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?

Time, Space, Spirit and the Unchangeable Being

      Mosiah 4:9 says, "Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth;..."  Time is a thing given to us on this earth.  Mosiah and Alma proclaim that "all things" have been created by God.  So we can assume that God created time.  Alma 18:28&29 also speak of creation.  "...Believest thou that this Great Spirit, who is God, created all things which are in heaven and in the earth?  And he said: Yea, I believe that he created all things which are in the earth;..."  Alma 22:10 says, "...he is that Great Spirit, and he created all things both in heaven and in earth."
      Moroni 8:18 speaks about time, "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 verse could have said that God has an unchanging purpose.  Instead Moroni said that he is an "unchangeable being".  How is it possible that this unchangeable being existed "from all eternity to all eternity"?  Could he exist since the beginning of time?  Here is the simple answer:  He existed before time because he created time.  He is beyond time.  Time is simply one of his creations.  It is proper to say that He is from all eternity to all eternity because He is the Creator of time.  Mosiah 3:5 also speaks of time:  "...the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay,..."  Moroni 7:22 again mentions time: "For behold, God knowing all things, being from everlasting to everlasting,..."  Mormon 9:19 also mentions an unchangeable being: "And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being?  And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles."
      Here is a problem:  How can one physically exist without time to exist?  If God created all things, then what about space?  Space is a thing.  Can anyone physically exist without space to exist in?  The Book of Mormon solves this dilemma.  We already mentioned it in Alma 22:10.  "And Aaron said unto him: Yea, he is that Great Spirit, and he created all things both in heaven and in earth..."  God created time and space.  A physical body requires space to exist in and time to exist in that space.  God is not subject to his creation.  He does not require his creation in order to exist.  This is quite a remarkable solution!!
      Here is another problem:  How was it possible for God to attain infinite power in a finite amount of time.  Mosiah 3:17,18 & 21 say that God is omnipotent - all powerful or having infinite power.  Here is an example:  If the distance from New York to Los Angeles was an infinite amount of miles, how long would it take to travel from one of the cities to the other.  The answer is that it would take an infinite amount of time to travel an infinite of miles.  However time is finite since it was created by God.  There was a beginning to time when God made it.  So how does one get to infinite power and infinite knowledge?  The Book of Mormon tells us that God was already God before time began.  As we quoted before in Moroni 8:18, "...God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity."  You do not have to travel to a place if you are already there.  God was already omnipotent (infinite power) and omniscient (infinite knowledge) before he created time.  This is a brilliant solution!
      Some people say that they cannot believe in a god that they cannot understand.  This fact is stated in Mosiah 4:9.  "Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend."  An infinite mind, like the mind of God, can understand infinity.  Sometimes a finite mind does not even understand what is finite.  We are finite.  If you are praying to an exalted, finite man-god that is understandable, then you have missed the God of the Book of Mormon.  The true God is beyond our understanding.  That is one reason he is God.