Thinking of joining the Mormon Church?

I feel that Latter-day Saints are very quick to have you baptized into their church - sometimes within weeks of first meeting with them.

When you speak to Mormon missionaries, one of the very first things they will ask you to do is to pray about the Book of Mormon to determine if it is true. 

According to them, a promise is given in the Book of Mormon, in Moroni 10:4 – "I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost." 

Be careful of the exhortation Joseph Smith wrote in Moroni 10:4. Joseph Smith did a rather ingenious thing when he penned those words. He 'stacked the deck' in his favor so to speak. He forced you into either viewing yourself as being sincere, having faith in Christ, having real intent, and coming to know the Book of Mormon is true or the contrary - viewing yourself as being insincere, lacking faith in Christ, lacking real intent and coming to know the Book of Mormon is not a historical text.

What a subtle trick. Who would want to view themselves as insincere and God a liar?

The introductory notes to 2 Nephi 33 state, "Those who believe in Christ will believe Nephi’s words."  This is simply not true because many do not view Nephi as a prophet of God but rather as a character in a fiction novel.

I would speculate that few people read all the Book of Mormon or even have an accurate knowledge of the Bible before they venture into praying about the words of Moroni 10:4 and make a decision based on feelings alone. 

Please see the article called, "A historical Book of Mormon?" to show how the Book of Mormon greatly differs from the Bible and the problems contained in Joseph Smith's text.  For starters, many LDS Church teachings are not even found in it.

While the Book of Mormon does teach several truths that agree with the Bible, this does not mean the whole thing is inspired of God. For instead, Shakespeare could write a play about God, but that would not mean the book was written by a prophet of God. Almost all religious books teach some good things, but this does not make their writers prophets of God.

So why do people become Mormons and trust Joseph Smith as a prophet?

I believe it begins with someone’s insufficient knowledge of the Bible and then continues with their desire to become a God or Goddess who will some day go off somewhere with their spouse (plural wives for some) to create new worlds and populate them. Their spirit children will in turn worship them as they worshipped an exalted man when they lived on Planet Earth.

People who convert into the LDS faith develop church and family bonds during this time of progression. As they are confronted by wrong doctrines, it is harder to break free because they have already established a comfort level. So people learn to sacrifice true doctrine for the hope of feeling good where they are.

I would advise all persons to exercise caution.  Examine their teachings before making any sort of commitment.  Do this for any religious faith or organization that you are thinking about joining.

If you are baptized into the Mormon Church and then you are confronted with anti-biblical or questionable teachings, I find that it is your sinful human pride which keeps you a member instead of leaving to follow biblical truth.  

After all, how could an organization be bad if it does good?  If that is the principle which is guiding you, then it would not surprise me if you decide to also join other religious groups that promote humanitarian aid.

Truth is much more than just feelings.

Take care and choose well ... your eternal life depends on it.