Destroying the Foundation of Mormonism

INTRODUCTION

When I was a kid, one of my favorite things to do was to watch football with my father.

I remember that whenever there was a Sunday where Washington was playing a great running back—whether it was Thurman Thomas or Barry Sanders or Emmitt Smith, my dad would always say, “Hit his legs.”

And that was because no matter how big or how fast you are, if you take out someone’s legs, you take out their foundation—the very thing they stand on.

And when you lose your legs, you are going down.

Tonight, we are going for the legs of Mormonism by looking at one passage of the New Testament.

We are going to take just a handful of verses from the book of Hebrews and go right for the foundation of the Latter Day Saints.

Last week we did a sort of overview of the basics of Mormonism.

This week we will be much more specific.

We will go after one specific doctrine, but it is a doctrine that holds up all the other doctrines of the Mormon church.

Tonight we will be talking about the Mormon priesthood.

CONTEXT

If you have a Bible, you can open it up to Hebrews 7. We will be spending our time looking at verses 23-25.

Hebrews is most likely a sermon written for Jewish believers, pointing them to the sufficiency of Christ.

It seems they were tempted to go back to the institutional Judaism that they had come from.

The author is encouraging to continue in the faith, understanding how all of the Old Testament pictures and types and shadows were pointing beyond themselves to Christ.

As we get to this text in Hebrews 7, the preacher to the Hebrews is explaining how Jesus is superior Priest who has passed through the heavenlies.

I will read the passage and then we can begin to get into the ways in which this passage erodes the very foundation of Mormonism.

Hebrews 7:23–25 ESV

The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

THE MORMON PRIESTHOOD

Before we dive into this passage, I want to make sure we have an understanding of the Mormon priesthood and why it is so foundational to the Mormon church.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints claims to not only be a restored church, but the only true church of Jesus Christ on the earth.

This means that they believe everyone else is preaching a corrupted gospel.

This means they believe true salvation is not found outside of the Mormon church.

And this means that true spiritual authority rests with the Mormon church.

What Mormons believe is that Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery received the Aaronic or Levitical priesthood from John the Baptist himself on May 15, 1829.

They also believe that not long after this, the Melchizedek priesthood was handed over to Smith and Cowdery through Peter, James and John.

According to Mormons, men can only speak and act in the name of the Lord through the authority of this priesthood.

And this authority has been handed down through the generations of Mormon men throughout the church’s brief history.

Any qualified males that is 12 or older can become a priest in the line of Aaron.

These are the men in charge of administering the external ordinances of the church, like baptism.

Qualified males 18 years or older can become a priest in the line of Melchizedek.

These are the men who lead the church and direct the preaching of the Mormon gospel throughout the world.

Within the priesthood there are different positions with different levels of authority.

Elders, seventies, high priests, apostles and Church Presidents would be examples.

Here is Walter Martin talking about just how important the priesthood is:

The Kingdom of the Cults Handbook: Quick Reference Guide to Alternative Belief Systems 6. Mormonism

It is therefore apparent that in Mormon theology the priesthood occupies a position of great importance and comprehends nearly every male member of the church above the age of twelve in one capacity or another; and therefore by necessity the refutation of the Mormon claims to its possession undercuts the very foundations of Mormonism.

If a Mormon ceases to believe in the authority of the priesthood to carry out the work of the church and to teach, the Mormon loses a foundational trust in the tenets of their faith.

They have been taught from the very start of their experience in the church that the Prophet Joseph is to be trusted.

And they are taught that those who Father God entrusted authority to through Joseph are to be trusted.

And any who have priesthood authority now in the restored church are to be trusted.

If the priesthood is not necessary or is biblically non-sensical from the start, Mormonism loses spiritual authority in the lives of its followers.

This is where we turn to Hebrews 7 and we can find out the truth regarding the priesthood of Aaron and Melchizedek.

JESUS AND THE PRIESTHOOD IN HEBREWS 7

Throughout Hebrews 7, the author is dealing with this issue of the priesthood and he is showing how Jesus is superior to all the priests that came before Him.

The chapter starts with Melchizedek, the king of Salem and the priest of the Most High God.

If you don’t remember who Melchizedek is, we learn about him in Genesis 14...

He is called the King of Salem, which means King of Peace.

Abraham meets him after his fight with the pirate kings who attacked Sodom and Gomorrah and kidnapped Lot.

Abraham goes and takes care of the kings with his militia of 318 trained men.

After it all concludes, Abraham meets with the king of Sodom and Melchizedek, the king of Salem.

Genesis 14:17–24 ESV

After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.” But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.”

So here we have Melchizedek pronouncing a blessing over Abraham and receiving a tithe from him.

So not only is he royal, but he is acting as a priest.

THE SUPERIORITY OF MELCHIZEDEK

In Hebrews 7, the author is making the argument that Melchizedek’s priestly order was superior to that of the Levitical priesthood.

The priesthood of Aaron, which was passed to his son Eleazar and then to Phinehas.

The priesthood continued to be handed down through the tribe of Levi—the tribe of Moses and Aaron.

The author says that the order of Melchizedek is superior.

Hebrews 7:6–10 ESV

But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives. One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

Melchizedek’s order is unique. He is one of a kind.

And since the Levitical priests descend from Abraham and Abraham is paying tithe to Melchizedek, clearly the priesthood of Melchizedek is superior to the Levitical priesthood.

Some Bible commentators have even said that it is as if the Levites were paying the tithe to Melchizedek through Abraham because they were still in his loins.

Since the Levitical priests descend from Abraham and Melchizedek surpasses Abraham, the Melchizedekian priesthood must be superior to the Levitical priesthood.

Albert Mohler

As you keep reading through the chapter, the author continues to make this argument.

Now, here is why this is so important.

The priesthood had defined the Jewish people.

He established it through the Levite tribe.

They performed their duties.

And the duties they performed were so central to the spiritual life of the nation, that all the other tribes took up contributions in order to care for them.

Preserving the line of the priesthood of Aaron was imperative to the society of Israel.

If the priesthood was lost, how would the people be represented to God?

How would God be represented to the people?

And yet, here in Hebrews 7, the argument from the writer is that a greater priesthood exists than the priesthood of Aaron.

As wonderful as the Levite priesthood was, it was not without blemish.

And the blemishes of the Levitical priesthood left the people anticipating a Great High Priest to come.

THE NEED FOR A HIGH PRIEST TO COME

According to the author of Hebrews, the High Priest is Jesus, and He is in the superior priestly order of Melchizedek.

He is the promised priest whose office extends forever that was prophesied in Psalm 110. This is why Psalm 110:4 is quoted in Hebrews 7:17.

Hebrews 7:15–17 ESV

This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. For it is witnessed of him, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”

The priests from Aaron’s line were important.

But the priests from Aaron’s were imperfect.

That imperfection kept them from mediating the relationship of God and His people without failure.

They could not truly atone for the sins of the people because they had sins of their own. They were mere men.

Their existence pointed beyond themselves to One to come.

This is why they were waiting eagerly for the Psalm 110:4 priest-king who was from the order of Melchizedek to come.

Jesus is this High Priest.

Here is Al Mohler again:

God sovereignly and graciously initiated the sending of the great high priest to atone for the skins of the people. This great high priest, in his triumphal resurrection, arose according to the order of Melchizedek. Thus, Jesus Christ is without precedent and eternal. His priesthood is not pattered and perishable like the order of Aaron.

Albert Mohler

And here is what this has done to the priesthood of Aaron...

The Levitical Priesthood could not provide a High Priest to atone for the sins of the people.

The superior priesthood of Melchizedek did.

If the order of Melchizedek, which goes on forever in the priestly work of Christ, has done what the Levitical priesthood could not do, then the need for the Levitical priesthood is gone.

And this is why the death of Jesus ended the line of Levites who served their priestly duties as members of Aaron’s house.

Not only is the order of Melchizedek, which Jesus has come from, superior. It has made the order of Aaron obsolete.

Hebrews 9:24–26 ESV

For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

He has appeared once for all, implying there are no more priests that need to appear. Jesus has paid the debt and provided a better promise.

Hebrews 7:22 ESV

This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.

THE FALSE MORMON PRIESTHOOD

This really brings us to Hebrews 7:23-25, where we see that it truly makes no sense for Mormons to be talking about the continuing Aaronic and Melchizedekian priesthoods.

The passage says that there were many former priests in the Levitical priesthood because they kept dying (v. 23).

Christ—of the order of Melchizedek —is not like this. He has died and rose again. He has ascended on High as our Great High Priest.

And His office continues on forever. He holds the priesthood permanently.

His priesthood goes on forever because He has a life that cannot be destroyed.

And this is why Jesus is able to save to the uttermost.

As our High Priest, He provides a salvation that is total.

It meets every single spiritual need and desperation that we have.

See--Jesus is perfectly in union with His Father.

As each day passes and the ages rolls on, He remains in perfect union with His Father.

His union with the Father will never end.

By faith, we have union with Christ.

And since we have union with Christ, we have union with the Father.

This is the mediating union that Christ provides for us and this is why we are able to draw near to God.

We draw near to God through Christ, who is able to save to the uttermost, as the priest who is a guarantor of a better covenant.

He offers a complete salvation the Levitical priest could never offer.

THE PRIESTHOODS

So with that in mind, we turn our attention to the LDS “priesthood of Aaron.”

As I mentioned, Mormons believe that John the Baptist gave the authority of the Aaronic priesthood to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery on May 15, 1829.

Those in the priesthood of Aaron can be deacons, teachers, priests and bishops.

Deacons are usually ordained at 12 years old and help pass the sacrament--which is their version of the Lord’s Supper.

They also help with the church grounds and fulfill other duties as assigned.

Teachers go to people’s homes and encourage them and teach. This is done as young as 14.

Priests are ordained at 16. They are able to baptize, administer the sacrament and lead meetings if there is no priest of the Melchizedek order around.

Bishops lead groups of other priests.

You can see the hierarchy.

The priest of Melchizedek came to Smith and Cowdery later. Those who hold this position in the LDS church have a higher level of authority than the priesthood of Aaron.

They can be elders, High Priests, Patriarchs, Seventies and Apostles.

Elders are the guys who come and knock on your door in white shirts.

All priesthood holders of Melchizedek are elders.

They are able to teach doctrine, baptize and bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost by laying on hands.

A High Priest officiates in the church and administers all spiritual things.

Patriarchs are ordained high priests who are able to deliver the Word of the Lord straight to the church.

Seventies are special witnesses for the church that also help build up and regulate the church.

Apostles direct the affairs of the church throughout the world.

So if we ask, “Who does Joseph Smith think he is making these wild claims? Why should we believe him?”

The company line is, “Because God restored the church through Joseph, giving him priesthood authority from the line of Aaron and Melchizedek.”

The Mormon church has the authority to teach its doctrine and claim to be the only true church on earth because of the priesthood given to Joseph and handed down throughout the generations of Latter-Day Saints.

WHY THE PRIESTHOODS ARE FALSE

So you can see just how foundational the priesthood truly is.

Sola Scriptura—Scripture alone—is our motto when we start talking about the authority to dictate what we believe and how we behave.

The Mormon is truly Sola Presbyterus—Priesthood Alone.

Because the authority to dictate what is believed and how a Mormon behaves comes down to what sort of spiritual power was supposedly bestowed on Joseph Smith in May of 1829.

So what do we say to our Mormon friends to convince them that these priesthoods are false and possess no authority to dictate creed and conduct?

First of all, we point them to the fact that Hebrews teaches that the priesthood of Aaron has come to an end.

Hebrews 7 shows us that a superior High Priest has appeared, not from the line of Aaron and the Levites, but from the line of Judah.

A Child from the House of David.

The King-Priest of Psalm 110 from the order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 9 has shown that He appears once for all to bear the sins of many.

No other priest is appearing.

The Levitical line didn’t have the qualifications or ability to atone for the sins of God’s people.

Christ has done what they could not do.

He has come as the reality of that which they were foreshadowing.

Their important purpose in redemption history has been served.

There is no indication that the priesthood continues—instead, it is just the opposite.

Secondly, we point them to the fact that Hebrews teaches that the priesthood of Melchizedek is uniquely held forever by Jesus.

The promise of the authority of the priesthood of Melchizedek is uniquely made to the Messiah.

Only the Lord at the right hand of the Lord is promised to be a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.

Yahweh only swore that to His Son, Adonai.

There is only one King Priest who is the eternal Intercessor between God and Man.

His name is not Joseph Smith.

It is Jesus. The One who guarantees the better promise.

He is able to save to the uttermost and we draw near to God through Him.

He is unique. The priesthood is His and it cannot be handed over to another.

No one else has an indestructible life.

No one else qualified. It belongs to Him.

For others to claim to share the High Priesthood with Him is more than errant teaching—it is blasphemous babble.

It is so ludicrous in the face of what the Scripture teaches that you want to dismiss it, but it is so dangerously blasphemous that you cannot.

It must be dealt with—especially when it is the glue that is holding the whole cult together.

Here is Walter Martin summing all of this up and bringing these two points together:

The Kingdom of the Cults Handbook: Quick Reference Guide to Alternative Belief Systems 6. Mormonism

The writer of Hebrews, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, declares that the priesthood of Melchizedek is the peculiar possession of Jesus Christ, not only by virtue of the fact that He is God and possessed of imperishable life, but because it cannot be transferred to another. It consummated the Aaronic priesthood; it terminated the Levitical order; it resides in the Son of God; and by the will of His Father, it cannot be transferred. There is no escape from the force of these revelations of Scripture, and no exegetical theologian or commentator has ever held otherwise. Mormons have the right to claim any priesthood they wish, but what separates truth from error is when we compare what they say to the Bible.

THREE RAZING RESULTS

With all of that in mind, let me give you three results that raze Mormonism to the ground.

If it is true that there is no validity to the Aaronic and Melchizedekian priesthoods, here are three crushing conclusions regarding their religion.

1. If the Mormon priesthood is determined to be false, then all Mormon teaching is truly man-made.

Mormons trust that God spoke to Joseph and conferred this priesthood authority on him, empowering him and those who come after him, to establish and sustain God’s restored church on earth.

However, if there is no priesthood authority because the line of Aaron has been ended and the priesthood of Melchizedek is uniquely held by the Lord Jesus, then Joseph was given no authority to teach these things or supposedly restore God’s church.

If there is no priesthood authority, Smith is just exposed as a man who was teaching novel things that are heretical and outside of the revealed truth of God’s Word.

This would explain why so much of Mormon teaching contradicts God’s revealed Word.

For example, Mormons believe in an infinite gallery of gods that rule planets throughout the cosmos.

Elohim became a god because at some point in history, on some other planet, because he was a good Mormon.

How many were there before Him? There is no way to know.

And any faithful Mormon can become a god like Elohim by keeping the laws and ordinances themselves.

So how many men will become gods and exist eternally after Elohim? Again—there is no way to know.

Therefore, we have Mormon doctrine that says, we cannot know how many gods come before or after Elohim.

And yet, here is what the Bible teaches us in Isaiah 43 and 44. As Isaiah’s preaching is showing how ridiculous and unfounded Israel’s idolatrous tendencies are, he says this as God’s mouthpiece:

Isaiah 43:10 ESV

“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.

Isaiah 44:6 ESV

Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.

Before Him, no god was formed.

After Him, there will be no god formed.

He is the first and the last—there is no God besides Him.

This is basic Bible doctrine. This is basic monotheism.

And yet Mormons believe something contradictory. Why?

Because of a conviction that there is another testament of Jesus Christ, which has been delivered to them through Joseph Smith, the authoritative priest who is charged with the task of restoring God’s church.

So it doesn’t matter if the Book of Mormon contradicts the KJV. The word of the Book of Mormon and the word of Joseph Smith, is superior to all.

Everything else must be reinterpreted in light of what Joseph has found and taught.

Going back to our example, Mormons will argue that Isaiah was just talking about THIS WORLD.

Elohim is the only God of THIS WORLD. He is the first and the last of THIS WORLD.

They feel that Joseph’s priesthood authority licenses them to read Mormon teaching back into the Bible in this way.

But if Joseph is not a priest, then you are just taking the teaching of man and using its faulty wisdom to rule over that which is clearly taught in God’s Word.

No priesthood equals no authority. No authority turns the teachings of Mormonism into nothing more but strange and dangerous doctrine loosely based on biblical themes and narratives.

So if we are able to get a Mormon to question the priesthood, you are getting a Mormon to seriously question everything they have come to believe.

2. If the Mormon priesthood is found to be false, then Joseph Smith is nothing more than a delusional and/or deceptive man.

If there is no continuing priesthood of Aaron and no mortal man holds the priesthood of Melchizedek, then there is an exposure of the wizard behind the curtain when it comes to Joseph Smith.

He goes from being the powerful priest of Oz to a lying and/or ludicrous man whose teachings should not be taken seriously.

And in truth, this is who Joseph Smith is. A little looking into his life reveals it.

Joseph Smith was not just a young man who had a curiosity for religious and spiritual things.

He was a young man obsessed with mysticism and trying to get rich quickly.

Smith was a treasure-hunter, like his father before him.

He would use a seer stone that he would peer into and claim that he could lead himself and others to treasure.

The stone supposedly told him where gold and silver were buried.

Early critics of Mormonism pointed to this and said, “How can you believe a seer stone-using treasure-hunter who is telling tales of finding golden plates in the side of a hill?”

More than that, we can also say that Smith was a plagiarizer.

Now follow me on this because this is a pretty wild tale.

In the mid 1970’s, three young American men—Wayne Cowdrey, Howard Davis and Donald Scales stumbled on some pretty damning revelations regarding the Book of Mormon.

For quite a while, the relatives of a man named Reverence Solomon Spalding, complained that the Book of Mormon was based on a novel that Spalding had written called, Manuscript Story.

Friends and relatives of Spalding claimed they had seen the novel when the Reverend passed it around and showed it to them before he died in 1916.

The Mormons claimed that this was all a fantastical tale and they said that the family could not produce manuscript to prove it.

So those three men in the 1970’s start researching and they are able to connect Joseph Smith and Solomon Spalding.

In 1830 a man named Sidney Rigdon was baptized into the Mormon church.

Rigdon had a close friend who worked in the print shop that Spalding’s 2nd manuscript disappeared from.

Once again the Mormons launched a PR counterattack and they said, “So what? It is just a coincidence. Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon did not know each other until 1830!”

But the three men did not give up. In 1976, they were in a LDS church library examining manuscripts and they came across a few pages from the Book of Mormon that no one was able to identify.

But when the men compared it with some samples of Solomon Spalding’s handwriting from his time at Oberlin College and his handwriting on a deed from 1811, guess what?!?

The handwriting on the unidentified pages matched with Spalding’s handwriting.

This was when the men realized they had discovered pages from Spalding’s stolen manuscript.

It was a dead-to-rights “smoking gun” that showed how Smith plagiarized the Book of Mormon.

It should also be noted that they discovered there was eyewitness testimony from over ten people who said they had seen Rigdon and Smith together in 1827—a few years before the time the church said they met.

And before we leave the subject of plagiarism, we can’t fail to mention the King James Version of the Bible.

The Book of Mormon is supposedly as old as 600 BC. That is when it began to be written, according to LDS scholars.

And yet, it contains large swaths of the King James Version of the Bible in it, which was not published until 1611.

The portions it contains are from a specific version of the KJV that was published in 1769.

In fact, there are places in the KJV where we are fairly sure the KJV translators got the original Hebrew a bit wrong.

Newer Bible translations and newer revisions of the KJV correct these things.

And yet, the Book of Mormon includes these mistranslated phrases.

Just how much does the Book of Mormon do this?

There are 18 full chapters of Isaiah quoted in the Book of Mormon.

There are 433 verses of Isaiah.

Some of them are misquoted, but about 200 of them are lifted straight from the King James.

Finally, Smith was a polygamist.

Let me just give you a quote from their website:

After receiving a revelation commanding him to practice plural marriage, Joseph Smith married multiple wives and introduced the practice to close associates. This principle was among the most challenging aspects of the Restoration—for Joseph personally and for other Church members. Plural marriage tested faith and provoked controversy and opposition. Few Latter-day Saints initially welcomed the restoration of a biblical practice entirely foreign to their sensibilities. But many later testified of powerful spiritual experiences that helped them overcome their hesitation and gave them courage to accept this practice.

churchofjesuschrist.org

The Mormon church officially denounced polygamy in 1890 and yet, look how they talk about Smith’s practice of “plural marriage.”

I wouldn’t say they are condemning in the way they talk about it.

Smith received this revelation from God about polygamy as early as 1831—one year after the Book of Mormon is published.

He said God told him that multiple women could be eternally “sealed” to the same man.

He kept the doctrine secret for over 10 years.

He married a teenager in secret named Fanny Alger.

Alger would be one of around 30 wives that Smith took for himself.

Some of them were young—14 years old.

Some of them were the wives of other men.

This led Oliver Cowdery, the man who claimed to have receive the priesthood with Smith, to accuse Joseph of being an adulterer.

At the height of the church’s polygamous practices, 20-30% of Mormons were engaging in “plural marriage.”

This is not the sort of man you follow.

Whether he was a liar or crazy or a little bit of both, with no priesthood authority to cover him, Smith is just a treasure-hunting, plagiarizing, polygamous con-man.

This is not someone you go to for guidance and truth.

This is someone you flee from.

3. If the Mormon priesthood is found to be false, then the Mormon Christ is exposed as insufficient.

If the Mormon Jesus is not the one of a kind King-Priest...

If He is not the unique holder of the office of Melchizedek...

If He is not the once for all sacrifice for the sins of many that put an end to the Aaronic priesthood...

Then He is not a Jesus who can save.

He is as made up as the planet Kolob itself.

He cannot do the thing that Hebrews says Jesus does.

He cannot save to the uttermost.

He cannot live forever making intercession

And no one can draw near to God through Him

The Mormon Jesus will get you about as far as the real Satan when it comes to giving you an advocate before God.

In fact, the real Satan loves the Mormon Jesus because he knows that it is a counterfeit that leaves people Advocate-less.

The Mormon Jesus leaves people trapped in a self-righteous prison of their own sin—deceived into thinking they are pleasing a God that does not exist.

It is as heartbreaking as it is scary.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the Mormon priesthood is without foundation.

The priesthood of Aaron was brought to a ceasing by Christ’s sacrificial death.

The priesthood of Melchizedek goes on forever and is held uniquely by the Lord Jesus.

This razes Mormonism to the ground because it:

Exposes the teaching to be man-made

Exposes the founder to be the unsavory character that he really was

Exposes the Mormon Jesus to be insufficient

But I want to close with the beautiful hope of the Good News.

I want to remind you that there is a true priesthood. It is the kingdom priesthood of Jesus Christ.

Revelation 1:4–6 ESV

John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

This is the Gospel.

It is a breath of fresh air after two weeks in the cultic pit with Joseph’s twisted religion.

Jesus loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood.

He has made us a kingdom—priests to His Father

Here is Walter Martin to close us out:

The Kingdom of the Cults Handbook: Quick Reference Guide to Alternative Belief Systems 6. Mormonism

The Christian does not need temples with secret services, rituals, and mysteries. His priesthood knows no special offices or power to communicate with the dead—things that the Mormon priesthood most definitely claims. The Christian priesthood embraces all those who have been loosed from their sins by the blood of Jesus Christ, and who enjoy the perpetual love of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

The authentic Christian priesthood is revealed by Scripture alone.

The authentic Christian priesthood is opened to us by grace alone.

The authentic Christian priesthood is entered into by faith alone.

The authentic Christian priesthood is bestowed by Christ alone.

And the authentic Christian priesthood exists for the glory of God alone.

A royal priesthood. A people for His own possession. Declaring His virtues to the the darkness—including the darkness of the Mormon world.