Mormon Dilemma 534

Christ

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, pg 257; “CHRIST. According to Catholic belief, Jesus was born of a virgin, and is the “Incarnate Son of God.” As both God and man, he is the “Savior of the World.” For Latter-day Saints Christ was not, is not now, and never will be united in nature or substance with the Father. His oneness with the Father is spiritual in spirit, purpose, and mind. Jesus, in LDS belief, is the Only Begotten Son of the Father in the flesh. He entered mortality, subject to growth as well as being, and fulfilled the will of the Father as exemplar, savior, and mediator. He was not given all power on earth and in heaven until he received the fulness of the glory of the Father (see –>Godhead).”

Hebrews 1:3; “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.”

1 Timothy 1:17; “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

John 1:1, 13-14; “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

John 8:57-58; “Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? 58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.”

Isaiah 9:6; “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

Genesis 1:26; “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”

The half dozen biblical examples listed here are but a drop in the bucket of the hundreds of verses God has given us to describe Himself. If we choose to ignore or outright reject Him, He will indeed reject us as well. 

This one topic is why I’m in ministry today. I’m 100% convinced the average Mormon loves Jesus. I know this as sure as I’m writing this today and the reason I know is because I once walked in those shoes. I loved Him. I imagined myself walking alongside Him in the villages I read about in the Bible and I knew He was talking to me personally when He was also talking to the disciples. 

The problem? The Jesus of Mormonism is not the Jesus of the Bible, plain and simple.  While the Church likes to claim they’re Christian, it’s a hard pill to swallow when every doctrinal creed in the Bible about Him is at variance with Mormon doctrines.  The example here from the Encyclopedia of Mormonism is a concise albeit classic portrayal of the Mormon Jesus. 

It’s hard to have a relationship with Jesus when he’s so far removed from the everyday life of a Mormon.  Compare the non-descript portrayal of Him in Mormon teachings compared with just one example listed above. 

Pray, please pray for the Mormon who wants more than what the Church has to offer with a false christ and an impossible goal of reconciling these two vastly different Jesus’.