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Countercult ministries: Watchman Fellowship

Claim Evaluation

Watchman Fellowship

Index of claims made by Watchman Fellowship

The following subarticles provide and index to claims made by Watchman Fellowship on their web site, with links to responses in the FAIR Wiki.

Claims made in "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Profile"

Claims made in "Hinckley Claims LDS Worship Different Christ"

• Claims made in "Mormonism Overview" (Click here for full article)
  
  • Response to claim: The Book of Mormon claims that there is only "one God in the Godhead"
  • Response to claim: The Book of Mormon states that David and Solomon's polygamy "was an abomination to God"
  • Response to claim: The Church was originally founded with the name "Church of Christ"
  • Response to claim: The earliest account of the First Vision states that Joseph was "in the 16th year" of his age, and he does not mention seeing the Father
  • Response to claim: Joseph Smith gave a "false prophecy" that a temple would be built in Independence, Missouri
  • Response to claim: The name of the Church was later changed to "The Church of the Latter Day Saints"
  • Response to claim: Joseph gave a "false prophecy" that the Saints would prevail against their enemies in Independence, Missouri
  • Response to claim: Joseph Smith's age at the time of the First Vision was "the 15th year of our brother J. Smith Jr.'s age" and then corrects it to be "the 17th"
  • Response to claim: Joseph Smith receives revelation to send David Patten on a mission, but Patten is killed during a battle
  • Response to claim: The Lectures on Faith describe the Father as a "personage of spirit"
  • Response to claim: Orson Pratt is claimed to have been excommunicated for disagreeing with Joseph Smith regarding polygamy and "Smith's sexual advances to Sarah Pratt, Orson's wife"
  • Response to claim: The authors claim that "historical records show Joseph Smith was sexually involved with women other than his legal wife Emma" long before the 1843 revelation was written
  • Response to claim: Joseph Smith denies polygamy
  • Response to claim: The Nauvoo Expositor accused Joseph of "practicing polygamy and teaching polytheism"
  • Response to claim: The authors claim that Joseph killed two men at Carthage Jail, and that Joseph cannot be called a martyr because he fought for his life "with an illegally obtained weapon"
  • Response to claim: The "Oath of Vengeance" is added to the temple ceremony
  • Response to claim: The Book of Abraham is claimed to have become the scriptural basis for denying the priesthood to Blacks
  • Response to claim: Brigham Young teaches the "Adam-God doctrine"
  • Response to claim: Jedediah M. Grant quotes "with approval pagan philosopher Celsus" that Jesus was persecuted because he "had so many wives"
  • Response to claim: Orson Hyde preaches that Jesus Christ was married and had children
  • Response to claim: The authors claim that Brigham Young said that the Lord did not come during the First Vision
  • Response to claim: Brigham taught that "if any of you will deny the plurality of wives, and continue to do so, I promise you that you will be damned..."
  • Response to claim: Brigham Young taught "Blood Atonement"
  • Response to claim: The Mountain Meadows Massacre
  • Response to claim: Brigham Young states, "And when all the rest of the children have received their blessing in the Holy Priesthood, then that curse shall be removed from the seed of Cain..."
  • Response to claim: Brigham states, "The only men who become Gods, even the sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy"
  • Response to claim: Brigham states that "the God that I serve is progressing eternally..."
  • Response to claim: Brigham states that he believes that the Sun is inhabited
  • Response to claim: Orson Pratt states that the Independence Temple will be built within the current generation
  • Response to claim: John Taylor is claimed to have provided "New First Vision information," when he stated, "None of them was right, just as it was when the Prophet Joseph asked the angel which of the sects was right that he might join it"
  • Response to claim: Church leaders continued to practice polygamy after the Manifesto
  • Response to claim: The Lectures on Faith are removed from the Doctrine and Covenants
  • Response to claim: B.H. Roberts "finds several serious problems" with the archaeological and scientific content of the Book of Mormon
  • Response to claim: The "Oath of Vengeance" is removed from the temple ceremony
  • Response to claim: An article in The Improvement Era states: "When our leaders speak, the thinking has been done"
  • Response to claim: Joseph Fielding Smith, who the authors note "would become the tenth prophet," expresses his opinion on the "Curse of Cain" as it was applied to Blacks
  • Response to claim: Mark E. Petersen states that "our performance in the pre-existence" affected what race we were born into
  • Response to claim: Joseph Fielding Smith "admits Mormon doctrine that Jesus was married"
  • Response to claim: Book of Abraham "manuscripts" are discovered
  • Response to claim: Book of Abraham "papyrus manuscripts" are turned over the the Church, after which "noted Egyptologists translate them and declare that the text is from the Book of Breathings"
  • Response to claim: The Mark Hofmann forgeries
  • Response to claim: The Book of Mormon has over "4000" changes since its first publication, and the phrase "white and delightsome" is changed to "pure and delightsome"
  • Response to claim: The authors state that "drastic changes" were made in "secret Mormon temple rituals"∗       ∗       ∗

Claims made in "Basics of Mormonism: Falling Upward"

Claims made in "A Miracle for Mormons - Forgiveness of Sins"

Claims made in "Changing the Book of Commandments"

Claims made in "False Prophecy in the Doctrine and Covenants"

Claims made in "Joseph Smith and the Biblical Test of a Prophet"

Claims made in "The Bible: 1,002 - Book of Mormon: Zero"

Claims made in "Testing the Book of Mormon by Moroni 10:4"