THE CROSS UNVEILED
Last Update: 1/2014
Issues with the Book of Moses
Moses Chapter 2 – This chapter walks the creation, which can be easily compared to Mormon doctrine on the creation. There are a couple issues with this chapter.
First, it states at the beginning of almost every verse “And I, God …”. The problem with this is that it is in direct conflict with the creation account in chapters 4-5 of the Book of Abraham, which says in the beginning of most verses “And the Gods …”.
Second, Moses 2:1 states that “… in the beginning I created the heaven and the earth upon which thou standest.” Abraham 4:1 in conflict to this verse says, “… the Gods, organized and formed the heavens and the earth.” (emphasis mine)
Mormon doctrine is that the earth is formed from existing matter and that “the Gods” only organized this matter and did not create it by the word of God out of nothing (ex-nihilo) as the biblical account reveals. The Book of Moses seems to reveal an account closer to the biblical account, which both are seemingly in direct conflict with the Book of Abraham account.
Moses 3:10-14: These verses state, “And I, the Lord God, caused a river to go out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. And I, the Lord God, called the name of the first Pison, and it compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where I, the Lord God, created much gold; And the gold of that land was good, and there was bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river was called Gihon; the same that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river was Hiddekel; that which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river was the Euphrates.And I, the Lord God, took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden, to dress it, and to keep it. “ (emphasis mine)
These verses clearly indicate that the Garden of Eden is in the Old World near Assyria and the Euphrates River on the other side of the planet. However Doctrine and Covenants 117:8 states, “Is there not room enough on the mountains of Adam-ondi-Ahman, and on the plains of Olaha Shinehah, or the land where Adam dwelt, that you should covet that which is but the drop, and neglect the more weighty matters?”
This verse clearly states that Adam dwelt in Adam-ondi-Ahman. Adam-ondi-Ahman is located near the town of Jameson, Missouri in Daviess County. According to LDS theology, this is where Adam and Eve lived after being driven out of the Garden of Eden.
This is obviously a major contradiction as the Book of Moses has Adam and Eve in the Old World (near Assyria and the Euphrates River) and the Doctrine and Covenants has them in Daviess County, Missouri!
Moses 5:10-11: “And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying: Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God. And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.”
These verses are a major problem as they contradict the biblical account of the fall. Please read the section “Sin,” which covers all the issues with the Mormon view of the fall.
Moses 7:8, 22: “For behold, the Lord shall curse the land with much heat, and the barrenness thereof shall go forth forever; andthere was a blackness came upon all the children of Canaan, that they were despised among all people. ...And Enoch also beheld the residue of the people which were the sons of Adam; and they were a mixture of all the seed of Adam save it was the seed of Cain, for the seed of Cain were black, and had not place among them.”
This is two of about 20 total verses in Mormon standard works that show just how uninspired their scripture is through racism. Mormon doctrine teaches that those who were valiant in the pre-existent war in heaven (fought for Christ) will have white skin while on earth and those who were not valiant (fought for Satan) will be cursed with dark skin. They refer to this as "The Curse of Cain." Mormonism teaches that the curse God put upon Cain was dark skin. Here are some quotes of Mormon leaders regarding this curse of dark skin:
"Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African race? If the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will always be so" (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 10:110, 1863).
"Cain might have been killed, and that would have put a termination to that line of human beings. This was not to be, and the Lord put a mark upon him, which is the flat nose and black skin" (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 7:290, 1859).
"And after the flood we are told that the curse that had been pronounced upon Cain was continued through Ham's wife, as he had married a wife of that seed. And why did it pass through the flood? Because it was necessary that the devil should have a representation upon the earth as well as God" (John Taylor, Journal of Discourses 22:304, 1881).
"There is a reason why one man is born black and with other disadvantages, while another is born white with great advantages. The reason is that we once had an estate before we came here, and were obedient, more or less, to the laws that were given us there. Those who were faithful in all things there received greater blessings here, and those who were not faithful received less...There were no neutrals in the war in heaven. All took sides either with Christ or with Satan. Every man had his agency there, and men receive rewards here based upon their actions there, just as they will receive rewards hereafter for deeds done in the body.The Negro, evidently, is receiving the reward he merits" (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 1954, 1:65-66).
In an October 1960 LDS Church General Conference message, Spencer W. Kimball shared how Indian's skin color was becoming whiter when they converted to the LDS church. He stated, "The day of the Lamanites is nigh. For years they have been growing delightsome, and now they are becoming white and delightsome, as they were promised. ...The children in the home placement program in Utah are often lighter than their bothers and sisters...At one meeting a father and a mother and their sixteen-year-old daughter were present, the little member girl--sixteen--sitting between the dark father and mother, and it was evident she was several shades lighter than her parents...There was a doctor in Utah city who for two years had had an Indian boy in his home had stated that he was some shades lighter than the younger brother just coming into the program from the reservation...One white elder jokingly said that he and his companion were donating blood regularly to the hospital in the hope that the process might be accelerated" (Spencer W. Kimball, "The Day of the Lamanites," The Improvement Era, December 1960, p. 923).
Does the Bible speak of Cain being cursed with dark skin? The biblical account where the LDS are referring to this curse is found in Genesis 4:11-12, just after Cain kills his brother Abel. The problem is the curse was that that Cain's crops would be unfruitful and that he would be a vagabond (wanderer) as verse 12 plainly states. A mark was put on Cain (verse 15) so that others would know not to kill Cain. There is no Biblical support for this mark being black skin. As you can plainly see, the LDS leadership has twisted the scriptures and brought forth a policy of racism for over 100 years before it was removed in 1978, well after the Civil Rights movement. If the Prophet of the LDS church does communicate with the Lord, why was racism in place for over 100 years in the church? Why was racism still taught years after the Civil Rights movement? The Bible states everyone is the same; there are no advantages or disadvantages with skin color.
Galatians 3:28 "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."