In the 1820's a man named Joseph Smith found himself frustrated with the differences in Christian denominations, not knowing which was right or wrong. He decided to seek wisdom from God and spent some time praying. In his prayer time he reportedly saw a vision of God the Father and Jesus as separate beings, and he was told by the Father that none of the denominations were accurate. He then dictated the Book of Mormon, which described itself as a chronicle of early indigenous Americans, portraying them as believing Israelites, who had a belief in Christ many hundred years before his birth. Smith claimed he translated over 500 pages in about 60 days, and that it was an ancient record translated "by the gift and power of God". By 1830, Smith reported that he had been instructed that God would use him to re-establish the true Christian church and that the Book of Mormon would be the means of establishing correct doctrine for the restored church.
Mormons believe:
- God is exalted man, and that God is not the creator, but was created by another God who was created by another God, and so on.
- God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are three distinct persons, rather than the Trinity.
- Human beings have the ability to become God, and God was once a man who lived on another planet..
- Jesus was begotten by physical union of God and Mary.
- False prophesies from Joseph Smith.
- Salvation is attained through good works.
- Three levels of heaven based on the level of a person's belief in Mormonism.
As Christians we believe in the Bible as the inspired Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16). We believe that God is three-in-one: the Trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as one God (Genesis 1:1). We believe that God is the Creator of all things; He has always been and always will be God over everything. We believe that salvation comes from grace through faith, (Ephesians 2:8-10) and that heaven will become home for all believers by the work Christ performed on the cross (1 John 4:10).
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