In the days of controversy surrounding the false teacher Arius and his heretical anti-Trinitarian doctrine, his followers would go through the streets singing a little song with these words, “There Was – When He Was Not.” The meaning of the song was clear. They believed the Father was when the Son was not.  It was a song that attacked and denied the deity of Christ.  It taught that Jesus was a created being separate from the Father. 

Athanasius was raised up by God for such a time. He would become a champion of truth! He refused to compromise, even when everyone else around him seemed to capitulate on matters of sound doctrine. The climate surrounding Athanasius became known as Athanasius contra mundum – “Athanasius against the world.” 

His leadership in this area was key. Eventually, there was a council held at Nicaea (325) to deal with the controversy and emerging from this time period was the Nicene Creed. To this day, we can ask the question, “Christian, what do you believe?” The response of the Nicene Creed can be uttered as a summary of sound Christology and Trinitarian truth.

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father. Through Him all things were made. For us and for our salvation He came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit He became incarnate from the virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate; He suffered death and was buried. On the third day He rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son He is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Although Arius and his errors have been condemned throughout the history of the Church—his heresy continues to take shape in various forms to this day. One such group that continues to walk in Arius’ footsteps is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, otherwise known as the LDS Church, or Mormons.

The LDS religion is one of the largest cults in the world comprised of millions of people worldwide with estimates at the end of 2022 totaling 17,002,461.¹Statistics taken from https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org [accessed 3/1/24]. *This figure represents the total number of individuals worldwide who have been baptized into the church and have not … Continue reading The LDS religion differs on many levels from Christianity such as their belief of ongoing modern revelation, preexistent humanity, the ability of humans to achieve godhood status, and post-mortem atonement. Such distinctions would classify the LDS religion as a cult—but if that wasn’t enough, they firmly deny the doctrine of the Trinity and present a very different “Jesus” than the Jesus presented in the pages of the Bible.

Brief History

The founder of the LDS religion is Joseph Smith, Jr., who was born on December 23, 1805, in Sharon, Vermont. After a series of visions, Smith claims that he was directed outside of the village where he was living to a specific location where he discovered golden plates in a wooden box along with the Urim and Thummim. On September 22, 1827, he claims he was given the plates by the heavenly messenger, with instructions to keep them carefully until the angel should call for them again.²Anthony A. Hoekema, The Four Major Cults: Christian Science, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormonism, Seventh-Day Adventism (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1963), 11. According to Joseph Smith, this was the event that kicked off what is known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Common Teaching

Christianity is strictly Trinitarian and monotheistic, a doctrine grounded in the Old Testament Scriptures and reaffirmed in the New Testament. Passages like Deuteronomy 6:4 declare, “The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” This singular God exists eternally in three distinct persons: Father, Son (Jesus, who is the Christ), and the Holy Spirit (John 14:26). Each person within the Godhead is fully God, sharing the same divine essence and attributes (Malachi 3:6). Each member of the Godhead is co-equal and co-eternal.

In contrast, the LDS religion embraces a plurality of deities within the Godhead. Their theology, heavily influenced by the writings of Joseph Smith, presents a Heavenly council consisting of multiple gods, including Heavenly Father, his wife Heavenly Mother, and spirit children who are divine beings. Each of these gods are separate and unique to one another rather than unified as one. This theological distinction with emphasis on a plurality of gods presents a key distinction between Christian theology and the LDS doctrine of God.

The False Jesus of Mormonism

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, (LDS) claims to revere Jesus Christ, but their understanding of his nature, work, and relationship to the Father deviates from the core tenets of Christianity.

According to LDS doctrine, the Son of God was the product of divine procreation. Jesus, according to LDS teachings, is the firstborn of many spirit children made by heavenly parents. They teach that Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother conceived and gave birth to spirit children—one of whom is Jesus and his brother is Lucifer.

In the teachings of the LDS religion, Jesus won over Heavenly Father’s blessing as he presented a more satisfactory plan of redemption than his spirit brother Lucifer. It was Jesus who offered to take upon himself human flesh, to dwell among humanity as a true example and teacher, and he would uphold the sanctity of free agency. This decision was not received well by Lucifer which resulted in his rebellion and eventual doom as he was cast down from heaven with 1/3 of the spirits with him. Jesus was named Redeemer and Lucifer became the enemy and deceiver.

According to the LDS beliefs, Jesus is historic, real, and eternal (meaning that he always will be, but differentiating from the fact that he always has been). If you’ve ever engaged an LDS missionary, it’s clear that they seek to live out 2 Nephi 25:26 from the Book of Mormon which reads, “We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ.” They are firmly committed to their Jesus, but sadly, he is not the true Savior of sinners as presented in Scripture—the Godman who is both truly God and truly man.

Millions of Mormons around the world are being deceived into embracing a false Jesus rather than the Jesus of Scripture. As Hebrews declares about the Son of God that he is the heir of all things and the Creator of the world (Heb 1:2). Jesus is superior to the angels (Heb 1:4), and one day upon Jesus’ glorious second coming, every knee will bow to him and every tongue will confess to him that he is Lord to the glory of God the Father (Phil 2:5-11). When the text says, “every knee will bow” and “every tongue shall confess” it points to the fact that every being from both the earthly sphere and the spiritual sphere (of things in heaven, on earth, and under the earth) will bow to Jesus. In other words, even the demonic spirits and Satan himself will bow before Christ Jesus and confess that he is Lord.

Jesus said that he was “one with the Father” (John 10:30). This means that he is eternal (John 1:1). He has no beginning and he will have no end. He was begotten, not made, to borrow words from the Nicene Creed. When the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints speak of Jesus, we must always remember, they are talking about a “Jesus” who was created by their own religion rather than the Jesus who is revealed to us in the pages of Scripture. The Mormons serve a false Jesus—a Jesus who has no power to save sinners. We must point people to the true Jesus, the Savior of the world.

1 John 2:18 – Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. (ESV)

Author

Josh Buice

Pastor Pray's Mill Baptist Church

Josh Buice is the founder and president of G3 Ministries and serves as the pastor of Pray's Mill Baptist Church on the westside of Atlanta. He is married to Kari and they have four children, Karis, John Mark, Kalli, and Judson. Additionally, he serves as Assistant Professor of Preaching at Grace Bible Theological Seminary. He enjoys theology, preaching, church history, and has a firm commitment to the local church. He also enjoys many sports and the outdoors, including long distance running and high country hunting. He has been writing on Delivered by Grace since he was in seminary and it has expanded with a large readership through the years.