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#3 The Facts On The Mormon Church
3. How can we know if these revelations
were from God or whether they originated from some other source?
That Joseph Smith or anyone else claims to have divine visions
does not automatically prove the visions are from God; people may invent stories
of divine visions for unknown reasons or they may even be the recipient of
mental delusions. Even if Joseph Smith was the recipient of genuine
supernatural manifestations, how does anyone know they were not clever
counterfeits by deceiving spirits who were lying when they claimed to be angels
and saints?
The issue of Mormon revelations is finally reduced to one simple test. If
Joseph Smith's revelations deny, contradict, and oppose the Bible, then whatever
their resource, they cannot possibly have originated in God. And if they did not
originate in God, they have no divine authority and should not be heeded.
Most of this book will be devoted to supplying documentation that Mormon
revelations and the doctrine derived from them cannot be considered divine. If
you are a Mormon, we ask you to carefully weigh the arguments presented. Every
conscientious religious person has a responsibility to be certain that what he
or she claims to be from God really is from Him (1 Thessalonians 5:21; 1 John
4:1)
Taken from The Facts On The Mormon Church, by
John Ankerberg and John Weldon, published by Harvest House Publishers.
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