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."

Zelph - The White Lamanite

     Years ago, a Mormon friend of mine said that Native Americans on the reservation would get a lighter skin color when they became good Mormons.  I wondered where she got such an outlandish, crazy idea.  Mormon scripture certainly has a different view of race.  2 Nephi 5:21 says, "And he had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity.  For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, that they had become like unto a flint; wherefore, as they were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto my people the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them."  Surprisingly, the Book of Mormon calls dark skin a curse!  Jacob 3:5 also mentions the dark skin curse, "Behold, the Lamanites your brethren, whom ye hate because of their filthiness and the cursing which hath come upon their skins,..."  Jacob 3:8 says, "...O my brethren, I fear that unless ye shall repent of your sins that their skins will be whiter than yours, when ye shall be brought with them before the throne of God."  (In the Book of Mormon, the Lamanites were Indians and the Nephites were white people.) 
     Alma 3:6-9 says, "And the skins of the Lamanites were dark, according to the mark which was set upon their fathers, which was a curse upon them because of their transgression and their rebellion against their brethren,... and the Lord set a mark upon them, yea, upon Laman and Lemuel, and also the sons of Ishmael, and Ishmaelitish women.  And this was done that their seed might be distinguished from the seed of their brethren, that thereby the Lord God might preserve his people, that they might not mix and believe in incorrect traditions which would prove their destruction.  And it came to pass that whosoever did mingle his seed with that of the Lamanites did bring the same curse upon his seed."  3 Nephi 2:14-16 seems to give us the opposite message:  "And it came to pass that those Lamanites who had united with the Nephites were numbered among the Nephites; And their curse was taken from them, and their skin became white like unto the Nephites;  And their young men and their daughters became exceedingly fair, and they were numbered among the Nephites, and were called Nephites...." 
     In the History of the Church 2:79-80, Joseph Smith found a skeleton and said it was Zelph:  "I discovered that the person whose skeleton was before us was a white Lamanite, a large, thick-set man, and a man of God.  His name was Zelph.  He was a warrior and chieftain under the great prophet Onandagus, who was known from the Hill Cumorah, or eastern sea to the Rocky mountains.  The curse was taken from Zelph,..." 
     On the contrary, in I Samuel 16:7, we find that the God of the Bible looks at the heart:  "...for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."  James 2:1-9 tells us that it is a sin to show favoritism based on outward appearances.

Civil War Prophesy - D&C 87

     In Doctrine and Covenants 87, the prophet Joseph Smith prophesied about the Civil War.  Does this chapter prove that he was a prophet of God?  Joseph Smith described a chain reaction of events.  The South called upon Great Britain and other nations.   Other nations were added to the Civil war until all the nations of the earth were involved.  Verse 2, 3 and 6 use the words "all nations."  The Civil War was very destructive in America, but it did not affect or involve "all nations."  The North controlled the ocean. Their blockade of the South would not have been possible if Great Britain had joined the war. 
     Verse 4 said slaves would rise up against their masters and "be marshaled and disciplined for war."  Freedom for the slaves didn't happen until the end of the war.  They were not "marshaled and disciplined for war" against their masters.
     Verse 6 said the inhabitants of the earth "shall mourn" the sword, bloodshed, famine, plague, earthquake, thunder and lightning "until the consumption decreed hath made a full end of all nations;..."  The Civil was very destructive to the South, but it did not make a "full end of all nations."
     Verse 7 said the "cry of the saints... shall cease to come up into the ears of the Lord...."  Today, saints still cry out to God.
     Politicians and statesmen spent decades compromising to avoid war.  Many people were predicting the Civil War.  However, when we look at the details of the prophesy in Doctrine and Covenants 87, it does not match the events that took place.  It is not proof that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. 

Moroni 8:18 - The Unchangeable God

     Can God advance?  Can he attain to a higher level?  Can he learn more or become greater?  Moroni 8:18 says, "For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity."  How can God have always been God?  In the book Miracles of Forgiveness, Spencer W. Kimball said that God is "omniscient and omnipotent."  How could God attain infinite knowledge and infinite power without ever changing?  Here is an example of the question:  If I were going to run an infinite number of miles to a finish line, how long would it take?  It would take an infinite amount of time.  So how do I get to the finish line which is an infinite number of miles away?  One answer is to already be there (no running required).  How long would it take to gain infinite knowledge and infinite power?  It would take an infinite amount of time.  God is able to have infinite knowledge and power by already being God all the way into the past and all the way into the future.  Moroni 8:18 says that God is "unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity."  God is already past the finish line and he was always past the finish line!  Praise be to the God who was and is and always will be God!
     Some say they can not believe in a God that they cannot comprehend.  If you believe in a finite god that your finite mind can comprehend, is that really the true God?  I thank God that he is beyond my finite mind's comprehension.
     John 1:3 says that God has made all things.  Time and space are also things made by God.  God is not subject to his creation.  He is not confined to the time and space he created.  He is God of all and over all.  God is all-knowing, all-powerful and truly amazing!  Praise Him always!

D&C 1:31 Least Degree of Allowance

     Suppose you are doing the "best you can do."  Does God make up the rest?  We always say that "nobody is perfect."  If we have repented and stopped most of our lying, coveting and stealing, is it good enough to get us by?  Is it a gradual process of repentance and gradually forsaking sin?  If we are looking to our goodness, how good is good enough?  If you are married, you try to overlook some of your partners faults.  Does God do the same for us?
     D&C 1:31 says,  "For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance;"  This verse tells us how much sin God overlooks.  Helaman 4:24 say, "...the Spirit of the Lord doth not dwell in unholy temples."  Many people describe repentance as a gradual process.  But D&C 58:43 says, "By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins - behold, he will confess them and forsake them."  Alma 11:37 is a strong verse:  "And I say unto you again that he cannot save them in their sins; for I cannot deny his word, and he hath said that no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore, how can ye be saved, except ye inherit the kingdom of heaven?  Therefore, ye cannot be saved in your sins."
     The Book of Mormon  and Doctrine and Covenants do not describe a gradual process of repentance or of doing the "best you can."  These scriptures do not speak about us doing a portion and God coming along to make up the rest.  Repentance is tied to forsaking sin.  Forsaking sin is tied to being saved.  In spite of what people say and think, it is clear what these scriptures say about repentance and salvation.  If we are looking to our works and the law, it is clear what the expectation is - perfection.

Deny...all ungodliness,..grace Moroni 10:32

     Moroni 10:32 is an if-then statement: "Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God."
     A friend of mine, Keith Walker, has compared this verse to the common example of vegetables and dessert!  "If you eat all your vegetables, then you get to have some dessert."  Many of us have heard this saying when we were young.  Now we all want to have God's sufficient grace but according to this verse, it is not for everyone.  His grace is only for those who have denied themselves of all ungodliness and loved God with all their might, mind and strength.  So who does this apply to?  Has any honest person really denied themselves of all ungodliness?  Has anyone purged themselves of all covetousness and evil thoughts?  Have you loved God with all your strength?  If you have prayed for 30 minutes, could you have prayed for 40 minutes?  If you have given to the poor, could you have given more?  If you have fasted for 3 days, could you have fasted longer?  Have you given all?  According to this verse, are you going to receive God's sufficient grace?  If you are honest, you are probably going to say no.  Will our own works ever be enough?  If we continue looking at our own good works, we are going to be disappointed.  Our only hope is to fix our eyes on Christ and depend on his complete work on the cross.  Isaiah 53:5 says, "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."

I Nephi 3:7

     I Nephi 3:7 is a very serious verse.  I doubt that many people really believe it.  It says, "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."  According to this verse, we should be able to do all of God's commands since he has only given us commands that he has prepared the way for us to accomplish.  The verse does not say that we should be able to accomplish most of God's commands.  In that case we would not have to be perfect.  It does not say that we should be able to accomplish more and more of the commands through a gradual process of repentance as we gain knowledge.  If you were to accomplish all of God's commands you would basically need to be perfect.  If you believe that nobody is perfect, then you probably disagree with this verse.  This scripture requires perfection to be true.  Are you living perfectly and accomplishing all of God's commands?  According to this verse, you should be able to.  Do you agree with this verse completely or do you think perfection is impossible?