“Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here. But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.”
(I John 4:1-6)

In 1820 a 14 year-old boy claimed to have received a vision in which God the Father and God the Son appeared and told him that they had chosen him to help restore Christianity. Three years later he claimed to have been visited by an angel who told him he would receive the “golden plates” of the Book of Mormon to translate.

In 1827 he claims to have found these plates on a hill near Palmyra, New York and he translated them through the help of miraculous glasses received from the angel.

In 1829 “Prophet Smith” alleged that John the Baptist was sent by Peter, James, and John to bestow the Aaronic priesthood upon him.

In 1830 the Book of Mormon was published and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was born.

History records their journey from New York to Ohio to Missouri, and then to Illinois where founder Joseph Smith was murdered while in jail in 1844, leaving an estimated fifty wives and countless children.

Brigham Young stepped in to provide leadership of the growing cult and moved them to Salt Lake Valley in 1846 where they were granted recognition as a legitimate religion. Brigham Young had twenty-seven wives and fifty-six children. Today the Mormon movement has a membership of over eleven million members around the world.

How are we to evaluate the beliefs of the Mormons? Simply stated, Mormon theology says that all gods were originally men and that all men have the potential to become gods. Being a king and priest to God is a step toward becoming a god. They believe that all persons were preexistent and, depending on their good works, go to one of three levels of heaven. As gods they will populate their world with their own spirit offspring.

Is Mormonism consistent with true, biblical Christianity? John says we must be able to detect false teaching and to examine the spirit that expresses them. We must put all things to the test of Scripture. The word translated "test" is a term for testing people in high office. “Test” is a present tense verb, meaning the believer is to continually test the spirits. (I Tim 4:1; Acts 20:30-31; II Peter 2:1)

Demonic activity leaves no doctrine unattacked. In New Testament times they all used legalism, antinomianism, and gnosticism. Two thousand years later all of those initial deceptions have developed into elaborate systems such as Spiritism, Christian Science, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Unitarianism, etc. They all contain satanic deceptions and doctrines of demons. So John puts forth a doctrinal test: do the false teachers believe in Christ? He wants to show the believers how to distinguish a demon spirit from the Holy Spirit.

Let’s just cut right to a central tenet of true, biblical Christianity: What do these groups teach concerning the deity of Jesus Christ? Christian Scientists’ say Jesus was a mere man who possessed the Christ spirit. Jehovah's Witnesses say Jesus was a created individual and was the second greatest person in the universe. They think He was "a" god, but not Almighty God, whom they call Jehovah. Mormons say Jesus is one of many "sub-gods." Unitarians say Jesus is not God and they deny the Trinity. Modernists say Jesus was a great ethical teacher. Every group is just as demonic as the other.

In the Mormon arena I agree with pastor/teacher John MacArthur. He believes and teaches that Mormonism is not true Christianity in any historic or biblical sense, but is a classic cult. He says, “Mormonism is similar in many ways to the Gnostic heresies that plagued the church for centuries. Mormonism and genuine biblical, evangelical Christianity are in effect antithetical, sharing no common spiritual ground whatsoever. Mormonism is pseudo-Christianity.” MacArthur is regularly asked to clarify his position on Mormonism and he will routinely send this response:

There are four significant, unbridgeable chasms between Mormonism and authentic biblical Christianity.

The issue of authority. Christians believe the Bible is God's authoritative, inerrant, unchanging and complete self-revelation (Jude 3). Scripture is the touchstone to which all other truth-claims must be brought (Isaiah 8:20). The sole and sufficient authority by which all controversies in spiritual matters are to be determined is none other than God's Spirit speaking through Scripture.

By contrast, Mormons consider The Book of Mormon, The Pearl of Great Price, and Doctrine and Covenants as additional authoritative revelation, thereby undermining the true authority of Scripture and violating the principle of Revelation 22:18.

The doctrine of God. Christians believe there is one God who eternally exists in three co-equal Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Mormons reject the doctrine of the Trinity, believing that there are many worlds controlled by different gods.

The supremacy of Christ. Christians believe Jesus Christ is pre-existent God who became a man in His incarnation while maintaining His full deity. Mormons claim Jesus was a "spirit child" of Mary and Elohim (and the brother of Lucifer) who has now been elevated to the level of deity.

The means of justification. Christians believe justification is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Mormons believe a person's works in this life will determine his or her status in the life to come, and that "salvation" is actually a progression toward godhood.

So, the next time you listen to those who come knocking on your door as we have had in Jacksonville in recent days, remember these foundational, Scriptural tests: the issue of authority, the doctrine of God, the supremacy of Christ, and the means of justifying faith. If you discover someone in open defiance of the plain teaching of God’s Word, then be sure to apply John’s instruction: “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.” (II John 10-11)

Knocking on Scripture’s Door,

Dr. Derek