View source for Criticism of Mormonism/Video/The God Makers/Cartoon

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{{H1
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Video/The God Makers/Cartoon
|H=YouTube cartoon that was "banned by the Mormon Church"
|S=
|L1=
|T=The God Makers
|A=Ed Decker
|<=
|>=
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<onlyinclude>
{{H2
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Video/The God Makers/Cartoon
|H=Response to The God Makers cartoon segment
|S=
|L1=Question: Is there a YouTube cartoon which was "banned by the Mormon church"?
|L2=Response to claim: "trillions of planets" are "ruled by countless gods who were once human like us"
|L3=Response to claim: God the Father was born on a distant planet to an “unidentified god and one of his goddess wives"
|L4=Response to claim: God the Father is claimed to live with his "many goddess wives on a planet near a mysterious star called Kolob"
|L5=Response to claim: “endless celestial sex” producing “billions of spirit children"
|L6=Response to claim: "Lucifer and his brother Jesus"
|L7=Response to claim: Lucifer's plan was to "force everyone to become gods"
|L8=Response to claim: The “Mormon Jesus"
|L9=Response to claim: Those who were neutral in the war in heaven were "cursed to be born with black skin"
|L10=Response to claim: Those who "fought most valiantly" in the war in heaven were "born into Mormon families"
|L11=Response to claim: God the Father and "one of his goddess wives came to earth as Adam and Eve"
|L12=Response to claim: God the Father came from “Starbase Kolob” to visit the Virgin Mary in order to "have sex with the virgin Mary, in order to provide Jesus with a physical body"
|L13=Response to claim: Orson Pratt taught that Jesus "took at least three wives"
|L14=Response to claim: In 421 AD, that the "dark skinned Indian Israelites" had destroyed "all of the white Nephites"
|L15=Response to claim: "a young treasure seeker named Joseph Smith, who was known for his tall tales"
|L16=Response to claim: Joseph is claimed to have organized the "Mormon Church, because all Christian creeds were an abomination"
|L17=Response to claim: Latter-day Saints "hope to prove their worthiness and thus become gods"
|L18=Response to claim: Joseph Smith is depicted as sitting in judgment between the Father and the “Mormon Jesus"
|L19=Response to claim: Latter-day Saints are claimed to "expect to become polygamous gods in the Celestial kingdom, rule over other planets, and spawn new families throughout all eternity"
|L20=Response to claim: Joseph Smith claimed that he did more for us than any other man, including Jesus Christ
}}
</onlyinclude>

{{:Question: Is there a YouTube cartoon which was "banned by the Mormon church"?}}

==Response to claim: "trillions of planets" are "ruled by countless gods who were once human like us"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The God Makers cartoon
|claim=The film claims that the Church teaches that "trillions of planets" are "ruled by countless gods who were once human like us."
}}
{{disinformation|No such thing is taught in Mormonism}}

==Response to claim: God the Father was born on a distant planet to an “unidentified god and one of his goddess wives"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The God Makers cartoon
|claim=Mormons believe that God the Father was born on a distant planet to an “unidentified god and one of his goddess wives," and that He was "later born to human parents" and "through obedience to Mormon teaching" that he was eventually "elevated to godhood."
}}
{{propaganda|This claim is designed to shock the viewer through the mention of plural wives in association with the Father. Many Latter-day Saints infer that because we, as children of God, now live as mortals in this world and have the potential to become gods through the atonement of Christ, that God the Father must have gone through a similar process to be where He is. Early leaders (including Joseph Smith) taught something to this effect. But... it's something about which we know very little, since nothing formal has been revealed to the Church and very little was explained by early leaders. Could it be so? Logically, yes, but we simply don't know very much about it. As far as we are concerned, God the Father has always been our God and always will be, and we leave it at that. Anything else is really just theological speculation—interesting, but not terribly important.}}

==Response to claim: God the Father is claimed to live with his "many goddess wives on a planet near a mysterious star called Kolob"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The God Makers cartoon
|claim=God the Father is claimed to live with his "many goddess wives on a planet near a mysterious star called Kolob." 
}}
{{propaganda|No such thing is taught in Mormonism}}

==Response to claim: “endless celestial sex” producing “billions of spirit children"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The God Makers cartoon
|claim=”Goddess wives” are again mentioned with a reference to “endless celestial sex” producing “billions of spirit children.” 
}}
{{propaganda|This is again intended to shock the viewer by associating crude terminology with an alleged Mormon belief regarding the Father and the manner in which Jesus Christ was conceived.}}
{{:Question: Do Latter-day Saints believe in a practice called "celestial sex," and that this is the manner in which "spirit children" are formed?}}
{{:Question: Do Mormons believe that Mary was still a virgin when Jesus was born?}}

==Response to claim: "Lucifer and his brother Jesus"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The God Makers cartoon
|claim=The film refers to "Lucifer and his brother Jesus."
}}
{{:Question: Do Latter-day Saints consider Jesus to be the brother of Satan?}}

==Response to claim: Lucifer's plan was to "force everyone to become gods"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The God Makers cartoon
|claim=The film claims that Lucifer's plan was to "force everyone to become gods."
}}
{{disinformation|No, Lucifer's plan was to force everyone to obey God's commandments, without allowing them a choice.}}

==Response to claim: The “Mormon Jesus"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The God Makers cartoon
|claim=Jesus Christ is always referred to as the “Mormon Jesus."
}}
{{propaganda|This is done in order to drive home the idea that [[Worship different Jesus|Mormons worship a different Jesus]] than the rest of Christianity.}}
{{:Question: Do Mormons worship a "different Jesus"?}}
{{:Question: Do Latter-day Saints believe in a "different" Jesus than "mainstream" Christians?}}
{{:Question: Did Mormons only recently claim to be Christian?}}

==Response to claim: Those who were neutral in the war in heaven were "cursed to be born with black skin"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The God Makers cartoon
|claim=The film claims that those who were neutral in the war in heaven were "cursed to be born with black skin." The cartoon illustrates this change in appearance. 
}}
{{disinformation|Church leaders have stated explicitly that there were no “neutrals” in the war in heaven – if we received a body, we made the correct choice.}}
{{:Mormonism and racial issues/Blacks and the priesthood/Repudiated ideas/Neutral in "war in heaven"}}

==Response to claim: Those who "fought most valiantly" in the war in heaven were "born into Mormon families"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The God Makers cartoon
|claim=The film claims that those who "fought most valiantly" in the war in heaven were "born into Mormon families" and that they would be "lighter skinned people" or "white and delightsome."
}}
{{propaganda|This claim is utter nonsense.}}

==Response to claim: God the Father and "one of his goddess wives came to earth as Adam and Eve"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The God Makers cartoon
|claim=The film claims that "early Mormon prophets" taught that God the Father and "one of his goddess wives came to earth as Adam and Eve."
}}
{{:Question: What is the history of Brigham Young's Adam-God Theory and why was it rejected by the Church?}}

==Response to claim: God the Father came from “Starbase Kolob” to visit the Virgin Mary in order to "have sex with the virgin Mary, in order to provide Jesus with a physical body"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The God Makers cartoon
|claim=The film again tries to crudely promote the idea that God the Father came from “Starbase Kolob” to visit the Virgin Mary in order to "have sex with the virgin Mary, in order to provide Jesus with a physical body." The cartoon shows God the Father walking through the streets and knocking on Mary's door.
}}
{{propaganda|This is not a doctrine of the Church. It is believed that Jesus is the literal Son of God, but there is no official stance on the process by which he was conceived.

Some members and leaders have made and do make this assumption, but this is not a doctrine of the Church—such speculation was more common before assisted reproductive techniques (e.g., IVF, "test tube babies," etc.) made it clear that one can be a literal parent without sexual intercourse. The key has always been to defend the idea of God's literal Fatherhood of Jesus; the Church and its leaders always resisted efforts to allegorize or spiritualize this vital doctrine.}}

==Response to claim: Orson Pratt taught that Jesus "took at least three wives"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The God Makers cartoon
|claim=The film notes that Orson Pratt taught that Jesus "took at least three wives: Mary, Martha and Mary Magdeline."
}}
{{:Jesus Christ/Was Jesus married/Was Jesus a polygamist}}

==Response to claim: In 421 AD, that the "dark skinned Indian Israelites" had destroyed "all of the white Nephites"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The God Makers cartoon
|claim=The film claims that in 421 AD, that the "dark skinned Indian Israelites" had destroyed "all of the white Nephites."
}}
{{:Question: What was the Lamanite curse?}}

==Response to claim: "a young treasure seeker named Joseph Smith, who was known for his tall tales"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The God Makers cartoon
|claim=The film states that "a young treasure seeker named Joseph Smith, who was known for his tall tales" claimed to have found the gold plates.
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's participation in "money digging" as a youth a blot on his character?}}
{{:Question: Was the young Joseph Smith a teller of "tall tales"?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph is claimed to have organized the "Mormon Church, because all Christian creeds were an abomination"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The God Makers cartoon
|claim=Joseph is claimed to have organized the "Mormon Church, because all Christian creeds were an abomination."
}}
{{:Gospel Topics:Are Mormons Christian:Latter-day Saints Do Not Accept the Creeds of Post–New Testament Christianity}}

==Response to claim: Latter-day Saints "hope to prove their worthiness and thus become gods"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The God Makers cartoon
|claim=Through "financial and moral requirements" and temple rituals, Latter-day Saints "hope to prove their worthiness and thus become gods."
}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith is depicted as sitting in judgment between the Father and the “Mormon Jesus"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The God Makers cartoon
|claim=Joseph Smith is depicted as sitting in judgment between the Father and the “Mormon Jesus," contrary to Latter-day Saint belief that Jesus Christ will be our final judge. 
}}
The portrayal in the cartoon appears to be based upon statements made by early LDS leaders that have been removed from their context in order to falsely make it appear that a belief in Joseph Smith rather than Jesus Christ is the key to salvation.<ref>{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|title=Intelligence, Etc.|date=Oct. 9, 1859|vol=7|disc=45|start=289|end=289}} Brigham clearly states that Joseph Smith is responsible for this dispensation only: "Joseph Smith holds the keys of '''this last dispensation''', and is now engaged behind the vail in the great work of the last days...no man or woman '''in this dispensation''' will ever enter into the celestial kingdom of God without the consent of Joseph Smith. '''From the day that the Priesthood was taken from the earth to the winding-up scene of all things''', every man and woman must have the certificate of Joseph Smith, junior, as a passport to their entrance into the mansion where God and Christ are...He holds the keys of that kingdom for '''the last dispensation'''..." (emphasis added)</ref>
{{:Question: Do Mormons believe that Joseph Smith must approve whether or not they get into heaven?}}

==Response to claim: Latter-day Saints are claimed to "expect to become polygamous gods in the Celestial kingdom, rule over other planets, and spawn new families throughout all eternity"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The God Makers cartoon
|claim=Latter-day Saints are claimed to "expect to become polygamous gods in the Celestial kingdom, rule over other planets, and spawn new families throughout all eternity."
}}
{{propaganda|No such thing is taught in Mormonism}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith claimed that he did more for us than any other man, including Jesus Christ==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The God Makers cartoon
|claim=The film states that Joseph Smith claimed that he did more for us than any other man, including Jesus Christ, and that Joseph Smith shed his blood for us in order for us to become gods. 
}}
{{disinformation|This claim is nonsense. The implication is that Mormons worship Joseph Smith as their savior rather than Jesus Christ.}}
{{:Joseph Smith/Narcissism/Boasting}}

{{endnotes sources}}