Growing Through James

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.--James 1:5

This verse is regularly cited by the Latter Day Saints to substantiate the practice of praying to God in order to validate the Book of Mormon and, subsequently, Mormonism. When a Mormon "elder" visits your doorstep, he will challenge you to pray about the Book of Mormon and "ask God if it's true." They offer the promise that you can have an inner assurance that the Book of Mormon is true if you simply pray to God about it. They call this assurance "the burning in the bosom."

The Mormon beliefs of presidential hopeful, Mitt Romney, has recently created quite a stir. The media's attention to his religious background has many people asking, "Is Mormonism true?"

No! Mormonism isn't true.

Mormonism contradicts the nature of God. 

• They believe in a plurality of gods and teach that "as man is, God once was; as God is, man may become." For Christians, Jesus is the self-existent creator of all things (Colossians 1:15-20). For Mormons, he is the spirit brother of Lucifer having been conceived through the Father's sexual intercourse with Mary.

Mormons are confused about the authority of Scripture.

• They don't believe that the Bible is the infallible revelation of God. Instead, the Book of Mormon is "the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion."

Mormonism compromises the way of salvation.

• Instead of standing before God in a robe of righteousness given to us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ (Romans 3:21-22), Mormons teach that they will appear before the Father dressed in an apron made of fig leaves holding good works in their hands--waiting for their appointed place in one of three heavens.

So, not to take anything away from Mr. Romney's political aspirations, but the doctrinal inclinations of Mormonism exclude it from rightly being called Christian. To know the truth, you don't need to experience a burning bosom--you need to experience Jesus Christ. After all, he claimed to be the only way!