Do the Mormons Really
Deny Jesus?
The Answer is Absolutely Yes!
"Whom Do Ye Say That I Am?"
Jesus obviously felt it was important for his disciples to know his true identity. Although the Mormon Church professes to believe in Jesus Christ, we will see that they actually deny most of the essentials of: A) Who he is (prophetically and ancestrally); and B) What he did. If anyone redefines who Jesus is and what he did, they have a different (false) Christ. For example, if I were to teach that, "Jesus was born in Japan in 1830, He killed 24 people, He even lied to many people during his lifetime, and finally died in 1902 of old age," I would be teaching a false Jesus. At the least, I would be denying his birth place, his Jewish ancestry, and his death on the cross. If I were to teach these things about Jesus Christ, they would be enough to define a different (false) Jesus Christ.
By definition, anyone who professes a false Christ denies the true one. Jesus wants us to recognize him and follow him only. The question is, "Do the Mormons profess the true Jesus Christ or a false one?"
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The True Jesus Has Always Been God
The Bible says that Jesus has always been God (John 1:1-14), and there is only one God in existence (Is. 44:6). However, the Mormon Church teaches that God the Father is a resurrected human man who is a married being who has "spirit children" in Heaven. Mormonism teaches that every human being born on this earth was first born in Heaven to God and one of his wives. Accordingly, Jesus was also born in the pre-existence to God the Father and one of his wives in heaven, just like all other human and demonic beings.
The Mormon Church teaches that Jesus is the first baby born to God in heaven. They also teach that Jesus and Lucifer were brothers in Heaven (Gospel Through the Ages - 1946 Priesthood Manual by Milton R. Hunter, p. 15). The Bible says that Jesus created everything that was created and made (John 1:3, Col. 1:16). This includes the Devil since only God was in existence in the beginning. By saying that Jesus only came into being when he was born in the pre-existence and had to work out his way to becoming a God, Mormonism denies Jesus' Godhood from all eternity.
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The Trinity or Polytheism?
The God of the Bible says that there is only one God in existence (Isaiah 44:8). He knows of no other God in existence. Before Him there were no Gods formed, neither will there be any Gods formed after Him (Isaiah 43:10). Although from our vantage point, we see three separate personages (Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost), these three separate personages are somehow the one eternal God. No one seems to be able to explain just exactly and precisely how this happens, but since the Bible says it, true Bible believers believe it. Sometimes it is explained like this: "There exists only one eternal God who manifests himself in three distinct personages, ... Father, Son and Holy Ghost."
Mormons, however, consider God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost to be three separate gods who are one only in purpose. They also believe that god their father has a god who was his father, who has a god the father to him, and so on into eternity past. The Mormon temple ceremony teaches that men can become gods themselves, who can become gods to their sons, who can become gods to their sons, and so on into the unending future (What's Going On In There by Chuck Sackett).
Mormonism also teaches that Jesus Christ, the devil, and the Holy Ghost are brothers born to God the Father and one of his wives in Heaven during the pre-world existence. Mormonism believes in the existence of an infinite number of gods. Because they believe that more than one god exists, it is obvious that Mormonism is polytheistic (Webster's Dictionary) and therefore truly denies the biblical meaning of the trinity.
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The Highest "Gospel" Goal
The highest goal of every faithful male Latter-day Saint (Mormon) is to strive to become a God like his Heavenly Father. Heavenly Father's spirit children must come to earth and live a mortal life, then die, be resurrected, and work their way up to the Celestial Kingdom in order to become Gods or Goddesses themselves (Gospel Principles, Chapter 47; Mormon Doctrine, p. 238). Thus Mormonism belittles Jesus' Godhood by making it attainable to sinful man.
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His Birth Place
The Book of Mormon, prophesies that Jesus would be born "at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers" (Alma 7:10). This is a false prophesy because Jerusalem has always been a city, it has never been a land. Also it is very clear in the Bible, that Jesus' birth happened in "Bethlehem of Judea." (Matt. 2:1) It is interesting that most Mormons do not believe that Jesus was born in Jerusalem. Those who agree with the Book of Mormon obviously reject his Biblical birthplace.
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The Virgin Birth
The Bible and the Book of Mormon agree that Jesus was born of a virgin. This sign was given in the Old Testament. "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). The Bible says, "She was found to be with child through the Holy Ghost" (Matt. 1:18-28).
The Book of Mormon agrees, "...she being a virgin ... who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost..." (Alma 7:10) However, Brigham Young denied this Biblical truth: "Now remember from this time forth and for ever, that Jesus Christ was not begotten by the Holy Ghost" (Journal of Discourses Vol. 1, p. 51).
The meaning of "virgin" is that Mary had never had sex with anyone. Mormon prophets and apostles have continually taught that God the Father came down to earth with his glorified physical body, parts, and passions and had sex with the "virgin" Mary to form the body of Jesus Christ. Mormon Apostle James Talmage calls this act "celestial sireship" (Jesus the Christ, p. 81).
Apostle Bruce R. McConkie says that it happened in the "same way that mortal sons are born to mortal fathers". He also said that it happened in the "normal and natural" way (Mormon Doctrine, p. 742).
Ezra Taft Benson (former prophet of the Mormon Church who died in 1994), not only stated that Jesus was not begotten by the Holy Ghost, but also that Jesus was literally "sired" by God the Father (Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p. 7). He then goes on to say that Mary was "called a virgin both before and after she gave birth." By this statement, the Mormon prophet is saying that although Jesus was "sired [sexual relations] by that same being we worship as God our Eternal Father", we will still "call" his mother a "virgin."
This definition obviously disagrees with Webster's Dictionary and our common usage of the term "virgin." (additional references: 1972 Family Home Evening pp. 125-6, The Seer pp. 158-9, Defense of the Faith of the Saints--B.H. Roberts, Vol. 2, p. 268) It should be obvious now that the Mormon Church denies the biblical meaning of the "virgin birth."
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