Question:  Dear Greg ,

            My wife used to attend the Mormon Church.  However, our neighbor and her family are involved and some young missionaries have talked to us a few times.  When I talk to them I can’t help but poke holes in their statements.  One was their statement that after the original 12 disciples, the church ceased.  I quoted Christ stating that the gates of hell would not prevail against his church.  Is it correct to interpret this statement of the Lord to mean that his church would continue uninterrupted forever?  Is there not historical and scholarly evidence to substantiate the continuation of the original 12 disciples through men like Polycarp and others? 

            They also state that humans existed as angels before being born as humans, which I also disputed.  I realize that these are peripheral issues, but I sense them trying to make their organization unique and “the only true church”.  I have been down this path before and don’t intend to repeat that experience.

            Is the book of Mormon considered valid or concocted by sensible Christian scholars or even secular scholars?  I appreciate your response.

            David

Answer:  Dear David,

            You are correct—the gates of hell have not prevailed against the church of Jesus Christ.  In spite of corrupt, sinful members and big mistakes, the body of Christ is intact.  There is much historical evidence to show that Christianity has continued, unabated, for almost 2000 years.  That would, of course, predate the golden tablets that Joseph Smith is said to have discovered in upstate New York.

            Yes, Mormons believe that humans have already been gods and that we can return to being gods (based upon how well we jump through the hoops of Mormon legalism).  This is not a peripheral issue, but in fact one of the most basic of all core issues: who and what God is.  We are not God, and we cannot become God.  God is uncreated, living outside of time and space and is eternal.  We are created, we are captives of time and space and we are mortal.  Outside of the Mormon community most scholars see the Book of Mormon as a hoax.

            In any case, Christians have but one Bible—not two.

            In Christ,

            Greg Albrecht