‍

Joseph Smith and the Bible -  The Playing Field

Welcome to The Mormon Mann Channel. I am Kendall, The Mormon Mann.

In this video, I am going to establish “The Playing Field”—the standard that will be used to evaluate the teachings of Joseph Smith and his claim of restoring the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

For this series, I will be using only the King James version of the Holy Bible.

What This Series Will Do

In this series of videos, I am going to challenge 90 of Joseph Smith’s teachings that he set up in the name of “Restoring the Fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

I will include all of the hard topics such as:

• Becoming Gods and Goddesses

• Blacks and the Priesthood

• Polygamy.

If you would like to follow what the King James Version of the Bible has to say about these 90 teachings of Joseph Smith, then please, press the “Subscribe” button below.

If you understand and agree with what you will be learning, then press the “Like”  button below. 

If you disagree with the Biblical support given, then press the “Dislike”  button below.

If deep down in your soul that tells you that somehow this makes sense, then press the “Like” button.

The Challenge of Biblical Interpretation

Knowing that ten people can read one particular passage in the Bible, and we can get ten different interpretations of that same passage, there will be differences of opinions.

In interpreting a particular passage, there are several different ways to read the meaning:

1.    Taking the passage at face value — what it says is what it means

2.    Interpreting symbolic meaning

3.    Read and interpret the passage only.

4.    Interpreting the passage within the full context of the chapter

In my experience, most passages—about 8 out of 10—mean exactly what they say.

The remaining passages require symbolic understanding.

However, I rarely rely on a single verse alone. I prefer to read the entire chapter to understand the full context.

This way gives the background as to what is being taught.

With this understanding, lets get started!

The Standard: “Be Ye Therefore Perfect”

On several occasions where I have been discussing Joseph Smith’s teaching with nonmembers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I have been challenged with Christ’s commandment that He gave in the Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 5:48

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which in heaven is perfect.

If Joseph Smith’s teachings truly come from Christ, then they should reflect that same standard of perfection.

Many people I’ve spoken with have made this point clearly:

If this restoration came from Christ, it had better be perfect.

And importantly, they insisted on using only the Bible—not the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, or Pearl of Great Price.

Therefore, in order to measure just how close the teachings of Joseph Smith are to perfection, I developed the Biblical Support Chart.  This challenge will take each topic or teaching and provide the opportunity to mark whether there is biblical support for that particular topic or not.  At the end, each of us can add up and calculate an actual percentage of Biblical support or nonsupport on the teachings of Joseph Smith.

The Biblical Support Challenge

This Biblical Support Challenge is meant to reveal the fruits of Joseph Smith.

If properly and sincerely completed, the Biblical Support Challenge will help reveal if Joseph Smith is a true deceiver! 

It will reveal if he is teaching the precepts of man or if he is teaching the true things of God. 

I extend this challenge to your religion and personal Christian beliefs.

Why This Matters: The Fruits Test

I personally believe that a good sincere person who teaches part of the doctrine of God still has a lot of good in him or her. 

His followers will still receive many blessings.  Christ backs these feelings in Matthew 10.

Matthew 10:41 He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward;

and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.

This series of videos will reveal, according to the Bible, the differences between a “prophet’s reward” and a “righteous man’s reward.”

It is up to each one of us to choose between the rewards of a prophet and the rewards of a righteous man.

Principle #1: “One Jot or One Tittle” 

Another basic principle that I will use to examine the “fruits” of Joseph Smith is the following statement by Christ.

In His Sermon on the Mount, Christ said:

Matthew 5:18

For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

It is the author’s interpretation of this passage that “one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” means that all prophesies, principles, laws, and practices of the Old and New Testaments, whether great or small, given by the prophets and the apostles will be fulfilled or realized. 

Principle #2: “Restore All Things”

One of Joseph Smith’s most quoted scriptures is about Elias coming to “restore all things.”

In Matthew 17, Jesus said:

Matt 17:11

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things,

Following the “one jot and one tittle” command from Christ, this last scripture indicates that all of the ancient prophets’ statements about the future and the actual “restoration of all things” include all parts of the Church organization that Christ set up. 

The organization includes many of the practices and laws of the Old and New Testaments. 

A Critical Conclusion

👉 A true church restored by Jesus Christ should be fully supported by the Bible.

It is critical to understand that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the LDS Church, is not the “restoration of new things!” 

The teachings of Joseph Smith seem to be new and unusual to most of the Christian churches today. 

In actuality they are not new. 

If a particular teaching is supported by the Bible, then it is not a new teaching!

The Real Question

In understanding the “one jot and one tittle” statement in relation to the “restore all things” statement, the question that should be asked about the LDS Church is not whether it is true or not. 

The question should be:  Is the LDS Church the restored church spoken of in the Bible? 

If not, is there another church that may be the restored church? 

Again, if not, then should we be waiting for the true Church to be restored? 

Why the King James Bible

The last topic that I want to discuss to help set “the playing field” is the Holy Bible.

Recognizing that there are many different translations of the Bible available for study, the King James Version of the Bible is used here. 

The main reason for using this version is that it was translated before all the different Christian religions came into existence. 

Many of the current translations are interpreted according to the interests of the person or church doing the translation. 

Great are the variations between the different interpretations. 

The King James Version is a more neutral translation. 

Understanding the Nature of the Bible

Unfortunately, the Bible is not the perfect “How-to-Manual” that explains:

• The exact organization of the Church

• How to operate the church

• Instructions on what exactly the followers of the Bible should believe in. 

Much of The New Testament is a compilation of letters that the original Apostles wrote to the different congregations in many different locations. 

In many cases, the letters are written in a form that addressed that particular audience and their problems. 

The authors of each letter, without writing the detail of specific church organization and list of beliefs, commented on those specific problems. 

Knowing that the local audience already knew the doctrine that was being addressed, the Apostles would comment on the existing problems. 

This resulted in many passages being vague to current readers of the Bible. 

Which leaves the interpretation of many doctrines to the imagination of the different religious scholars involved, including Joseph Smith.

How Scripture Will Be Interpreted in This Series

With most biblical passages, there are two ways to read them. 

First, is what the passage states in plain English — “What it says is what it means.” 

Second, is the symbolism that some passages include. 

This symbolism is where most of the different interpretations come about between the different religious sects. 

Therefore, in most cases, it is my intent to use the passages basic statement – in other words,

“what the passage basically states is what it basically means.” 

There will be very little explaining of the symbolism that a passage may contain.

Your Role in This Challenge

Knowing that one particular passage could be interpreted in several different ways according to the different scholars of the Bible, it is not my expectation to define the different doctrines of Joseph Smith or any other sect. 

It is my intention to quote the particular teaching of Joseph Smith, show where he obtained that teaching, and compare it with some kind of support, whether it be simple or complicated, from the Bible. 

It is up to you to decide if many of the scripture passages could in fact support the teachings of Joseph Smith. 

This is not meant to argue or contend with the different Christian religions, it is only to show where, if at all, there could be support for the teachings of Joseph Smith in the Bible.

It is your responsibility to accept my interpretation of the different passages used—or not.

Structure of the Series

For the ease of understanding, I have organized these 90 teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith into chapters.

I will place each teaching or topic in a logical order.

• Chapter 1 — The Apostasy

• Chapter 2 — The Restoration

• Chapter 3 — The Church As One.

Each topic will build on the last in a logical progression.

Now, with the playing field being set, let’s get on with the first topic or chapter, The Apostasy, where I will define the apostasy and then give some scriptural passages from the Old and New Testaments that prophesizes of the Apostasy.

Closing Call to Action

Don’t forget to hit the “Subscribe” button so that you won’t miss any of the fireworks that are coming!