Search for the Truth (film)

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Search for the Truth (also known by the name Jesus Christ/Joseph Smith in its DVD form) is an anti-Mormon video produced by Tri-Grace Ministries. The video begins with the claim that Jesus Christ and Joseph Smith were "two of the world's most prominent and influential men." It then presents what it claims to be the teachings of Joseph Smith and contrasts them to what it claims to be the teachings of Jesus Christ. A question is raised regarding whether the movements which the video classifies as "Christianity" and "Mormonism" are compatible, despite the claim by both that "Jesus is the Christ." The video takes portions of the Book of Mormon and compares it to the Bible. The video implies that people must follow Jesus or Joseph Smith but cannot follow both.

Distribution[edit]

The production of the DVD was funded by "an ex-Mormon businessman who financed the project by selling stock in his company."[1] The video was distributed by many groups, one of which was called Concerned Christians, Inc.: the same group that initially distributed the film The God Makers in 1982. The producers claim that the video was made out of love for the Mormon people.[2] The video distributed around 500,000 videos in Utah and 5,000 in the Palmyra New York region.[3] A letter of instruction was included with copies of the DVD to those that were to perform the initial door-to-door distribution, several days before the 177th Annual General Conference of the church that was held on March 31 and April 1, 2007:

This video is to be viewed by CHRISTIANS ONLY until AFTER the nation-wide distribution which is scheduled for March 25, 2007. In-other-words, do not allow any Mormon people to view the video or learn of our intended evangelistic outreach until after March 25, 2007. Why such extreme caution? If the leadership of the Mormon cult learns of our plans, they will publicly instruct their people not to watch the video and many Mormons will blindly obey.[4]

The letter goes on to say that the "Mormon Church is vulnerable. We firmly believe that with enough exposure, Mormonism will crumble and become a shadow of what it is today."

Slick actions by Evangelicals were continued in the letter which spoke of "HANGING THE DVD ON DOOR KNOBS THE VIDEO DOES THE TALKING and, in fact, we do not advise or encourage interaction with Mormon people until sometime after the distribution is complete." They continue to justify this reason because they believed that the DVD "exposes the false teachings of the Mormon cult." and "As a result, people who view the video are much less likely to be converted to Mormonism and these people often use the information found in the DVD to challenge their LDS neighbors and/or LDS missionaries." In the DVD itself, it states that "This video has been produced out of love for our Lord Jesus Christ and love for our Mormon and Christian friends." However, FairMormon, has stated that "the numerous mischaracterizations, misrepresentations, errors, and outright falsehoods found on the DVD make it difficult for believing Latter-day Saints to see that expression of love as sincere."[5] To add to controversies made by the DVD, it is nowhere stated in the letter to distributors that they intend to show love to Mormons, only to "shut down the Mormon machine and lead a multitude of lost souls out of this cult and into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. (assuming that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints don't already have a relationship with Jesus)."[6]

Content[edit]

Nature of God and Jesus Christ[edit]

Dr. Phil Roberts (President, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary), claims that the "Jesus of Mormonism" is different than the "Jesus of the Bible." Roberts claims that Mormons believe that God became a god "by adherence to a system of Mormonism in a previous world in a previous life."[7]

Dr. John Whitcomb (Theology Professor, Old Testament Scholar), quotes and interprets passages from the Bible to support this claim. Referring to Paul's statement in 1 Corinthians 8:4 about "many gods and many lords," Whitcomb points to his head and states that "the Bible says through the Apostle Paul they’re only in here."

Dave Hunt (Author and Founder, The Berean Call Ministries) states that the serpent in the Garden of Eden promised Eve that "she could become a god."[8] Hunt continues by claiming that Brigham Young said that "the devil told the truth."[9]

Charles Larson (Historian, Author) claims that the Book of Abraham, one of the Mormon standard works of scripture, authorizes lying by God, and states that the account of Abraham claiming that his wife was his sister, "is similar to the Bible version only in the book of Abraham god is telling Abraham to lie."[10]

President Gordon B. Hinckley, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is misquoted[11] as saying, "No I don't believe in the traditional Christ. The traditional Christ of whom they speak is not the Christ of whom I speak, for the Christ of whom I speak has been revealed in this, the dispensation of the fullness of times."[12]

Character of Joseph Smith[edit]

A quote from the Bible (Ephesians 2:8-9) regarding boasting is juxtaposed with a quote from Joseph Smith in which he claims to boast.[13]

The narrator repeats a portion of a quote from Brigham Young, in which he claims that “no man or woman in this dispensation will ever enter the celestial kingdom of god without the consent of Joseph Smith.”[14]

It is claimed that Mormons believe that their "godhood rests on the act of polygamy”, based upon a portion of a quote made by Brigham Young in 1866: “The only men who become Gods, even the sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy.”[15]

First Vision[edit]

It is stated that nine different versions of Joseph Smith's first vision were recorded.[16] The on-screen list includes both accounts of the first vision that is claimed to have occurred in the Sacred Grove and several accounts of the visit of an angel in Smith's bedroom. The onscreen list shows the following accounts:

  1. 1827 – A spirit appears to Joseph telling him of a record on gold plates at age 17.[17]
  2. 1827 – An angel appears to Joseph telling him he has been chosen to be a prophet and bring forth a record on gold plates at age 18.[18]
  3. 1830 – An angel tells Joseph where to find a secret treasure. Joseph returns once a year for several years before obtaining the plates.[19]
  4. 1832 – Jesus Christ appears to Joseph at age 15.[20]
  5. 1834 – Angel appears to Joseph in his bedroom at age 17.[21]
  6. 1835 – Two personages appear to Joseph in grove at age 14.[22]
  7. 1835 – Many angels appear to Joseph in grove at age 14.[23]
  8. 1838 – God the Father and Jesus appear to Joseph in grove at age 14.
  9. 1844 – Two unidentified personages appear to Joseph at age 14.[24]

The narrator claims that Brigham Young “denied that the Lord came to Joseph Smith in the first vision.” Several sentences from a speech given by Brigham Young are shown which state, “The Lord did not come…but He did send His angel to this same obscure person, Joseph Smith…and informed him that he should not join any religious sects of the day…”[25]

Archaeology[edit]

The narrator states that because Joseph Smith's writings are now over 150 years old, that they should be “easily validated by historical and archaeological evidences.” A 1969 quote by BYU professor Dee Green is referenced in which he “confesses” that “No book of Mormon location is known.” It is stated that “not even one coin” has been found, and that coins were mentioned as “being common in Joseph’s writings.”

Joel Kramer (Director, Living Hope Ministries) relates that his group went to the Middle East and Central America and talked to experts in archaeology and anthropology. Kramer states that “in all cases” that they found the “historical reliability” of the Bible and that for the Book of Mormon it was “non-existent.”

Floyd McElveen (Author and Lifetime Evangelist) adds that “Joseph Smith claimed there were huge cites – thirty eight cities in the Americas,” but that “not one single city has ever been dug up.” [26] McElveen adds, “would you want to base your eternity on something that is totally unknown?”

Sandra Tanner (President, Utah Lighthouse Ministry) notes that the LDS Church will not “commit itself” to a specific map of Book of Mormon lands.

Prophecies[edit]

Joseph Smith is claimed to have described “the inhabitants of the moon as being about six-foot tall, dressed like Quakers, and living to be about 1000 years old.”[27] The narrator adds that “Since Neil Armstrong’s walk on the moon in 1969, we now know there are no Quaker looking people on the moon.” In addition, Brigham Young thought that the sun was also inhabited.[28]

Occult[edit]

The video notes that on March 15, 1842, Joseph Smith joined the Masons, which is claimed by the narrator to be “an organization that believes that Jesus is not divine.” It is further claimed that certain Mormon practices and architecture have “Masonic overtones.”

The video cites comments made by LDS historian Dr. Reed Durham regarding an item referred to as the “Jupiter Talisman," which is said to have been owned by Joseph Smith. The narrator refers to this as an "occultic" item whose “talismatic magic” is said to bring riches, power and women to its possessor.[29] The narrator claims that the talisman was “found in Joseph’s pocket the day he died in Carthage.”[30]

The video includes a segment copied from the 1982 film The God Makers, which shows what it claims to be a re-enactment of Mormon temple rituals.

Translator[edit]

The narrator states that Joseph Smith “boasted the bold claim” that the Book of Mormon was the “most accurate book in existence.”[31]

Response[edit]

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints responded with a news release, part of which stated,

"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has weathered such attacks throughout its history. At a time when the Church is growing strongly throughout the world, it’s not surprising that some groups try to curb that growth in such ways."[32]

The Anti-Defamation League, an advocacy group which fights anti-Semitism, condemned the video as "nothing more than 'Mormon bashing'." Bill Straus, Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League, stated,

"This is the same kind of plain, old-fashioned Mormon-bashing that Jim Robertson and his group have been spewing for over a quarter-of-a-century. The only difference is that back then, it was the film, 'The God Makers,' and today it's the DVD, 'Jesus Christ/Joseph Smith.' It was wrong then, and it's wrong now."[33]

The LDS Church noted in its news release that, "The Jewish Anti-Defamation League in Phoenix promptly condemned the distribution, saying that 'hate directed at any of us is hate directed at all of us.'" Bill McKeever, Director of an organization called the Mormonism Research Ministry, sent a letter to the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints protesting what he called the church's "tacit approval" of the Anti-Defamation League's condemnation of the video. McKeever states, "I wish to express my indignation at your church’s tacit approval of the Anti-Defamation League's accusation of hatred towards Christians who were involved in a recent DVD distribution. It is one thing to disagree with the content of the DVD, but it is quite another to accuse them of being motivated by hate." He concludes by stating, "With all the talk of repentance at your last conference, I think you need to lead by example and offer an apology to the thousands of Christians you have offended with this false accusation."[34] McKeever followed up on this letter with an article posted in the Christian Examiner Online, in which he claimed that the "Mormon Church went into one of its most hypocritical frenzies in modern times." Claiming that the media in Utah is "either owned by the LDS Church or is sympathetic to it," McKeever claimed that "[t]alk show hosts did their best to stir up their listeners against the 'religious bigots' who dared come onto 'our property' with their 'message of hate.'"[1]

The Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research (FAIR), a non-profit organization specializing in Mormon apologetics, produced a point-by-point rebuttal of inaccuracies and exaggerations in the video. This was posted on the FAIR Wiki web site one week before the initial distribution of the DVD.[35] In addition, the LDS affiliated Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies posted a page with links to articles written by Mormon scholars which deal directly with subjects addressed in the video.[36]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b McKeever, Bill (June 2007), When disagreement is labeled hate, Keener Communications Group, archived from the original on 2007-06-02, retrieved 2007-05-30
  2. ^ The purpose of The God Makers, according to Concerned Christians, was also “to reach out in love to those lost in Mormonism.” See Eagle, Donald Alvin (Summer 1985), "One Community's Reaction to The Godmakers", Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, 18 (2): 16–23, retrieved 2007-04-20.
  3. ^ Anti-Mormon DVD annoys Mormons, United Press International, Apr 28, 2007, retrieved 2007-05-24
  4. ^ Letter of Instruction to Distributors
  5. ^ FAIRMormon, Response to Jesus Christ/Joseph Smith or Search for the Truth DVD
  6. ^ Letter of Instruction to Distributors with commentary
  7. ^ The same claim is made in the 1982 film The God Makers, "Through obedience to Mormon teaching and death and resurrection, he proved himself worthy, and was elevated to godhood."
  8. ^ Genesis 3:4-5, "And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."
  9. ^ Young 1873, p. 4 Young states, "Now for mother Eve. The evil principle always has and always will exist. Well, a certain character came along, and said to Mother Eve, 'The Lord has told you that you must not do so and so, for if you do you shall surely die. But I tell you that if you do not do this you will never know good from evil, your eyes will never be opened, and you may live on the earth forever and ever, and you will never know what the Gods know.' The devil told the truth, what is the mystery about it? He is doing it today. He is telling one or two truths and mixing them with a thousand errors to get the people to swallow them. I do not blame Mother Eve, I would not have had her miss eating the forbidden fruit for anything in the world."
  10. ^ Abraham 2:22-24, "And it came to pass when I was come near to enter into Egypt, the Lord said unto me: Behold, Sarai, thy wife, is a very fair woman to look upon; Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see her, they will say—She is his wife; and they will kill you, but they will save her alive; therefore see that ye do on this wise: Let her say unto the Egyptians, she is thy sister, and thy soul shall live."; Genesis 12:11-13, "And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon: Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee."
  11. ^ This misquote was acknowledged in a post production amendment
  12. ^ Church News, June 20, 1998, p.7.[full citation needed] The correct quote is, "No I don't. The traditional Christ of whom they speak is not the Christ of whom I speak. For the Christ of whom I speak has been revealed in this the dispensation of the fullness of times."
  13. ^ Smith had quoted 2 Cor. 11:16-18 in which Paul states, “I say again, Let no man think me a fool; if otherwise, yet as a fool receive me, that I may boast myself a little. That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord, but as it were foolishly, in this confidence of boasting. Seeing that many glory after the flesh, I will glory also.”; History of the Church, Vol. 6, pp=408–409, “President Joseph Smith read the 11th Chap. 2 Corinthians. My object is to let you know that I am right here on the spot where I intend to stay. I, like Paul, have been in perils, and oftener than anyone in this generation. As Paul boasted, I have suffered more than Paul did. I should be like a fish out of water, if I were out of persecutions…God is in the still small voice. In all these affidavits, indictments, it is all of the devil—all corruption. Come on! ye prosecutors! ye false swearers! All hell, boil over! Ye burning mountains, roll down your lava! for I will come out on the top at last. I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him; but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet. You know my daily walk and conversation. I am in the bosom of a virtuous and good people. How I do love to hear the wolves howl! When they can get rid of me, the devil will also go.”
  14. ^ Young 1859, p. 289. The same claim is made in the 1982 film The God Makers, which states, "The Mormons teach that everyone must stand at the final judgment before Joseph Smith, the Mormon Jesus, and Elohim."
  15. ^ Young 1866, p. 269 Young states, “…if you have in your hearts to say…”we will not, therefore, be polygamists lest we should fail in obtaining some earthly honor, character and office, etc,"-the man that has that in his heart, and will continue to persist in pursuing that policy, will come short of dwelling in the presence of the Father and the Son, in celestial glory. 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.”; Ed Decker uses the same quote by Brigham Young in The God Makers II.
  16. ^ Four of the accounts listed are actually a description of the visit of the Angel Moroni rather than the "first vision" in the grove. In addition to the accounts listed in the video, there are 11 additional accounts of the first vision listed by FAIR.
  17. ^ Third-hand account of the visit of the angel Moroni to Joseph Smith given by Willard Chase, who claimed to have heard if from Smith’s father, Joseph Smith Sr. (See Mormonism Unvailed), Affidavit of Willard Chase. “In the month of June, 1827, Joseph Smith, Sen., related to me the following story: ‘That some years ago, a spirit had appeared to Joseph his son, in a vision, and informed him that in a certain place there was a record on plates of gold, and that he was the person that must obtain them, and this he must do in the following manner…’”
  18. ^ Third-hand account of the visit of the angel Moroni from the Rev. John Clark’s recollections of an interview with Martin Harris. (John Clark, Gleanings by the Way, 1842, p. 225) Clark states, “I have been able to recall several particulars that had quite glided from my memory.…According to Martin Harris, it was after one of these night excursions, that Jo, while he lay upon his bed, had a remarkable dream. An angel of God seemed to approach him, clad in celestial splendor. This divine messenger assured him that he, Joseph Smith, was chosen of the Lord to be a prophet of the Most High God, and to bring to light hidden things, that would prove of unspeakable benefit to the world. He then disclosed to him the existence of this golden Bible, and the place where it was deposited..."
  19. ^ Second-hand account of the visit of the angel Moroni from Peter Bauder’s recollection of an interview with Smith (Peter Bauder,The Kingdom and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, 1834, pp. 36-38) Bauder recalls that, “…an angel told him he must go to a certain place in the town of Manchester, Ontario County, where was a secret treasure concealed, which he must reveal to the human family. He went, and after the third or fourth time, which was repeated once a year, he obtained a parcel of plate resembling gold…”
  20. ^ Smith 2002, pp. 4–8 First-hand account of the earliest known writing by Joseph Smith concerning the “first vision.” Both the first vision in the grove and later visit by the Angel Moroni are recorded: “…while in <the> attitude of calling upon the Lord <in the 16th year of my age> a piller of fire light above the brightness of the sun at noon day come down from above and rested upon me and I was filled with the spirit of god and the <Lord> opened the heavens upon me and I saw the Lord and he spake unto me saying Joseph <my son> thy sins are forgiven thee. go thy <way> walk in my statutes and keep my commandments behold I am the Lord of glory I was crucifyed for the world that all those who believe on my name may have Eternal life <behold> the world lieth in sin and at this time and none doeth good no not one they have turned aside from the gospel and keep not <my> commandments they draw near to me with their lips while their hearts are far from me…and it came to pass when I was seventeen years of age I called again upon the Lord and he shewed unto me a heavenly vision for behold an angel of the Lord came and stood before me and it was by night and he called me by name and he said the Lord had forgiven me my sins and he revealed unto me that in the Town of Manchester Ontario County N.Y. there was plates of gold upon which there was engravings which was engraven by Maroni…
  21. ^ Account of the visit of angel Moroni, written by Oliver Cowdery and published in the October 1835 edition of the Latter-day Saint periodical Messenger and Advocate.
  22. ^ Recorded by Warren Parrish. This was recorded in an interview between Joseph Smith and Robert Matthias, and describes the first vision with two personages, “many angels” in addition, and the visit by an angel at age 17. “…a pillar of fire appeared above my head, it presently rested down upon me head, and filled me with Joy unspeakable, a personage appeared in the midst of this pillar of flame which was spread all around, and yet nothing consumed, another personage soon appeared like unto the first, he said unto me thy sins are forgiven thee, he testifyed unto me that Jesus Christ is the Son of God; <and I saw many angels in this vision> I was about 14 years old when I received this first communication; When I was about 17 years old I saw another vision of angels in the night season after I had retired to bed.”
  23. ^ Smith 2002, p. 84 In an interview with Erastus Holmes, Warren Parrish recorded that Smith stated, “I received the first visitation of Angels which was when I was about 14 years old and also the visitations that I received afterward, concerning the book of Mormon…”
  24. ^ 1844 book on religions in the United States by I. Daniel Rupp
  25. ^ The edited version of the quote used in the video can be found in Sandra Tanner’s book, Mormonism: Shadow or Reality (Tanner 1992). The source quote found in Journal of Discourses (Young 1855, p. 171) states, “The Lord did not come with the armies of heaven, in power and great glory, nor send His messengers panoplied with aught else than the truth of heaven, to communicate to the meek, the lowly, the youth of humble origin, the sincere enquirer after the knowledge [knowledge] of God. But He did send His angel to this same obscure person, Joseph Smith jun., who afterwards became a Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, and informed him that he should not join any of the religious sects of the day, for they were all wrong.”
  26. ^ McElveen is the author of the book The Mormon Illusion, and also appears in The God Makers.
  27. ^ Young Women’s Journal, vol. 3, pg 263-264, Patriarchal Blessings Books 9:294-295
  28. ^ Young 1870, p. 271. “So it is with regard to the inhabitants of the sun. Do you think it is inhabited? I rather think it is. Do you think there is any life there? No question of it; it was not made in vain. It was made to give light to those who dwell upon it, and to other planets; and so will this earth when it is celestialized. Every planet in its first rude, organic state receives not the glory of God upon it, but is opaque; but when celestialized, every planet that God brings into existence is a body of light, but not till then.”
  29. ^ The same claims regarding the "Jupiter Talisman" are made by Ed Decker in the film The God Makers II.
  30. ^ Dr. Durham responded to this claim in the 1994 book The Truth About "The God Makers" (Scharffs 1994). Durham states, “I find no primary evidence that Joseph Smith ever possessed a Jupiter talisman. The source for my comment was a second-hand, late source. It came from Wilford Wood, who was told it by Charlie Bidaman, who was told it by his father, Lewis Bidaman, who was Emma's second husband and a non-Mormon not too friendly to the LDS Church. So, the idea that the Prophet had such a talisman is highly questionable!"
  31. ^ Smith 1977, p. 194. Smith’s statement was, "I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book."
  32. ^ Response to DVD, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Mar 29, 2007, retrieved 2007-05-24
  33. ^ ADL Condemns "Mormon-Bashing" DVD, Anti-Defamation League, Mar 27, 2007
  34. ^ McKeever, Bill (Apr 4, 2007), Open Letter to the First Presidency Regarding the Charge of Hatred, Mormonism Research Ministry, retrieved 2007-05-24
  35. ^ Search for the Truth DVD
  36. ^ Response to Search for the Truth DVD

References[edit]

External links[edit]

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