Do Christians Misrepresent Mormonism?

Do Evangelicals intentionally misrepresent LDS beliefs? Or are most Christians ignorant of the fact that a lot of prior Mormon teachings aren’t “official” doctrines?

I am often accused of straw-manning Mormonism, presenting unofficial teachings and then knocking those teachings down. I’m not alone in this—a lot of evangelicals are accused of misrepresenting Mormonism and lying about the beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Even though I know that many Latter-day Saints don’t deem the teachings I present as official LDS beliefs, I continue to critique those beliefs. But, I don’t believe this is a misrepresentation.

In this video, I explain why it’s difficult for Evangelicals to understand what constitutes official Mormon doctrine, and how there’s a variety of LDS positions on binding doctrine in the LDS Church. I also explain how Evangelicals are thinking when we critique these beliefs—and why I don’t think that means we’re misrepresenting of lying about Mormonism.

Mormons & Evangelical Christians Answer: DOes God have a God?

I asked random Latter-day Saints (Mormons) & Evangelical Christians if God had his own God. 

How we view God is one of the most significant differences between Mormonism and Evangelical Christianity. If Heavenly Father was once a man just like us who progressed to godhood (as LDS theology teaches), could he have had his own God? Because Christians believe that there only ever has been, and only ever will be One Creator God, we don’t think it’s conceivably possible that God has his own God. In this set of interviews, I ask this question to Mormons and Christians to see how they’d respond, and how the answers would compare.

“Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any” (Isaiah 44:8).

How can I have Eternal Life?

I asked random Latter-day Saints (Mormons) & Evangelical Christians on the street how we can have eternal life.

Both Evangelicals and Mormons agree that a proper understanding “eternal life” is critically important! Jesus died so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life. One of the most notable differences between Mormonism and Christianity is our view of the Gospel and eternal life. Though many things between the two faith traditions sound similar, we actually disagree on critical components of doctrine.

John 6:36 – “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

Phil Johnson on Mormonism

Phil Johnson (Executive Director of Grace To You and Pastor/Elder) answers several questions about Mormonism at the 2023 G3 Conference.

Mormonism seems like “just another Christian denomination” on the surface—but the beliefs and teachings of the LDS Church are quite contrary to Christian beliefs and Biblical teaching.

In this interview with Phil Johnson, we ask questions like “Was the Trinity a product of pagan philosophy?” and “Can we trust our spiritual experiences to know what is true?”

What is “Eternal Life?”

I took to the streets to ask both Latter-day Saints (Mormons) & Evangelical Christians about their definition of eternal life.

Understanding a Biblical definition of “eternal life” is critically important. Jesus died so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life. If Jesus died for it, we should take it pretty seriously! I found it really interesting what was most emphasized between the Evangelical and LDS positions.

“And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3).

Men Can’t Become Angels [An Examination of Mormon Beliefs]

Mormons & Christians differ in our beliefs about angels. While Mormons believe that some men become angels, Christians believe that angels are an entirely different kind of being. It’s actually a common misconception that Christians believe men become angels after death. As the movie (inaccurately) says – “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings!”

In this video, we examine the Bible’s teaching about the angelic host: what are angels, and where did they come from? Mormonism teaches that men can progress to become ministering spirits—and that the angels from Scripture were all once men. In fact, Moroni—a man in the Book of Mormon—later came to Joseph Smith as an angel. Yet this LDS teaching differs from historic Christian teaching about the issue.

Do Mormon Prophets have a Self-life? [2023 Conference Response]

Are the teachings of old LDS Prophets still acceptable to Latter-day Saints?

During General Conference in April of 2023, Elder Allen D. Haynie taught that

“Brothers and sisters, unlike vintage comic books and classic cars, prophetic teachings do not become more valuable with age. That is why we should not seek to use the words of past prophets to dismiss the teachings of living prophets.”

This attitude towards prior Mormon prophets seems common among Latter-day Saints. Do the words of former prophets go bad? Can we still look to them for instruction? Elder Haynie’s conference talk seems to indicate that we cannot! When Christians see statements like this, we’re often baffled! Claims like Elder Haynie’s are stunning because Christians have an incredibly high view of prophets.

The questions is, should Mormons also hold this high view of their own prophets and apostles? In this video, Christian Evangelist Aaron Shafovaloff explains why this view of prophets should be problematic for Latter-day Saints, and how the Bible holds a higher standard for prophets.

From Mormon Fundamentalism to Christian Pastor

Allen Nielsen grew up in Mormon fundamentalism, in a family that practiced plural marriage (polygamy). Yet as he grew older, he came to realize some of the problems and inconsistencies in the fundamentalist groups. But after joining the mainline LDS Church, he found many of the same problems and inconstancies. Now, Allen is one of the Pastors at The Mission Church in South Jordan, Utah.

In this video, Allen shares his incredibly testimony, and the journey he and his wife took to leave Mormon fundamentalism and polygamy. He walks through the process of then JOINING and LEAVING the mainstream Mormon Church, and how he came to realize that Jesus was divine.

Responding to YouTube Comments (#2)

Did God mock Job, or was God giving job a “pep-talk”? Did Jesus create Himself, or does He exist outside of time itself? You guys have pushed back on several of our videos, and we’re responding!

In this “comment response” video, we’ll be responding to pushback we received on our “Job 38 & LDS Premortal Life” video (https://youtu.be/Q81tURqcXNs) and our Did God Create Everything video (https://youtu.be/zSutHrB7lrc).The first comment deals with the nature of God’s speech recorded at the end of the book of Job, and the second deals with our view of Christ’s self-existence.

We don’t always have time to type out responses to all the comments, so we’re going to try and respond in video format to more and more of them. At the end of the day – our aim is to simply trust in what the Bible says. If God spoke it in His Word, then we want to trust it!

The Surprising Archeology of David & Goliath

Did the battle between David and Goliath really happen? In this video, Chip Thompson walks through the archeological evidence. Archeology is a helpful way of demonstrating the Bible’s truthfulness, and many people are often shocked to find that the archeology supports the Biblical narrative!

The story of David and Goliath has almost mythic qualities. Many believe that the story didn’t happen at all, while others think that the details of the story have been blown out of proportion. So did the battle between David and Goliath happen? We think so! In this video, Chip points to artifacts from the Merneptah Stele, to the Tel Dan Inscription, from sling stones, to various pottery shards, to GIANT spear tips in order to demonstrate that this battle between the future King of Israel—David—and the champion of the Philistines—Goliath—actually happened as the Bible records.

If the Bible is really history, then we should expect there to be historical and archeological artifacts which support the Biblical story—which is exactly what archeologists find! Numerous stories from Scripture are well supported by archeology. In this series of videos, Chip Thompson (from the Solid Rock Cafe in Ephraim, Utah) explains why the archeological record demonstrates that we can indeed trust Scripture.

Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hand.” (1 Samuel 7:45-47)

Special thanks to Chip Thompson from the Solid Rock Cafe in Ephraim, Utah! He’s put together a GREAT Bible Museum in the coffee shop. If you’re ever in the area, be sure to stop by and take a look at all the artifacts!

https://www.solidrockcafeut.com/