I recently read that Joseph Fielding Smith once said that: “If Joseph’s claims and declarations were built upon fraud and deceit, there would appear many errors and contradictions, which would be easy to detect.” This seems to be a fair way to test the church, so I thought that I would give it a try and see if there are any contradictions in Mormon Doctrine that are “easy to detect”. Here is some of what I have found.

D&C 132 teaches that David and Solomon were justified by God in their polygamy. “I, the Lord, justified … David and Solomon, my servants, as touching the principle and doctrine of their having many wives and concubines.” (D&C 132:1)

The Book of Mormon on the other hand teaches that it was wrong for David and Solomon to practice plural marriage. Lehi told his sons that; “David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord.” (Jacob 2: 24)

Both “scriptures” are referencing the same actions of the same men (David and Solomon), yet one calls their polygamy an abomination, and the other says they were justified by God. It cannot be both, so which is it?

The church builds temples all over the world so that vicarious ordinances can be performed “for the salvation of the dead who should die without a knowledge of the gospel.” (D&C 128: 5) Before these dead can accept these saving ordinances there are some requirement they must meet. “The dead who repent will be redeemed, through obedience to the ordinances of the house of God. And after they have paid the penalty of their transgressions, and are washed clean, shall receive a reward according to their works, for they are heirs of salvation.” (D&C 138: 58-59)

However, the Book of Mormon teaches against the need for vicarious works for the dead. Moroni wrote: “The power of redemption cometh on all them that have no law (those without a knowledge of the gospel); wherefore, he that is not condemned … cannot repent; and unto such baptism availeth nothing. But it is mockery before God, denying the mercies of Christ, and the power of his Holy Spirit, and putting trust in dead works.” (Moroni 8:22-23)

Amulek taught that: “This life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors. … Do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life … then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed.

Ye cannot say when ye are brought to that awful crisis that I will repent, that I will return to my God … for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life.

If ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his … this is the final state of the wicked.” (Alma 34: 32-35)

Again this is a clear contradiction. On one hand Mormonism teaches that those who died without the gospel need to repent and have works performed by and for themselves. On the other it teaches that to do this is to deny the mercies of God and trust in dead works. On a third hand it teaches that it is impossible for the dead to repent after they die and that those who die as sinners are sealed to the devil.

Is that clear enough?

It seems pretty apparent that Mormonism fails President Smith’s proposed test, and does so without much effort.

I came up with some others and made yet another video about these contradictions, and I think that some of you might enjoy it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuK1wjHION0

Can you think of any more?

I forgot to add my new favorite contradiction in 2nd Nephi 5:

15 And I did teach my people to build buildings, and to work in all manner of wood, and of iron, and of copper, and of brass, and of steel, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious ores, which were in great abundance.
16 And I, Nephi, did build a temple; and I did construct it after the manner of the temple of Solomon save it were not built of so many precious things; for they were not to be found upon the land, wherefore, it could not be built like unto Solomon’s temple. But the manner of the construction was like unto the temple of Solomon; and the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine.

So gold, silver, and precious ores are in great abundance, but the could not be found upon the land. They must have taken a break between versus 15 and 16 and Joseph forgot where he was going with the story.

Here's another contradiction:
D&C 137 says that people who die with out hearing the Gospel are saved in the kindom of God.
D&C 138 says that temple ordinances are essential for those who died without hearing the Gospel.

The first 120 sections of the D&C claim that God is the same as described in the Book of Mormon, but D&C 130 claims that God has a body of flesh and blood.

One could point out that the later sections are indeed later Utah D&C inventions, of course.

However, Josdeph Smiths King Follett Discourse contradicts the Book of Mormon, the revelations in the D&C as published during his lifetime, and his JST translations and the Book of Moses, as well as the Lectures on Faith which were also scripture until 1921. Nevertheless, it is the KFD that the church claims as the basis of its belief.

You bet, baby. My TBM DAd, who was a Patriarch, noticed all these contradictions and tried to take it to the top (to SLC) and simply got a pat on the back:

"There, there, Bro. Bridget. It will all work itself out in the hereafter."

Which nearly made him heave.

From the footnote to Luke 10:22b

JST luke 10:23...
that the Son is the Father, and the Father is the Son, but him to whom the Son will reveal it.

JST of course being long before JS began teaching they were two seperate beings. Amazing that they include this in the bible footnotes...

My favorite LDS contradictory teaching / practice of all time is "Lying for the Lord".

Of course we all know who the Father of Lies is, don't we?

Kinda makes you wonder who has always had every Prophet's ear...

dealingwithit Wrote:
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> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuK1wjHION0

great video! i love the question at the end:
"do you believe that every single teaching of the church is true?"

"Contradictions in Mormonism" at http://packham.n4m.org/contra.htm (it's a rather long list!)

RPackham Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "Contradictions in Mormonism" at
> http://packham.n4m.org/contra.htm (it's a rather
> long list!)

I love your site Richard. I did give it a look as I was writing the script for the video, to see if you had any insights on the contradictions that I choose to include in the video. I hope that is alright.

When my bishop choose to confront me about why I no longer believed in the church, I read President Smith's challenge to him. I asked him if he thought that was a good way to test the church, and he said it was. I then laid out some of the errors and contradictions that I had found in the teachings of the church. He just smiled and said the same thing that was said to Bridget's dad,

"There, there, DealingWithIt. It will all work itself out in the hereafter."

Facts, evidence, and logic are no match for faith.

This is how it will work itself out:

[At the entrance way of heaven in the Hereafter]

[Spirits are casually strolling through the gates of heaven. Some see loved ones and smile with delight. Others are greeted by pets they once had in their mortal existence.]

[Two spirits engage in conversation near the entrance.]

Spirit one: "Why is there that long line of sour-faced spirits who refuse to enter heaven?"

Spirit two: "Those are the spirits of devout Mormons. They think it's all a trick and refuse to go in until someone with 'proper authority' comes and gives them some kind of handshake and lets them whisper a password."

Spirit one: "Wow! That's weird. You think you've seen everything and then you see something like that. What's going to happen to them."

Spirit two: "Well, things have a way of working out. Some industrious spirits are thinking of building a Mormon theme park with a special entrance for handshakes and passwords. Once the Mormon spirits get inside, they can serve on missions, clean toilets, be bossed around by authorities, and sit through meetings at which the same things are said over and over and over again."

Spirit one: "Oh, I heard about places like that. That's what they call 'Hell' right?"

First - further to D&C 137 where JSjr saw both Adam and Michael, in D&C 138 Joseph F Smith saw a vision of Christ, after his death, entering into the spirit world and being greeted by (among others) Adam, Noah, and Elias. These people could not have been in the spirit world as they had been transfigured before the death of Christ (Adam = Michael, Noah = Gabriel, and Elias needed a body to administer to Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration). The whole point of Jesus being dead for three days was to enter the spirit world - he couldn't get there with his body on!

Second - The Sermon on the Mount as recorded by Nephi is virtually identical to Matthew's version, with minor changes reflecting the 'perfect' rendition by Nephi. E.G. 3 Nephi 13:28 and Matthew 6:28 both direct the listener to consider the lilies of the field. BUT the JST version of that portion of the sermon is totally different - there is no mention of lilies at all (JST changes are at the back of the LDS KJV). What did Jesus really say? Mormons are required to belive the BoM version is correct, and the JST version is correct, but they are drastically different.

1 Nephi 3:7

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

Doctrine and Covenants 124:49

Verily, verily, I say unto you, that when I give a commandment to any of the sons of men to do a work unto my name, and those sons of men go with all their might and with all they have to perform that work, and cease not their diligence, and their enemies come upon them and hinder them from performing that work, behold, it behooveth me to require that work no more at the hands of those sons of men, but to accept of their offerings.


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Moroni 8:18

18 For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity.

King Follett Discourse:

For we have imagined that God was God from the beginning of all eternity. I will refute that idea . . . He once was a man like one of us and that God Himself, the Father of us all, once dwelled on an earth the same as Jesus Christ himself
did in the flesh and like us.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/01/2011 01:28PM by baura.