Atheoligical Tendency

Mormons focus on accessible, social aspects of their religion. Although the Mormon system of doctrine is genuinely attractive to many of its members, many have argued that the primary "glue" of Mormonism is the heritage, culture, and family ties, not the doctrine and theology. In other words, the typical allegiance to the Mormon organization primarily stems from something other than doctrinal concerns. The average Mormon sitting in a pew does not care how or why their religion works, they only care that it works for them.
They are not concerned with the real character of Joseph Smith or how the LDS scriptures coincide with biblical teachings. A common element often overlooked when Christians share their faith with Latter-day Saints is that many Mormons are not Mormon merely for doctrinal reasons. This view of not being concerned with theology is considered to be atheological. If a person does not care about their theology, they miss the importance of rooting their entire life in the true knowledge of God and a coherent, rational, theological worldview. A person's relationship with God is built on the foundation of what one believes about God and what it means to be right with God. This is the most important determining factor in shaping the way a person lives. An atheological person does not seriously reflect on their own foundational worldview assumptions (e.g., what is truth, who is God, does this matter?), nor do they see how doing so would be relevant to everyday life.

South Park, a fictional, satirical cartoon, depicted a Mormon named "Gary" with the following words:

"Look, maybe us Mormons do believe in crazy stories that make absolutely no sense. And maybe Joseph Smith did make it all up. But I have a great life and a great family and I have the Book of Mormon to thank for that. The truth is, I don’t care if Joseph Smith made it all up. Because what the church teaches now is loving your family, being nice and helping people. And even though people in this town might think that’s stupid, I still choose to believe in it."

Grey Echols, a Mormon, writes the following in a review of By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus:

"This is a well written book which manages to not push an 'anti-Mormon' agenda. However as an LDS I do not think others should read it. Why? Because it could destroy your faith in the church. I am not trying to be clever. If you enjoy all of the good things the church has brought into your life, do you care where it came from? No other church has so short a history that it can be examined so closely by science. Otherwise we would find that they are all created on the backs of con-artist. I am willing to bet every religion was founded by a fraud. So who cares. Does religion bring us together? Does it bond a nation, a town, a family? If so then let it be. The truth is fleeting, and life is short. If believing in Santa makes children smile then believing in God makes adults smile. When children find out Santa isn't real, you kill a certain spark you can never get back. When you expose a church as a fraud, you kill a little spark in all of us."

Mormonism And Men On The Moon

On the 20th of July 1969 Buzz Aldren and Neil Armstrong landed on the moon to find a barren wasteland with not one living thing on it. This airless barren land would be impossible for humans to survive without special equipment. I think most Mormons today would agree with Buzz and Neil’s discovery of the moon. Regardless of facts, Joseph Smith and Brigham Young taught something very different. Many apologists from the Mormon faith will argue that this is not credible and just more anti-Mormon rumors. But if we go to a direct source, how can the Latter Day Saints (Mormons) argue its validity? Here we can see that Brigham Young stated the following:

"Who can tell us of the inhabitants of this little planet that shines of an evening, called the moon?...when you inquire about the inhabitants of that sphere you find that the most learned are as ignorant in regard to them as the ignorant of their fellows. So it is in regard to the inhabitants of the sun. Do you think it is inhabited? I rather think it is. Do you think there is any life there? No question of it; it was not made in vain." (Journal of Discourses, vol. 13, p. 271)

As for Joseph Smith teaching these odd ideas of moon men...credit is given to Oliver B. Huntington who stated the following: "Nearly all the great discoveries of men in the last half century have, in one way or another, either directly or indirectly, contributed to prove Joseph Smith to be a prophet."

As far back as 1837, I know that he said the moon was inhabited by men and women the same as this earth, and that they lived to a greater age than we do -- that they live generally to near the age of 1000 years.

He described the men as averaging near six feet in height, and dressing quite uniformly in something near the Quaker style. "In my Patriarchal blessing, given by the father of Joseph the Prophet, in Kirtland, 1837, I was told that I should preach the gospel before gospel to the inhabitants upon the islands of the sea, and to the inhabitants of the moon, even the planet you can now behold with your eyes." (The Young Woman's Journal, published by the Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Associations of Zion, 1892, vol. 3, pp. 263-64)

But who is Oliver B. Huntington and is he a reliable source for this information? Mormon apologists will argue that fact. It seems Huntington would credible considering you can find many of Huntington's writings on the Mormon churche’s official website. Now granted Oliver B. Huntington did not hear Joseph Smith say this himself and some of the writings of this idea did come from his own personal journal, but keep in mind that Huntington was a faithful Mormon church member and true believer of Smith. So why would he write such absurdities about his divine leader?

But what about Brigham Young? The Mormon church would definitely consider this man to be a reliable source considering he was the 2nd President of the Mormon church.

So Did Joseph Smith Believe In Moon Men?
In the late 19th century it was actually quite common for people to believe in moon men. German astronomer Gruithuisen announced in 1822 his discovery of a large Lunar City. Richard Locke, a reporter for the New York Sun, in 1835 issued 6 purported summaries of John Herschel's (son of William) work with a new large telescope in Africa. Locke regaled the public with stories of lunar forests (38 species of trees), plants, and lakes. These ideas continued well into the late 1800’s. These kinds of ideas lend a great hand to the fact that the Mormon faith was not all that inspired as it claims to be. All in all the moon men theory surrounding the Mormon church cannot be officially traced back to Joseph Smith. So the questions still remains: Did Joseph Smith believe in men on the moon? From the historical evidence that we have today…the answer can not be totally proven. But it cannot be totally disproved either. When looking into the true character of Joseph Smith, his credibility shows that strange teachings like this one are not so far out for Smith.

Ground Broken For Draper, Utah Temple

On August 5th Mormon leaders broke ground for the new temple which is to be located in Draper Utah. This 57,000 square foot temple is the third temple to be built in Salt Lake Valley. Draper has a zoning law that mandates houses of worship to be no higher than 90 feet tall. This posed a problem for the 166 foot tall steeple that would be invading the Draper area. County officials quickly changed the ordinance after a unanimous vote was raised in favor for the “medium-sized” temple. Unlike Mormon meeting houses, temples are a sacred and secret place where Mormons perform rituals and oaths in order to show their worthiness to God. What goes on in the temple is a mystery for most. But due to the ever growing internet these secrets are slowly leaking out for all to see.

Is The Mormon Church Really Growing?

The claim that Mormonism is the fastest-growing faith in the world has been repeated so routinely by sociologists, anthropologists, journalists and proud Latter-day Saints as to be perceived as unassailable fact.

The trouble is, it isn't true. Today, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has more than 12 million members on its rolls, more than doubling its numbers in the past quarter-century. But since 1990, other faiths - Seventh-day Adventists, Assemblies of God and Pentecostal groups - have grown much faster and in more places around the globe. And most telling, the number of Latter-day Saints who are considered active churchgoers is only about a third of the total, or 4 million in the pews every Sunday, researchers say.

For a church with such a large, dedicated missionary corps constantly seeking to spread its word, conversion numbers in recent years tell an unexpected story. According to LDS-published statistics, the annual number of LDS converts declined from a high of 321,385 in 1996 to 241,239 in 2004. In the 1990s, the church's growth rate went from 5 percent a year to 3 percent.

By comparison, the Seventh-day Adventist Church reports it has added more than 900,000 adult converts each year since 2000 (an average growth of about 5 percent), bringing the total membership to 14.3 million. The Assemblies of God now claims more than 50 million members worldwide, adding 10,000 new members every day.

Mormonism...An Impossible Gospel

Was Jesus’ death on the cross sufficient enough to cleanse all sins? Is Jesus Christ alone all you need to be saved?
In the Book “The Miracle of Forgiveness” written by Mormon prophet Spencer W. Kimball he writes, “One of the most fallacious doctrines originated by Satan and propounded by man is that man is saved alone by the grace of God; that belief in Jesus Christ alone is all that is needed for salvation.” (Miracle of Forgiveness, Pg. 206)

In the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 25:23 it reads, “...for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.”
Mormon prophet Spencer W. Kimball also wrote this, “...progress toward eternal life is a matter of achieving perfection. Living all the commandments guarantees total forgiveness of sins.”(Miracle of Forgiveness Pg. 208)

When looking at these quotes taken from various Mormon doctrine and literature we can see that in order to obtain salvation one must maintain perfection. The Mormon concept of grace is in direct conflict of what the bible says.

“For it is by grace that you are saved through faith; and not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works lest any man boast.” -Ephesians 2:8-9

So how does a Mormon achieve salvation through perfection if perfection is impossible? How does a Mormon know if they have done all they can do? Does a Mormon keep ALL the commandments? Clearly, Mormons have a dilemma. They have a gospel that is impossible to receive. The impossible gospel requires a perfection they can never achieve; unless, of course, they are willing to surrender to the gospel of historic, orthodox Christianity. Mormons need to recognize that they can never be perfect. Jesus Christ is the only person who passed this test in the mortal life. He lived the perfect life and died in our place, paying the full penalty of our sins. Perfection can never be attained from us. This is why Christ died for our sins.

A key fundamental of God’s grace that Mormons seem to misunderstand is that a gift must be accepted before it can be applied….so it is with Christ. No work or good deed is going to earn our way to heaven. “All our righteousness are as filthy rags.”-Isaiah 64:6

Our works do not save us. Believing in Christ alone is enough to save us from our sins. Our works will bear witness to our faith. So, what are Mormons waiting for? Why are they still trying to earn favor with God through good works or proper behavior? If we surrender our life to Jesus, if we recognize the incredible offer He is making us, if we are truly saved, then our gratitude will certainly be reflected in a new set of behaviors! These will be the natural overflow of a surrendered and grateful heart, but remember, all this good behavior never had the ability to save us!