The Idolatry of Mormonism

Idolatry is a grave sin that seeks to rob God of His glory. Though all of our sins equally condemn us before God, certain sins are considered more severe than others.

For example, murder is commonly thought of as one of the most heinous, unforgivable sins. So much so, that Mormon Scriptures actually teach that those who murder will not be forgiven in this life, or the life to come (D&C 42:18).

Yet the Bible teaches that the sin of idolatry is even worse than the sin of murder. But why is this? Is idolatry really worse than murder? And why does that matter for us? 

Idolatry is a worse evil than murder

David is considered the greatest King of Israel, despite His grave sin with Bathsheba and his murder of her husband Uriah. After King David’s son Solomon died, the Kingdom of Israel was split into two parts: the Northern Kingdom (called Israel), and the Southern Kingdom (called Judah).

 The first ruler of the Northern Kingdom was King Jeroboam…who did NOT honor God (1 Kings 12:26-33). When Jeroboam consulted with the prophet Ahijah, God spoke to Jeroboam through his prophet saying,

“…you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me with all his heart, doing only that which was right in my eyes, but you have done evil above all who were before you and have gone and made for yourself other gods and metal images, provoking me to anger, and have cast me behind your back,” (1 Kings 14:8–9). 

God told Jeroboam that he had committed more evil than ALL who were before him on account of his idol worship. David, a murderer, was King before Jeroboam…but God told Jeroboam that his idolatry was even worse than David’s murder.

In the New Testament, King Herod proves this same point. The book of Acts records that

“(Herod) killed James the brother of John with the sword, and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also.” (Acts 12:2–3).

James was the first Apostle to be martyred, yet God allowed King Herod to continue to reign over Judea, even after he unjustly murdered one of the Lord’s Apostles. Later in that chapter, Acts records,

“On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.” (Acts 12:21–23).

Herod murdered an Apostle, but it wasn’t until he permitted the people to exalt him that God struck him down. God’s wrath burned hotter against the idolatry and exaltation of Herod than it did Herod’s murder of the Apostle James.

Idolatry was the chief reason for the destruction of Israel and Judah

Both the northern and southern Kingdoms of Israel were destroyed primarily because of their idolatry. After generations of kings who were wicked in heart, the Lord judged Israel by destroying the nation by the hand of the Assyrians. God also judged Judah by causing the Babylonians to come against them and take them into exile.

 After Assyria demolished the Northern Kingdom, Scripture explains why God sent the Assyrians to do this:

“…(Israel) served idols, of which the Lord had said to them, “You shall not do this.” Yet the Lord warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, in accordance with all the Law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets.”…They went after false idols and became false, and they followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the Lord had commanded them that they should not do like them.” (2 Kings 17:12-13, 15b).

Almost every prophet that prophesied to God’s people prior to the Babylonian Captivity warned that God was going to judge Israel and Judah because of their idolatry. But prophet after prophet, both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms persisted in their idolatry and were destroyed.

Idolatry is the root of all other sins:

Romans 1 teaches that idolatry is at the root of all other sins. The Apostle Paul writes that humanity:

“exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.” (Romans 1:23-25).

 Paul teaches that this idolatry is the starting point of all of our other sins. God gives us over to our wicked desires as punishment for our idolatry (Romans 1:18-32). We commit sins when we want something else more than we want God.

For example, a man might steal when he desires some material thing more than he wants to honor and obey God, and to desire something more than God is idolatry!

 Murder is not only an act of hatred against another human, it is one of the worst expressions of one’s idolatry—honoring someone’s own wishes over what God has commanded. 

Idolatry is unique in this: not all sins are murderous, but all sins ARE idolatrous.

Latter-day Saints are guilty of idolatry—a sin worse than murder

Idolatry is the worship or adoration of anything other than God, whether that be a hunk of wood, yourself, or a false idea of who God is. The Bible teaches that there only ever has been, and only ever will be one Creator God (Isaiah 43:10, Isaiah 44:6-7, Isaiah 45:5). It says that God doesn’t know of any other gods (Isaiah 44:8), and that God is unchanging (Malachi 3:6).

It teaches that Jesus is the Eternal Uncreated Most High God (John 1:1-3, Hebrews 1:1-4, Colossians 1:15-20, John 1:1-4), not a separate exalted being merely united in purpose, but GOD Himself.

 Yet Latter-day Saints reject all of these teachings from the Bible. The person who rejects these clear teachings about God forms and worships an idol of their own making (2 Corinthians 11:3-4). 

To worship a God who was once a man later exalted to godhood, who has changed in eternity past, and who is NOT the Most High God is to worship an idol. This means that good, kind, family-loving people are often guilty of a far greater sin than they realize.

To reject the Bible’s teaching about God is to be an idolater, a sin worse than murder.

Those who don’t rightly worship God are in need of God’s saving grace just as much as criminals on death row. 

The Gospel teaches that murderers and idolaters can be fully forgiven

The Bible teaches that all have sinned and ALL are idolaters, but the Bible has good news for sinners.

The Gospel is the message that no matter what sins we’ve committed, we can be fully pardoned and accepted into God’s eternal Kingdom (1 John 1:9, Hebrews 8:12, 1 Timothy 1:15-16)!

Jesus died to take the punishment for our idolatry upon himself on the cross (1 Peter 2:24, Isaiah 53:4-6). The whole Bible testifies that if we believe in the God of Scripture, if we TRUST in the Jesus that the Bible reveals for eternal life (John 8:24), we will dwell with God forever!

We can have a complete pardon, and have all our sins wiped clean! No matter how grievous they may be, the grace of our Lord will cover over your sins if you believe in Him.

Contrary to what Joseph Smith wrote in D&C 42, Both murderers and idolaters can be fully forgiven and have the hope of eternal life, provided they stop trying to earn their place in God’s Kingdom through good works and simply put their trust in Jesus alone.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23).