God lacking in power as he is reckoned to have the ability to create matter but can organize existing matter.  

Critical Questions about the Mormon God

As we talked about the Mormon God we identified some deeply curious questions that expose faults in the Mormon concept of God.

• If becoming human is required to become God, who created the first God?
• If God is subject to laws, who/what is the eternal lawgiver?
• If God can change what assurance can a person have in him?

Christian God: Independent, Unchanging, Morally Perfect, Omnipotent

In contrast to the Mormon God, the Christian God is God by necessity. The Christian God of the Bible doesn’t need anything (Acts 17:24-25; Job 41:11; Ps 50:10-12). The Christian God simply is God (“I AM WHO I AM”, Ex 3:14). And the Christian God has always been God having neither beginning nor end (Ps 90:2; Ps 102:27; Mal 3:16; Isa 43:10). The Bible knows nothing of a myriad of gods as described in Mormonism. The Christian God declares that “before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me” (Isa 43:10). There is only one God (Deut 6:4; Mark 12:32, 34; 1 Chron 17:20).

The Christian God is holy, flawless, and the very standard of goodness itself. God is good (Luke 18:19; Pss 100:5; 106:1; 107:1; 34:8). In contrast to the Mormon God, the Christian God of the Bible never sinned.

The Christian God is omnipotent. Unlike the Mormon God, the Christian God created matter itself as all things that were created were created by God (Gen 1:1; John 1:3; 1 Cor 8:6; Heb 1:2). Nothing is impossible with the Christian God (Gen 18:14; Jer 32:27; Luke 1:37).  All things are possible with God (Matt 19:26).

Mormon God: Material and not Omnipresent

Joseph Smith was very clear in stating that God is made of material stuff: “that which is without body or parts is nothing. There is no God in heaven but that God who has flesh and bones”. Smith even claims to have seen the physical body of God the Father in his “first vision”. Because he is confined by a physical body the Mormon God cannot be personally present everywhere.

Christian God: Immaterial and Omnipresent

The Bible is plain in stating that “God is spirit” (John 4:24). [This verse was removed by Joseph Smith in his “translation” of the Bible.] The Christian God is not made of stuff, He is invisible (Col 1:15; 1 Tim 1:17; Heb 11:27). Furthermore the Bible shows that the Christian God loathes being made in the image of any created thing (Ex 20:4-5; Ps 50:21; Num 23:19; Rom 1:22-23) because He is so other and transcendent.

The Christian God is not limited to a certain physical location (1 King 8:27), like the Mormon God. There is nowhere that one can go to flee God’s presence (Ps 139) because God is fully present everywhere (Jer 23:23-24; Isa 66:1; Acts 17:24, 28).

Summary contrast of the Mormon God and Christian God

In the end the differences between the Mormon God and Christian God are not superficial. They are so fundamental that it should be clear that although we use both use the word God we are talking about very different beings. The Mormon God is an exalted man subject to higher beings. The Christian God is the one and only God, subject to no one, needing no one for His divinity, existing always and forever as God, the holy foundation of goodness, invisible, and always present.

Mormon Jesus and Christian Jesus

We closed with a few words on some differences between the Mormon Jesus and Christian Jesus. Again, Mormons and Christians both say “Jesus” but mean different things. The Mormon Jesus is a created being who earned his divinity, possibly through marriage to multiple women. The Christian Jesus is the uncreated Creator (Col 1:15-17; John 1:1-3); He is God who took on flesh.

The incarnation even has very meaningful differences in Mormonism and Christianity. The Mormon Jesus was produced by relations between the Mormon God and Mary “literally, actually, as men are the sons of mortal parents” (LDS church pamphlet). Given the doctrine that the Mormon God and Heavenly Mother procreated all humans, it is hard to avoid to implication that Jesus is the product of an incestuous relationship. In contrast, the Christian Jesus is the second person of the Trinity who took on humanity being miraculously born of the Virgin Mary (Matt 1:18; John 1:1-3). These differences show that the meaning of Christmas between Mormons and Christians are very different.

Next Time

Another foundational difference between the Mormon God and the Christian God is the concept of the Trinity. In Mormonism each member of the traditional trinity is an individual god. Christianity says that there is one God who is three persons. Next time we will examine this unique doctrine and the biblical evidence for it.

We will pick up next Monday, December 5^th, 2016 same time, same place (7-8:30pm at Mt. Zion UMC education building rooms 13-15). Hope to see you all there!