Category Archives: Official Church Media

This is audio/video content put out by the LDS church.

Basic Beliefs and Practices, Official Church Media, Videos

Do Mormons believe in a Plurality of Gods?

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Do Mormons believe in a plurality of Gods?Among the doctrines taught in the realm of Christianity, none seem to divide “mainstream” Christianity from the LDS faith more than the doctrine of the Godhead, or “Trinity.” No doctrine of mainstream Christianity is more confusing than the Nicene Creed which makes the statement that Jesus Christ is “of one substance with the Father.” This is a concept which is not only difficult to wrap your head around, but it is not supported by the Bible.

The most confusing part of this doctrine for most of the Christian world, comes as Jesus repeatedly tells us that He and His Father are “one.” What does that mean? To the Christian world at-large, it means they are the same being, able to break the laws of physics and occupy different areas of space simultaneously, in different states of matter (spirit (gas?) and solid (mortal body)). The Bible does not agree with this concept and it is easy to understand what Jesus was really talking about by an examination of a few scriptures. This is only a sampling. There are many that could be used.

Jesus denied being the Father

Matthew 20
23 And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.

Mark 10
17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.

Luke 10
21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.
22 All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.

John 5
19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

John 14
28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.

Even as a resurrected, glorified being, Jesus told Mary that he was not God or the Father. He worshiped the Father just as He instructed us to do.

John 20
17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

Paul the apostle wrote to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 15:28, clearly identifying that the Son would be subject to the Father. A person cannot be subject to himself…

28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

Paul also wrote to the Philippians that Christ was not God.

Philip. 2:5-6

5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

Manifestations that members of the Godhead are separate beings

Matthew 3
16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Matthew 16
5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them [Peter, James, John, and Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration]: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.

Acts 7
55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

But Jesus said, “I and my Father are one”?

One charge from those who believe in the Trinity concept is that Jesus told Philip the following, indicating that he was the Father.

John 14
9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

Paul specifically addresses this by pointing out that the Father and the Son are in the express image of each other. They look alike, just as Adam and Seth his son looked alike (Genesis 5:3).

Hebrews 1:3
3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:

Another charge is that Jesus said He and His Father were one.

John 10:29-30
29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
30 I and my Father are one.

This is easily understood by Jesus’ prayer for his disciples and those they would teach, that they might see eye-to-eye, have a common purpose and vision, and ultimately function as a whole.

John 17:20-23
20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

Which is the more Biblically sound concept? That God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three separate beings with a common purpose? Or that these three beings are actually the same being? Clearly, the Bible teaches that they are separate beings, united in purpose, with a desire for us to be united with them. Not to become some amalgamation of metaphysical substance, but to have the same desires to serve and love our fellow man. This was the reason Jesus came down to show us by his life what the Father would do if he were here. We have to be like the Father to go where he is. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life to lead us back home.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, a modern day apostle, explains further here:

Basic Beliefs and Practices, Official Church Media

What Bible do Mormons Use?

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What Bible do Mormons Use?

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints revere and love the Holy Bible as a record of scripture inspired by God and written by his prophets on earth. This short video set to the recent words of one of the members of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles on earth today, tells a short story about William Tyndale and his efforts to bring the Bible to the world.

What is a Bible?

The word bible derives from the Greek word “biblia” which translates as “books.” Literally, the Bible is a collection of books, individually written by inspired men of God, and brought together into a collection of writings.

Why do Mormons use the King James Version of the Bible?

What Bible do Mormons use?What Bible do Mormons use? The church views the King James version of the Bible as doctrinally more accurate than other more recent versions of the Bible. It also uses a powerful prose, which in some cases can make it harder to read, but because of its doctrinal strength, this version of the Bible is used by the LDS church.

Do Mormons regard the Bible as the Word of God?

When Joseph Smith, founder of the LDS church, penned the Articles of Faith, the eighth article reads, “we believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.”

Why did he write this? From the History of the Church (vol 1:245; 6:57), Joseph Smith taught that “many important points touching the salvation of men, had been taken from the Bible, or lost before it was compiled.” He also said that the Bible was correct as “it came from the pen of the original writers,” but that “ignorant translators, careless transcribers, or designing and corrupt priests have committed many errors.”

For example, there are many lost books of the Bible as show in this post (What about Jesus?). There are also mistakes within the text such as this clear example from Acts on the experience of Saul on the road to Damascus. In the first instance we read:

Acts 9:7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.

Then later when recounting his experience he said this:

Acts 22:9 And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.

Which is it? Did the men with Saul/Paul see the light or hear the voice? Joseph Smith authoritatively declared that Acts 22:9 was correct and that the first instance was incorrect.

The use of extra-Biblical records

Two questions often arise about the LDS use of other records and calling them scripture. The first deals with the scripture in the book of Revelation that says one can’t take from or add to this record. As noted above, the Bible is a collection of books and this verse was written hundreds of years before the Bible came together. If you want more of an explanation, see this other post entitled “Why do Mormons use the Book of Mormon instead of just the Bible?”

The second question that arises is what evidence within the Bible is there that there are other authoritative records such as the Book of Mormon? I linked above to an article pointing out the records of prophets recorded within the Bible, but that we do not have. In this article “what is a Morman?” I discuss some specific scriptures that link the Bible and the Book of Mormon together.

In the LDS church we also believe in modern day prophets who receive revelation and record inspired writings. We have canonized many revelations Joseph Smith received in a book called the “Doctrine and Covenants” (D&C). Twice a year we have a general conference of the church which we also regard as scripture per this verse from the D&C.

D&C 68:4 “And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation.”

We also have a small book entitled “The Pearl of Great Price” which is a short collection of inspired writings including the book of Moses, Abraham, the Joseph Smith history, an inspired version of Matthew 24, and the 13 Articles of Faith.

Learning More than What Bible do Mormons use

Would you like to learn more than just what Bible do Mormons use? You can request a free copy of the Book of Mormon or have the missionaries stop by if you’d like by following the links above and to the right. My testimony of the Bible has grown so much by coupling it with the Book of Mormon and modern day scripture. All of these records testify of the mission of Jesus Christ and help us draw near to him.

Basic Beliefs and Practices, Official Church Media

What is the LDS Church’s General Conference?

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Each April and October, the LDS Church has a worldwide conference broadcast to buildings and homes throughout the world. At these conferences, the leaders of the church, men and women, address the body of the church with talks they have prepared after fasting and prayer to know what the Lord would have them address to the members of the church. Sometimes in a conference, themes will appear as multiple talks might address a certain subject, however, there are always a wide variety of topics discussed since the conference lasts 12 hours. The presentation begins with a General Young Women’s conference a week before the main general membership conference. On that Saturday night, the broadcast is directed only to the women. A week later, the general conference starts on Saturday morning and afternoon, each with a 2 hour session. That night there is a Priesthood session for only the men making a total of 6 hours that day. On Sunday, another morning and afternoon session are held of 2 hours each.

When I was a child growing up in Pennsylvania, I typically dreaded conference because we would drive to the chapel where they would haul out a radio and set it on a table by the pulpit and we would sit as silently as possible for each session we attended and listen to audio broadcasts of things I didn’t understand. As I got to be a teen, sometime in that time frame we got a satellite dish at our chapel and were able to watch conference broadcasts live on video. That was a big improvement and much more interesting. Today, living in Utah, I can just watch most of conference at home with my family. The church doesn’t broadcast the Saturday night women’s and men’s sessions on TV to provide an opportunity for those groups to get together and feel the companionship of their fellow saints while they gather for conference in a local chapel.

If you would like to browse a General Conference page, check one out here on the LDS church website.
http://lds.org/general-conference?lang=eng

If you would like to just see a “highlight” reel, the church prepared one here which I think is the first time. It’s about 18 minutes long and just shows short clips from talks in conference given by the men we sustain as prophets of God, that is those men called as Apostles of Jesus Christ, the longest serving of which is appointed as the President of the Church on earth and the Lord’s prophet just as a modern day Moses. Today, that man is Thomas S. Monson and I know him to be a prophet of God.

Official Church Media

Who is Joseph Smith?

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Joseph Smith was the founder of the Mormon church. Born in Vermont, December 23, 1805, his family later moved to rural New York. This video is an overview of his life and was produced by the LDS church. In it, you will see a glimpse of the boy who became a prophet of God just like the ancient prophets God called such as Samuel, Moses, and Malachi. God does speak to his children and he does call men to be His prophets today, just as in ancient times. I hope you enjoy this movie. Grab some popcorn and Kleenex.