“…there is only one church that is structured the same, and is run the same as was the primitive (or beginning) church. That would be The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS), or Mormon church…. I have study long, read the scriptures, and prayed, and I know that this is the only true church restored by God after the Apostasy. It contains all the authority to the ordinances, restored through Joseph Smith.” ~ Joshua Caplin
I respectfully submit to Joshua and every reader that indeed there is only one true church, about which anyone can read in the New Testament, but that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) or the Mormon Church is not that church. The facts simply do not support Joshua’s sincere but erroneous assertion. Both biblical and historical evidences conclusively prove the LDS claim to be unfounded and false. Additionally, the most damaging information countering LDS claims to be the one true church comes from the massive archives of miscellaneous and contradictory official LDS documents.
The first hint that the Mormon Church is not the one true church about which one can read in the Bible is that its name is unscriptural (not in the Bible). Instead of finding Mormon Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or LDS in the Bible, the New Testament records several other appellations or descriptive terms by which the divine institution was known: “church of God” (1 Corinthians 1:2), “churches of Christ” (Romans 16:16), “house of God” (1 Timothy 3:15), “body of Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:27), etc. Second, the organizational pattern of the first century church and the Mormon Church differ; the primitive church was congregational, autonomous (Titus 1:6) and ruled by elders (Acts 20:28; Hebrews 13:7, 17) appointed according to divine qualifications (1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:7-9). Further, New Testament doctrines about baptism, redemption, worship, revelation from God, church finance, the nature of God, heaven, etc. and comparable Mormon Church doctrines differ markedly. The Mormon Church has no relationship to the church that Jesus built and about which one can freely read in the pages of inspiration.
Historically, the Mormon Church was begun April 6, 1830, at Fayette, New York by Sidney Rigdon and Joseph Smith. Its first headquarters was established in Kirtland, Ohio in 1831. This new religious body adopted its present name, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, in May of 1834. Joseph Smith fled Kirtland in 1838 to flee criminal indictments for swindling. In 1838, Mormons announced plans to militarily overtake Missouri to which they had moved their primary presence, after which to overtake the United States and the whole world. The Missouri militia defeated the Mormons, the remnant of whom fled to Illinois. Joseph Smith, his brother and other Mormon leaders were sentenced by court martial to be shot. However, in 1839 they also escaped to Illinois. In 1843, Smith purported to have received a revelation authorizing polygamy. Joseph Smith had raised a militia, which he used to rout opposition by Mormon dissidents and to resist the Illinois militia in enforcing lawsuits lodged against Smith. Consequently, Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were jailed in Carthage. On June 27, 1844, the Smith brothers died in a shootout with a mob that broke into the jail. Brigham Young followed Joseph Smith as leader of the Mormons. On January 20, 1846, the Mormons announced their intention to depart the borders of the Untied States for unsettled areas to the west (Salt Lake City, Utah now). In 1849, the Mormons declared themselves a political state called Deseret and informed the United States of its existence. The U.S., though, refused to recognize Deseret and named the area as the Territory of Utah, but named Brigham Young as Governor. In 1851, the Mormons drove out of Utah federal appointees (such as District Judges) and began openly defying the United States. In 1852, the Mormon Church reinstated the doctrine of polygamy, though they had renounced it in 1845. The U.S. attempted unsuccessfully to replace Brigham Young in 1854 by sending a Colonel and troops. In 1856, federal forces were expelled from Utah, but in 1857, 2,500 federal troops subdued the Mormons and restored Utah to the control of the U.S. The Mormon Church, by whatever name, is indigenous to North America, commencing in 1830. Its beginning and history is a matter of (often appalling) public record.
The basis on which Mormonism was built and continues to exist is Joseph Smith’s First Vision. The First Vision is also the beginning point of innumerable documented religious contradictions throughout Mormon continuing revelation. For instance, there are three conflicting First Visions authored by Joseph Smith and attributed to Smith when he was 14, contradicted by ascribing the vision to him at 15, which is also contradicted by ascribing the supposed vision to Smith at the age of 16. The initial account of the First Vision cites one Divine person present, Jesus Christ; however, the subsequent account of the First Vision cites the presence of two Divine persons, including God the Father. A third version of the First Vision includes many angels that did not appear in either of the other two renditions of the First Vision. Virtually every other aspect of Mormon revelation, too, is inundated with inconsistencies and outright contradictions, including: fabricated Mormon archaeology, prophecies, direct contradictions to the Bible, etc. Further, the testimony of abundant Mormon documents indict Mormonism for blood atonement and murderous avengers; polygamy; illegalities; etc. Many credible books have exposed Mormonism, but Mormonism’s own documents, which are many, pose the greatest witness against this system of religion.
My heart feels for sincere souls who may unwittingly remain uninformed about the religious, historical and self-incriminating evidence that decries Mormonism for the faulty devotion that it is. In this brief survey, though, it ought to be apparent that it is certainly arguable that the Mormon Church, by any name, falls far short from being the one true church.
