Salt Lake City Temple Tour Questions

Questions for LDS Tour Guides Written from a Christian Perspective

Questions to Ask at the

Temple and Its Grounds

 
Why is there a need for a temple? The Bible tells us that the days of the temple are gone. Aren’t we supposed to be the living temple of God?

 
A strong argument can be made from the Bible that there is no longer a need for a temple or temple system at all. These passages strongly suggest that believers are the new temple of God:

 
Acts 17:24 (KJV)
God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;

1 Cor 3:16-17 (KJV)
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

Hebrews 9:11-12 (KJV)
But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

Hebrews 9:24 (KJV)
For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us

 
I heard that Joseph Smith was a Mason. Is it true that there are temple ceremonies that include Masonic rituals?

History indicates that Smith was involved with Masonry just prior to deciding that God was once again going to require a temple replete with temple rituals. It certainly appears that masonry had a strong influence on Joseph as he decided what should take place in the temple and what the temple itself should look like.

 
The History of the Church records Smith's entrance into the Masonic lodge in 1842:
"Tuesday, 15.—I officiated as grand chaplain at the installation of the Nauvoo Lodge of Free Masons, at the Grove near the Temple. Grand Master Jonas, of Columbus, being present, a large number of people assembled on the occasion. The day was exceedingly fine; all things were done in order, and universal satisfaction was manifested. In the evening I received the first degree in Free Masonry in the Nauvoo Lodge, assembled in my general business office." "Wednesday, March 16.—I was with the Masonic Lodge and rose to the sublime degree." (History of the Church, by Joseph Smith, Deseret Book, 1978, Vol.4, Ch.32, p.550-2)

"The introduction of Freemasonry in NAUVOO had both political and religious implications....Eventually nearly 1,500 LDS men became associated with Illinois Freemasonry, including many members of the Church's governing priesthood bodies—this at a time when the total number of non-LDS Masons in Illinois lodges barely reached 150." (Encyclopedia of Mormonism, vol.2, p.527)

As a result, Reed Durham observed:
"There is absolutely no question in my mind that the Mormon ceremony which came to be known as the Endowment, introduced by Joseph Smith to Mormon Masons initially, just a little over one month after he became a Mason, had an immediate inspiration from Masonry....

 
Why are there Masonic symbols on the side of the Temple?

It’s hard to deny that there are Masonic symbols all over Mormon Temples. Sometimes LDS tour guides will simply try to tell you that these have no meaning and are purely decorative. They may or may not admit the Masonic connection and simply tell you that they are reflective of symbols that come from antiquity and are shared by a number of cultures. But if a symbol is utilized by a pagan culture, why would we want to import it onto our religious structures. To do so, also imports the MEANING of the symbol and the pagan connotations that are associated with it!

 

These symbols are found on the Temple

Here are their Masonic source

Why are there Pentagrams on the Temple?

One of the symbols imported from pagan sources is the inverted pentagram which represents the worship of Satan. This symbol is not without meaning even today. Why would we want to use it on our religious structures unless we were comfortable with the cultural connotations that come with the symbol. Symbols are language, and this symbol tells us something about the structure on which it sits.

Who gets to go inside the Temple? What if I can’t afford to pay a tenth of my income to the church? Could I still get a temple recommend?

 
One must possess a current temple recommend to be allowed admission to the temple. An interview will be conducted privately, and the member is asked a series of questions about his or her life. The member must be able to demonstrate that he or she is morally clean and has been keeping the Word of Wisdom (i.e. abstaining from coffee, tea, tobacco, alcohol and addictive drugs). The member must be paying a full tithe to the church. The member must be following all the teachings of the Church. The member must not be reading or affiliating with the works or member of any group that is critical of the church.

 
Does the Book of Mormon teach anything about the need for a temple? Why do we need to enter a temple when, according to the Bible, Jesus is the only high priest we need? Why do you have priests at all?

The LDS church has established a Temple and Priesthood system, but the Book of Mormon mentions nothing at all about the need for a temple, and the Bible clearly tells us that Jesus is the only priest and mediator between God and man:

 
Hebrews 9:6-12
Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people: The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

 
Why do they perform temple ceremonies for eternal marriages when the Bible says that no one will be given to marriage in heaven, and there is no example of this type of ceremony in the Old Testament?

 
The Bible is clear about the role of marriage in the next life, and the teaching of the Bible mentions no requirement for eternal marriage vows:

 
Luke 20:34-36
And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.

 
The only eternal marriage in the Bible is the spiritual marriage of the believer to Christ.

 
2 Corinthians 11:2
I have espoused you to one husband [Christ], that I may present you [the Christians] as a chaste virgin to Christ

 
Christians are to be united in a spiritual union with Jesus, not an actual marriage.

 
Romans 7:4
Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

 
I understand that you do baptisms for the dead in the temple. Why do you baptize for the dead when Paul does not advocate the practice for Christians (in the only passage in the Bible where he mentions it)?

 
There is much confusion about the issue of baptism for the dead. Before we even look at the issue, it’s important to remember a basic principle of scripture. We should never establish a spiritual requirement from a single Bible passage, especially if the passage is not critically clear. And baptism for the dead is only mentioned ONCE in the Bible, and only in passing:

 
1 Corinthians 15:29
Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead?"

 
Now, notice that Paul is not advocating this practice. He merely makes a passing reference to some group that had such a practice. His emphasis throughout that chapter is on the resurrection. Had baptism for the dead been a primary function of the early church surely there would be more teaching on it than this casual reference. Also, notice that Paul uses pronouns like “we” “I” “you” etc throughout the chapter because he is talking about either himself or the Corinthian believers. When he gets to this passage, he switches to “they” twice because he is talking about what OTHER people are doing. It’s almost as if he is trying to make a point with this extreme example: “hey, even those nutty people who baptize the dead know that the resurrection will take place!”

 
Why do you baptize for the dead when the Book of Mormon is silent about this and even teaches against it?

In the Book of Mormon, the word "baptism" appears twenty-five times. The word "baptize" appears twenty-eight times. The word "baptized" appears eighty-five times, and the word "baptizing" appears six times. In all those passages, the doctrine of baptism for the dead is never mentioned! While you may still argue that the doctrine of baptism of the dead has been removed from the Bible, it cannot be true that the doctrine was removed the Book of Mormon, because the Catholics never had the Book of Mormon! In addition, the Book of Mormon condemns the very ideas that led to the practice of baptism for the dead. It clearly proclaims that there is no chance for a person to repent after death if he has known the gospel and has rejected it

 
Alma 34:32-35
For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors... And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed. Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world. For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked.

 
How much did the Temple cost to build? How much does the church spend annually building temples? Is there a conflict between the cost of build temples of this elaborate nature and the teaching of the Book of Mormon?

 
The LDS church spends literally millions of dollars building structures that are not called for by the Bible so that non-Biblical practices can continue in these structures. The cost of these structures is dramatic:

 
The Salt Lake Tribune for August 31, 1974:
(regarding the temple that the Mormons built in Washington, D.C.) "... it is indeed marble, 288 feet high, $15 million worth, and that makes the new Washington Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints not only one of the most architecturally amazing but also one of the most expensive church edifices to rise in recent years.... It is the 16th temple to be built by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...."

 
Meanwhile, the Book of Mormon itself warns against spending lavishly on “fine sanctuaries”. The Book of Mormon recognizes that every dollar spent on Temples could actually be spent on the poor:

 
2 Nephi 28:13
“(false churches) …rob the poor because of their fine sanctuaries”

 
Questions to Ask at the

Museum of Church History and Art

 
Is it true that Joseph Smith was arrested for “Glass Gazing”? 

 
Before Joseph married Emma Hale, he was found guilty of “glass gazing”. Rev. Wesly P. Walters found documentation for this 1826 suit recently, (in 1971) in the basement of the courthouse. These records proved the charges against Joseph Smith and were an embarrassment to the LDS church. One of the witnesses testifying against him was Isaac Hale, father of Emma, his future wife. Isaac refused to allow his daughter to marry Joseph Smith, so in January 1827, 21 year-old Joseph and Emma eloped with Joseph to Palmyra, New York. Here is a copy of the court docket and the language from the warrant that was issued:

 

“Warrant issued upon oath of Peter G. Bridgman, who informed that one Joseph Smith of Bainbridge was a disorderly person and an imposture. Prisoner brought into court March 20 (1826). Prisoner examined. Says that he came from town of Palmyra, and had been at the house of Josiah Stowell in Bainbridge most of time since; had small part of time been looking for mines, but the major part had been employed by said Stowell on his farm, and going to school; that he had a certain stone, which was he had occasionally looked at to tell in this manner where gold - mines were a distance under ground, and had looked for Mr. Stowell several times, and informed him there he could find those treasures, and Mr. Stowell had been engaged in digging for them; that at Palmyra he pretended to tell, by looking at this stone, where coined money was buried in Pennsylvania, while at Palmyra he had frequently ascertained in that way where lost property was, of various kinds; that he has occasionally been in the habit of looking through this stone to find lost property for three years, but of late had pretty much given up on account its injuring his health, especially his eyes - made them sore; that he did not solicit business of this kind, and had always rather declined having anything to do with this business. And thereupon the Court finds the defendant guilty...”

 
Is it true that Joseph was involved in occult practices and actually died with an occultic “Jupiter Talisman” (that he called his “Masonic Jewel”) on his person?

 
Both Joseph Smith and the original witnesses of the Church (Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and Martin Harris) were involved with prophetesses and occultic practices. In fact, Smith was known to carry an occultic talisman with him at all times. There may still even be a picture of it on display in LDS Museums:

 

 

This talisman is inscribed front and back with the magic square and sigil of Jupiter, the astrological force associated with the year of Joseph Smith's birth. It may even have been created using the standard ceremonial magic texts available in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century (Agrippa's Occult Philosophy, Sibly's Occult Sciences, and Barrett's The Magus). We, as Christians, are warned against such use of magic:

 
Deuteronomy 18:10-12.
"There shall not be found among you anyone that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a, or a charmer or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD; and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee."

 
Why are there so many variations and changes in the first vision account of Joseph Smith?

It is hard to deny that Smith changed his story about the first vision he had, and because of this, it is often difficult to reconstruct the true history of what happened. Here is a quick list of the variations in the first vision account:

 
1827
Joseph Smith, Sr. and Joseph Smith, Jr. give an account to Willard Chase, as related in his 1833 affidavit.

 
Joseph says the gold book was found in the context of his money-digging activities. There is no mention of a revival. Joseph says he is approximately 17 (1823) when he has a vision. He is then 21 (1827) when he finally retrieves the plates. Several years before obtaining the plates, a ‘spirit’ appeared to Joseph in a vision telling him of a record on gold plates.

 
1827
Martin Harris gives an account to Rev. John Clark, as published in his book Gleanings by the Way, printed in 1842, pp. 222-229.

 
No revival. The vision occurs after an evening of money-digging. Joseph is approximately 18-19 (1824-25) when he has a vision. An ‘angel’ appeared to Joseph in a vision telling him he has been chosen to be a prophet and bring forth a record on gold plates.

 
1830
Joseph Smith is interviewed by Peter Bauder, (recounted by Bauder in his book The Kingdom and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, printed in 1834, pp. 36-38).

 
No revival is mentioned. In fact, Joseph could give Bauder no “Christian experience”, ie. no conversion experience or manifestation of saving grace in his life. No age is mentioned. Joseph claimed an ‘angel’ told him where to find a secret treasure

 
1832
Joseph Smith handwrites the earliest known attempt at an ‘official’ recounting of the ‘First Vision, from History, 1832, Joseph Smith Letterbook 1, pp.2,3

 
Joseph now says he started serious study of the scriptures at age 12 and felt convicted of sins. He also says that he determined all churches were wrong. He makes no mention of a revival and omits all information about the money-digging context of the first accounts. Joseph now says that he is 15 (in his 16th year) when he had a first vision, and now adds a second vision that occurs at the age of 17 (he says he again prayed and then had the second vision). Joseph claimed to see ‘Jesus’ in the first vision at 15, and an ‘angel’ at the second vision (this angel told him where to find the plates)

 
1834-35
Oliver Cowdery, with Joseph Smith’s help, published the first history of Mormonism in the LDS periodical Messenger and Advocate, Kirtland, Ohio, Dec. 1834, vol.1, no.3

 
Joseph says a revival stirred in him a desire to “know for himself of the certainty and reality of pure and holy religion.” Joseph says he is 17 (1823) when he had the vision in his bedroom. Joseph claimed an ‘angel’ appeared to him

 
1835
Joseph Smith gives an account to Joshua the Jewish minister, (Joseph Smith Diary, Nov. 9, 1835).

 
Joseph now says he was “wrought up” in his mind about religion, but there is no mention of a revival. Joseph now claims that he was 14 (1820) when he had a vision in a grove. He maintains that he later had another vision at the age of 17. Says he had a vision of one personage and then another. One personage testifies about Jesus, but neither is identified as Jesus. Said he saw many angels in this first visitation. In the second visitation, Joseph sees ‘angels’

 
1835
Joseph gave an account to Erastus Holmes on November 14, 1835, originally published in the Deseret News of Saturday May 29, 1852.

 
No motivation for the vision was given. Joseph says that he was 14 (1820) when he had the vision. Says he had a vision of ‘angels’

 
1838
This account became the official version, now part of Mormon Scripture in the Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith — History, 1:7-20. Though written in 1838, it was not published until 1842 in Times and Season, March 15, 1842, vol. 3, no. 10, pp. 727-728, 748-749, 753.

 
Joseph says a local revival caused him to wonder which church was right, it had never occurred to him all were wrong. He says that at age 14 (1820) he had a vision in a grove. Three years later has yet another vision of an angel. Joseph says that in the first vision, he had a vision of two personages. One identifies the other as his son (by implication God the Father and Jesus, but not explicitly stated), in the second vision, he only sees an ‘angel’

 
1844
Joseph describes the vision while writing a chapter on Mormonism in “An Original History of the Religious Denominations at Present Existing in the United States”, edited by Daniel Rupp

 
Joseph says he began reflecting on the importance of being prepared for the future state, but upon inquiring found a great conflict of religious opinion. There is no mention of a revival. Joseph says that at the age of 14 (1820) he had a vision in a grove. Three years later he has a second vision. He had a vision of two personages, but they are unidentified. Three years later he says he has a vision of a single personage (same description as previous personages) which is identified as an angel

 
1859
Martin Harris is interviewed in Tiffany’s Monthly, 1859, New York: Published by Joel Tiffany, vol. v.—12, pp. 163-170.

 
Joseph found the plates using the seer stone in the context of money-digging. There is no mention of a revival at all. Joseph is at the age of 21 (1827) at the time of the vision. An ‘angel’ appeared to Joseph after finding the plates, and told him it [Book of Mormon] was God’s work and Joseph must “quit the company of the money-diggers.”

 
Is it true that Joseph died in a gun battle? Is it true that he killed two men and wounded a third?

It is absolutely true that Joseph was killed while he was in custody in a Carthage Jail. There is no need to make light of this issue, and his killing was absolutely immoral. Justice should not be served in this way. But it is interesting to note that Mormon history usually fails to mention that Joseph Smith died in a gun battle in which he too had the opportunity to fire shots that resulted in the killing of two men and wounding of a third, as official church records show. (History of the Church, 6:616-618)

 
Why was Joseph in jail to begin with?

 
Joseph was in jail for several reasons that seem to reflect the surprising nature of someone who is supposed to be the spiritual leader of a religious sect. He had been accused of adultery and heresy, and he was also accused of burning down the newspaper printing press that made these charges public. His accusers were not un-respected men. They were Austin Cowles, First Counselor to Joseph Smith, and William Law, his Second Counselor!

 
Questions to Ask at the

Assembly Hall

 
This place looks a lot like a church, but without a cross. Why aren’t there any crosses on Mormon Assembly halls, wards, stakes or temples? Does the LDS church understand the role of the cross?

 
The absence of the Cross is perhaps the most striking feature of Mormon religious buildings that claim to hold believers in Christ. There is a reason why the cross is missing however, and it has more to do with the source of Mormon salvation, that anything else. Remember what the cross represents:

 
After All, Only the Cross Reconciles (Pays) Our Debt
We cannot DO anything on our own that would earn us our salvation

 
Ephesians 2:14-16
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.

 
After All, the Cross is Where God Does ALL the Work
The cross is important because it helps us to recognize that GOD does ALL the work in saving us.

 
Galatians 6:12-16
Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh. May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.

 
After All, the Cross Demonstrates the Power of God to Save Us
The cross is a symbol of GOD’s power that helps us to take the focus off of our own efforts

 
1 Corinthians 1:17-19
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel-not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

 

There are no crosses on Mormon buildings because the LDS church still teaches that the individual believer can save him or herself through a series of good works. The believer is then the source of salvation, not what Jesus did on the cross.

 
I noticed the Seagull Monument in front of the Assembly Hall. Is it true that some Mormon Scholars believe the event is nothing more than a legend? How are you sure that it actually happened when the event is not recorded in the journals of John Taylor or Parley Pratt, the reliable source of history for this time period?

The golden monument recognizes the 1848 "miracle of the seagulls." LDS tradition tells how tens of thousands of seagulls miraculously appeared to devour millions of crickets that were attempting to destroy the crops of the Mormon pioneers, but John Taylor’s grandson, Samuel W. Taylor, wrote a book called, “The Kingdom or Nothing” and observes that Taylor and Pratt, along with other reliable sources from the time period, fail to mention anything about a spectacular crop rescue by cricket-eating seagulls. Biographer Stanley B. Kimball wrote another book about an LDS president and prophet called, “Heber C. Kimball: Mormon Patriarch and Pioneer” and drew the same conclusion as Samuel Taylor. Kimball wrote:

 
"The now-famous cricket scourge and the seagulls which had eaten the crickets and saved some of the crops had occurred during the preceding May and June. Curiously, despite the miraculous nature of this event in current Mormon thought, it was not commented on much at the time and was hardly mentioned in the First General Epistle of the First Presidency of April, 1849. Cricket and grasshopper plagues were common terrors for many years in Utah" (pp.188-189).

 
Is it true that the Assembly Hall was constructed under John Taylor’s Presidency in 1882? Taylor was a polygamist; was the Assembly Hall originally filled with people who were involved in plural marriages?

 
The Assembly Hall on Temple Square (1882) was completed and dedicated under John Taylor’s direction. But the passage of the Edmunds Law in 1882, severely penalizing polygamists.

 
I know that a law was passed in the same year that the Assembly Hall was completed that outlawed Polygamist marriages, but I also understand that President Taylor did his best to ignore that law. Did he teach others to ignore the law here at the Assembly Hall?

 
Taylor established Mormon polygamist colonies in Mexico and Canada in an effort to avoid the law, and he refused to abandon the Mormon practice of polygamist plural marriage despite pressure from U.S. authorities. He was eventually forced into hiding, something the Mormons called, "on the underground," to avoid arrest and imprisonment. He married fifteen wives and had thirty-five children. He withdrew from public view in 1885 and died in hiding while in Kaysville, Utah, on 25 July 1887.

 
Questions to Ask at the

Tabernacle and Conference Center

I understand that these spaces have been used as teaching venues, is that true? Is it true that Mormon Prophets and Elders used these spaces to teach that black people are unfortunate because of the color of their skin?

 
In a 1939 general conference speech, Elder George F. Richards taught that "The Negro is an unfortunate man. He has been given a black skin. But that is as nothing compared with that greater handicap that he is not permitted to receive the Priesthood and the ordinances of the temple, necessary to prepare men and women to enter into and enjoy a fulness of glory in the celestial kingdom."

 
Is it true that Mormon Prophets once used the Tabernacle to teach that Indians were becoming lighter the more they were stayed in Mormon homes?

 
1960 LDS general conference, President Spencer Kimball quoted from the Book of Mormon (2 Nephi 30:6) and said that the Indians "are fast becoming a white and delightsome people." He said that Indian children in the "home placement program in Utah are often shades lighter than their brothers and sister in the hogans on the reservations."

 
Is it true that Mormon Elders once used the Tabernacle to teach that Jesus had many wives? (Is this teaching similar to that of the DaVinci Code?)

 
On August 7, 1853 Apostle Jedediah Grant taught that one of the reasons Jesus was persecuted was "because he had so many wives," and that these included "Elizabeth, and Mary, and a host of others that followed him." (Journal of Discourses 1:345).

 
Is it true that they still use these spaces to teach that men can become Gods?

 
Conference spaces have been used historically to teach this doctrine:

 
"It is a 'Mormon' truism that is current among us and we all accept it, that as man is God once was and as God is man may become." (Elder Melvin J. Ballard, General Conference, April 1921)

 
"From President Snow's understanding of the teachings of the Prophet on this doctrinal point, he coined the familiar couplet: 'As man is, God once was; as God is, man may become.' This teaching is peculiar to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ." (Marion Romney (1st Presidency) General Conference, October 1964)

 
Is it true that Mormon Leaders still use the Conference Center to teach that the Mormon Church was the only true church?

 
Sometimes LDS guides and believers will lament the fact that they feel like they are under attack from mainline Christianity. But it is important to recognize that the LDS church has always been the first to cast a stone, claiming that the Christian church has apostatized and fallen away from the truth which is represented now ONLY in Mormonism:

 
"Joseph Smith was the prophet of the Restoration of the true gospel. . . . President Gordon B. Hinckley is the Lord's prophet for our day. He and 14 other Apostles are special witnesses of Christ in the only true Church on the earth." (Gary J. Coleman, of the Seventy, speaking at the April 2000 LDS General Conference, Ensign, May 2000, p.29)

Questions to Ask at the

North Visitor’s Center

 
I see that there is a model of the temple here in the NVC, why do LDS believers think there is still a need for a temple when the Bible teaches otherwise?

There is a strong Biblical case that can be made related to Temples. The Bible clearly teaches that there is no need for temples, and that Christian believers are now themselves the temples of God:

 
Acts 17:24 (KJV)
God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;

1 Cor 3:16-17 (KJV)
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

Heb 9:11-12 (KJV)
But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

Heb 9:24 (KJV)
For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

 
Why does the Angel Moroni seem to have such a place of esteem in LDS buildings and visitor centers?

 
Moroni (even now) is represented on the gravestones of LDS soldiers, and he is often described as the perfect LDS example of the pure-hearted man of God. But remember that LDS theology teaches that angels do not receive the "fulness of the Celestial reward". They are positioned as servants of those who do become gods and others in heaven. More than likely, Moroni did NOT hold the Melchizedek priesthood, and Joseph Smith described him as ‘bare chested’ (no temple garments).

 
Does the LDS Church teach that the Christian faith has fallen away from the truth, and that the LDS faith is a restoration of that truth? Does the LDS church teach that the denominational fragmentation of Christianity is proof of the fallen nature of Christianity? If so, why are there so many fragments within Mormonism? Doesn’t this prove that the LDS church is equally fallen?

 
A lot of the Visitor Center tour will deal with the Restoration of the "lost Gospel." The LDS church will point to denominationalism as a proof that the Christian Church is in need of restoration. But today they are approximately 140 Mormon (or Josephite) churches. Compare this to Christianity. If Mormonism had been around as long as orthodox Christianity, it would have splintered approximately 1865 times into separate groups! And even though there are a number of different Christian denominations, we find ourselves intermingling and worshipping and service on missions trips without conflict. All the while, these Mormon splinter groups each claim unique and divine authority for themselves and exclude all others.

 
In the story depicted here in which John the Baptist visits Joseph and Oliver, why did John visit them and where did he get his authority?

 
LDS believers will say that John "restored" the Aaronic Priesthood to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, but remember that John never held the priesthood on Earth! In addition, he demonstrated behavior that was in contradiction to the required behavior of a priest! He wore animal skins (unclean), ate honey and locusts (unclean), and baptized people (not a Levitical duty). If the claim is that John received this authority after he was beheaded, how did this occur? LDS theology requires that priesthood authority must be given by a laying on of hands in this world. Does the story as told in the visitor’s center demonstrate that John lacked priesthood authority? After all, why did Joseph and Oliver re-baptize and re-ordain each other after John left? Is it possible that even they recognized that John did not have priesthood authority?

 
We notice that the tour mentions how Joseph Smith used a Seer Stone, the Urim and Thummim, and a Breastplate as he translated and worked in his office. Where are those devices today? 

Does the current prophet use these devices? If not, why not? How can he operate as a prophet? If the current prophet doesn't need them, why did Joseph Smith have to use them?

 
How was Joseph able to carry the gold plates and run three miles from where he found them, back to his home?

 
If the gold plates were as they are presently described, they would weigh over 200 pounds.

 
Is it true that the LDS church teaches unusual doctrines like the ideas that Jesus and Lucifer were brothers? Can you find Biblical support for these doctrines?

 
Much of the time LDS members are uncomfortable discussing these types of doctrines, because they know they fly in the face of the Bible and are considered repulsive to Christians around the world. But this Lucifer Doctrine is accepted and taught by the church:

 
Mormon President Spencer W. Kimball:
"The LDS church teaches that it was in the preexistent world that Jesus and Lucifer, two elder 'brothers' (sexually begotten sons of God as we all are), vied before the 'council of the gods' for the honor of becoming the Savior of mankind. The plan that Jesus proposed was approved by the council's majority vote. In anger, Lucifer drew one-third of the brothers and sisters into rebellion against the council's decision. He then became the Devil and his followers the demons"

 
Mormon Apostles and Prophets also teach that Jesus was begotten in the flesh (sexually) by Elohim (who is an exalted man); that Jesus was married to the sisters of Lazarus and to Mary Magdelene; converted water to wine at one of His own weddings; and had his wives and children present at his Crucifixion.

 
Is it true that some of the LDS prophets have said things that are in contradiction to known scientific fact?

 
President Ezra Taft Benson said that a prophet is above scientific fact and if there is a discrepancy, we will ultimately find that the prophet is correct and the scientific fact in error. Keeping this in mind, remember that Joseph Smith said:

 
1. That the earth had knobs on each end;
2. That the Ten Lost Tribes and the apostle John were living in a tropical land adjacent to the North Pole separated by a high mountain range.
3. That men live on the moon, dressed like Quakers, are about six feet tall and live to be a thousand years old.

 
In addition, Brigham Young taught:

 
1. That men also live on the sun;
2. That gold, silver and rocks actually grow.
3. That the LDS church should build the Salt Lake Temple out of sandstone blocks and let them mature into the harder granite.

 
If the Book of Mormon is true, why did over half of the first 11 witnesses to the Book of Mormon leave the Church?

 
History shows us that, unlike the original twelve apostles of Christianity, the eleven first witnesses of the Book of Mormon were unable to stay in the very church they once so proudly proclaimed.

 
“Some of the witnesses of the Book of Mormon, who handled the plates and conversed with the angels of God, were afterwards left to doubt and to disbelieve that they had ever seen an angel.” (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, V7, page 164)

 
The “Three Witnesses”
The first three witnesses listed on the Book of Mormon are Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and Martin Harris. Look at what happened with these three men:

 
Oliver Cowdery
Cowdery was baptized on 05/05/1829 and was eventually excommunicated on 04/12/1838. A year before he was excommunicated he, along with Whitmer and Harris, pledged his loyalty to a prophetess who used a black seer stone and “danced herself into the trenches” (“Biographical Sketches” Lucy Smith pp. 211-213). He confronted Joseph Smith with a charge of adultery with Fanny Alger in 1838. At that time, he also accused him of teaching false doctrine (that polygamy is required for salvation) and of lying! Smith denied the affair initially and said that Cowdery was the true liar. Church records, however, show that Alger was Smith’s first ‘spiritual wife’ (in addition to his legal wife, Emma), so it appears that Cowdery was telling the truth. After leaving the church, Cowdery became a Methodist and he denied the Book of Mormon entirely (according to the “Times and Seasons” Vol. 2, page 482, the “Improvement Era” January 1969 p. 56 and “Oliver Cowdery – The Man Outstanding” (Joseph Greehalgh) 1965 p. 28) He also publicly confessed his sorrow and shame for his connection to Mormonism (“The True Origin of the Book of Mormon”, Charles Shook 1914, pp. 58-59)

 
The LDS church claims that Cowdery never denied his original testimony about the Book of Mormon, but this flies in the face of the article that they published in the “Times and Seasons” in 1841 which states just the opposite! In addition, The LDS church also claims that Cowdery later rejoined the church in 1848 and was re-baptized in October of that year. But it is clear from church history that Cowdery was accused in 1848 of “trying to raise up the kingdom again” with the apostate William E. McLellin (according to “The Mormon Frontier, Diary of Hosea Stout” Vol. 2 p. 336), and Smith described Cowdery as a thief, a liar, a perjurer, a counterfeiter, an adulterer and a leader of a gang of “scoundrels of the deepest degree” (Senate document 189, 02/15/1841 pp. 6-9 and the “Comprehensive History of the Church, B.H. Roberts Vol. 1, pp. 438-9)

  
David Whitmer
Whitmer was originally baptized into the Church in June of 1829, but was later excommunicated on 4/13/1838. He said that he only witnessed the golden plates “by the eye of faith”, and he later had two conflicting stories about what he actually saw (“Millennial Star” Vol XL p. 771). Life Cowdery and Harris, he pledged his loyalty to a prophetess who used a black seer stone and “danced herself into the trenches” in 1837 (“Biographical Sketches” Lucy Smith pp. 211-213). After leaving the church, he never returned, and in 1847 he declared that he was to be the prophet of the New Church of Christ (ion a letter in “Ensign of Liberty” 5, 1848).

 
The LDS church says that Whitmer never denied his testimony about the Book of Mormon, but history reveals that Whitmer was thrown out of town roughly and his family was robbed by Mormons (John Whitmer’s History of the Church”, p. 22). Smith described Whitmer as a “dumb beast to ride” and “an ass to bray out cursings instead of blessings” (History of the Church, Vol. 3, p.228)

  
Martin Harris
Harris was baptized into the church on 4/6/1836, but was excommunicated on the last week of December 1837. He tried a number of religions before and after Mormonism. He was a Quaker, a Universalist, a Restorationist, a Baptist, and a Presbyterian before becoming a Mormon. After his excommunication in 1837 he again changed his mind a belonged to 8 more religions, including the Shakers and a number of Mormon splinter groups. He came back to the main group in 1842 and was re-baptized on 11/7/1842. But by 1846 Harris had joined the apostate James J. Strong and was preaching against the LDS church in England (“Church Chronology”, Andrew Jansen, 1899 p. 51, and “Millennial Star” Vol. 8, 11/15/46 pp. 124-128).

  
The LDS church says that Harris never denied his testimony about the Book of Mormon, but Harris himself said that his later testimony for Shakerism was greater than it was for Mormonism. He even said that the Shaker’s “Holy Sacred and Divine Roll and Book” was also delivered by an angel (Martin Harris, Witness and Benefactor” BYU 1955 Thesis, Wayne Gunnell p. 52, and the “Braden Kelly Debate” p. 173)

 
The “Eight Witnesses”
Of the eight addition witnesses to the listed in the opening pages of the Book of Mormon, it should be noted that three left the church by even the most conservative measurements of the Church itself. The 1989 edition of the Book of Mormon Student Manual for Religion 121 and 122 published by the LDS church admits these departures:

 
Jacob Whitmer
Baptized 11 April 1830
Apostatized in 1838. Never returned to the Church.

John Whitmer
Baptized June 1829
Excommunicated 10 March 1838

Hiram Page
Baptized 11 April 1830
Apostatized 1838

 
Six of the first eleven witnesses listed in the Book of Mormon eventually left what they once claimed was true. Compare that to the first 12 apostles of the Christian Church, all of whom defended their faith to the bitter end, eventually dying before they would ever deny the truth of the orthodox Gospel and the scriptures that are now called the New Testament. The Bible tells us that Jesus would never let true believers fall from his hands:

 
John 17:12
"While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled."

 
I’ve heard that the LDS church has no paid ministry. But isn’t it true that the top leaders of the Church ARE paid and make quite a bit of money?

 
Only the local leaders of the church are unpaid. The top 85 or 90 leaders (called the “General Authorities”) receive a salary, allowances, and also are paid as board members for a number of church-owned corporations. In addition, even LDS Missionaries are now classified by the IRS as "Paid Ministers"!

 
I’ve noticed several displays depicting the history of the Americas according to the Book of Mormon. Why is there no archeological support for any of this history?

 
If the Book of Mormon story is true, shouldn’t there be some evidence of just one of the 38 major cities it describes? There is absolutely NO such evidence. If an LDS member claims that any city on this continent is, in fact, one of the cities listed in the Book of Mormon, they should be able to name the city, identify in on a map and tell us why this is true. No archeologist on the planet will claim to know this with certainty because there is no evidence of any of the Book of Mormon cultures to be found anywhere on the continent. There are no discoveries of the literally thousands of coins that should be left from these cultures and that are described in the Book of Mormon. There are no remains of cities, buildings or cultures. There are no archeological discoveries of the weaponry that was described in the Book of Mormon either.

In the Visitor Center at Temple square in Slat Lake City (and in many other visitor centers around the country) the LDS church displays a mural depicting Jesus visiting the "Americas." He is seen to be standing in front of two Temples. But these two Temples (El Castillo and El Caracol) were built approximately in approximately 1000AD, and are almost 600 too late to be in the landscape of the stories of the Book of Mormon (the Nephite Era)! This appears to be a deliberate misrepresentation of the archeology of the area.

 
Questions to Ask at the

Beehive House

 
Did Brigham Young teach that you must be a polygamist to be saved?

 
Many present day Mormons will deny that the church ever truly believed that polygamy was necessary for salvation, but Brigham Young clearly talked about the matter:

 
"We are told that if we would give up polygamy--which we know to be a doctrine revealed from heaven and it is God and the world for it--but suppose this Church should give up this holy order of marriage, then would the devil, and all who are in league with him against the cause of God, rejoice that they had prevailed upon the Saints to refuse to obey one of the revelations and commandments of God to them.”… “Will the Latter-day Saints do this? No” (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 11:239).

 
“The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy. Others attain unto a glory and may even be permitted to come into the presence of the Father and the Son; but they cannot reign as kings in glory, because they had blessing offered unto them, and they refused to accept them.” (Brigham Young, Journal Of Discourses, Volume 11, p. 269)

 
“Now if any of you will deny the plurality of wives, and continue to do so, I promise that you will be damned; and I will go still further and say, take this revelation, or any other revelation that the Lord has given, and deny it in your feelings, and I promise that you will be damned.” (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Volume 3, p. 266)

 

'Some people have supposed that the doctrine of plural marriage was a sort of superfluity, or non essential to the salvation or exaltation of mankind... I want here to enter my solemn protest against this idea, for I know it is false' (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 20:28, July 7, 1878)

 
Did Joseph Smith teach that you must be a polygamist to be saved?

 
It is clear from Mormon History that Joseph was practicing polygamy and had already received a number of women that he considered to have been ‘given’ to him by God himself, even BEFORE he ever wrote about a revelation regarding polygamy. These relationships then needed to be clarified for Emma, and so, according to Mormon history (in the DHC), Joseph wrote D&C 132. It was obviously not received well by the person for whom it was written, but Section 132 openly declares that God ordains polygamy:

 
D&C 132:4, 6
For behold, I reveal unto you a new and an everlasting covenant; and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory… And as pertaining to the new and everlasting covenant, it was instituted for the fulness of my glory; and he that receiveth a fulness thereof must and shall abide the law, or he shall be damned, saith the Lord God.

 
Did many other LDS leaders also teach that Polygamy was required for Salvation?

 
Joseph Smith and Brigham Young clearly defined a theology of plural Celestial Marriage that even Brigham considered to be an affliction that was to be endured by women. But it was a necessary endurance that was required in order to be saved to a Celestial Kingdom. Other leaders within the church also affirmed this truth:

 
“Where did this commandment come from in relation to polygamy? It also came from God...When this commandment was given, it was so far religious, and so far binding upon the Elders of this Church that it was told them if they were not prepared to enter into it, and to stem the torrent of opposition that would come in consequence of it, the keys of the kingdom would be taken from them. When I see any of our people, men or women, opposing a principle of this kind, I have years ago set them down as on the high road to apostacy, and I do to-day; I consider them apostates, and not interested in this Church and kingdom” (John Taylor, Journal of Discourses 11:221).

“Polygamy is a divine institution. It has been handed down direct from God. The United States cannot abolish it. No nation on earth can prevent it... I will defy the United States, I will obey God.” (John Taylor, Salt Lake Tribune, January 6, 1880)

“Some quietly listen to those who speak against the Lord's servants, against his anointed, against the plurality of wives, and against almost every principle that God has revealed. Such persons have half-a-dozen devils with them all the time. You might as well deny 'Mormonism,' and turn away from it, as to oppose the plurality of wives. Let the Presidency of this Church, and the Twelve Apostles, and all the authorities unite and say with one voice that they will oppose that doctrine, and the whole of them would be damned.” (Heber C. Kimball, Journal of Discourses, Volume 5, p. 204, 1856)

“Some people have supposed that the doctrine of plural marriage was a sort of superfluity, or non essential to the salvation or exaltation of mankind... I want here to enter my solemn protest against this idea, for I know it is false.” (Joseph F. Smith, Journal of Discourses 20:28, July 7, 1878)

“This doctrine of eternal union of husband and wife, and of plural marriage, is one of the most important doctrines ever revealed to man in any age of the world. Without it man would come to a full stop; without it we never could be exalted to associate with and become god...” (Joseph F. Smith, Journal of Discourses, 21:9, 1879).

“...if plurality of marriage is not true or in other words, if a man has no divine right to marry two wives or more in this world, then marriage for eternity is not true, and your faith is all vain, and all the sealing ordinances, and powers, pertaining to marriages for eternity are vain, worthless, good for nothing; for as sure as one is true the other also must be true.” (Orson Pratt, Journal of Discourses 21:296, 1880).

 
Doesn’t the Book of Mormon teach that Polygamy is wrong?

 
It appears that Joseph originally held a view of polygamy that was consistent with historical, orthodox Christianity! When writing the Book of Mormon and early documents that became part of the early versions of the Doctrines and Covenants, Joseph condemned the practice of polygamy:

 
Ether 10:5
'And it came to pass that Riplakish did not do that which was right in the sight of the Lord, for he did have many wives and concubines...'

 
Jacob 3:5
'Behold, the Lamanites your brethren, whom you hate because of their filthiness and the cursing which hath come upon their skins, are more righteous than you; for they have not forgotten the commandment of the Lord, which was given unto our father - that they should have save it were one wife, and concubines they should have none...'

Jacob 24
'Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord.'

D&C Sec. 101
'Insomuch as this church of Christ has been reproached with the crime of fornication and polygamy: we declare that we believe that one man should have one wife; and one woman but one husband, except in case of death, when either is at liberty to marry again...' (1835 edition, since removed).

 
Doesn’t the Bible also teach that Polygamy is wrong?

 
Of course, Biblical Orthodox Christianity has always been very clear on this issue and because of its clarity, Orthodox Christian communities have never been polygamous until the appearance of Mormonism (1840 years worth of believers)! Why have orthodox Christians been so united on the issue of monogamy? Because the scripture is clear:

 
Genesis 2:24
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. (Notice that “wife” is singular)

Ephesians 5:31
“…and the two will become one flesh.” (Notice the word, “two” as opposed to 'three' or 'seven' or 'thirteen')

1 Timothy 3:2 (related to elders)
“An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife…”

Titus 1:6 (related to overseers)
“Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife…”

Deuteronomy 17:17 (related to the king of God’s people)
“He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray.”

 
Is it true that Brigham Young believed that Adam and Jesus were also Polygamists?

 
In further defense of their new theological position related to plural marriage, Mormon leaders began to argue that Adam and Jesus were also polygamists and set the pattern for all believers who were to follow. Over 1800 years of Christians had apparently misunderstood the scriptures:

 
“Now hear it, O inhabitants of the earth, Jew and Gentile, Saint and Sinner! When our father Adam came into the garden of Eden, he came into it with a celestial body, and brought Eve, one of his wives with him.” (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 1, page 50)

“Yes, one of the relics of Adam, of Enoch, of Noah, of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob, of Moses, David, Solomon, the Prophets, of Jesus and His Apostles.” (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 11, page 328)

“The Scripture says that He, the LORD, came walking in the Temple, with his train; I do not now who they were, unless his wives and children…” (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 13, page 309)

 
Did Wilford Woodruff willingly end the practice of Polygamy or was he pressured to do so?

 
Polygamy grew in its practice and in its growing importance to Mormon theology. But in spite of it’s wide-spread acceptance as a pre-requisite for Salvation, the church did eventually bow to the laws of the United States under the leadership of their fourth Church President, Wilford Woodruff. For many years prior to the abolishment of polygamy, however, Woodruff also believed it to be an essential doctrine:

 
If we were to do away with polygamy, it would only be one feather in the bird, one ordinance in the Church and kingdom. Do away with that, then we must do away with prophets and Apostles, with revelation and the gifts and graces of the Gospel, and finally give up our religion altogether and turn sectarians and do as the world does, then all would be right. We just can't do that, for God has commanded us to build up His kingdom and to bear our testimony to the nations of the earth, and we are going to do it, come life or come death. He has told us to do thus, and we shall obey Him in days to come as we have in days past.” (Wilford Woodruff, Journal of Discourses 13:165 - p.166, 1869).

“The doctrine of plural marriage has come to stay for all time… we are not going to stop the practice of plural marriage until the coming of the son of man.” (Wilford Woodruff, John Henry Smith Journal, December 20, 1888)

 
Yet this ‘essential’ doctrine from God was eventually abandoned under legal pressure from the United States Government. The ‘end’ of the practice came with the Manifesto of September 26th, 1890:

 
To whom it may concern,

Press dispatches having been sent for political purposes, from Salt Lake City, which have been widely published, to the effect that the Utah Com-mission, in their recent report to the Secretary of the Interior, allege that plural marriages are still being solemnized and that forty or more such plural marriages have been contracted since last June or during the past year, also that in public discourses the leaders of the Church have taught, encouraged and urged the continuance of the practice of polygamy--I, therefore, as President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, do hereby, in the most solemn manner, declare that these charges are false. We are not teaching polygamy or plural marriage, nor permitting any person to enter into its practice, and I deny that either forty or any other number of plural marriages have during that period been solemnized in our Temples or in any other place in the Territory. One case has been reported, in which the parties allege that the marriage was performed in the Endowment House, in Salt Lake City, in the Spring of 1889, but I have not been able to learn who performed the ceremony; whatever was done in this matter was without my knowledge. In consequence of this alleged occurrence the Endowment House was, by my instructions, taken down without delay.

Inasmuch as laws have been enacted by Congress forbidding plural marriages, which laws have been pronounced constitutional by the court of last resort, I hereby declare my intention to submit to those laws, and to use my influence with the members of the Church over which I preside to have them do likewise. There is nothing in my teachings to the Church or in those of my associates, during the time specified, which can be reasonably construed to inculcate or encourage polygamy; and when any Elder of the Church has used language which appeared to convey any such teaching, he has been promptly reproved. And I now publicly declare that my advice to the Latter-day Saints is to refrain from contracting any marriage forbidden by the law of the land.

WILFORD WOODRUFF
President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

 
Some LDS people say that polygamy was necessary because there we not enough men in Utah for all the women. Is that true?

 
Over the years, Mormons have tried to justify the early behavior of the Church. After all, the current manifestation of the Mormon Church vehemently denies and condemns the practice of Polygamy. In fact, if men like Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, John Taylor and Heber C. Kimball were to be alive today and behave as they did in their own day, they would be promptly ex-communicated from the Church! So how do modern believers explain the behavior of the founding fathers? Well, one excuse has been offered along the way. Mormons will often claim that polygamy was practiced in order to provide homes to a surplus of women in the church! But the Mormon apostle John Widsoe has ‘de-bunked’ this common explanation:

 
“But then the proportion of the sexes in Utah would not, at present, admit of an extensive practice of plural marriage. When the census was taken five years ago, there were 143,963 souls in Utah Territory, not counting untaxed Indians. In this number there was an excess of 5,055 MALES over females. This does not have the appearance of permitting an extensive practice of plural marriage,...” (LDS publication, Juvenile Instructor, Vol. 20, page 133)

 
Another conjecture is that the people were few in numbers and that the Church, desiring greater numbers, permitted the practice so that a phenomenal increase in population could be attained. This is not defensible, since there was no surplus of women.” (Apostle John Widsoe, Evidences and Reconciliations, 1960, page 392)

 
Questions to Ask at the

Family History Library And South Visitor’s Center

 
I have heard a lot about the emphasis of the church on families, but how many families actually get to go to heaven to begin with, considering the requirements of salvation are met by so few of them?

 
Remember that only about half of Mormons who are listed on the rolls of the church are actually active in the church, and only half of these active members have completed their Temple Endowments, and less than half of these are presently deemed worthy enough (by virtue of having ‘temple recommends’) to return to the temple, and only half of these who are considered worthy actually participate in the Temple programs. That means that there is about an 85% to 90% failure rate! This system of requirements seems to prevent families from entering heaven, not assure that they will stay together!

 
God wants us to rest assured in our salvation, not be in bondage to a system of works:

 
Matthew11:29-30.
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

 
Why are you so concerned about genealogies when the Bible tells us specifically that they are irrelevant?

 
The Bible repeatedly tells us not to concern ourselves with genealogies:

 
1 Timothy 1:4
Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.

Titus 3:8-9
This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men. But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.

 
The LDS church teaches that you must be married to go to Celestial Kingdom, but if this was true, why would Paul encourage us to stay single?

It makes no sense that Paul would teach in direct opposition to a foundational requirement for LDS salvation, but that is exactly what happens when he teaches about staying single if one has the gift for single life:

 
1 Corinthians 7:1, 6-7, 32-35
Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good for a man not to marry. But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. I say this as a concession, not as a command… I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that. Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion… I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord's affairs - how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world - how he can please his wife - and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord's affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world - how she can please her husband. I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.

 
The LDS church teaches that “Families are Forever”. But if Mormon theology is correct, how is this possible?
 

First of all, how can I be certain that every member of my family will follow the rules of the faith perfectly? If one of us fails to do this, that person won’t be in heaven at all!

 
LDS President Joseph Fielding Smith
"To enter the celestial and obtain exaltation it is necessary that the whole law be kept…" (The Way to Perfection, p. 206).

 
But even if we all could keep the law perfectly, Mormon theology would still separate us! Imagine that my entire family is perfect and gets to heaven. My son, if he is a good Latter-day Saint (who followed the laws and commandments of Mormonism and married a faithful Mormon girl), would be rewarded with his own kingdom or earth in the next life. He wouldn’t be with me at all, because I would also have my own world! And my daughters (if they were good Mormons who married good Mormon men) would be off with their husbands ruling over their husband’s worlds! And how about my wife? What if her dad is a good Mormon and attains Godhood? Would my wife spend eternity with her parents? Or would she be with me on my world? See Mormon theology actually SEPARATES families!! After all, Mormon theology presupposes that God the Father also had parents. Where in the Mormon scriptures do you ever hear that God is still living with his parents? Where do you even hear about his parents?

 
With all this emphasis on the family unit, why did early LDS leaders try to eliminate monogamous marriages?

 
Early leaders of the church actually taught that marriage to ONE wife was wrong and not from God:

 
“I have noticed that a man who has but one wife, and is inclined to that doctrine, soon begins to wither and dry up, while a man who goes into plurality looks fresh, young and sprightly. Why is this? Because God loves that man, and because he honors his word. Some of you may not believe this, but I not only believe it but I also know it. For a man of God to be confined to one woman is small business… I do not know what we should do if we had only one wife apiece.” (Heber C. Kimball, Deseret News, April 22, 1857)

 
“We breathe the free air, we have the best looking men and handsomest women, and if they envy us our position, well they may, for they are a poor, narrow minded, pinch-backed race of men, who chain themselves down to the law of monogamy and live all their days under the dominion of one wife. They ought to be ashamed of such conduct, and the still fouler channel which flows from their practices; and it is not to be wondered at that they should envy those who so much better understand the social relations.” (George A. Smith, Deseret News, April 16, 1856)

“This law of monogamy, or the monogamic system, laid the foundation for prostitution and the evils and diseases of the most revolting nature and character under which modern Christendom groans…” (Orson Pratt, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 13, page 195)

“…the one-wife system not only degenerated the human family, both physically and intellectually, but it is entirely incompatible with philosophical notions of immortality; it is a lure to temptation, and has always proved a curse to a people.” (the Mormon Church paper, Millennial Star, Vol. 15, p. 227)

 
Why did early LDS leaders say that monogamous marriages had pagan origins and were not from God?

 
In fact, Mormon leaders first taught that monogamous marriage to a single wife was pagan and came from pagan cultures:

 
“Monogamy, or restrictions by law to one wife, is no part of the economy of heaven among men. Such a system was commenced by the founders of the Roman empire… Rome became the mistress of the world, and introduced this order of monogamy wherever her sway was acknowledged. Thus this monogamic order of marriage, so esteemed by modern Christians as a holy sacrament and divine institution, is nothing but a system established by a set of robbers… Why do we believe in and practice polygamy? Because the Lord introduced it to his servants in a revelation given to Joseph Smith, and the Lord's servants have always practiced it. And is that religion popular in heaven? It is the only popular religion there…” (Brigham Young, The Deseret News, August 6, 1862)

“Since the founding of the Roman empire monogamy has prevailed more extensively than in times previous to that. The founders of that ancient empire were robbers and women stealers, and made laws favoring monogamy in consequence of the scarcity of women among them, and hence this monogamic system which now prevails throughout Christendom, and which had been so fruitful a source of prostitution and whoredom throughout all the Christian monogamic cities of the Old and New World, until rottenness and decay are at the root of their institutions both national and religious.” (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 11, p. 128)

“It is a fact worthy of note that the shortest lived nations of which we have record have been monogamic. Rome… was a monogamic nation and the numerous evils attending that system early laid the foundation for that ruin which eventually overtook her.” (George Q. Cannon, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 13, p. 202)

“Some of the nations of Europe who believe in the one wife system have actually forbidden a plurality of wives by their laws; and the consequences are that the whole country among them is overrun with the most abomi(na)ble practices? Adulteries and unlawful connections prevail through all their villages, towns, cities, and country places to a most fearful extent.” (Orson Pratt, The Seer, p. 12)