TWELVE SIGNS THAT THE
IS THE
Michael T. Griffith
2003
@All Rights Reserved
I first became interested in The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints (also known as the LDS or Mormon Church) when an LDS friend
of mine asked me, "If the same church that Jesus founded in the New
Testament were on the planet today, with a living prophet and twelve apostles
at its head, and with all the same gifts and powers of old, would you want to
join it?" I replied that of course
I would want to join it! He then shared with me his testimony that the
He explained that this great restoration began when God
the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith in 1820. After being
introduced by the Father, the Savior
explained to young Joseph that he would be the instrument through which the
true church would be restored to the earth. With this restoration came
additional scripture, namely, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants,
and the Pearl of Great Price.
In my study of the Bible and ancient texts, I have found
forty-one "signs" of the true church.
Only the
1. The LDS Church has a prophet and twelve apostles, as
did the Savior's ancient church. When the Lord established his church in
2. LDS priesthood holders can trace their authority
directly back to Jesus Christ. When the Lord restored his church in our day, he
sent Peter, James, and John to ordain Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery to the Melchizedek Priesthood, which is the same
priesthood that worthy men held in the ancient church. Joseph and Oliver then
ordained others. Men are ordained to the priesthood by the laying on of
hands. This divine authority is held by
every Melchizedek priesthood holder in the Mormon Church today, each of whom
can trace his authority back to Joseph Smith, and through Joseph Smith to
Peter, James, and John, and through Peter, James, and John to the Lord
himself. In the ancient church it was
considered crucial for church leaders to be able to trace their authority back
to the apostles. Irenaeus,
a second-century early Christian bishop, noted that church leaders possessed
"succession from the apostles"3--he even declared that key
doctrinal questions could be settled by consulting with those churches
"with which the apostles held constant intercourse."4 Indeed, Irenaeus
regarded every bishop of his day as "appointed by the apostles through the
successive laying on of hands."5
3. The LDS Church is guided by continuous revelation
through its prophet, as was the New Testament church. Current revelation has
always been vital to the Lord's true covenant people. The prophet and the
apostles receive continuous revelation from the Lord, just as did the Savior's
ancient disciples after his death.
4. The LDS Church understands and teaches the biblical
doctrine that God and Jesus are separate and distinct divine beings, who
communicate with each other, who are aware of each other's existence, and who
work in perfect harmony with each other. God is the supreme member of the
Godhead. Jesus is subordinate to the Father and does the Father's will in all
things. The Holy Ghost is the third member of the Godhead. The Godhead is not
an incomprehensible three-in-one trinity. Rather, it is a trinity composed of
three separate divine persons, each of whom is a deity in his own right. Their
unity is one of works, will, and devotion, not one of substance, mind, and
essence. Mormons reject the traditional teaching that the Father and the Son
are "two persons yet one God of one undivided substance." If Jesus
and the Father are separate divine persons who communicate with each other and
who are aware of each other's existence, as the New Testament plainly teaches,
then they are two separate deities. Jesus even referred to the Father as
"my God" (John 20:17; Matthew 27:46). Similarly, the apostle Paul
referred to the Father as "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ" and "the God of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians
11:31; Ephesians 1:3, 17). Ancient
Christian documents also refer to the Father as Christ's "God." For example, in the Apostolic Constitutions,
we read a hymn to the "God and father of Jesus Christ."6
5. The LDS Church affirms that the Savior was literally
resurrected, and that he lives today. When Jesus was resurrected, his spirit
was reunited with his body, which was glorified and perfected in the
resurrection process. He is a real person, a real tangible person, with a
glorified physical body, just as the New Testament teaches.
6. The LDS Church obeys the law of tithing. The Bible
teaches us that the true church will practice this divine principle, whereby
members donate a tenth of their earnings to the church for the building up of
the
7. The LDS Church possesses the additional scripture
prophesied in the Bible. The coming forth of the Book of Mormon was predicted
by ancient Israelite prophets. The Bible speaks of the coming forth of an Ephraimite record, also called "the stick of
Joseph." Elsewhere the Bible refers to this record as a sealed book that
would come forth at a time when the Lord would perform a marvelous work and a
wonder. The Book of Mormon is that record, which came forth as the Lord
restored his church in all its original splendor and glory. The Book of Mormon
is a history of God's dealings with peoples in the ancient
8. The LDS Church is a missionary church, as was the
Savior's ancient church. It has thousands of missionaries working in virtually
every part of the world. It has been said that the Mormon Church is the most
missionary-oriented church on the earth.
9. The LDS Church has a lay local clergy. Local leaders,
i.e., bishops and stake presidents, etc., are not salaried. They do their
church work on their own time, and hold normal jobs like everyone else. The
Savior's church likewise had an unsalaried local clergy. It was only after the
true gospel began to be removed from the earth that the practice of paying
local leaders was instituted. But in the New Testament church local leaders were
not salaried, and as late as A.D. 200 "the idea of fixed clerical salaries
was considered an outrage . . . in both
Protestant Bible scholar Eberhard
Arnold notes that the character of Hermas in the
revered ancient Christian text the Shepherd of Hermas
"speaks publicly whenever God wills it while exposing as false prophets
those who accept payment and wait to be consulted."8
The man who only imagines that he
has the Spirit exalts himself. He wants
to have the place of honor, and he straight away becomes impudent, shameless,
and talkative, given to excessive eating and drinking, and well versed in all
kinds of trickery. He accepts payment for his prophesying, and if he does not get it he
does not prophesy.9
Other early Christian statements against preaching for
money include the following:
The Word that was freely
given must not be sold.10
Every apostle visiting you shall
be received as the Lord. . . . But if
asks for money he is a false prophet.11
Noted historian Paul Johnson points out that the ancient
Christians criticized the heretic Montanus "for
paying stipends to his chief followers."12 Johnson also observes that church father John
Chrysostom attacked certain bishops for
"collecting large fees for preaching in the metropolis."13 And, notes Johnson, church father Jerome
criticized certain bishops because, among other things, they took money for
their visits. Jerome lamented,
The clergy, who ought to inspire
awe with their teaching and authority, kiss these ladies [widows] on the
forehead and, putting forth their hands as though to bless, take money for
their visits.14
10. The LDS Church teaches that baptism is essential for
salvation. The New Testament and the writings of early Christian elders and
theologians leave no doubt the ancient church taught that baptism was a
requirement for salvation. Historian
Jeffrey Burton Russell observes that in the ancient church "it was
universally believed that . . . we obtain the benefits of Christ's sacrifice by
baptism."15 The ancient Christian theologian Tertullian taught that "without baptism, salvation is
attainable by none."16
An accepted, orthodox ancient Christian saying attributed to Jesus says,
"Everybody who believes and is baptized shall have his past sins
forgiven."17
11. The LDS Church teaches that our thoughts and actions
play a role in our salvation. The Mormon Church agrees with the Catholic Church
and with the Orthodox Church that we are not saved strictly by grace alone
through faith, but that our thoughts and deeds also count toward salvation. In
other words, belief and confession of faith are not enough. We must do more. We
must strive to keep the commandments to the best of our ability. We understand that no one could be saved if
Christ had not atoned for our sins, but the Savior also taught that we must
live righteous lives to the best of our ability in order to return to live in
the kingdom of heaven. Among other things, he said, "Not every one who
says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he who
does the will of my Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 7:21, Revised
Standard Version [RSV]). The Lord also taught that "he who endures to the
end will be saved" (Matthew 10:22, RSV). The New Testament teaches over
and over again that our actions count and that those who do not keep the
commandments will not return to live with Heavenly Father. This same teaching is literally plastered throughout
the writings of early Christian bishops, elders, and theologians. For instance,
mid-second-century Christian theologian Justin Martyr, who is still referred to
as one of the ancient church's "ablest defenders," said the
following:
Anyone who is not found living in
accordance with his [Christ's] teachings should not be regarded as a Christian
even if he confesses to Christ's teaching with his lips. For he [Christ] said that only those shall be
saved who do not just talk, but who also do the corresponding works [see
Matthew 7:21].18
12. The LDS Church can answer the three great questions of
life: "Where did I come from?" "Why am I here?" "Where
am I going after death?" Through the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord
revealed once again the divine truth that we did not suddenly spring into existence
at birth, but that we lived with God the Father as spirits in a pre-mortal life
prior to coming to earth. There is
scriptural evidence, and also ancient Jewish and early Christian evidence, of
the LDS doctrine of a pre-mortal life.19 Members of the Lord's true church know that
we are on the earth to gain experience, to be tried and tested, to live the
best lives that we can possibly live according to the light and knowledge that
we possess, and to receive physical bodies.
After death we go to the spirit world. Those who die
without having the opportunity to learn of the gospel will have that
opportunity in the spirit world, where they will be free to either accept or
reject the message. Then, at the resurrection, our spirits are reunited with our
bodies--our bodies will be glorified and perfected. All mankind will be raised
from the dead, and then judged, and each will receive according to his works in
relation to the light and knowledge that he possessed. We will go to one of
three kingdoms, the celestial, the terrestrial, and the telestial,
while sons of perdition will be cast into outer darkness.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Michael T. Griffith holds a Master’s degree in
Theology from The Catholic Distance University, a Graduate Certificate in
Ancient and Classical History from American Military University, a Bachelor’s
degree in Liberal Arts from Excelsior College, and two Associate in Applied
Science degrees from the Community College of the Air Force. He also holds an Advanced Certificate of
Civil War Studies and a Certificate of Civil War Studies from Carroll
College. He is a graduate in Arabic and
Hebrew of the Defense Language Institute in
ENDNOTES
1. Eberhard Arnold, The Early Christians In Their Own Words,
Fourth Edition (Farmington, PA: The Plough Publishing Company, 1997), p. 24.
2. Arnold, The
Early Christians In Their Own Words, p. 25.
3. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson,
editors, The Ante-Nicene Fathers [ANF] (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1985, reprint), vol. 1, p.
497.
4 ANF
1:417
5 Arnold, The
Early Christians In Their Own Words, p. 38.
6. Apostolic
Constitutions, VII.47-48, in Arnold, The
Early Christians In Their Own Words, p. 265.
7. Robin Lane Fox, Pagans And Christians (New York: Alfred Knopf, 1987), p. 505.
8. Arnold, The
Early Christians In Their Own Words, p. 342.
9. The Shepherd of Hermas, 11th Command, in
10. Clementine Homilies, III.71.3, in Arnold, The Early Christians In Their Own Words,
p. 194.
11. The Didache, XI:6, in Arnold, The Early Christians In Their Own Words,
p. 202. This document is also known as The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles and Constitutions of the Holy Apostles.
12. Paul Johnson, A History of Christianity (New York:
Penguin Books, 1978), p. 49.
13. Johnson, A History of Christianity, p. 100.
14. Johnson, A
History of Christianity, p. 100.
15. Jeffrey Burton
Russell, Satan: The Early Christian
Tradition (New York: Cornell University Press, 1981), p. 100.
16. ANF 3:674.
17. Didascalia XX, in Arnold, The Early Christians In Their Own Words,
p. 232.
18. First Apology 16, in Arnold, The
Early Christians In Their Own Words, p. 104.
19. Joseph Fielding McConkie, "Premortal
Existence, Foreordinations, and Heavenly Councils," in C. Wilfred Griggs,
editor, Apocryphal Writings and the
Latter-day Saints (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University, Religious Studies
Center, 1986), pp. 173-198; LeGrand Richards, A
Marvelous Work and A Wonder (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret
Book Company, 1976), pp. 272-306; Eugene Seaich, Mormonism, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Nag
Hammadi Texts (Murray, Utah: Sounds of Zion
Publishing, 1980), pp. 4-17.
NOTE: This article is
an edited version of chapter 1 of the author’s book How Firm A Foundation.
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