The
Mormon church teaches that the church must always be led by a man on the earth,
one who is to be regarded as the infallible prophet of God. It is he, they say,
who speaks for God, who leads the church and acts as a mediator between the people
and God.
At
the time of writing, this is a ninety-seven-year-old man named Russell Marion
Nelson.
They
claim that it is through this ‘prophet’ that God speaks to his people. They are certain
that he, and he alone, receives direct revelations for the whole church.
‘We are most fortunate to have a living prophet at the head of the
Church to guide us, and all who need his counsel will be partakers of the promised
blessings which will not be enjoyed by those who fail to accept his messages…
Whose side are we on? When the prophet speaks the debate is over’.[1]
As a convinced Mormon, Brad Wilcox believes that
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has always been led by a prophet.
According to Mormon doctrine these men have the same stature and authority as
the original apostles of the Lord Jesus.
As he comes towards the end of his train-wreck of a
speech to the youth, Brad tells them that L stands for Living Prophets.
Living Prophets
As a restoration movement, Mormonism teaches that
original Christianity was completely lost to apostasy. This happened after the
death of the Christ’s original twelve apostles. The church was left powerless
and without authority, that is until prophets were restored to the church. It
was in 1829 that Peter, James and John, allegedly, appeared to Joseph and his
friend Oliver Cowdery, conferring upon them the Melchizedek priesthood[2]
and with it "the keys of the
kingdom, and of the dispensation of the fullness of times."[3]
Since then, there has been a succession of Momon
prophets, all of whom are believed to be the apostolic heirs of the original
twelve.
Many
people believe in Jesus because of Peter, James and John. We believe because of
Peter, James, and John, but also because of Russell, Dallin, and Henry. Same
priesthood authority; same special calling; same special witness of the Savior.
(Brad Wilcox)
What
does he mean that many believe in Jesus because of Peter, James and John? Does
he mean through their preaching and testimony about the Lord Jesus Christ, as
we find recorded in Holy Scripture, that many came to believe?
What
Brad saidreminded me of what Paul told the believers at Corinth when addressing
divisions in the church.
What I mean is that each one
of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,”
or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were
you baptized in the name of Paul? 1 Corinthians 1:12-13
Paul
says we are not to follow men but to follow Christ. Now I realise that what
Brad said is not exactly what Paul is addressing here, but in Mormonism they do
follow men. Mormonism teaches that Russell (Nelson), Dallin (Oakes) and Henry (B.
Eyring)[4]
have the same authority as Christ’s early apostles and so they must be listened
to and followed – without question. They are God’s mouthpiece.
But
what does the Bible say?
“The Lord your God will raise up
for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you
shall listen…”
Deuteronomy 18:15
The
Bible is clear that Christians have only one living Prophet – Jesus.
It
is Jesus who speaks to the church…
Long ago, at many times
and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last
days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir
of all things, through whom also he created the world.
Hebrews 1:1-2
It is Jesus who leads the church…
And he is the head of the body, the church. He
is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he
might be preeminent. Colossians 1:18
It is Jesus who mediates for the church…
For there is one God, and there is one mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 2:5
Therefore,
there is only one living prophet that we need – Jesus.
A
Bible believing church?
Brad
goes on to tell of a time before Covid when he was engaged in a conversation
with an evangelical before a public audience. He said that he, and the
evangelical pastor had the following dialogue:
(The
Evangelical pastor asked) “Are you a Bible based Church?”, and I said
“(hesitantly squealing)”, and I said finally I said, “No, not the way you’re
thinking of it, but yes, in a way you’ve never thought of before.” The poor guy
was just going (shaking face and making silly noises as if the minister was
confounded). He didn’t know exactly what I was talking about. So, I explained.
I said, “A lot of people hold the Bible up, and they say, ‘this is my
religion'”. He says, “I would be one of those people”. I said, “Yeah, but the
Bible is not actually religion; the Bible is a history of people who had
religion. What did the people in the Bible have?
Brad doesn’t tell us how
the evangelical pastor responded but let us consider a possible answer. I think
I would have said that the people in the Bible had…the Bible.
These oft quoted verses
used in defence of the Bible being the authoritative Word of God, speak of
such:
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly
believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you
have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make
you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All
Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for
correction, and for training in righteousness, that the
man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy
3:14-17)
What were the ‘sacred
writings’ Paul spoke about to Timothy? What is Paul talking about when he says:
‘All Scripture’?
As the New Testament was
yet to be written and collected, he clearly referred to the Old Testament. When
tempted by the devil in the wilderness, how did Jesus respond? He quoted
Scripture. So to answer Brad’s question: ‘What did the people in the Bible
have?’ They had the Bible.
Brad, being Mormon, is
trying to point to the insufficiency of Scripture, that something other than
the Bible is needed. The Word of God is never enough for the cults, there
always has to be extra-biblical revelation (The Book of Mormon, Living Prophets
etc.)
Say Goodbye
You
want to walk away from the church? Well, say goodbye to living prophets. Say
goodbye. You have to see Christ through a pretty small window when you’re stuck
with just the Bible, so say goodbye to the larger window that we have because
of living prophets.
Brad may not be, but I am, very happy to be
‘stuck with just the Bible’. The Bible is sufficient because it contains all that
is needed to equip believers for life and service. It reveals who God is, our
desperate fallenness, the way of salvation and how we are to live as believers
in the Lord Jesus Christ.[5]
Adding to the Word of God
You shall
not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the
commandments of the Lord your
God that I command you. Deuteronomy 4:2
Throughout his talk Brad Wilcox has clearly
shown that Mormonism adds and takes away from God’s revelation. Mormonism teaches
that the Bible is insufficient, that Jesus is not enough and that leads to a
false gospel.
Brad says that to leave Mormonism is to say
goodbye to living prophets. He reveals what these leaders mean to him:
Say
goodbye to all of these leaders that I just don’t want to live my life without.
I just don’t know what my life would be without their examples, without their
teachings, without their testimonies, especially when times get hard.
Here we see where his faith really lies – how
sad. He concludes by telling the young people that to leave Mormonism is to
lose everything. ‘Everything that truly matters most’.
My advice to these young people would be to
say goodbye to this false religion[6], and to
put their hope only in what truly matters – the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is
enough!
[1] N. Eldon Tanner, “The
Debate is Over,” Ensign, August 1979, p.2
[2] In Mormonism,
the Melchizedek priesthood is the greater of the two orders
of priesthood, the other being the Aaronic priesthood.
[3] Doctrine and Covenants 27:13
[4] These three man make up
the First Presidency, which is the presiding governing body of the LDS church.
[5] 2 Timothy 3:16-17
[6] Galatians 1:8
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