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Criticism of Mormonism/Books/The Changing World of Mormonism/Chapter 7
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Response to claims made in "Chapter 7: The Godhead"
Chapter 6 | A FAIR Analysis of: The Changing World of Mormonism A work by author: Jerald and Sandra Tanner
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Chapter 8 |
172
Claim
- The Book of Mormon teaches that God is a spirit.
Author's source(s) - [ATTENTION!]
- Misrepresentation of source
- Does the Book of Mormon teach that God is "a spirit"?
173
Claim
- The Book of Moses says that God created the earth, but the Book of Abraham says that "the Gods" created the earth.
Author's source(s) - [ATTENTION!]
- Author(s) impose(s) own fundamentalism on the Saints
- "God" may be properly spoken of as one in some senses, and as plural in other senses.
- Are Mormons polytheists?
177
Claim
- God is "just an exalted man."
Author's source(s) - [ATTENTION!]
- Prejudicial or loaded language: The Saints do not believe that God is "just" anything. The word "just" shows the authors' biases, and their predetermined conclusion that the creedal view of God is automatically "better."
- Nature of God/Deification of man
178
Claim
- There is a "Heavenly Mother."
Author's source(s) - [ATTENTION!]
180
Claim
- Jesus Christ was conceived through a physical act rather than by the power of the Holy Ghost.
Author's source(s) - [ATTENTION!]
- Prejudicial or loaded language
- The author's claim is false: LDS scripture teaches that Jesus was conceived when Mary "was carried away in the Spirit" (1 Nephi 11꞉19). We know of no details beyond this, save that God the Father was Jesus' literal Father; there is nothing allegorical about Jesus' parentage.
- Jesus Christ/Conception
183
The author(s) make(s) the following claim:
- 1 Nephi 13:40 was changed from "Christ is the Eternal Father" to "the Lamb of God is the Eternal Father and the Savior of the world."
- 1 Nephi 11:18 was changed from "the mother of God" to "the mother of the Son of God"
- 1 Nephi 11:21 was changed from "the Lamb of God, yea, even the Eternal Father" to "the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father."
- 1 Nephi 11:32 was changed from "the Everlasting God" to "the Son of the everlasting God."
Author's sources:
Book of Mormon, 1830 edition, p. 32 and 1 Nephi 13:40. Book of Mormon, 1830 edition, p. 25 and 1 Nephi 11:18 Book of Mormon, 1830 edition, p. 26 and 1 Nephi 11:21 Book of Mormon, 1830 edition, p. 26 and 1 Nephi 11:32
FAIR's Response
Question: What changes were made to the 1837 edition of the Book of Mormon?
Among the changes Joseph Smith made are these four in 1 Nephi 11 and 13
The earliest edition of the Book of Mormon referred to Jesus as "God." Joseph Smith later changed some, but not all, of these to "the Son of God." It is claimed by some that this is evidence that Joseph Smith changed the Book of Mormon to conform to his changing beliefs about the Trinity, claiming that Joseph was originally a solid Trinitarian (perhaps even a Modalist), and as he later began to teach that the Father and Son were two separate beings, he had to change the Book of Mormon to support his new doctrine. However, this change was a deliberate editorial insertion by Joseph Smith to clarify four verses in 1 Nephi.
The second edition of the Book of Mormon was published in 1837 at Kirtland, Ohio. The typesetting and printing were done during the winter of 1836–37, with Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery taking an active part in the editing process.
In this edition numerous corrections were made to the text of the 1830 (first) edition to bring it back to the reading in the original and printer's manuscripts. Joseph Smith also made a number of editorial changes to the text, as was his right as the translator of the text.
Among the changes he made are these four in 1 Nephi 11 and 13:
Original manuscript | Printer's manuscript | 1830 edition | 1837 edition | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 Nephi 11:18 | behold the virgin which thou seest is the Mother of god after the manner of the flesh | behold the virgin |
Behold, the virgin which thou seest, is the mother of God, after the manner of the flesh. | Behold, the virgin whom thou seest, is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh. |
1 Nephi 11:21 | & the angel said unto me behold the lam of god yea even the eternal father knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw | & the Angel said unto me behold the Lamb of God yea even the <God> Father knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw | And the angel said unto me, behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw? | And the angel said unto me, behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw? |
1 Nephi 11:32 | & it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again saying look and i lookt & beheld the lam of god that he was taken By the People yea the ever lasting god was judgd of the world and i saw & bare record | & it came to pass that the Angel spake unto me again saying look & I looked & behold the Lamb of God that he was taken by the People yea the everlasting God was Judged of the world & I saw & bear record | And it came to pass the angel spake unto me again, saying, look! And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people; yea, the Everlasting God, was judged of the world; and I saw and bear record. | And it came to pass the angel spake unto me again, saying, look! And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people; yea, the Son of the Everlasting God, was judged of the world; and I saw and bear record. |
1 Nephi 13:40 | (Not extant.) | & the Angel spake unto me saying these last records which thou hast seen among the Gentiles shall establish the truth of the first |
And the angel spake unto me, saying: These last records which thou hast seen among the Gentiles, shall establish the truth of the first, which is of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, and shall make known the plain the precious things which have been taken away from them; and shall make known to all kindreds, tongues, and people, that the Lamb of God is the Eternal Father and the Saviour of the world; and that all men must come unto Him, or they cannot be saved; | And the angel spake unto me, saying: These last records which thou hast seen among the Gentiles, shall establish the truth of the first, which are of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, and shall make known the plain the precious things which have been taken away from them; and shall make known to all kindreds, tongues, and people, that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father and the Saviour of the world; and that all men must come unto Him, or they cannot be saved; |
(The strikeouts and <insertions> in the printer's manuscript are in Joseph's hand, and were added by him during the preparation of the 1837 edition.)
185 - The Lectures on Faith state that God is a spirit
The author(s) of The Changing World of Mormonism make(s) the following claim:
The Lectures on Faith state that God is a spirit.
FAIR's Response
Lecture of Faith 5 teaches the Father is "a personage of spirit"
Summary: Lectures on Faith, which used to be part of the Doctrine and Covenants, teach that God is a spirit. Joseph Smith's later teachings contradict this. More generally, critics argue that Joseph Smith taught an essentially "trinitarian" view of the Godhead until the mid 1830s, thus proving the Joseph was "making it up" as he went along.
Jump to details:
- Question: What are the Lectures on Faith?
- Question: What does Lecture 5 of the Lectures on Faith say about the nature of God?
- Question: How would a statement that "God is a spirit" be interpreted in ancient Judasism?
- Question: Did Joseph began his prophetic career with a "trinitarian" idea of God?
- Question: What are modern Church leader's views on the Lectures on Faith?
- Question: Is the Father embodied or a spirit in the first edition of the Doctrine and Covenants?
185 - The Lectures on Faith were removed from the Doctrine and Covenants
The author(s) of The Changing World of Mormonism make(s) the following claim:
The Lectures on Faith were removed from the Doctrine and Covenants.
FAIR's Response
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- REDIRECTLectures on Faith
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- REDIRECTLectures on Faith
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Question: Are the Lectures on Faith not made available through Latter-day Saint sources?
The Lectures on Faith are available through Deseret Book
The Lectures on Faith are available through Church-owned Deseret Book in hardcover, softcover, illustrated and audio formats. They are also available in English and Spanish. (See: Deseret Book: Lectures on Faith). If there is an effort by the Church to hide or suppress them in any way, then they are not hiding them very well.
187
Claim
- The Book of Mormon teaches that God is "unchangable," but LDS leaders taught otherwise.
Author's source(s) - [ATTENTION!]
- History unclear or in error
- Nature of God/Unchanging
188
Claim
- The Lectures on Faith indicate that there are only two personages in the Godhead, and that their mind is the Holy Spirit.
Author's source(s) - [ATTENTION!]
190
Claim
- LDS leaders can't explain why the Holy Ghost should be denied a body since the Father has one.
Author's source(s) - [ATTENTION!]
- Absurd claim
- The author's claim is false: The scriptures tell us why the Holy Ghost does not (at present) have a body: "the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us" (DC 130꞉22).
- Will the Holy Ghost receive a body?
- Holy Ghost—divine without a body?
190
Claim
- The Holy Ghost can't be a God since he doesn't have a body.
Author's source(s) - [ATTENTION!]
191
Claim
- During the First Vision, Joseph learned that the Father and Jesus Christ have bodies of flesh and bones.
Author's source(s) - [ATTENTION!]
- History unclear or in error: It is not clear when Joseph learned that the Father and Son had physical bodies.
- The First Vision taught Joseph that body was "incorporated"—i.e., he had form and some location in physical space. But it is not clear that Joseph immediately understood that this corporeality was made of flesh and bone (e.g., he could have been seeing 'spirit bodies' which still have form and location, but not flesh and bone.)
- Corporeality of God