God's Heart Test

Photo by Bruno Delfino on Unsplash

Some claim that Mormons are Chirstians. Some say that Mormons are not Christians. Others are publicaly silent on the matter and simply do not respond to Mormon claims of being Christian. Many say that God will not let his people be led astray. The Israelites were God’s people and they were definitely led astray by false prophets to serve false gods. Is this permissible? Does God allow this?

Deuteronomy 13:3 says God tests the heart of his people. How does God test the heart? He allows false prophets to come along, perfom miracles and persuade people to follow other gods. Dueteronomy 13:1-4 says, “If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD you God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.” As we read the next five verses, we see that the Israelites were never to compromise or be accomodating toward these false prophets.

Lorenzo Snow prophesied and said, “As man now is, God once was; as God now is, man may be.” Many Mormons are praying to an exalted man. They believe that God is an exalted man in heaven with many wives. These wives give birth to spirit children that will populate a world of their creation. They literally plan to be gods of their own world and be worshipped by its’ people.

Isaiah, the prophet, had a lot to say about the nature of God. "To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One."(Isaiah 40:25) "...I the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am he." (Isaiah 41:4) "...before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour." (Isaiah 43:10&11) "...I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God."(Isaiah 44:6) God, who is onmiscient, made this statement in Isaiah 44:8: "...Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any." Isaiah 45:5&6 says, "I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me:...That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else." Isaiah 45:21 says, "...there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me." The prophet continues this message in Isaiah 45:18&22, Isaiah 46:5&9 and Isaiah 48:11&12.

Isaiah stated that God does not share his glory. Isaiah 42:8 says, "I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images." Isaiah 48:11 says, "...I will not give my glory unto another." Isaiah gives an example of this in Isaiah 14:12-15. “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! Art thou cut down to the ground, which did weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thy heart: I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.”

Some will say that if we truly have the Spirit of God, we will not argue about the nature of God or about theological doctirne. Moses strongly argued against false prophets in Deuteronomy chapters 13 and 18. Isaiah strongly argued about the nature of the everlasting God in the book of Isaiah. The Apostle Paul strongly argued for his gospel in the book of Galations. To say that a person does not have the Spirit of God if he argues doctrine is a false statement. God is testing our hearts. Will we listen to false prophets? Will we turn to false gods? Do we love our neighbor enough to share the truth? Where is our heart?

Choose your God this day

    President Lorenzo Snow

 "As man is, God once was; as God is man can become".  These were the words of Mormon prophet and president Lorenzo Snow.  Moroni 8:18 speaks of another God who is not a changeable being:  "For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity." This God did not begin as a spirit being.  He was not required to take on the form of a man.  He did not have to ascend into exaltation.   He definitely did not have to become God.  He always HAS BEEN God and will always BE God.

      Have you been praying to an exalted man or the eternal God found in Moroni 8:18?  If you have been worshiping an exalted man, he is not the God found in Moroni 8:18.  It is a big temptation to seek our own glory and exaltation!   It is tempting to focus on a goddess wife.  It is very tempting to try to ascend to godhood over our own world.  REPENT, REPENT, REPENT!!!  Let us bend our knee to the great God that always was, always is and always will be God!  Let us submit ourselves to His will.  Let us only worship Him in all of His majesty!!!

"...and I will not give my glory unto another."  Isaiah 48:11

"Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,"  Isaiah 46:9

"Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last."  Isaiah 48:12

"I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded the, though thou hast not known me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me, I am the LORD, and there is none else."  Isaiah 45:5-6

"For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else."  Isaiah 45:18

"...there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.  Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else."  Isaiah 45:21-22

"To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?"  Isaiah 46:5

"Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God."  Isaiah 44:6

"Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it?  ye are even my witnesses,  Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any."  Isaiah 44:8

"I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images."  Isaiah 42:8

"To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One?"  Isaiah 40:25

"...I am the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he."  Isaiah 41:4

"And Zeezrom said unto him: Thou sayest there is a true and living God.  And Amulek said: yea, there is a true and living God.  Now Zeezrom said: Is there more than one God?  And he answered, No."  Alma 11:26-29

Sharing God's GLORY???

1 Nephi 20:11 says, "...I will not give my glory unto another."  Some people try to rationalize this away by saying God will not give His glory to people who go about it the wrong way.  They say that God wants everyone to be like Him.  However the context is not about overly ambitious people who go about it the wrong way.  We see in verse 9 that he is talking about people who are not cut off.  Verse 10 says, "...I have refined thee, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction."  He is speaking to these people when He says He will not give His glory to another.  In verse 12 He speaks to Israel and says, "...I am the first, and I also am the last."  There was no God before Him that He had to share His glory with. And there is no god after Him that he will have to share his glory with. Isaiah 42:8 says, "I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images."  Isaiah 44:8 says, "...Is there a God beside me?  yea, there is no God; I know not any."  Isaiah 44:6 says, "...I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God."  Isaiah 45:5 says, "I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me:..."

All Religions Have Truth????

Can truth be found everywhere?  Do all roads lead to Rome?  Do all religions have truth?  If you study the Jews and Israelis in the Old Testament, you will see that they believed this.  They were involved in all the religions of their time. In the Old Testament, the Israeli's relationship with God was often compared to the relationship between a man and wife. The prophets many times referred to Judah and Israel as "harlot" sisters. Instead of being loyal to their God, they went after other gods like an unfaithful wife goes after other men.  Jeremiah 3:11 says, "And the Lord said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more that treacherous Judah." That was the KJV.  The NIV paraphrases the verse this way: "The Lord said unto me, "Faithless Israel is more righteous than unfaithful Judah. In other words, it is better to just follow other gods than to follow Jehovah God and other gods. It is better for a woman not to marry than it is for her to marry and follow after other men. Israel stopped following God from King Jeroboam on through their history. Judah had some righteous and some unrighteous kings. John 14:6 says, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." What a powerful verse. Not MY way - Jesus is the way.  Not my truth or what is relatively right for me - Jesus is the truth.

Brigham Young's Adam-God

     The Adam-God doctrine is not found in the standard works.  Brigham Young was the only Mormon prophet that taught this obscure belief.  In 1852 he said, "...When our father Adam came into the garden of Eden, he came into it with a celestial body, and brought Eve, one of his wives, with him.  He helped to make and organize this world.  He is Michael, the Archangel, the Ancient of Days! about whom holy men have written and spoken - he is our Father and our God, and the only God with whom we have to do" (Journal of Discourses 1:50).  Brigham Young said, "What a learned idea!  Jesus, our elder brother, was begotten in the flesh by the same character that was in the garden of Eden, and who is our Father in Heaven.  Now, let all who may hear these doctrines, pause before they make light of them, or treat them with indifference, for they will prove their salvation or damnation" (Journal of Discourses 1:51).  In 1861 Young said, "...some years ago, I advanced a doctrine with regard to Adam being our father and God, that will be a cause to many Elders of Israel because of their folly.  With regard to it they yet grovel in darkness and will.  It is one of the most glorious revealments of the economy of heaven, yet the world holds it dirrision" (Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Spring 1982, p. 29).  In 1873 Brigham Young said, "How much unbelief exists in the minds of the Latter-day Saints in regard to one particular doctrine which is revealed to them, and which God revealed to me - namely that Adam is our father and God" (Brigham Young, Deseret News, June 18, 1873, p. 308).
     Here is the question:  Was Brigham Young teaching the God of the Bible?  Did he describe the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?  In the Bible, Adam was a man that was created by God.  Brigham Young's Adam was God of this earth!  Deuteronomy 13:1-6 says, "If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.  Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.  And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the Lord thy God commanded thee to walk in.  So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee."