Which church is true? |
Only one true church?
According to teachings by Joseph Smith and a Book of Mormon prophet called Nephi, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true church of Jesus Christ on the earth today. All the other churches (and one may include all other religions) are classified as the "church of the devil."
Doctrine and Covenants (115:4) - "For thus shall my church be called in the last
days, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."
Doctrine and Covenants (1:30) - "And also those to whom these commandments were
given, might have power to lay the foundation of this church, and to bring it forth out of
obscurity and out of darkness, the only true and living church upon the face of the whole
earth, with which I, the Lord, am well pleased, speaking unto the church collectively and
not individually."
This would fall in line with a teaching by 1 Nephi (14:10) - "And he said unto me:
Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the
other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb
of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the
whore of all the earth."
Joseph Smith taught that the house for the work of the Presidency (and one may assume
Mormon Temples too) were not to have any unclean thing (sinful being) enter therein.
For if any unclean thing did so, the glory of God and His presence would not come
into it (Doctrine and Covenants 94:9)
According to the Bible, salvation is not found through membership in a certain church or
religion. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the
Father except through Him. Jesus is the door to eternal life.
Was the original church restored in the form of the LDS Church?
According to a Mormon booklet called, "The Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ," The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is said to be a restored church and not a reformation movement. In the definition statement, it writes, "Restoration differs from reformation in that to reform means to modify an existing organization or practice in an effort to return it to its original state, while to restore means to reestablish or renew the original organization or practice in its entirety" (p. 19).
When you study the original church in the Bible as it was growing, you will see a mention of 12 Apostles. But when you read a sermon called "Looking Back and Moving Forward" (178th General Conference held in April 2008, local copy), it writes, "On Saturday, February 2, 2008, funeral services for President Hinckley were held in this magnificent Conference Center - a building which will ever stand as a monument to his foresight and vision. During the funeral, beautiful and loving tributes were paid to this man of God. The following day, all 14 ordained Apostles living on the earth assembled in an upper room of the Salt Lake Temple."
Did you notice that? On February 2 there were 14 living Apostles. When Mr. Hinckley was alive, he was another living Apostle, thus making a total of 15.
This is a clear example showing that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not a restored church of the original. You may even want to look into the Book of Mormon. There is no mention of there being more than 12 Apostles. Also, there is no office of the Seventy in the church that Jesus is said to have established somewhere in the Americas according to those believe in the Book of Mormon.
There is some thinking that Apostles were very special witnesses of Christ who had physically seen Him and that when they died, no others were chosen as replacements.
One thing that Latter-day Saints have in common with Roman Catholics is that they believe Peter is the head of the church based on him receiving the keys to bind and loose in Matthew 16:19. What they fail to realize is that all the disciples received the keys of binding and loosing - see Matthew 18:1-3,18.
This is a common error by some religious groups - but not one that you would expect from someone who does a careful study of the Bible.
Oddly enough, the keys of binding and loosing are not even mentioned in the
churches of the Book of Mormon.