IN THE BEGINNING (Rebuttal cont.)

Come on, Ed... you can't have it both ways!

29. Dr. Charles Crane is presented as an "expert on Mormon archaeology". He is actually a Church of Christ minister with advanced degrees in "Ministry", "Divinity" and Psychology, (not archaeology) who in correspondence with me says he has "sought to study the archaeology of the Book of Mormon". He revealed no details on the extent of his study, so I must question his "expert" status.

30. Both Crane and Tanner claim that because the cities of the Book of Mormon are not found on modern maps, "there is no evidence for the book, any yet it's supposed to be a historical record". Dr. Richard Fales ("author, lecturer, archaeologist"-- what are his credentials?) says "not one single artifact has been found that even remotely relates to the (Book of Mormon) civilizations". He calls the book a "fairy tale".

Point of fact: Many books have been written detailing dozens of archaeological parallels between the Book of Mormon and the history of ancient America. The Book of Mormon's claims regarding wheeled vehicles, great walled cities with prayer towers, baptismal fonts, the use of cement, the presence of horses and elephants, etc. seemed absurd in 1830 when it was published. Yet these claims have been vindicated by archaeological discoveries since that time.

In addition, one particular artifact (Stela 5 Izapa from Chiapas, Mexico) contains a large and detailed drawing of the Tree of Life which appears to be a direct connection with the Book of Mormon. Competent scholars have found over 50 elements in Stela 5 which correspond to parts of a long and involved vision given by God to the prophet Lehi in the 8th chapter of 1st Nephi. This artifact was discovered by a Smithsonian dig in 1941, and to date no non-LDS scholar has offered a viable alternative interpretation of the inscription. --Not bad for a "fairy tale"! (see the Ensign June 1985 pp.54--55.)

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A note on the film's statement that "archaeology has been able to prove the existence of all great civilizations": It was only in the 1800's after many years of struggle against the archaeological "establishment" that the explorer Heinrich Schliemann finally found proof that unearthed the ancient city of Troy described in Homer's epic poems. Until that time they were considered to be in the realm of "fairy tales". Who's to say that in a year or two the great Book of Mormon cities of Bountiful or Zarahemla will not be uncovered and make news around the world? What will the anti-Mormons say then?

Anyone sincerely wishing to study scientific evidences of the Book of Mormon should contact the Foundation for Archaeological Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS) for a catalog of scholarly papers on a wide range of topics.

Their address is P.O. Box 7113 University Station, Provo, Utah 84602.

31. The film states that: "Mormon missionaries are converting people throughout the world by explaining to them that archaeology has "proven" the Book of Mormon to be true." This is false. Sometimes archaeological evidences are shared with people to pique their interest and get them to seriously consider the book, but LDS missionaries are trained to teach people that the ultimate test of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon is through an answer to prayer and a personal witness from the Holy Ghost, as described in James 1:5,6. It is only through the Spirit of God that true conversion takes place.

32. Regarding the Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price, which was revealed to Joseph Smith through the gift and power of God: The film says, "Several famous Egyptologists have now translated it (the Egyptian Papyri associated with the Book of Abraham) and have found that it doesn't have anything to do with the time of Abraham at all".

At least one of these "famous Egyptologists" --Dee Jay Nelson-- made false claims about his academic background and his alleged employment as a translator for the LDS church. How many other holes are there in "The God makers" story?

The sincere investigator on this topic will find a wealth of information in Dr. Hugh Nibley's articles in BYU Studies (1968 and 1971) as well as those in the Improvement Era almost every issue from Jan. 1968 to May 1970, plus one in the Ensign, March 1976. Also see Michael Rhodes's study in BYU Studies 17 (1977). Also Nibley's book, "The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri" (1975)

33. The 1978 revelation to President Kimball to give the LDS priesthood to blacks was said to have come because of "social pressure". This is wrong. The greatest period of pressure of this nature came in 1971. By 1978 it was hardly an issue because the civil rights movement was at a comparative ebb. The revelation came as an answer to prayer from God's prophet and mouthpiece on Earth, at a time when increasing numbers of blacks were beginning to join the LDS Church. Church leaders desired to extend all blessings of membership to these people, and after much supplication God heard their prayers.

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34. The film says that "the finality of Mormon theology is not based on evaluation by scriptural evidence", and that LDS missionaries do not encourage the people they're teaching to read from the Bible, only the Book of Mormon. This is untrue. In the Uniform System for Teaching Families, (the basic lessons that LDS missionaries use all over the world) they are expressly instructed to: "use only Biblical references with investigators". Nothing is taught in LDS doctrine that is in conflict with the Bible, and every opportunity is taken to point this out by studying the relevant Bible verses. (LDS prefer the King James Version)

35. The witness of truth by the Holy Ghost in the heart of the individual person --described as a "burning in the bosom"-- is said to be a "totally subjective" process. This is incorrect, as many Christians will testify. There are many times when one is walking in the Spirit that "the heart will be told what the mind cannot know." And yet the reliance by LDS on the Spirit for guidance and inspiration is implied to be somehow un-Christian! The makers of "The God makers" would prefer to gamble their Eternal Salvation on someone's (usually theirs) subjective interpretation of this Bible verse or that. (My Baptist friends tell me that when you get any three Baptists together on a Bible verse you'll get at least five opinions!)

Latter-day Saints rely heavily on the Scriptures, both the Bible and our own. But we believe that "no prophecy of the scripture is of private interpretation"(2 Pet. 1:20) "But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea the deep things of God.... Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth: comparing spiritual things with spiritual."(1 Cor.2:10--13) This is the real test.

The Saints in the days of Paul relied on the witness of the Spirit instead of hermeneutics. The Saints of these latter-days believe that true Christians must still do the same. It is the "rock" of revelation from God to man (as the Christian singer Sandi Patti so eloquently puts it in her wonderful song) on which the true church of Jesus Christ is built; not someone's Biblical interpretation, however learned. The "Born Again" experience itself necessitates the Holy Spirit witnessing to a person that Jesus is indeed their personal savior, Lord, and Christ. It cannot come by Bible study alone.

36. The "re-enactment" (so-called) of LDS temple ceremonies is perhaps the most disappointing and offensive part of this film. An utter disregard is shown by the film makers for the sensitivities of other human beings. Ceremonies that are considered sacred by millions of people are trampled upon, ridiculed, and distorted, with definite purpose and malice aforethought. A great many right-thinking Christians have expressed revulsion at this kind of propagandistic approach.

The producers of the film have admitted their use of deception to obtain stock footage of temple interiors from the LDS church information services, and to arrange interviews with church officials who appear in the film. These despicable tactics speak for themselves.

The LDS temple ceremonies are said to be "Mason-like" and "occultic". There is nothing "occultic" about the covenants that LDS people make with our Heavenly Father in the temples, nor about the work done there for the dead. In fact one of these ceremonies --baptisms for the dead-- was mentioned as a practice of the early Christians by the apostle Paul in 1 Cor.15:29. This is merely a way in which these necessary ordinances can be performed as a vicarious service for those who have died without the opportunity to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ and accept Him as their Savior through baptism. (Most Christian denominations have a hard time explaining what happens to these people.)

What is described as a "fanatical program to evangelize the dead" is simply the fulfillment of prophecy in the last verse of the Old Testament (Malachi 4:6) that in the last days God will "turn the hearts of the children to their fathers". What is so "fanatical" or sinister or "occultic" about that?

If there is anything "Mason-like" about the LDS temple ordinances, it might be explained by the fact that the Masonic order began among workers on the great Temple of Solomon. If God is "the same yesterday, today and forever", then the same ceremonies were performed by God's righteous believers in the Temple of their day. If God then revealed the ordinances to the prophet Joseph Smith in our day, a corrupted version handed down through the centuries by the Masons might still bear some resemblance to the original.

37. The sacred undergarment worn by LDS who have made special covenants with God in the temples is said to be "unattractive" and "de-humanizing". (Why should it be attractive since it is not meant to be seen? It's an undergarment!) These garments are patterned after the garments of skins that God made for Adam and Eve when He cast them out of the Garden of Eden. (Gen.3:21) Perhaps the film makers should take up their complaints with the original Tailor!

A parallel to the LDS temple garment can be seen in a similar item of under-apparel worn by the most orthodox Jewish sects-- a holdover from Israel's righteous days when they performed temple worship thousands of years ago. It should also be noted that a similar item is mentioned in the earliest Jewish and Christian writings such as the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi codices.

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The extreme measures referred to in the film that are supposedly taken by LDS to avoid ever losing physical contact with the temple garment are totally incorrect. There are many occasions such as visits to a doctor, swimming or playing basketball, etc. when "temple Mormons" rightly do not wear the garment. The film portrayed a caricature that does not exist.

38. Another caricature is built up of Joseph Smith as a "treasure seeker" who was "involved in the occult". This description does not fit the man as all, as revealed in many accounts regarding him written by his contemporaries. (See #13 above) The mistake is also made of trying to judge Joseph, who lived in the mid-1800's, by the culture and practices of the 1980's. Similarly a person in the next century might say that having a Jack o'lantern on Halloween is a sure sign of being "involved in the occult", and the hobbyist with a metal detector is a "treasure seeker"!

39. An avowed Satanist's book is used as an authoritative source to come up with a mythical god "Mormo" whose followers are allegedly called "Mormons". Obviously if the same book were to have reference to a god "Metho" whose followers were called "Methodists", they would give it no credence or notice, except perhaps for a good horse laugh. To stoop to such antics in a supposedly serious "documentary" is inexcusable.

40. Likewise, the claim that the Chinese word "Mormon" means "gates of Hell" relies on an extremely tortured translation and is meaningless. It's just another example of sensationalism. The National Enquirer would win a Pulitzer Prize in comparison to the writers of this film!

41. Some sort of sinister implication (complete with evil-sounding music to match) is made in speaking of the "wealth" of the LDS church and great land holdings. The narrator fails to mention that virtually all of the Church's real estate is identified as meetinghouses for LDS members (built with as little as 4% of the cost paid by the local congregations), schools, and farms where food is raised to feed the needy in the model LDS welfare program.

The LDS church does have some stock in the parent corporation that owns the LA Times, but can hardly be considered a "major stockholder"(especially in view of some of the articles unfavorable to the Church which have appeared in that paper and its sister publication in Denver).

42. Money is said to be "extracted" form LDS church members in a "mandatory" tithing program. These buzz words are by now quite tiresome, and again they are totally false! Tithes and offerings are no more "mandatory" for Mormons than for other Christians. As with any principle of the Gospel there are certain rewards (both temporally and spiritually) for obedience. But to show the picture of the young Deacon gathering Fast Offerings and imply that he was "shaking down" the Mormon mother for tithing... come on now! (The Fast offering is a separate contribution where members fast for two meals on the first Sunday of every month and give the cost of the meals into a special fund to feed the needy. This practice is now being picked up by some other Christian churches.)

43. Mormons are said to "own a substantial portion of Hawaii". It is not indicated whether they are referring to individual LDS members or to the Church. In either case the truth is probably stretched quite a bit.

44. Utah (identified as 75% Mormon--actually it's closer to 50%) is said to "rank among the highest" of the states in divorce, suicide, child abuse, teenage pregnancy, venereal disease, and bigamy.

Utah (according to Atlanta's Communicable Disease Center) is 47th among the states in venereal disease. This is hardly "among the highest". In view of this kind of error, the rest of the statistics cited are highly suspect. The following, however, might explain any unexpectedly high figures for the state of Utah if they proved to be correct:

Utah is among the lowest states in abortions, which accounts for more teenage pregnancies carried to term. And since most young LDS people don't plan to be "sexually active" as do teens in other states, they are more likely to become pregnant when they do make mistakes. And since they try harder to "do the right thing" by getting married when they get pregnant, there are more teen marriages and hence more divorces. And since Utah has some of the most strict child abuse reporting laws in the nation, (you must legally report even any SUSPECTED abuse) there is perhaps more reported child abuse than in other states. (Not necessarily more abuse.)

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Therefore it can be seen that the supposedly damning statistics reveal in actuality the good "fruits" of the LDS church. The film makers failed to mention that of active LDS church members married in the temple, the number of divorces is only ONE-FIFTH the national average.

45. The film says that "Mormonism undercuts the Bible", which is definitely false. Our 8th Article of Faith states, "We believe the Bible to be the word of God, as far as it is translated correctly." We believe it to be "verbally inspired" as do other Christians. That is, that it was "inerrant" as it flowed from the mind of God through the pens of the original writers. However we believe (along with most Christians) that copying and translation errors do occur. No Christian would accept as God's word any verse of the Bible which scholarship proves to be mistranslated, and neither to Mormons.

The film also says that Mormonism "undercuts all the other churches", which is misleading. Although we believe that the complete fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is found only in our church, we believe that almost all religions contain some of God's truth and are beneficial to mankind.

It is not the Latter-day Saints who brand another faith as a "cult" and seek to exclude its members from fellowship with other Christians. We leave that activity to the anti-Mormons.

46. It is said in the film that many LDS church members only remain in the church because "Mormonism is a nice place to raise your family...it's the easy road". That description may be true in Utah, but it does not account for the rapid growth of the LDS church in other parts of the world like Latin America and Japan, where becoming a "Mormon" is anything but "the easy road". Many millions of people have decided to follow Christ as the Holy Ghost has led them by joining the LDS church, and in doing so have lost their jobs, families, --everything. Sometimes even their lives.

47. "I learned that the God of Mormonism was not the God of the Bible." This statement near the end of the film shows that the person who uttered it has an incomplete knowledge of both Mormonism and the Bible. The God of Mormonism is not the God of the Nicene Creed, but He definitely IS the God of the Bible.

48. "But there's fraud...deliberate misrepresentation". This quote from Dick Baer aimed at the LDS church applies more aptly to his propaganda film "The God makers", as has been pointed out herein.

The foregoing 48 specific points constitutes a partial list of the errors, distortions, and untruths in the film. These comments will also apply equally to the same problems found in the book of the same name, written by Ed Decker and Dave Hunt. A more complete response to the book has been written, but the major points of emphasis will probably not vary a great deal from those of the film which have been dealt with here. The book is called "The Truth About The God makers", and it is available at almost any LDS book store. Or more information on the book response may be obtained from the author, Gilbert Scharffs, 2898 Mill Creek Rd., Salt Lake City, Utah 84109.

It is unfortunate that the authors and producers of the "God makers" film and book have felt it necessary to expend such great amounts of money, time and energy to persecute the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is equally unfortunate that so many good Christians and pastors have unknowingly "aided and abetted" in this persecution by opening their churches and their pulpits to those who have been perpetuating it. Hopefully, this response will shed some light and lead to a better understanding between Latter-day Saints and their fellow disciples in the Body of Christ.

In his brilliant essay on "What it Means to Be a Mormon Christian", BYU English professor Eugene England shared a quote from the great reformer Martin Luther: "The kingdom of God is like a besieged city surrounded on all sides by death. Each man has his place on the wall to defend and no one can stand where another stands, but nothing prevents us from calling encouragement to one another." England then goes on to say, "It would be tragic if we Christians, standing each in our different places, were to desert our place on the wall...to turn on each other."

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Intolerance has no place among Christians. Jesus himself taught that lesson when his apostles came to him saying they had forbidden one casting out devils in His name because "he followeth not with us". The Savior said: "Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us."(Luke 50:49). Likewise in Acts 5:27-39 we find: "Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God." This is a commandment from Jesus that the producers of "The God makers" and those who assist them need to learn and obey. 

The foregoing is my own work and does not represent any official statement of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Robert D. Starling
12242 S. 1740 W.
Riverton, UT 84065  

I especially welcome the opportunity for clarification or dialogue with non-LDS readers.

Copyright 1986--1995 Robert D. Starling All Rights Reserved

Permission is hereby granted for this work to be duplicated without cost and distributed by any means including electronic or computer transmission, provided it is done in its entirety and without alteration.

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