Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Mormonism 101/Chapter 4

Chapter 3: The Trinity

A FAIR Analysis of: Criticism of Mormonism/Books A work by author: Bill McKeever and Eric Johnson

Chapter 5: The Fall

Index of Claims in Chapter 4: Preexistence and the Second Estate

Overview

If a person with a strong Protestant background and no education in the doctrines of the LDS Church were to read Chapter 4 of Mormonism 101, they would come away with the feeling that the LDS doctrine of a premortal life had been thoroughly discussed and discredited. This is not a fair assessment, however, as the authors never examine much of the evidence available in support of the LDS position.

Preexistence and the First Estate

This section does a reasonable job of presenting the LDS views on the preexistence.

Claim

• The authors claim the "[f]or years Mormons were urged to have as many children as possible in order to make a way for these spirit children to be taught the proper course that would return them to their heavenly parents." The note that in December 1998 that the Salt Lake Tribune "announced that the LDS Church had issued a new Handbook of Instructions that no longer compelled Mormon couples to have as many children as possible."
• The authors note that President Joseph F. Smith considered birth control "one of the greatest crimes of the world today," and David O. McKay considered it "insidious."
• The authors conclude that "[w]hat once was sin in the Mormon Church is now permissible."

Author's source(s)

• Brigham Young n12
• n13
• Joseph F. Smith n14
• David O. McKay n15
• Joseph Fielding Smith n16, n17

Response

• It should be noted that doctrine (such as premortal existence) and policy (such as birth control) are two separate issues. Any denomination's policies can change over time, without affecting the underlying doctrines upon which those policies may be predicated. Unfortunately, the authors do their readers a disservice by confusing policy with doctrine. Such disservice does nothing but misinform the reader unschooled in LDS philosophy.

Claim

• The assertion in this section is that those who believe in the Bible cannot believe in life before life. Such an assertion is evidenced through statements such as the following:
  • "…such teachings are perplexing to the Bible-believing Christian…"
  • "Mormons … are hard-pressed to find any biblical support for the very idea of preexistence."
  • "The Word of God certainly does not support the LDS concept that all humans are literal children of God."
• The authors finish the section with the challenging statement "Until Mormons can show better proof of humanity's eternal existence, Christians are unable to agree with this extrabiblical teaching."3

Response

• Such a challenge, of course, should not go unanswered. In fact, had the authors done adequate research, they would have known that such challenges have been answered many times in the past.4 In other words, the authors are not providing new information or even a new angle on existing information. Instead, assertions previously made—and previously answered—are being made again.
• For a detailed response, see: Plan of salvation/Premortal existence