The above is the latest video put out by Pastor Jeff McCullough, observing the theological differences and disagreements between Latter-day Saint beliefs and doctrines, and those of mainstream Evangelical and Protestant Christianity. It has taken me a bit longer to respond to this one because I was preoccupied with other things. In this video he is commenting on another animated video put out by the Church, explaining the church’s theology concerning God’s “Plan of Salvation”. The video can be seen on the Church’s website here. The video, like most such videos put out by the Church, is not a very accurate presentation of the doctrine, but it is good enough for the general purposes intended, to give the general public an outline of the Church’s beliefs. In this video Jeff raises a number of issues, some of which he had raised in earlier videos, to which answers were previously given, which I am going to partly skip, or only briefly comment on. Skipping his initial introductory comments, he gives the following quote from the Church’s video:
“Where did we come from? Why are we here on earth? Where do we go after we die? Latter-day Saints believe that everyone on earth is a child of God. He is our Heavenly Father, and he loves us.”
And comments on it as follows:
“Okay, let’s stop right there. So this is something I have actually talked about before, so I won’t belabor this point. But the LDS Church believing that all humans are children of God, in my context, we don’t necessarily believe that that is the case. We believe that we are all created in God’s image as human beings, but that we have a fractured relationship with him; and when we put our faith in him through what Jesus did on the cross, Jesus gives us the right to be called his sons and daughters according to the scriptures. Another way that is put in the scripture is that we are adopted according to Christ’s heirship into the house of God. But we are not necessarily children of God by default. We believe the Bible teaches that we are actually enemies of God by default because of our sin nature; so it is a little bit of a distinction right off the bat here.”
He did bring that subject up in an earlier video which I had previously responded to, which can be seen here. I will only briefly reiterate here that being called a child of God in the Bible is used with several different meanings. There is one sense in which all mankind are the children of God, by virtue of having been created in the image of God. That is the sense in which Paul uses it in these verses, addressing the pagan philosophers of Athens at Mars Hill:
Acts 17:
26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.
It is also the sense in which Adam is identified as a son of God in these verses:
Luke 3:
37 Which [Lamech] was the son of Mathusala, which was the son of Enoch, which was the son of Jared, which was the son of Maleleel, which was the son of Cainan,
38 Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which [Adam] was the son of God.
There is another sense in which we became the children of whoever we choose to obey. If we choose to do the works of Abraham, we become the children of Abraham; if we choose to do the works of the devil, we become the children of the devil; if we obey God, we become the children of God. That is the sense in which it is used in these verses:
Matthew 5:
9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
John 8:
33 They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
34 Jesus answered them, …
• • •
37 I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.
38 I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.
39 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.
40 But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
1 John 3:
10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
Another sense in which we can become the children of God is by adoption through the gospel. That is the sense in which it is used in these verses:
John 1:
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Romans 8:
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
2 Corinthians 6:
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. 18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
Galatians 3:
26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
1 John 3:
1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
He has a very limited and myopic theology if he can only see one of those, and not the rest. He then quotes the next clip from the Church’s video:
“Let’s take a more detailed look at the Plan. Before we were born on earth, we lived as spirit children of our Heavenly Father. This stage of our eternal progression is known as our pre-earth life, or the premortal existence. Because of the love and glory of our Father in heaven, we wanted to become more like him. For this to happen, God knew that each of us needed to receive a physical body. This mortal life, with all its challenges and its joys, would be a chance to learn through experience, and see if we will do all things whatsoever the Lord God shall command us.”
And comments on it as follows:
“Okay, so from what I am gathering, what this video is saying here is Heavenly Father is in the process of sending all of his spirit children, which is a pre-existing human, to earth to see if they will do his will. Being that the rest of Christianity doesn’t believe in a pre-existence, we see this a little bit differently. We believe that God created the earth with the intention for us to be his image bearers, and to live an unbroken fellowship with him in the Garden, so there wasn’t a pre-existence. Adam and Eve did not have life until God formed them out of the dust, and breathe the life into Adam, and then created Eve out of Adam. So that shows two very different intentions as to why God creates mankind in the first place, which is sort of point A, when it comes to articulating any Plan of Salvation.”
There are two issues with that comment. The first is that although the doctrine of a preexistent creation is not expressly taught in the Bible, it is hinted at in the following verses:
John 9:
1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
Jeremiah 1:
5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
The implication of John 9:1-3 is that it is possible for someone to have sinned before they were born. And notice that Jesus does not correct that assumption, but affirms it. That doctrine was also believed in and taught by some early church Fathers, notably by Origen, who is generally considered to have been the best of the early Christian theologians—although his doctrine of preexistence was not generally accepted at the time.
The second problem with his analysis is that whether you believe in a preexistent creation or not, it does not alter the divine purpose of this mortal creation and experience, as taught in the Bible. According to the Bible, the purpose of this brief period of mortality is to test and try us, to see who will be faithful and obedient to the will of God, and who will not be—and be rewarded or punished accordingly: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved …” (Mark 16:15-16); “They that have done good, unto the resurrection of life …” (John 5:28-29); “Judged according to their works …” (Rom. 2:6; 2 Cor. 5:10; 1 Cor. 4:5; 1 Peter 1:17; Rev. 20:12-13). That is the purpose of this brief period of mortal probation, according to the Bible; and that is not affected by whether there is a preexistent creation or not. In either case, the purpose of this brief mortal experience remains the same. He is creating a distinction without a difference. That is because his own Calvinistic, Reformed, and Evangelical theology is so warped and unbiblical that it necessarily distorts all other aspects of biblical theology, including this one. Then he quotes the next clip from the Church’s video:
“Under the direction of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ created the earth so that we could have a place to do all this. One way that God wants us to show our love for him is to obey the commandments he gives us. As part of these commandments God asks us to receive sacred ordinances like baptism. As Jesus taught, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.”
And comments on it as follows:
“Okay, so I did a whole video on baptism. Most of the rest of Christianity believes that you don’t need to be baptized in order to be saved, or in order to get to heaven. I think one example that we would point to is just the case of for example the thief that was hanging on the cross next to Jesus. He had this conversion moment where he recognized his own sinfulness, and he demonstrated a repentant heart by submitting to Jesus as Lord on the cross when he said, Remember me today when you enter into paradise, and Jesus says you will enter in with me today. So we don’t believe that that man is not going to be going to heaven because he wasn’t baptized. Now I think what an LDS Church member would say is that a proxy baptism took place for that guy, as opposed to what we say is baptism is a physical representation of an internal reality, and it is important that we do it, but it is not necessary in order to be saved, which I know there is a lot of debate on that subject, and I have talked about it already, so I will leave it right there, and move on.”
That video was previously discussed here, therefore no additional comment in this post is required. Then he quotes the next clip from the Church’s video:
“Of course God knew that we would make mistakes here on earth, and if we couldn’t repent of our sins, we wouldn’t be worthy to live with him again. To make it possible for us to overcome our sins, God chose Jesus Christ to be our Savior and Redeemer. As part of the Plan of Salvation, Jesus Christ would be born on earth, teach us, establish his Church, and suffer and die for our sins.”
And comments on it as follows:
“So everything that was said right there, we would agree with. He was sent by God to be born to teach us, to establish his Church, to die on the cross, and to be raised from the dead. So we agree with all that. It is the surrounding narrative around it, and the reason for which God did all this that is distinct. I think that is why sometimes people within my context will hear someone articulate the gospel, what was just stated right here from an LDS Church member, and they would say, Yeah, we totally agree with that. But it is the circumstances surrounding all of that where there is quite a bit of difference, and I am glad to be able to do this video to kind of show where again there are similarities, but also differences here.”
So far I haven’t been terribly impressed, so let’s see what comes next. Then he quotes the next clip from the Church’s video:
“Because of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice we can repent and be forgiven of our sins and mistakes; and because of his resurrection we too will all be resurrected one day and live forever. At death our spirits leave our mortal bodies and go to the spirit world. In the spirit world we wait for the time when our bodies will be resurrected. For those people who chose to follow God on earth, the spirit world is a place of peace and rest from earthly cares. The scriptures also tell us in the spirit world the gospel of Jesus Christ is preached to those who never had the chance to hear it during their time on earth, as well as to those who chose not to follow God’s commandments.”
And comments on it as follows:
“Okay, so here I was tracking all the way through here until this statement, of the gospel being presented in the afterlife; and a question that I would have, if I were sitting with a missionary—which I am sure people will just jump on the opportunity to answer this in the comment section—is what is the need to even come to earth, if the gospel can simply be shared in the afterlife? Like why bother sending us to the earth, to see if we will obey, to see if we will accept the gospel, if we can also accept the gospel in the afterlife? I would almost contend that that would increase the number of humans who would end up in the celestial kingdom, if not it would make it almost 100%, because from what I understand people who come to earth, and don’t fully obey, or don’t fulfill all the ordinances, if they end up in the telestial kingdom or the terrestrial kingdom, they are there forever, and they might be visited by Heavenly Father, but they are not going to progress up to the celestial kingdom. That is just a thought that is popping into my head. Have fun with that in the comments section. I will have fun reading and responding to that, so let’s keep going.”
There are several issues with that statement: (1) If there were no life on earth first, there could be no “afterlife” either; so it is an illogical question. “Afterlife” means life after this life. If this life didn’t exist, there could be no life after this life either. So that is a very illogical question. And just because we have the opportunity to hear the gospel in this life, why should that prevent us from hearing it also in the next? (2) There are two stages in the life after death: (a) spirit world, before resurrection; and (b) life after the resurrection. We are talking about preaching the gospel to the spirits of the dead in the spirit world, before the final resurrection. Life in the spirit world before the final resurrection, is in a certain sense a continuation or extension of life here on earth. People can still repent in the spirit world, but not after the final resurrection, when everyone’s fate is finally sealed. (3) The Bible teaches that the gospel is preached to the spirits of the dead in the spirit world, before the final resurrection takes place (1 Peter 3:18-20; 4:6), which I had also previously discussed here. So why is he overlooking those? Does he not believe what the Bible teaches? (4) In the theology of Latter-day Saints, if people have had the chance to accept the gospel in this life, and knowingly and wilfully rejected it, they won’t have the same chance again in the next life. First, they will be punished in the spirit world for the sins that they did not repent of in this life. After that, when the gospel is preached to them, and they decide to repent and accept it, they won’t be given the same chance that was theirs if they had accepted it in this life. They may enter one of the lesser kingdoms of glory, but not the celestial one (D&C 76:73-74). So his assumption that they will all end up in the celestial kingdom is simply not what is taught or implied in the doctrine of the Church. Those who have never had the chance to hear the gospel in this life, but hear and accept it in the spirit world, will be in a different situation. They will be judged according to the “desires of their hearts” (D&C 137:9); and if they are found worthy, they will receive a celestial inheritance in the resurrection. Then he plays the next clip from the Church’s video:
“After the resurrection we will come back into the presence of God to be judged. We will have a perfect memory of the bad and good things we did during our life on earth. Because he is our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ will act as our advocate at the day of judgment. If we have repented of our sins, then we will be forgiven of our past mistakes. Both the New Testament and modern revelation teach that there is more than one kingdom of heaven, or degrees of glory, where resurrected people will dwell after judgment day.”
And adds to it the following comment:
“All right, I have actually done an entire video on these different levels of heaven. It is a video where I respond to a teaching of the LDS Church, so if you want to check that out feel free. But don’t click away yet, because I have more to say in regard to this video.”
I have already commented on that video as well, which can be seen here, so no need to add more. Then he plays the final clip from the Church’s video:
“The first of these, and the highest degree is the celestial kingdom. This is where the righteous will live, that is, those people who repented of their sins, received the ordinances of the gospel, and were faithful to the covenants they made with God. Those people who merit life in the celestial kingdom will live with and be like God forever in a state of glory and happiness. Another kingdom known as the terrestrial kingdom is provided for those who live generally good lives, but they were not as faithful to the gospel of Christ. Those people who led evil lives during mortality, but eventually in the spirit world acknowledge Christ as the Savior will live in the telestial kingdom, the lowest of the three degrees of glory. Lastly there is a place of punishment reserved for Satan and the most wicked. It is called outer darkness or hell. The greatest blessing we can ever receive is to live with and like God, together with our family in the celestial kingdom forever. This is what latter-day saints mean by the word exaltation. God loves us, he wants us to know about the plan of salvation, because he wants us to return to live with him, and be like him forever. Now you know.”
And gives a long-winded comment on it, most of which I am going to skip, and focus on a couple of more significant bits. So skipping quite a bit of material he says this:
“So for those who put their faith in Jesus, they are covered by his blood, so that atoning sacrifice applied to them, washes them clean, it washes us clean, so that we stand justified before God, we have a clean record, our sins aren’t held against us anymore.”
That is the typical Calvinistic “faith alone” model of salvation. He pays lip service to repentance, but he does not see it as a requirement, a necessary precondition to salvation. Repentance is something that just happens to you whether you like it or not because you have “believed,” which of course is unbiblical and false. Skipping quite a bit more material, we jump to this passage:
“So there is no more work then that needs to be done in order to get back to God’s presence. That doesn’t mean that our works don’t matter though, we don’t continue to sin just because he is so gracious. Paul teaches about that very clearly. But we obey him because he has done so much for us, and because we love him. Maybe another way you can look at it is this: I talk to a lot of LDS Church members who say that we need to carry out certain ordinances, because faith without works is dead, and I agree with that. That is what the book of James teaches. But ‘faith without works is dead’ simply means that if you are truly alive in Christ, if you have been born again, if you have come online spiritually, then your life will bear the fruit of that faith; and whenever at the end of all things we give an accounting for what we do, it is not because what we do saves us, only what Jesus did is what saves us. It is because what we do and our actions indicate where we have put our faith.”
More of the same, promoting the “faith alone” heresy of Calvinism. According to his theology, you don’t need to keep the commandments of God to be saved. It is all “faith alone”. Keeping God’s commandments, doing what is good and right in the sight of God etc., is something that just happens to you whether you like it or not just because you have “believed”. It contradicts everything that is taught in scripture, including the teachings of Jesus himself and his Apostles. Throughout the Bible, Old and New Testaments, mankind have been exhorted to do good, and abstain from evil—with the promise of a reward or punishment at the end. I start with the words of Jesus himself, because his own words are the most authoritative; followed by the words of the Apostles, and a few quotes from the Old Testament as well. Jesus repeatedly commands people to do good:
Matthew 5:
43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Matthew 7:
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
Matthew 25:
31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations [and religions]: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Luke 6:
27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
• • •
33 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.
34 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
1 Corinthians 6:
9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 6:
7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
1 Timothy 6:
17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
Hebrews 13:
16 But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
1 Peter 3:
10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:
11 Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.
James 4:
17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
Psalms 34:
14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
Micah 6:
8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
If doing good, and abstaining from evil, and keeping God’s commandments, is something that just “happens” to people whether they like it or not just because they have “believed,” what is the point of all of these exhortations by Jesus himself, and by all of his prophets and Apostles, to do good and abstain from evil, and to keep God’s commandments? Why don’t they just say, “Believe, and you are all set, you don’t need to worry about the rest, everything else will take care of itself.” They never say that. Jesus never said that. Whose words should I trust more, his or Jesus’ words? The theology that he is advocating is the pure heresy of Calvinism. It has nothing to do with the Bible. And doing good, abstaining from evil, and keeping God’s commandments is not the same as “works”. It is not the same as “saving ourselves by our own works”. Those are two different things. We need to repent of our sins and keep the commandments of God to be saved. That is an absolute mandated requirement. But the salvation itself comes from God, not from ourselves, or from our own works. My advice to him is to abandon the heresy of Calvinism which he is sold out to, and save his own soul, instead of advocating it to others—especially to Latter-day Saints! They are too smart for that, to fall for the obvious and abominable heresy of Calvinism.
And lastly, the most distinguishing feature of Mormonism, that distinguishes it from all other Christian churches and denominations, is the Church’s claim to be led by revelation, and be able to add scripture to the canon—the Book of Mormon being a prime example, as well as a chief witness to it. There is nothing that distinguishes the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint from other Christian churches and denominations more than that. But strangely, that is the one thing that he doesn’t seem to like to talk about. He did post a video discussing another animated video put out by the Church about the Book of Mormon, which I had previously responded to here. But he doesn’t discuss the actual contents of the book, which is what really matters. I am still waiting for him to do that sometime.
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