A Comparison of the LDS Articles of Faith with the Bible - Part 1 by Lloyd Sharp

To more clearly understand LDS beliefs and teachings I will briefly compare each Article with the Bible. I will complete this study in future issues of The CROSS.

Since the Articles of Faith have gone through numerous revisions and for the sake of brevity and practicality, I have decided to focus only on the modern version of the Articles of Faith that are published by the LDS church today.

Article 1: "We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost."

This first Article is perhaps the most misleading. The Bible tells us that there is only one God (Isaiah 44:6; Deuteronomy 6:4; John 5:44). This Article does not affirm this. Indeed it cannot since Mormonism teaches that an infinite number of gods exist. Brigham Young, second LDS president stated "How many Gods there are, I do not know. But there never was a time when there were not Gods and worlds." (Journal of Discourses, 3:22)

Also misleading is the claim that Mormonism teaches God is "the Eternal Father." The LDS church does not teach that God the Father is eternal, that is, He has always existed and will always exist. Rather, the LDS church teaches that God the Father was once a man on another planet and evolved to godhood by abiding by various rules and regulations. The LDS manual Achieving a Celestial Marriage (page 132) states this very thing, claiming "By obedience to eternal gospel principles, he [God the Father] progressed from one stage of life to another until he attained the state we call exaltation or godhood."

The Bible also says that Jesus is coeternal with the Father (John 1:1-2, 14) and the creator of all things (Colossians 1:16). This is not affirmed in this Article either. Again this is because Mormonism does not teach this. Rather it teaches that Jesus is a created being and spirit brother to Lucifer. Essentially, the first Article uses the names of the Godhead and does not define the nature of the Godhead. Therefore unwitting Christians and laymen are led to believe that Mormons have the same concept of God that the Bible teaches, when in fact they do not.

Article 2: "We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression."

This appears to be correct, however this Article is misleading. Mormonism teaches that men will not be punished for the Fall of Adam and Eve. The reason is not because the Bible says "…every man shall be put to death for his own sin" (Deuteronomy 24:16), but because the fall of mankind was a positive action! LDS Apostle Dallin Oaks declared that Mormons "celebrate Eve's act and honor her wisdom and courage in the great episode called the fall." (Ensign, Nov. 1993:10) This stands in stark contrast to the Biblical teaching that the choice of Adam and Eve resulted in sin and death for "all men" (Rom. 5:12,15).

Article 3: "We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel."

Here we see the proclamation that salvation is by the "Atonement of Christ" and "obedience to laws and ordinances" of the LDS church. Salvation in Mormonism is a mixture of Christ's atonement and the work of church members. The Bible, however, does not teach this. Salvation is a gift by the grace of God (Ephesians 2:8). A gift you work for is no gift at all, it is a debt you work off. The apostle Paul taught this as well in the book of Acts (Acts 16:30-31). Obedience to ordinances is never taught as a prerequisite to salvation in the Bible.

According to former LDS prophet Spencer W. Kimball, "One of the most fallacious doctrines originated by Satan and propounded by man is that man is saved alone by the grace of God; that belief in Jesus Christ alone is all that is needed for salvation." (Spencer Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness, 26) If this is true then Kimball is making a liar out of Jesus. Jesus himself taught that the only work needed to be saved is to believe in Him (John 6:28-29).

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