Lifting The Veil

When we ask whether a church is a cult, we need to be careful about what we mean. The word cult is often used as an insult, but it can also describe a religious movement that departs from historic Christian teachings or, in another sense, an organization that exercises excessive control over its members. Those are two separate questions, and both deserve an honest examination. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the Mormon Church, presents itself as the restored church of Jesus Christ. Its members believe they follow Him and seek to live moral, family-centered lives. Many are sincere, generous, and devoted to their faith. We should acknowledge that rather than judge every Mormon by the beliefs or actions of an institution. But sincerity alone does not establish whether a church's teachings are biblically true. If we claim to follow Jesus Christ, we must be willing to examine every religious organization, including our own, against the teachings of Scr...

Not merely because Mormons believe differently, but because Mormonism fundamentally changes the biblical doctrines of God, Christ, salvation, Scripture, and revelation while claiming to restore original Christianity. Biblical Christianity teaches one God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:5). Mormonism teaches the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are separate beings, teaches that God the Father has a physical body and was once a mortal man, and teaches that faithful humans can eventually become gods. Yet Scripture says, “from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God” (Psalm 90:2) and “before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me” (Isaiah 43:10). Mormonism teaches Jesus and Lucifer are spirit brothers. Scripture says Jesus is the eternal Word through whom “all things were made” (John 1:1–3). Mormonism also makes exaltation dependent upon faithfulness to ordinances, covenants, temple ceremonies, and works. Biblical Christianity says, “By grace are ye saved through faith... not ...

Before I begin, I want to get one thing straight. One of the most common objections I hear is, "How can you say Mormonism isn't Christianity? We believe in Jesus Christ." The answer is simple. Christianity isn't defined by simply using Jesus' name. It is defined by believing in the Jesus Christ revealed in Scripture and the gospel preached by His apostles. The New Testament warns about "another Jesus" and "another gospel" (2 Corinthians 11:4; Galatians 1:8-9). The issue has never been sincerity—it has always been truth. The Mormon church teaches doctrines that are not found in the Bible, including that the Father has a body of flesh and bones, that all people lived in a premortal existence, that additional scripture stands alongside the Bible, that temple ordinances are necessary for exaltation, and that faithful men and women can become gods. Those teachings come from Joseph Smith's later revelations—not from Christ and His apostles. This ...

Religious disagreement becomes difficult when criticism of a belief system is treated as an attack on the people who hold those beliefs. That distinction is especially important when discussing Mormonism, its claims of exclusive priesthood authority, its history of polygamy, and its differences with biblical Christianity. I recently encountered a Mormon who told me that I have “no priesthood nor authority to teach,” citing Galatians 1:8 as though that passage somehow gives the Mormon Church exclusive authority to teach religious truth or prevents me, as a Christian, from examining and challenging Mormon doctrine. The same person invoked the persecution of Mormons in the 1800s, claimed that Mormons were driven from Illinois for the “legal and constitutional” practice of polygamy, and compared that history with modern disputes involving same-sex marriage and Mormon temples. Each of those claims deserves an answer. And whenever someone tells me what I, as a Christian, supposedly can or ca...

There’s something deeply appealing about the idea that we lived with God before we were born—that we were trained, assigned roles, and sent here with a mission already in hand. It gives people a sense of identity and significance. It tells us we were chosen because of who we already were. But that idea, however meaningful it may feel, isn’t what the Bible actually teaches. Scripture does say that God knew us before we were born. In Book of Jeremiah 1:5, God tells Jeremiah, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee.” That’s often taken as proof of a premortal life. But read carefully—God is not describing Jeremiah’s past experience. He’s describing His own knowledge. An eternal God doesn’t need us to exist beforehand in order to know us fully. That distinction matters. The Bible consistently presents God as the one who plans, calls, and appoints—not based on what we did before birth, but based on His own will. In Epistle to the Ephesians 1:4, it says we were chosen “before the foun...

Nobody denies that churches need money. Buildings cost money. Missionaries cost money. Helping the poor costs money. Any worldwide church must have resources to function. But the real issue is not whether money is necessary. The real issue is whether financial requirements match the teachings of Jesus and the early Christian church. This question becomes especially important when examining the practices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The LDS Church teaches what is often called the fourfold mission of the Church: Proclaim the gospel. Strengthen the members. Perform temple work. Care for the poor. These are good goals. No serious Christian would object to them. Yes, these missions require resources. But Christianity is not built on efficiency. It is built on truth. And that raises an uncomfortable question: Did Jesus or the apostles ever require believers to pay a fixed percentage of their income in order to fully participate in worship? The answer from the New Testa...

I know many in the Mormon faith emphasize that God the Father has a physical body and specific gender. From a biblical Christian perspective, we also call God “Father” because that’s how Jesus revealed Him to us—not necessarily to define God’s gender, but to show His relationship to us. The Bible teaches that God is spirit (John 4:24), beyond human limitations like gender or physical form. When Jesus taught His followers to pray, He said, “Our Father in heaven...” (Matthew 6:9), inviting us into a personal and intimate relationship with God. This isn’t just about a title—it’s about God’s loving, caring role as our Creator and Protector. In the Old Testament, God is called Father because He made Israel and cares for them like a parent cares for their children (Deuteronomy 32:6, Isaiah 63:16). Jesus calls God Father to show us that same closeness and trust. The New Testament goes further by showing that through Jesus, we are adopted into God’s family and can call Him “Abba, Father” (Roma...

Let’s talk about the golden plates Joseph Smith said he carried—the ones that supposedly contained the Book of Mormon. According to descriptions, these plates were roughly 7 by 8 inches and about 6 inches thick, made of gold. Given gold’s density, they would weigh over 1,200 pounds. Yet Joseph and his witnesses claimed to carry and even lift these plates with ease. That just doesn’t add up. This kind of inconsistency is a big red flag. The Bible’s miraculous events always align with God’s nature and power—not with physical impossibilities or contradictions. Unlike Mormonism, biblical miracles have clear context and purpose, and God’s Word never contradicts natural laws in a way that defies common sense without explanation. The Bible warns us to test claims carefully: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God” (1 John 4:1). When a foundational story of a religion clashes with facts and reason, it’s worth questioning its authenticity. Th...

In Mormonism, there’s this teaching that at the time Adam was created, only God the Father had a physical body—implying that Jesus and the Holy Spirit didn’t have bodies yet. But the Bible says something interesting in Genesis 1:26: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” Why “our” and not “my”? That’s not just a grammatical quirk; it reveals a deep truth about God’s nature. The Bible consistently shows God as a Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—all fully God, existing together eternally (Matthew 28:19, John 1:1–3, John 10:30). They work in perfect unity. That plural pronoun “us” in Genesis is a hint at the plurality within the Godhead, a divine council or the triune nature of God. Mormonism’s view separates the Father from the Son and Holy Spirit in ways that don’t line up with this biblical revelation. It teaches that Jesus and the Spirit came to have bodies later, which contradicts the eternal, unchanging nature of God described in Scripture (Hebrews 13:8, John 17:5)....

Let’s be real: if the Book of Mormon is truly inspired and God-breathed, why has it undergone thousands of changes since the first edition in 1830? Gerald and Sandra Tanner have documented over 3,900 edits—not counting punctuation changes. Verses like 1 Nephi 11:21, 19:20, 20:1, and Alma 29:4 have seen notable revisions. That’s a lot of shifting, especially for a book claiming divine perfection. The Bible, by contrast, is God’s Word preserved through the centuries with remarkable consistency. Yes, small copyist differences exist, but the core message has remained intact. Scripture itself assures us that God’s Word is perfect and endures forever (Psalm 12:6–7, Isaiah 40:8). The Holy Spirit inspired the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16) and continues to preserve its truth in all languages. The fact that Mormonism’s key scripture needs so many corrections exposes its human origins. The Bible warns seriously against adding or subtracting from God’s Word: “If anyone adds to these things, God will add ...

Here’s a big inconsistency that often gets overlooked. Mormon Article of Faith #8 says, “We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.” Notice the phrase “as far as it is translated correctly” only applies to the Bible, not the Book of Mormon. That’s puzzling—because when you look closely, the Book of Mormon has way more issues with changes, additions, and translation inconsistencies than any Bible translation. Early editions of the Book of Mormon show dozens of edits and corrections, while the Bible’s text has been preserved and refined over centuries through thousands of manuscripts and translations guided by careful scholarship and the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16). The Bible warns against adding or taking away from God’s Word: “If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book” (Revelation 22:18). That applies equally to any scripture claiming divine origin. Morm...

It’s hard to ignore the strong similarities between the Book of Mormon and View of the Hebrews—a book published in 1823, seven years before Joseph Smith’s Book of Mormon, and not far from where his family lived. These parallels in content and structure suggest that the Book of Mormon might have drawn from contemporary ideas rather than divine revelation. This highlights a key problem with Mormonism: its origins don’t line up with the biblical pattern of divine inspiration and prophetic authenticity. The Bible, inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16), is consistent, prophetic, and stands the test of time. It wasn’t written under suspicious circumstances or borrowed from local folklore. The Bible warns us to test teachings carefully: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God” (1 John 4:1). When we do, we find that Mormonism’s historical context and sources raise serious doubts about its divine origin. Biblical truth is grounded in God’s eternal...

Here’s the deal. Mormonism claims that only the original English translation of the Book of Mormon is inspired by God. So what happens when that book is translated into French, Spanish, or any other language? How can anyone be sure those translations are accurate or inspired? They can’t, and that’s a big problem. The Bible, on the other hand, doesn’t rely on one single translation or secret inspiration tied to a single language or person. The original manuscripts were written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. Over centuries, God preserved His message through careful copying and widespread use. The Holy Spirit guides the Church in understanding God’s Word across languages and cultures (John 14:26). More importantly, the Bible is consistent, internally coherent, and backed by a long history of manuscripts and translations verified by countless scholars and believers (2 Timothy 3:16). Its authority doesn’t depend on the language but on the Spirit who inspired it. Mormonism’s reliance on only...

Let’s keep it simple and straight from the heart. If you're a Mormon and you truly care about what God says, then I ask you this with all sincerity: would you read the Bible cover to cover—with no filters, no outside commentary—and just ask God to show you whether it’s complete? Just you, God's Word, and prayer. Mormonism teaches that the Bible is incomplete, that parts are missing or corrupted, and that the Book of Mormon is needed to restore “truth.” But here’s the problem: the Bible doesn’t agree with that. In fact, it directly contradicts it. Scripture says “All Scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). Not some Scripture. All. It also says God’s Word is pure and needs no addition: “Every word of God proves true... Do not add to His words” (Proverbs 30:5–6). Jude 1:3 tells believers to “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” That means it was already complete—no ext...

Here’s the straight talk: if the Nephi Plates were real and truly from God, why were they taken back to heaven? Shouldn’t something so important stay here on earth—especially if, as Mormonism claims, those plates are the foundation of restored truth? Now compare that to how God handled His Word in the Bible. When He gave the Ten Commandments to Moses, they were written by His own finger (Exodus 31:18). And He didn’t take them back. He told Israel to keep them, store them in the Ark (Deuteronomy 10:1–5), and pass them down from generation to generation. God doesn’t give truth and then hide it. He makes it known. That’s the problem with the Mormon story—it’s not biblical. The Bible says truth must be confirmed by witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15), and when Jesus rose from the grave, He showed Himself to over 500 people (1 Corinthians 15:6). God doesn’t rely on secret visions or hidden artifacts to prove who He is. He reveals Himself clearly and publicly. Mormonism claims Joseph Smith transla...

I have often encountered members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who speak passionately about a “Great Apostasy” — the belief that the true Church of Christ completely fell away from the earth after the time of the apostles, leaving a void that necessitated a restoration through Joseph Smith. This teaching, I have learned directly from my Mormon friends, is central to their faith. Yet it is a misunderstanding that twists the clear testimony of Scripture and misrepresents the enduring faithfulness of God’s covenant people. Let me be clear from the outset: I am not claiming there was a full apostasy in the sense of a complete, universal falling away from the true Church. According to Scripture, apostasy means a willful rebellion against God, a renunciation of the faith once delivered to the saints. The Bible warns us about this kind of apostasy: “Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God” (2 Thessal...

In a world filled with ghost stories, fantasy novels, and near-spiritual experiences, our culture is increasingly drawn to the idea that the dead linger among us, offering guidance or comfort. Popular media—from Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings to The Spiderwick Chronicles and Goosebumps—normalizes communication with spirits, ghostly visitations, and magical knowledge of the unseen world. But while these stories are fiction, a deeper concern arises when such spiritual ideas form the foundation of a real-world religion. This is precisely what we find in the origins of Mormonism. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) was founded by Joseph Smith, a man deeply involved in folk magic, divination, and the use of seer stones. Smith practiced “glass-looking”—placing a stone in a hat and peering into it to find buried treasure. Historical documents show that he was charged in court for fraudulent activities related to this practice (Vogel 2004, Quinn 1998). He used the sam...