This page is dedicated to analyzing The Book of Mormon and Mormonism as a religion.

1. Mormonism was started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820-1830’s.
2. Joseph Smith said the Book of Mormon was translated into English from writings he found on golden plates in a reformed Egyptian language; they were translated with the assistance of the Urim and Thummim and seer stones. He said an angel first showed him the location of the plates in 1823; they were buried in a nearby hill.
3. Orthodox Mormonism believe in “God The Father” of the Bible but they refer to him as Elohim. Elohim is a name for God used frequently in the Hebrew Bible.
4. Mormons use the term omnipotent to describe God, and regard him as the creator: they understand him as being almighty and eternal but subject to eternal natural law which governs intelligences, justice and the eternal nature of matter (i.e. God organized the world but did not create it from nothing).
5. They also use the term Godhead and it refers to a council of three distinct divine persons consisting of God the Father, Jesus Christ (his firstborn Son, whom Latter Day Saints refer to as Jehovah), and the Holy Ghost. Clarification – Mormons DO NOT believe in the Nicene Creed, that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are of the same substance or being.
6. Mormons believe in additional gods:
   a) Heavenly Mother: The wife of God the Father and a divine partner with him.
   b) Many gods: Mormons believe that there are many gods, each ruling their own creation. Brigham Young, the second Mormon President and Prophet, said that there have always been gods and worlds, and that men have always passed through the same ordeals as we do today.
7. Yes, Mormons believe in the existence of multiple inhabited earths, meaning that our planet is not the only one with life, and that there are other worlds with their own populations where individuals can experience mortality and strive for exaltation; this belief stems from their scripture, the Pearl of Great Price, which mentions “worlds without number” created by God and each one has a redeemer.
8. Mormons believe that angels such as Peter, James, John, and John the Baptist appeared to Joseph Smith and others and bestowed various Priesthood authorities on them. Mormons thus believe that their Church is the “only true and living church” because divine authority was restored to it through Smith.
9. Mormons believe that Smith and his legitimate successors are modern prophets who receive revelation from God to guide the church.
10. Mormons believe in three degrees of glory in heaven or Kingdoms of Glory: (We are only going to discuss the one that matters the most)
    1) Celestial kingdom: The highest degree of glory, where God lives. Exalted beings in this kingdom will live with God and Jesus Christ, and will become gods and goddesses.
    2) Terrestrial kingdom: One of the three degrees of glory in heaven.
    3) Telestial kingdom: One of the three degrees of glory in heaven.
    
    
    Apologetic – In the Bible (Isaiah 30:10-11) The Lord says, “who say to the seers, “Do not see,” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right; but speak to us smooth things. prophesy illusions, leave the way, turn aside from the path, let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.” Here Jesus is telling us that seers do not see and prophets do not prophesy.
    Apologetic – Further more in Galatians 1:8 states, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed”.
    Apologetic – Mathew 7:15 – “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”
    Apologetic – Romans 16:18 – ^“For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites,^a] and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.”
    Apologetic – Deuteronomy 13:1-5 “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, ² and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ ³ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. ⁴ You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him. ⁵ But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.”
    Apologetic – 2 Corinthians 11:14–15 “And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. ¹⁵ So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.”