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Rating: 
Summary: Response to a "reviewer"
Review: I would like to respond to "A reader "Another Testament, or another Jesus?, August 8, 2001.
His/her original "review" is followed by my "Response":
Critic: Not too long ago the Mormon Church changed its logo in order to emphasis the name 'Jesus Christ' whilst the remainder of its title - "The Church of ....... ...... of Latter-day Saints" is less prominent.
Since 1981 the Book of Mormon has been sub-titled with the words:
"Another Testament of Jesus Christ."
Since they say the Book of Mormon is ANOTHER Testament of Jesus Christ it seems reasonable for us to assume they mean another testament, besides the Bible. So the Jesus of whom they are speaking must be the Biblical Jesus.
Response: Yes, the real Jesus, not the Jesus of the Patristic Fathers, the many councils of the Catholic Church, or the Nicene Creed nonsensical imagination of those bishops and leaders of the Church under threat of death or exile if they did not agree. The real Jesus is much closer to the 1800 bishops who signed a statement shortly after the Nicene Council that the Nicene Creed did not reflect their views.
Critic: The first paragraph of the "Introduction" to the Book of Mormon reads:
"The Book of Mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible. It is a record of God's dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains, as does the Bible, the fullness of the everlasting gospel."
Here we see the Book of Mormon being 'linked' to the Bible, therefore, our assumption that they mean another testament - besides the Bible, is obviously correct. [As an aside: notice the above introduction says the Bible also contains 'the fullness of the everlasting gospel'. The Mormon Church teaches that parts of the Bible are missing, and that which remains is largely corrupted. Since that is what they believe, why does the Book of Mormon introduction say otherwise?]
Response: This critic needs to do a little thinking. The introduction he is talking about says the Bible "CONTAINS" the fullness of the Gospel. Mormons believe the Bible insofar as it is correctly translated. Has anyone ever counted the huge number of translations of the Bible? The Bible was written by men, edited by men, translated by men, interpreted by men, and "canonized" by men. Need I say more?
Critic: Imagine you wrote a biography of Elvis Presley and it became world famous; a standard reference work for anyone wanting to study the life of "The King." Then, years later, I wrote another biography of Elvis Presley - However! The Elvis Presley of whom I wrote was not the famous singer but somebody quite different who just happened to have the same name. Now, if I put on the front cover of my book:
"Another biography of Elvis Presley."
I would be giving a false impression. Because those words would suggest I was speaking about the same Elvis Presley as you, since I claim it is 'another' (a second) biography.
Response: Excellent point. That's exactly what the early church fathers did. The Catholic Church, and its spin-offs, the Protestant sects, took the Jesus in the New Testament, along with a lot of Greek philosophy, and made up their own Jesus after many councils and systematizations. It took Augustine 15 years to systematize the Nicene Creed into the Trinity only a few fundamentalists believe in today. This was excellent. I must hand it to this critic (I would use his/her name, but, of course, he/she was too embarrassed to use their name.) he/she described perfectly why the Church of LDS doesn't accept the Jesus the "Christians" re-wrote the book on. The LDS Church only accepts what's in the Bible, not the doctrines of men.
A different Jesus?
For many years Christians have claimed that the Jesus of the Mormon Church is a different Jesus than He of whom the Bible speaks. This claim has been denied by LDS Church leaders who have insisted they worship the same Jesus. The Jesus of the Bible.
Hinckley's admission:
On June 4, 1998 whilst on a visit to Paris, France. President Hinckley bore his testimony of Jesus Christ. While doing so Hinckley spoke of those outside the church who claim Mormons do not believe in the traditional Christ, he continued:
"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 the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times. He, together with his Father, appeared to the boy Joseph Smith in the year 1820, and when Joseph left the grove that day, he knew more about the nature of God than all the learned ministers of the gospel of the ages." Church News. Week ending June 20, 1998
Throughout the centuries Christians have believed in the Jesus Christ who is presented to us in the Bible. He who was, and is: "...God ... manifest in the flesh, ... preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." (1 Timothy 3:16)
The "traditional Christ" who is rejected by Mormonism.
Hinckley is not the first to reveal Mormonism's rejection of the real Lord Jesus Christ.
At the 147th General Conference Barnard P. Brockbank stated:
"...the Christ followed by the Mormons is not the Christ followed by traditional Christianity."
"It is true that many of the Christian churches worship a different Jesus Christ than is worshipped by the Mormons or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."
If the Christ of the Book of Mormon is the Christ in whom Mormons believe then, clearly, he is a different Christ from the Jesus Christ of the Bible, in whom Mormons don't believe.
Therefore, the Book of Mormon cannot be:
"Another testament of Jesus Christ."
but rather, it is:
"A Testament of another Jesus Christ."
Response: Yes, it is. It definitely is. LDS don't believe in the medieval, metaphysical re-invention of Christ that took place at the Nicene Council. The Book of Mormon is definitely NOT a testament of the Jesus/God imagination of the Nicene fundamentalists. The BOM is a Testament of the Jesus of the New Testament because the Catholic/Protestant metaphysical Nicene Jesus is unrecognizable.
Critic: And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. (Matthew 24:4-5)
Response: Exactly correct. Since Constantine re-invented the Catholic Church, they and the Protestants have created a second Christ that most people don't recognize from the Jesus described in the New Testament. The Jesus they have "created" does not deceive the LDS
But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:8-9)
Response: Excellent point again. This is exactly why the LDS don't accept the metaphysical beliefs of the Catholic Church, and their Protestant offspring sects. So much has been added to the New Testament by the early fathers and subsequent Church leaders, and has been adopted by Protestant sects, that the LDS Church has gone directly to the New Testament for their concept and belief in Jesus and his teachings. It is quite odd that the Protestants who broke away from the Catholic Church-in part-vehemently defend Catholic doctrine, but denounce the Catholic Church, as they do anyone who doesn't agree with them. LDS doctrine on Jesus is taken straight from the New Testament, not from man-made doctrine as is the case with the Catholics and Protestant sects.
I recommend the critics of the LDS view of Jesus read the two following books available here on Amazon.
"How Greek Philosophy Corrupted the Christian Concept of God"
"The Father is Not the Son"
I paraphrase from "The Father Is Not the Son":
We do not find anything like the doctrine of the Trinity in its developed form in the New Testament. If the Trinitarian doctrines cannot be found in the Bible, then Jesus Christ and his apostles did not teach those doctrines. If Jesus and his apostles did not teach them, then belief in such a doctrine is not mandatory for salvation. If Trinitarian doctrines are not mandatory for salvation, then they cannot be used as a litmus test for membership in the Christian community.
Rating: 
Summary: Another Testament, or another Jesus?
Review: Not too long ago the Mormon Church changed its logo in order to emphasis the name 'Jesus Christ' whilst the remainder of its title - "The Church of ....... ...... of Latter-day Saints" is less prominent. Since 1981 the Book of Mormon has been sub-titled with the words: "Another Testament of Jesus Christ." Since they say the Book of Mormon is ANOTHER Testament of Jesus Christ it seems reasonable for us to assume they mean another testament, besides the Bible. So the Jesus of whom they are speaking must be the Biblical Jesus. The first paragraph of the "Introduction" to the Book of Mormon reads: "The Book of Mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible. It is a record of God's dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains, as does the Bible, the fulness of the everlasting gospel." Here we see the Book of Mormon being 'linked' to the Bible, therefore, our assumption that they mean another testament - besides the Bible, is obviously correct. [As an aside: notice the above introduction says the Bible also contains 'the fulness of the everlasting gospel'. The Mormon Church teaches that parts of the Bible are missing, and that which remains is largely corrupted. Since that is what they believe, why does the Book of Mormon introduction say otherwise?] Imagine you wrote a biography of Elvis Presley and it became world famous; a standard reference work for anyone wanting to study the life of "The King." Then, years later, I wrote another biography of Elvis Presley - However! The Elvis Presley of whom I wrote was not the famous singer but somebody quite different who just happened to have the same name. Now, if I put on the front cover of my book: "Another biography of Elvis Presley." I would be giving a false impression. Because those words would suggest I was speaking about the same Elvis Presley as you, since I claim it is 'another' (a second) biography. A different Jesus? For many years Christians have claimed that the Jesus of the Mormon Church is a different Jesus than He of whom the Bible speaks. This claim has been denied by LDS Church leaders who have insisted they worship the same Jesus. The Jesus of the Bible. Hinckley's admission: On June 4, 1998 whilst on a visit to Paris, France. President Hinckley bore his testimony of Jesus Christ. While doing so Hinckley spoke of those outside the church who claim Mormons do not believe in the traditional Christ, he continued: "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 the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. He, together with his Father, appeared to the boy Joseph Smith in the year 1820, and when Joseph left the grove that day, he knew more about the nature of God than all the learned ministers of the gospel of the ages." Church News. Week ending June 20, 1998 Throughout the centuries Christians have believed in the Jesus Christ who is presented to us in the Bible. He who was, and is: "...God ... manifest in the flesh, ... preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." (1 Timothy 3:16) The "traditional Christ" who is rejected by Mormonism. Hinckley is not the first to reveal Mormonism's rejection of the real Lord Jesus Christ. At the 147th General Conference Barnard P. Brockbank stated: "...the Christ followed by the Mormons is not the Christ followed by traditional Christianity." "It is true that many of the Christian churches worship a different Jesus Christ than is worshipped by the Mormons or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." If the Christ of the Book of Mormon is the Christ in whom Mormons believe then, clearly, he is a different Christ from the Jesus Christ of the Bible, in whom Mormons don't believe. Therefore, the Book of Mormon cannot be: "Another testament of Jesus Christ." but rather, it is: "A Testament of another Jesus Christ." And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. (Matthew 24:4-5) But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:8-9)
Rating: 
Summary: Essentials from Joseph Smith
Review: This book is a great one-volume introduction to Joseph Smith as a prophet. It has ample selections from Joseph Smith's writings such as the Lectures on Faith, some of his revelations such as the Vision of the Three Degrees of Glory, which is published in the Doctrine and Covenants. It gives you a great introduction into the unique aspects of Joseph Smith as an American Prophet. This book does the job it was intended to do--give you a quick peek at a complex man and his theology. I recommend this for the student of the Church of Jesus Christ if Latter-day Saints, or anyone curious about what Joseph Smith actually said and actually did. He speaks for him self in this book. It is also useful for anyone who is curious about Joseph Smith, and would like to understand him in his own terms. This review is actually a review of the book, and not a review of Joseph Smith or of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Rating:
Summary: Essentials from Joseph Smith
Review: This book is a great one-volume introduction to Joseph Smith as a prophet. It has ample selections from Joseph Smith's writings such as the Lectures on Faith, some of his revelations such as the Vision of the Three Degrees of Glory, which is published in the Doctrine and Covenants. It gives you a great introduction into the unique aspects of Joseph Smith as an American Prophet. This book does the job it was intended to do--give you a quick peek at a complex man and his theology. I recommend this for the student of the Church of Jesus Christ if Latter-day Saints, or anyone curious about what Joseph Smith actually said and actually did. He speaks for him self in this book. It is also useful for anyone who is curious about Joseph Smith, and would like to understand him in his own terms. This review is actually a review of the book, and not a review of Joseph Smith or of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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