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Because it deviates from Biblical Christianity in a number of irreconcilable
ways. I will mention just a few here. For a more in-depth explanation of why the
RLDS church is a cult, see Carol Hansen's book Reorganized
Latter Day Saint Church: Is it Christian? See the section entitled Anatomy
of a Cult, particularly chapter 4, Earmarks of
a Cult.
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Extra-Biblical Revelation.
RLDS hold as sacred Joseph Smith's Book of Mormon, Doctrine and
Covenants and his Inspired Version of the Bible. Each of these
books seriously conflicts with the Bible. They introduce a myriad of
un-Biblical beliefs and doctrines. For an in-depth discussion of each of
these books, see chapters 4-10 in Part
Way to Utah: the Forgotten Mormons, and chapters 9-11 in Carol
Hansen's book Reorganized Latter
Day Saint Church: Is it Christian?. Our tract Malachi
and Joseph Smith provides a multi-faceted example of these
serious conflicts.
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A Different Jesus.
Sadly, the scriptures and resultant theology of Joseph Smith introduce us to
a Jesus which is very different from the Biblical Jesus. This is nothing
new, it has happened right from the start of Christianity. It is precisely
what Paul scolded the Corinthian church about. "But I am afraid that
just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be
led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone
comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we
preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or
a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily
enough" (2 Cor. 11:2-4, NIV). For an excellent discussion of the
"other Jesus" of Joseph Smith, see chapter 4, A
Different Jesus, in Carol Hansen's book Reorganized
Latter Day Saint Church: Is it Christian?.
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Un-Christian Priesthood
System. The RLDS church is governed from top to bottom by a complex
hierarchy of priesthood offices designed by Joseph Smith. While the name of
each of these offices can be found in the Bible, not all of them have a
rightful place in the Christian church. Rather, we discover that the entire
system is actually blasphemous when we examine it closely. (See the next
question, below. For an in-depth discussion of the entire RLDS priesthood
system, also see chapters 11-16 in Part
Way to Utah: the Forgotten Mormons.)
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Claim of Exclusivity.
While some RLDS would back away from this belief, Joseph Smith taught that
his was "the only true and living church upon the face of the whole
earth" (RLDS Doctrine & Covenants 1:5,e). He denounced
all other churches as an abomination to God, and insisted that his
priesthood alone has authority to represent God on earth. Rejection of
others and claims to exclusivity are common earmarks of cults.
Paul Trask
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