Reason 7 of 10
Test the messenger by the message
Joseph Smith said an angel named Moroni led him to the gold plates. The Bible says that if even an angel from heaven brings a different gospel, it must be rejected, and it tells us to test the message by Scripture, not by a feeling.
What Latter-day Saints are taught
Joseph Smith said an angel named Moroni appeared to him in 1823 and told him of an ancient record on gold plates. The Book of Mormon closes by inviting readers to ask God whether it is true, with the promise that he will show its truth by the power of the Holy Ghost. Many Latter-day Saints describe that answer as a peaceful, burning feeling.
33He called me by name, and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me, and that his name was Moroni; that God had a work for me to do; and that my name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people. 34He said there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang. He also said that the fulness of the everlasting Gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants;
Joseph Smith—History 1:33-34 · read it at ChurchofJesusChrist.org
4And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
Moroni 10:4 · read it at ChurchofJesusChrist.org
8But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.
Doctrine and Covenants 9:8 · read it at ChurchofJesusChrist.org
The Bible's test
Paul anticipated exactly this kind of claim: if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel than the one already preached, let him be cursed. Satan, Paul says, disguises himself as an angel of light. So the Bible never tells us to judge a message by the messenger's glory or by our feelings, which Jeremiah calls deceitful. It tells us to compare the message with what God has already said.
The Bereans were commended for checking even the apostle Paul against the Scriptures. Jesus is not afraid of that test, and no follower of his needs to be.
6I marvel that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different “good news”, 7but there isn’t another “good news.” Only there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the Good News of Christ. 8But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you any “good news” other than that which we preached to you, let him be cursed. 9As we have said before, so I now say again: if any man preaches to you any “good news” other than that which you received, let him be cursed.
Galatians 1:6-9 (WEB) · context
3But I am afraid that somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve in his craftiness, so your minds might be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 4For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we didn’t preach, or if you receive a different spirit which you didn’t receive, or a different “good news” which you didn’t accept, you put up with that well enough.
2 Corinthians 11:3-4 (WEB) · context
14And no wonder, for even Satan masquerades as an angel of light.
2 Corinthians 11:14 (WEB) · context
9The heart is deceitful above all things and it is exceedingly corrupt. Who can know it?
Jeremiah 17:9 (WEB) · context
11Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.
Acts 17:11 (WEB) · context
1Beloved, don’t believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
1 John 4:1 (WEB) · context
Applying the test
Reasons 1 to 6 apply it: a God who was once a man, many gods, a created Jesus, grace after all we can do, a corrupted Bible and a vanished church. Measured against the gospel Paul preached, these are a different gospel, however warmly they are felt.
What Latter-day Saints answer
Latter-day Saints answer that the Bible also teaches us to ask God for wisdom, as James 1:5 says. That verse prompted Joseph Smith's first prayer.
5But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
James 1:5 (WEB) · context
Why that answer falls short
James 1:5 is a wonderful promise for wisdom in trials. It is not a promise that God will confirm a new scripture by a feeling, and it cannot overrule Galatians 1:8. God does not contradict his own word.
Sources
- Joseph Smith—History 1:33-34; Moroni 10:4; Doctrine and Covenants 9:8 (churchofjesuschrist.org).