After 9 years I started having more doubts. You may ask,
what doubts were those? Well first off, I started
studying the Bible. I found contradictions between the
Book of Mormon and the LDS doctrine and what the Bible
taught and what Christ said. I had always believed that
God meant what he said and said what he meant. I
believed that men basically knew nothing and that we had
to rely on God and his teachings.
I had always wondered what the big deal was about
polygamy and the LDS Church. That took place over 100
years ago, so why worry about it now? As Gordon B.
Hinckley stated in his interview with Larry King "that’s
in the past." Well, while reading the Book of Mormon in
Jacob 2:24, it stated, "Behold David and Solomon truly
had many wives and concubines, which thing was
abominable before me, saith the Lord." Having more than
one wife was an abomination to the Lord according to the
Book of Mormon. Then I read in Jacob 1:15, "And now it
came to pass that the people of Nephi, under the reign
of the second king, began to grow hard in their hearts,
and indulge themselves somewhat in wicked practices,
such as like unto David of old desiring many wives and
concubines, and also Solomon, his son."
Then in D&C 132:39, "David’s wives and concubines were
given unto him of me, by the hand of Nathan, my servant,
and others of the prophets who had the keys of this
power ..." It dawned on me that if it was wicked to God
for David and Solomon to have wives (plural) and
concubines and was abominable, why would God suddenly
say "they were given unto them by me?" God doesn’t do
wicked things or participate in wicked things. The Book
of Mormon contradicted itself on this.
Okay, enough of that I figured. I could just put that
behind me — only one mistake. Then, knowing that one day
we would become gods as God, I was reading in Isaiah
43:10, "You are my witnesses, says the Lord. And my
servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and
believe me and understand that I am he. Before me there
was no God formed, nor shall there be after me."
Well, wait a minute. I was taught that I would become a
god and that God had a father and he had a father and so
on. Once again I was forced to ask, does God lie? No he
doesn’t; 8 times in the Old Testament it states that the
Holy One of Israel cannot lie. I was compelled to
believe God, not what the LDS Church taught.
So like any good LDS member I went to my Bishop and
asked him what that meant. He hesitated and then said,
"It must be out of context." I then asked about the
polygamy question and asked if that was out of context.
He said, "maybe." I responded with, "But aren’t we
taught that the Book of Mormon is the most correct book
on earth? How could it be wrong?"
By this time I had some big questions. This is when I
started to do some very extensive research and was
shocked by what I found. Once again being a good LDS
member I went to my Bishop. By this time he was really
confused, I mean about the head in the hat to interpret
the Book of Mormon (see Comprehensive History of the
Church), freemasonry, occult symbols, and just plain
common sense.
I researched with an open mind for about a year. Finally
I emailed a couple in Sandy, Utah who head up H.I.S.
Ministries. He had been on the Stake High Counsel, his
wife had been a translator and had spent years working
in downtown Salt Lake City with archives and other
documents.
I met them at their house. Once again I was a good LDS
member and asked to see where many of the anti-Mormon
things were written. These things were written in the
LDS books! I was shocked at what I was reading.
That evening I prayed and suddenly several things came
to mind: Why would I need to know some secret handshakes
to get into heaven? If someone else knew them who wasn’t
temple worthy did that mean they could "sneak in"? When
standing at the veil after giving all these signs, why
did I have to knock again and why did God have to ask,
"What is wanted?" I thought he knew everything.
Finally, I compared the God of the Bible to the god of
the LDS Church. It was finally plain to me, these were
two different gods. The God of the Bible was one of
spirit (John 4:24) as stated by Christ, the god of the
LDS Church was one of flesh and bones (see Seer, by
Apostle Orson Pratt, pp. 37, 172; Teachings of the
Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 345-346; Mormon Doctrine, pp.
321-322; D&C 130:22).
Then, I read what Christ said in Luke 24:39, "Behold My
hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle me and
see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you
see I have." Well, this clarified what a spirit is for
me and I knew what flesh and bones were. Joseph Smith's
god was of flesh and bone, the God of the Bible is one
of spirit as Christ taught. Once again I was faced with
the question, "Who do I believe, Christ or Joseph
Smith?" I chose Christ.
The LDS Church taught that Christ and Satan were
brothers. This always caused me some confusion. But if
you believe that we are all spirit children of heavenly
father then they would be, except for John 1:3, "All
things were made through him and without him nothing was
made that was made." This means that Christ created
everything, not just the earth but everything. Well, who
was Satan, what did he want and what was his plan? His
plan is described, I found, in Isaiah 14:12-15. Let's
read what his plan was in verse 14, "I will ascend above
the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High"
(be like the Most High, be a god, like God). That is
what the LDS Church taught, but who was Satan? So I read
Ezekiel 28:11-19. Satan was a cherub, or angel, not a
son of God but a created being of God, not equal to Him.
I could go on and on about the contradictions. Then I
read where Joseph Smith said "If it's 99% true, then its
false." Now that was something I could support. I found
the LDS Church to be false and full of deceit and lies.
If you're reading this, do your own investigation of the
LDS Church. Look at it with an open mind. Research it.
Study the contradictions and you too will find what I
found out — that me and you were sold a bill of goods
that cannot be delivered. Satan’s greatest weapon is
deceit. I was deceived.
The one thing I found was the true Christ, the God of
the Bible. I have grown closer to God than ever and
learned more than I ever thought. I have accepted Jesus
Christ of the Bible as my personal Savior. May God Bless
you. Read Acts 17:11, search the scriptures for truth.
— Chris D. Hohnbaum