View source for Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Mormonism Unmasked/Chapter 6

{{FairMormon}}  
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|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Mormonism Unmasked/Chapter 6
|H=Response to claims made in "Chapter 6: This is Good News?"
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|L1=
|T=[[../../|Mormonism Unmasked]]
|A=R. Philip Roberts
|<=[[../Chapter 5|Chapter 5: Confronting the Mormon Jesus]]
|>=[[../Chapter 7|Chapter 7: Revealing Revelations]]
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{{H2
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Mormonism Unmasked/Chapter 6
|H=Response to claims made in Mormonism Unmasked,  "Chapter 6: This is Good News?"
|S=
|L1=Response to claim: 77-78 - Jesus promised that his Church would never be destroyed
|L2=Response to claim: 78 - the first "fallacy" of Mormonism is that it claims that the Church's teaching are the same as those of the early Church and that it is a restoration of that Church
|L3=Response to claim: 78 - the second "fallacy" of Mormonism is the claim that there was a great Apostasy
|L4=Response to claim: 82 - Mormons believe that "both Adam and Eve lost their purely 'spiritual state' and became physical beings"
|L5=Response to claim: 82 - The author claims that "Mormon thinkers speak of Adam and Eve as therefore fulfilling God's will, not having sinned at all"
|L6=Response to claim: 84 - The author attempts to distinguish between what he calls the "Mormon Jesus" and the Jesus of the Bible
|L7=Response to claim: 85 - "Mormonism also claims that Christ's death brought salvation to an 'infinite number of earths'"
|L8=Response to claim: 86 - The author claims that Mormons believe that "most of the inhabitants of the terrestrial kingdom, it seems, are inactive or at least not fully faithful Mormons"
|L9=Response to claim: 89 - The author states the Mormons believe that "Hell, in fact, is reserved for apostates who leave the church"
}}
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==Response to claim: 77-78 - Jesus promised that his Church would never be destroyed==	
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=Mormonism Unmasked
|claim=The author states that Jesus promised that his Church would never be destroyed.
|authorsources=<br>
#Matthew 16:13-20
|authorsources=<br>
#
}}
}}
{{misinformation}}
{{:Question: Does the fact that Jesus said, "upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" mean that universal apostasy was impossible?}}

==Response to claim: 78 - the first "fallacy" of Mormonism is that it claims that the Church's teaching are the same as those of the early Church and that it is a restoration of that Church==	
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=Mormonism Unmasked
|claim=The author states that the first "fallacy" of Mormonism is that it claims that the Church's teaching are the same as those of the early Church and that it is a restoration of that Church.
|authorsources=<br>
#}}
{{propaganda|This is simply the author's own opinion.}}

==Response to claim: 78 - the second "fallacy" of Mormonism is the claim that there was a great Apostasy==	
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=Mormonism Unmasked
|claim=The author states that the second "fallacy" of Mormonism is the claim that there was a great Apostasy.
|authorsources=<br>
#}}
{{misinformation}}
{{:Question: Was the apostasy predicted by the Bible not complete?}}

==Response to claim: 82 - Mormons believe that "both Adam and Eve lost their purely 'spiritual state' and became physical beings"==	
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=Mormonism Unmasked
|claim=The author states that Mormons believe that Adam and Eve "existed as purely spiritual beings although living on the earth," and that as a result of eating the fruit of the tree of good and evil, that "both Adam and Eve lost their purely 'spiritual state' and became physical beings." The author contrasts this idea with the Bible, which "says that God originally created Adam and Eve from material substance."
|authorsources=<br>
#{{s|2|Nephi|2|22}}, {{s||Moses|3|5-7}}
}}
{{misinformation|Every Latter-day Saints believes that Adam and Eve were created from the material substance of this earth, just as the Bible says. The author has misunderstood 2 Nephi 2:22 and Moses 3:5-7.

2 Nephi 2:22 says nothing about Adam and Eve living as "purely spiritual beings""
<blockquote>
And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end.
</blockquote>

Moses 3:5-7 specifically ''states'' that Adam was formed of the dust of the earth:
<blockquote>
And I, the Lord God, formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul, the first flesh upon the earth, the first man also; nevertheless, all things were before created; but spiritually were they created and made according to my word.
</blockquote>
}}

==Response to claim: 82 - The author claims that "Mormon thinkers speak of Adam and Eve as therefore fulfilling God's will, not having sinned at all"==	
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=Mormonism Unmasked
|claim=The author claims that "Mormon thinkers speak of Adam and Eve as therefore fulfilling God's will, not having sinned at all." The author quotes Joseph Fielding Smith as saying, "I'm very, very grateful that in the ''Book of Mormon'', and I think elsewhere in our scriptures the fall of Adam has not been called a sin. It wasn't a sin..."
|authorsources=<br>
#''Doctrines of the Gospel'', 20, quoted in Joseph Fielding Smith, "Fall-Atonement-Resurrection-Sacrament" in ''Charge to Religious Educators'', 124.
}}
{{misinformation|
Latter-day Saints distinguish between a sin and a transgression. The Second Article of Faith states that Adam committed a transgression. 
<blockquote>
We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.
</blockquote>
*Here's the full quote from Joseph Fielding Smith. He states that Adam committed a transgression rather than a sin:
<blockquote>
“I’m very, very grateful that in the Book of Mormon, and I think elsewhere in our scriptures, the fall of Adam has not been called a sin. It wasn’t a sin. … What did Adam do? The very thing the Lord wanted him to do; and I hate to hear anybody call it a sin, for it wasn’t a sin. Did Adam sin when he partook of the forbidden fruit? I say to you, no, he did not! Now, let me refer to what was written in the book of Moses in regard to the command God gave to Adam. [Moses 3:16–17.]
<br><br>
“Now this is the way I interpret that: The Lord said to Adam, here is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you want to stay here, then you cannot eat of that fruit. If you want to stay here, then I forbid you to eat it. But you may act for yourself, and you may eat of it if you want to. And if you eat it, you will die.
<br><br>
“I see a great difference between transgressing the law and committing a sin” 
<br><br>
''Doctrines of the Gospel Student Manual'', on lds.org. {{link|url=https://www.lds.org/manual/doctrines-of-the-gospel-student-manual/chapter-8-the-fall?lang=eng}}
</blockquote>
}}
{{:Question: If "the wages of sin is death" as described in Romans 6:23, and the fall of Adam and Eve was a transgression rather than a sin, then why did it introduce death into the world?}}
{{:Question: How did the transgression of Adam and Eve introduce sin into the world?}}

==Response to claim: 84 - The author attempts to distinguish between what he calls the "Mormon Jesus" and the Jesus of the Bible==	
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=Mormonism Unmasked
|claim=The author attempts to distinguish between what he calls the "Mormon Jesus" and the Jesus of the Bible.
|authorsources=<br>
#}}
{{propaganda|The idea of a "Mormon Jesus" versus the "Jesus of the Bible" is absurd, since Latter-day Saints worship the Jesus of the Bible.
}}
{{:Source:Webb:BYUS:2011:1:Sameness_of_Jesus'_humanity}}
{{:Question: Do Latter-day Saints believe in a "different" Jesus than "mainstream" Christians?}}

==Response to claim: 85 - "Mormonism also claims that Christ's death brought salvation to an 'infinite number of earths'"==	
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=Mormonism Unmasked
|claim=The author claims that "Mormonism also claims that Christ's death brought salvation to an 'infinite number of earths'"
|authorsources=<br>
#''Doctrines of the Gospel'', 25-26.
}}
{{information|At least one Church leader, Joseph Fielding Smith, speculated that Jesus Christ brought salvation to other worlds.
}}
{{:Question: Is Jesus Christ the savior of other worlds?}}

==Response to claim: 86 - The author claims that Mormons believe that "most of the inhabitants of the terrestrial kingdom, it seems, are inactive or at least not fully faithful Mormons"==	
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=Mormonism Unmasked
|claim=The author claims that Mormons believe that "most of the inhabitants of the terrestrial kingdom, it seems, are inactive or at least not fully faithful Mormons."
|authorsources=<br>
#}}
{{propaganda|This claim is absurd.}}

==Response to claim: 89 - The author states the Mormons believe that "Hell, in fact, is reserved for apostates who leave the church"==	
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=Mormonism Unmasked
|claim=The author states the Mormons believe that "Hell, in fact, is reserved for apostates who leave the church."
|authorsources=<br>
#|authorsources=<br>
#
}}
}}
{{propaganda|The author is probably referring to what Latter-day Saints refer to as "Sons of Perdition." The reality is that we do not know who may end up in "outer darkness" or what the author refers to as "hell."}}
{{:Question: Will the Sons of Perdition be given another chance to achieve celestial glory?}}

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