Bridge of Reason

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have recently released several short videos which all begin with the question ‘How Can It Not Be True?’ These videos cover the subjects: Who is God?; Evidence of God’s Existence; The Miracle of Humankind; Jesus Christ as the Son of God; Agency and the Promises of Obedience; The Witness of the Spirit; Joseph Smith; and The Book of Mormon. Over the next few weeks, I will review these videos and consider if what they teach can or cannot be true. These videos are, as always, beautifully produced, and very easy on the eye. The Mormons, realising that many people will not watch or listen to a video like this beyond a couple of minutes, have made them short and to the point. Their hope, perhaps, is that these videos will arouse enough interest that the watcher visit their website or one of their churches. Let’s begin with: How Can It Not Be True – Who is God? The first claim made by the video is that God is always available for us. We would ...

  THE ONLY GOD ‘Thus all men who ascend to the glorious status of Godhood can do so only by one method – by obedience to all the principles and ordinances of the Gospel of Jesus Christ… No prophet of record gave more complete and forceful explanations of the doctrine that men can become Gods than did the America Prophet, and, furthermore, he definitely pointed the course which men must follow.’ [1] In part 1 we saw that Mormons believe God was once a man who, through following laws and principles, achieved Godhood. This God, Heavenly Father so called by the Mormons, is the God of this planet but, according to Mormonism, there are countless other Gods and planets out-there. Thus, the desire and hope for Mormon men is that they too may be found worthy and attain Godhood. ‘…the Spirit of God fell upon me to a marked extent, and the Lord revealed to me, just as plainly as the sun at noon-day, this principle, which I put in a couplet: ‘As man now is, God once was; As God now is, m...

  Even though secularism is on the rise in the West, it is not very difficult to find someone who will say that they believe in the existence of God. Who, or what that God is remains a different question. Some will say that they believe someone, or something is out-there, but they have no idea who or what it is. Others will perhaps describe a God made in their own likeness, often a God that suits their own desires and beliefs. Whilst others may insist that they believe in the God espoused by one of the world’s major religions. Does God exist? Who is this God and how can we know what God is like? THE BIBLE The Bible does not seek to explain the existence of God, but rather plainly states that God is. What then follows throughout the pages of the Bible is an unfolding revelation of this God and, as His nature and attributes are revealed, a doctrine of God is formulated. It is this doctrine that has been accepted and believed upon within Christianity for the last two thousand ye...