Cosmogony describes the theory or mythology of the origin and order of the universe. The word comes from the Greek Kosmos, order, and gignesthai, to begin, to come into being,to be born. Mormon cosmogony, Mormon teaching on the origin, order, and purpose of the universe is so out of sync with the Bible origin story as to be totally foreign to the Bible narrative.
Bible Cosmogony
The Bible story of creation presents the one true God as sovereignly creating by his spoken word. The psalmist writes, ‘By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.’ Ps.33:6
Genesis portrays God as speaking things into existence (Gen.1:3,6,9,14,20) and populating the earth with his creatures (Gen.1:20-24), forming then filling the earth. God finally created man and put him into the world to populate, steward, and care for it (Gen.1:26-31)
Bible v Mormon Cosmogony
God v Pantheon
The Bible declares, ‘To you it [the miraculous deliverance from Egypt] was shown, that you might know that the LORD is God; there is no other beside him.’ Deut.4:35
‘I am the first, and I am the last; beside me there is no God. Who is like me? Let him proclaim it.’ Isaiah 44:6,7
‘For I am God, and there is no other. I am God and there is none like me.’ Isaiah 46:9
Joseph Smith taught, ‘God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret.’ He went on to preach, ‘and you have got to learn how to be gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all gods have done before you…’King Follett Discourse, April, 1844.
God asks, ‘Who is like me?’ Mormonism answers, ‘man is like you! All gods that have gone before are like you.’
The Bible is clear, ‘before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.’ Is.43:11
Joseph Smith is equally clear, ‘and you have got to learn how to be gods yourselves…the same as all gods have done before you…’ Read about the Mormon pantheon here
Creator v Committee of Works
‘And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said: “O Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth.” 2 Kings 19:15
‘The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth.’ Acts 17:24
The Bible is very clear, ‘Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded and it stood firm.’ Ps.33:8
Joseph Smith is as clear, ‘In the beginning, the head of the Gods called a council of the Gods; and they came together and concocted [prepared] a plan to create the world and people it.’ King Follett Discourse
Creation v Self-Assembly
‘By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.’ Heb.11:3
‘…in the presence of the God in whom he [Abraham] believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.’ Rom.4:17
The Bible is very clear, ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.’ Gen.1:1 Creation ex nihilo.
Joseph Smith is as clear, ‘Now, the word create came from the word baurau, which does not mean to create out of nothing; it means to organize; the same as a man would organize materials and build a ship.’ King Follett Discourse
‘And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell.’ Abraham 3:24, Pearl of Great Price
Fall as Tragedy v Fall as Necessary
The fall of man is portrayed in the Bible as an act of open rebellion, the punishment for which was a cursed ground to which Adam and all who come after will return after sin introduced death into the garden:
‘Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you…By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.’ Genesis 3:17,19
The Bible is very clear, ‘Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned…’ Ro.5:12
Mormonism is as clear, ‘Some people believe Adam and Eve committed a serious sin when they ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. However, latter-day scriptures help us understand that their Fall was a necessary step in the plan of life and a great blessing to all of us.’ Gospel Principles, chap.6
Golgotha v Gethsemane
The Bible is very clear, ‘But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.’ Isaiah 53:5
‘He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin, and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed’ 1 Peter 2:24
Mormonism is as clear, ‘The Savior atoned for our sins by suffering in Gethsemane and by giving His life on the cross. It is impossible for us to fully understand how He suffered for all of our sins. In the Garden of Gethsemane, the weight of our sins caused Him to feel such agony that He bled from every pore (see D&C 19:18–19). Later, as He hung upon the cross, Jesus suffered painful death by one of the most cruel methods known to man.’ Gospel Principles, chap.12
Salvation: Faith v Works
‘…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…’ Romans 3:23,24
The Bible is very clear, ‘For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,not a result of works, so that no one may boast.For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.‘ Eph.2:8-10
Mormonism is as clear, ‘We accept Christ’s Atonement by placing our faith in Him. Through this faith, we repent of our sins, are baptized, receive the Holy Ghost, and obey His commandments. We become faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. We are forgiven and cleansed from sin and prepared to return and live forever with our Heavenly Father…
‘Without Jesus Christ, who is our Savior and Mediator, we would all pay for our sins by suffering spiritual death. But because of Him, if we will keep His terms, which are to repent and keep His commandments, we may return to live with our Heavenly Father.’ Gospel Principles, chap.12
Eph.2:10 is one of numerous Bible texts that speak of obedience, works, faithfulness, etc. but the Bible is clear these are the fruits of genuine salvation, ‘For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.‘ Mormonism makes our eternal destiny dependent on them, ‘if we will keep his terms.’
Judgement v Evangelism (After death)
The Bible is very clear, ‘But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.’Heb.9:26-28
Joseph Smith is as clear, ‘All those who have not had an opportunity of hearing the Gospel, and being administered unto by an inspired man in the flesh, must have it hereafter, before they can be finally judged.’ Elder’s Journal, July 1838
‘The opportunity for those who have died without receiving the saving ordinances of the gospel to have these ordinances performed for them in temples by worthy living members of the Church. The dead are taught the gospel in the spirit world and may accept the ordinances performed for them in mortality.’ Guide to the Scriptures
This reinforces the previous point, that saving ordinances and worthiness are essential elements in Mormon doctrine. ‘Worthy’ Mormons who perform such temple work are sometimes referred to as ‘saviours on mount Zion.’
Saved/Lost v Kingdoms/Degrees
‘And these [the unrighteous] will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’ Mt.25:46
The Bible is very clear, ‘For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ Rom.6:23 There are two destinies following judgement, eternal life, and eternal punishment.
‘Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction… But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.’ Mt.7:13,14
Mormonism is as clear, ‘Some degree of salvation will come to all who have not forfeited their right to it; exaltation is given to those only who by active labours have won a claim to God’s merciful liberality by which it is bestowed.’ LDS apostle, James E Talmage, The Articles of Faith
The majority will enter into one of three degrees of glory:
‘There are three kingdoms of glory: the celestial kingdom, the terrestrial kingdom, and the telestial kingdom. The glory we inherit will depend on the depth of our conversion, expressed by our obedience to the Lord’s commandments. It will depend on the manner in which we have “received the testimony of Jesus.” Gospel Topics Manual
Paul v Joseph
Paul, in Acts 17, gives a simple presentation of God’s purposes and provision. The Bible is very clear:
Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill.In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.” Acts 17:22-31
Mormon Plan of Salvation
Mormonism is also as clear, and very different. The Mormon ‘plan of salvation’ sounds nothing like the message of Paul:
‘Through the gospel, we learn about our divine identity and our eternal potential as children of God. The gospel gives us hope and helps us find peace, happiness, and meaning. Living the gospel helps us grow and find strength as we face life’s challenges.
‘In God’s plan, each of us makes a journey through premortal life, birth, mortal life, death, and life after death. God has provided what we need during this journey so that after we die, we can eventually return to His presence and receive a fulness of joy.
‘Jesus Christ is central to God’s plan. Through His Atonement and Resurrection, Jesus made it possible for each of us to receive immortality and eternal life.
‘During our life on earth, we do not remember our premortal life. Nor do we fully understand life after death. However, God has revealed many truths about these parts of our eternal journey. These truths provide sufficient knowledge for us to understand the purpose of life, to experience joy, and to have the hope of good things to come. This knowledge is a sacred treasure to guide us while we are on earth.’ Mormon Missionary Lessons, chap.3, lesson 2
Read about the Mormon gods and their plan here
A Different Gospel, Another Jesus, Another Spirit
Someone recently remarked, ‘But I know a Mormon family, and they’re such nice people.’ They are, indeed they are, but that is not the point.
In the world today there is a different gospel:
‘I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.’ Gal.1:6,9
There is another Jesus, and another spirit:
‘For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.’ 2 Cor.11:4
Error is attractive in so many ways, but there is only one way.
