Brigham Young (June 1, 1801–August 29, 1877) was the 2nd President of the Mormon Church after Joseph Smith died. His comments and quotes regarding Joseph Smith are held in high esteem. The importance of Joseph Smith in Mormon theology cannot be overemphasized. Brigham Young frequently praised Joseph Smith. Consider this quote:
"Well, now, examine the character of the Savior, and examine the character of those who have written the Old and New Testaments; and then compare them with the character of Joseph Smith, the founder of this work... and you will find that his character stands as fair as that of any man's mentioned in the Bible. We can find no person who presents a better character to the world when the facts are known than Joseph Smith Junior, the prophet and his brother Hyrum Smith, who was murdered with him." (Journal of Discourses, vol. 14 p. 203)
Consider these incredible statements made from Brigham Young.
"...no man or woman in this dispensation will ever enter into the celestial kingdom of God without the consent of Joseph Smith.... Every man and woman must have the certificate of Joseph Smith, junior, as a passport to their entrance... I cannot go there without his consent.… He reigns there as supreme a being in his sphere, capacity, and calling, as God does in heaven." (vol. 7, p. 289)
“... I am an Apostle of Joseph Smith.... all who reject my testimony will go to hell, so sure as there is one, no matter whether it be hot or cold ... (vol. 3, p.212). I will now give my scripture—"Whosoever confesseth that Joseph Smith was sent of God ... that spirit is of God; and every spirit that does not confess that God has sent Joseph Smith, and revealed the everlasting Gospel to and through him, is of Anti-christ …”(vol. 8, p.176).
Wow! Can you believe that this is an "apostle, prophet and president" of the Mormon Church declaring his words as divine scripture, even equal to the Bible. Not only does he say and teach things that are totally against what the Bible clearly teaches, he actually replaces the name of Jesus and adds Joseph Smith.
Let's consider briefly what the Bible actually teaches about how we go to heaven and who we must confess.
"Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." -John 14:6
The Bible clearly teaches that Jesus claimed to be the one and only way to God the Father and nowhere say that God would send a prophet or prophets 1800 years later to teach things that are totally against what Jesus said. Brigham Young says that we must go to God through Joseph Smith.
"That if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead you will be saved...whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved." -Romans 10:9&13 This was written by Paul, and Apostle of Jesus Christ in the 1st Century.
The Bible teaches that Jesus is Lord and He alone reigns supreme. We are to call upon the name of Jesus, confess Him and believe in Him alone for salvation. Brigham Young would have us believe that we are to confess Jesus and Joseph Smith if we are to be saved. And Brigham Young is so bold as to say that if we reject his testimony about Joseph Smith or reject Joseph Smith as someone sent by God then we are of the spirit of the anti-christ and we will go to hell! Think about this, he is adding to the Bible and saying that we need the testimony of Brigham Young and we need Joseph Smith to be saved. He is saying that Jesus Christ is not enough.
Mormonism has embraced the teachings of Brigham Young as the 2nd President of the Mormon Church and even held the teachings of the Presidents as "prophetic" or divine. And yet, Brigham Young clearly adds to the Bible, opposes the teachings of Jesus, and even twists the Scriptures by removing the name of Jesus and adding the name of Joseph Smith as necessary for salvation. Friends, if any Christian leader ever did this they would be rebuked, removed from ministry and considered a heretic, false teacher and false prophet. However, if a Mormon does this they're considered an "apostle", a "prophet" and a spokesperson for God. The Mormon Church should hold its members and presidents more accountable to the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Bible.
Here is the actual biblical Scripture Brigham Young changes and applies to Joseph Smith.
In 1 John 4:2-3 it says, "By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world." This was written by the Apostle John who was an intimate friend of Jesus, witnessed His death and resurrection and penned the Gospel of John which is in the Bible.
You see, its about confessing Jesus Christ, the Son of God as having actually come in the flesh. The Bible teaches that anyone who rejects that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of the Antichrist. It says nothing about rejecting a future prophet named Joseph Smith or his followers testimonies.
Now, considering our topic at hand it is essential that I mention the verse immediately before these. In 1 John 4:1 it says, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone into the world."
Here you have a clear warning from the Bible not to believe every spirit or teacher, but to test them. We do well to test the words of Brigham Young with the Bible, and the Bible teaches us that there is salvation in no one but Jesus, "for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." -Acts 4:12 It would seem that the Bible 1800 years earlier was giving us a heads-up and a warning about false teachers, false prophets and false "saviors" that would come and try to deceive us. We must decide to believe the testimony of Brigham Young or the testimony of Jesus and the Bible, because we cannot believe them both. You must choose between Joseph Smith and the testimony of his "apostles," or Jesus Christ and the testimony of His Apostles whose writings have been in Bible for nearly 2000 years.
Heber C. Kimball (June14, 1801–June 22, 1868) served as one of the first 12 Mormon apostles, was a member of the first Presidency under Brigham Young, and said that the time would come when people would:
"prize brother Joseph Smith as the Prophet of the Living God, and look upon him as a God, and also upon Brigham Young, our Governor in the Territory of Deseret" (Journal of Discourses, vol. 5, p.88).
While present-day Mormons do not worship Joseph Smith, there seems to be plenty of evidence that Joseph Smith wanted to elevate himself almost to the same level as Jesus Christ. When you add up the quotes from Joseph Smith as well as comments and testimonies of early Mormon members and presidents you can't help but come to the conclusion that Joseph Smith and his followers diminished the Person and work of Jesus Christ in order to exalt the person and works of Joseph Smith.
Josiah Quincy, a Massachusetts legislator, related that when he visited Joseph Smith in 1844, "the prophet put this inquiry: 'Is not here one greater than Solomon, who built a Temple with the treasures of his father David and with the assistance of Huram, King of Tyre? Joseph Smith has built his Temple with no one to aid him in the work.' " (Figures of the Past, as cited in Among the Mormons, p. 138)
The Bible declares in 1 Kings 4:29-34 that there was non wiser than Solomon, and yet when Jesus was rebuking the people of His day for their unbelief and unrepentance He said, speaking of Himself, "...indeed, a greater than Solomon is here." -Matthew 12:42 Jesus was saying that He and His wisdom were superior to Solomon. For Joseph Smith to take this quote of Jesus and apply it to himself is not a statement of truth, but of pride. Should we not be leery of those who take the quotes of Jesus and apply them to themselves? Should we not be suspicious of men who attempt to put themselves in the place of God?
The History of the Church contains some statements which seem to show that Joseph Smith felt he was almost equal with God. Joseph Smith said, "God made Aaron to be the mouth piece for the children of Israel, and He will make me be god to you in His stead, and the Elders to be mouth for me; and if you don't like it, you must lump it." (vol. 6, pp.319-320)
It is no secret that Jesus claimed to be equal to God. Speaking to His disciples He said, "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him...He who has seen Me has seen the Father...I am in the Father and the Father is in Me...the Father dwells in Me..." -John 14:7-10 (various portions of those verses) Jesus throughout the Gospel accounts not only speaks of His own Divinity and equality with God, but proves it through miracles, power over creation and power to create, prophecy and supernatural knowledge of people's thoughts. The first chapter of the Gospel of John calls Jesus the "Word who is God" and reveals Jesus as God "who became flesh." And finally, the New Testament letters and Paul the Apostle reaffirm that Jesus is God in saying things like, "Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the Creator of everything visible and invisible." "In Jesus the fullness of the Godhead dwelt in bodily form." -Colossians 1:15-16, 2:9. Romans 9:5 says that Jesus is "the eternally blessed God." Hebrews chapter 1 powerfully reveals Jesus as Creator of all things, the express image of the Person of God and receiving worship from angels. And Titus 2:13 calls Him our "great God and Savior Jesus Christ." On and on the Bible refers to Jesus as God, equal to God, and having all the divine attributes as God. Can Joseph Smith really compare himself with Jesus?
Consider this quote:
"If they want a beardless boy to whip all the world, I will get on the top of the mountain and crow like a rooster. I shall always beat them.... I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him, but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet." (vol. 6, pp. 408-9)
So here Joseph Smith clearly boasts that he accomplished something that Jesus Christ could not. In Proverbs 16:18 the Bible warns us that pride comes before destruction and an arrogant attitude before a fall. When Joseph Smith says, "I boast that no man ever did such a work as I" he is claiming to have done something that not even Jesus could do.
In Matthew 16:18 Jesus claimed that He would "build His church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it." He either spoke the truth or lied. He has either built His church and is continuing to build His church or he has failed. Joseph Smith would have us believe that Jesus was incapable of keeping His word, upholding His promise and building His church. Mormonism would have us believe that Jesus failed, the gates of hell prevailed against the church, and Joseph Smith and the Mormon Church have succeeded in restoring the true church. Either Jesus was a liar and failure and Joseph Smith is telling the truth and has succeeded in restoring the true church, or Jesus is telling the truth and is succeeding and Joseph Smith and the Mormon church are wrong. You cannot believe both.
Joseph Smith was ultimately killed in 1844 in jail by a mob that opposed his religious teachings and political pursuits. One of the most important factors leading to Joseph Smith's death was his order to destroy a newspaper called the Nauvoo Expositor. Mormon scholar Kenneth W. Godfrey wrote: "The Prophet's mayoral order, with the consent of the city council, to destroy the Nauvoo Expositor became the immediate excuse to stamp out his life.... Perhaps in retrospect both Mormons and Gentiles were partly to blame for conflict which developed between them." (Brigham Young University Studies, Winter 1968, pp. 213-14)
Even back then there was great controversy about the teachings of Joseph Smith and the Mormon Church. The Nauvoo Expositor was to be printed in Nauvoo by prominent Mormon defectors who opposed Joseph Smith's political ambitions and the practice of polygamy. While Mormon writers often refer to the Nauvoo Expositor as a scandalous and vile publication, an examination of the paper reveals that it advocated high morals and obedience to the law.
The thing that really disturbed the Mormon leaders, however, was that the Nauvoo Expositor exposed Joseph Smith's secret teaching of polygamy. In an affidavit published in the Expositor, June 7, 1844, Austin Cowles charged that he had seen "a revelation given through the Prophet" which taught "the doctrine of a plurality of wives."
The Mormon leaders responded that Austin Cowles had lied, but eight years after Joseph Smith's death they published the revelation on polygamy. A careful reading of the revelation (now printed in the Doctrine and Covenants as Section 132) proves beyond all doubt that the statements in the Expositor were true. Not only did Joseph Smith teach polygamy, but he practiced polygamy himself and before his death had married over 30 women.
Thus it is clear that the Expositor was condemned on the basis or false testimony given by Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum. In the synopsis of the proceedings of the Nauvoo City Council we found the following: "Mayor [Joseph Smith] said, if he had a City Council who felt as he did, the establishment (referring to the Nauvoo Expositor) would be declared a nuisance before night.… Hyrum Smith believed the best way was to smash the press and pi (or mix up/distort) the type." (History of the Church, vol. 6, pp. 441, 445)
The Nauvoo City Council "passed an ordinance declaring the Nauvoo Expositor a nuisance" and ordered the press to be destroyed. Under the date of June 10, 1844, we find the following in Joseph Smith's History:
"The Council... issued an order to me to abate the said nuisance. I immediately ordered the Marshal to destroy it without delay.… About 8 p.m., the Marshal returned and reported that he had removed the press, type, printed paper, and fixtures into the street and destroyed them." (History of the Church vol. 6, p. 432)
Mormon historian B. H. Roberts admitted that "the legality of the action of the Mayor and City Council was, of course, questionable,... neither proof or argument for legality are convincing. On the grounds of expediency or necessity the action is more defensible." (History of the Church, vol. 6, p. 432) Vilate Kimball, the wife of Heber C. Kimball and a faithful Mormon, wrote: "June 11th. Nauvoo was a scene of excit[e]ment last night. Some hundreds of the brethren turned out and burned the press of the opposite party." (Letter published in Life of Heber C. Kimball, p. 340)
At first Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum fled to Iowa to avoid arrest, but they were accused of being cowards and urged to return to save Nauvoo from the possibility of destruction. They finally went to Carthage, Illinois, where they were arrested for destroying the printing press. The Smiths were allowed to post bail for this offense but were then held on a charge of treason against the State of Illinois. While they were being held at Carthage a mob attacked the jail and both Joseph and Hyrum were shot dead by their assailants.
While we agree with the Mormons that there is no way to justify the unlawful and brutal acts of the mob at Carthage, it is going beyond the facts to compare the death of Joseph with that of Jesus. The Mormon leaders seem to be appealing to Isaiah 53:7 which says, "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth." In the New Testament it is claimed that Christ fulfilled this prophesy (see Acts 8:32). Jesus Christ died without resistance. In 1 Peter 2:23 we read: "Who, when he was reviled, reviled not in return, when he suffered, he did not threaten; but committed himself to him that judges righteously." When Peter tried to defend Jesus with the sword, Jesus told him to "put away your sword into its sheath: shall I not drink the cup which my Father has given Me?" (John 18:11) It is about Jesus that John the baptist cried out, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." -John 1:29
To compare the death of Jesus Christ with the death of Joseph Smith is a far stretch. Jesus willingly laid His life down for others without resisting. He did not argue or fight or resist those who came to kill Him. Most Mormons believe that Joseph Smith died without putting up a struggle, but the historical truth is that he died in a blazing gunfight with his enemies. In the History of the Church, vol. 6, pp. 617-18, written by Mormon historians, the following account is given concerning Smith's death:
"...there was... a discharge of three or four firearms.... Joseph sprang to his coat for his six-shooter… he discharged his six-shooter in the stairway… two or three barrels of which missed fire. "Joseph,… dropped his pistol on the floor, and sprang into the window..."
John Taylor (November 1, 1808-July 25, 1887) who became the 3rd president of the church, testified that Joseph Smith "snapped the pistol six successive times; only three of the barrels, however, were discharged. I afterwards understood that two or three were wounded by these discharges, two of whom, I am informed died." (History of the Church, vol. 7, pp. 102-3)
From the preceding information it can be seen that the death of Joseph Smith can in no way be compared to the death of Jesus. Jesus did go like a "lamb to the slaughter," but Joseph Smith died like a raging lion. Jesus willingly laid down His life, while Joseph Smith ran from the law, reluctantly turned himself in, resisted those that opposed him and ultimately retaliated and killed two men before he was killed. A "lamb" does not fight, and kill others on its way to the slaughter.
Today the Joseph Smith of Mormon adoration is a highly romanticized version of the real Joseph Smith. While possessing natural abilities and talents, his personal character was far from the saintly image his followers mold him into. No doubt he was a leader and very persuasive. But based upon the evidence, compared with the Bible, Joseph Smith was a man who persuaded people to believe the wrong things about God, Jesus, behavior and salvation, and therefore was successfully leading people in the wrong direction. Even today, the person and teachings of Joseph Smith remain the foundation of the Mormon church and religion. While mainstream Mormonism today does not accept Joseph Smith's teachings on polygamy, they do hold to his teachings on many other doctrines that contradict the Bible and the Jesus Christ of the Bible.
Don't be fooled. Just because the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" has the name "Jesus Christ" in their title does not mean they believe in or love the Jesus Christ of the Bible. Joseph Smith and Mormonism presents a different Jesus than the one revealed in the Bible.
The Jesus Christ of the Bible is alive today as Lord and God, and He alone is able to save and transform all those who call upon Him in truth. You have His word on it.
Who will you put your faith in, Joseph Smith or Jesus Christ?
Information for this tract is from the following sites:
(www.utlm.org) (www.mrm.org) (www.mormoninfo.org) (www.4witness.org) (www.mormonchallenge.com)
For other blogs I've written about Mormonism and Christianity go to:
5 Reasons Mormons and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are not Christians
