I know this church is true: Deconstructing the falsehood of the LDS Establishment. “I know this church is true.” These words echo through every chapel of the 29,253 Wards and Branches (churches) in the LDS faith every first Sunday. Anyone sharing their testimony mechanically recites this followed by its companion phrases “I know the Book of Mormon is true” and “I know Joseph Smith was a prophet.” After obligatorily reciting these lines every congregant old enough to talk and brave enough to stand behind the pulpit shares their testimony of how the church affected their lives since the last time they bore their testimony. This profession of belief in the church serves a dual purpose in the eyes of many LDS members. They are taught from an early age that bearing one’s testimony wipes clean any sin leaving them spotless and without fault. (Smith 1835) This is one of the many fallacies heaped onto members and converts of the LDS faith commonly referred to as Mormons. This trinity of mantras is a short version of the church’s foundation and its belief system. The fast Sunday recitation is the cornerstone by which all temple-worthy members live their lives. It is also the stumbling block by which the façade of godliness within the Mormon faith can be deconstructed. By using the words of the Book of Mormon and other holy texts, as well as the words of their leaders, one can reveal a works-based system that is neither effective nor Biblical.
The trinity of Falsehood LDS apologetics cite Joseph Smith’s lack of education as proof that he was a prophet of God. The assumption is that, since he had no education and only worked on his father’s farm, there is no way he could have devised and written a book as complex as the Book of Mormon. The apologist Terryl L. Givens states that the translation of the BOM (Book of Mormon) is written in such a way as to point to Jewish writing structure and not English. (Givens 2002) What scholars such as Mr. Givens neglect is Smith’s love of the Bible and the Smith’s nightly reading from the Holy book. Also, Smith’s hometown, Palmyra, New York, was a hotbed of Christian activity. Smith in his own words describes the many revivals that took place at the time he claims to have received his first vision. Likewise, Smith stated he was confused as to which faith to join over the others. He wrote that, though he saw fervent love among the converts, he felt something was missing. (Smith, History of Joseph Smith: The Prophet by Himself n.d.) Later in life Smith wrote the Word of Wisdom (LDS doctrine on food and alcohol) as well as his autobiography. Lack of education did not limit his writing in the least. Given these evidences it is highly likely that Smith, with his knowledge of the Bible through repeated reading, was able to construct a book that held to the grammatical structure of the Old Testament that had been read to him (and that he read) his entire life. Being confused as to which denomination to join led him to fabricate the first vision in an attempt to garner some credibility among his family and cohorts.
The most evident case for the deconstructing of Smith’s ideology can be seen in his prophecies. Deuteronomy 18:22 tells us that“If a prophet speaks in the Lord’s name but his prediction does not happen or come true you will know that the Lord did not give that message. That prophet has spoken without my (God’s) authority.” One unfulfilled prophecy is enough to warrant labeling someone a false prophet. There are several for Smith but the two most blatant will be addressed here.
The first false prophecy was about his son. In May of 1844 Smith foretold that his son would be named David, be president of the church and the king over Israel. (Quinn n.d.) Predicting his son’s name is not prophecy. Predicting that he would be king of Israel is a blasphemous heresy.
Smith said in his autobiography, “I was once praying very earnestly to know the time of the coming of the Son of Man, when I heard a voice repeat the following: Joseph, my son, if thou livest until thou art eighty-five years old, thou shalt see the face of the Son of Man; therefore let this suffice, and trouble me no more on this matter.” (J. Smith 1835) In this prophecy Smith predicts Christ’s return in fifty-six years (he was twenty nine at the time he wrote this).
The most apparent evidence that this prophecy didn’t not come true is that this paper is being written. The Messiah did not return in the 1800’s so Smith is disqualified as a prophet of God. As a false prophet, though, he fits the biblical description given in Matthew 24 wherein Christ Jesus himself admits that even He doesn’t know when He will return.(Matt. 24:36) If the Messiah doesn’t know when the second coming will happen, why would God impart this knowledge to Smith?
In short, Smith was not a prophet of God but a leader of men. He was not a shepherd of the Lord, but a deceiver and manipulator who set himself up as a god on earth and a martyr. Nothing posed by Smith is just, true, virtuous, or Biblical.
Though the mounting DNA evidence and the existing archeological evidence points to the contrary, members of the LDS community attest to the knowledge that the Book of Mormon is true and written about Israelites that traversed the ocean to settle in the Americas. Archaeological evidence aside there is enough scriptural discrepancies to disqualify this book and relegate it to a piece of fiction.
The first can be found in the third book of Nephi chapter eight verse 23. “And it came to pass that it (darkness that occurred during the crucifixion) did last for the course of three days.” This is incorrect since the synoptic gospels all state darkness covered the land for only three hours. No amount of apologetic maneuvering can explain such a blatant error.
The second and most profound of all of the errors within this book comes also from third Nephi. In chapter twenty eight, three men wish to request something of the Savior but dare to ask, yet he knows their thoughts and says in verses six and seven: “Behold, I know your thoughts and ye desire the thing which John, my beloved, who was with me in ministry, before that I was lifted up desired of me. Therefore ye shall never taste death.” (J. Smith, Book of Mormon 1835) The Latter Day Saints religion believes John the Beloved still lives despite that being contrary to the book of John. To further this blasphemy, Smith creates three characters that ask and are given immortality by Christ. To add emphasis to this lie, Smith pens a “revelation” in Doctrine and Covenants section Seven that supposes to be a translation of a lost scroll where John requests (and is given) immortality by Christ. Scripture clearly states time and again that nothing of this sort will occur until Christ’s coming and convincing others that it has happened is damnable.
When three statements are found to be codependent upon each other in order to be perceived as true, they should all be true. A weakness in one makes the other two unstable. A collapse of two leave no support for the third and it, too, will come crashing down. This trinity of falsehoods is no different. Two of the precepts have easily been proven incorrect so the third should falter under its own weight. However, to leave no doubt, the third rail should be addressed as well.
The LDS church boasts over 15 million members in almost 30 thousand congregations worldwide. On top of the branches, wards, and stakes (small churches, large churches, and regions), there are 143 temples worldwide dedicated as “a place to feel close to God” among other things. (Mormon Newsroom 2014). On paper, these numbers boast an impressive amount of members and displays that the LDS faith is a true world religion. Looking beneath the façade, however, shows something quite different.
The Latter Day Saint establishment discloses neither income earnings yearly nor do they divulge attendance at any level of the organization. This is purposeful and intentional for the ruse of a healthy church. Brigham Young University studies have shown almost 70% of all converts become inactive (stop attending services) within two to five years. (Cunnigham 1992) This is a point that is often overlooked by members of the faith and their leaders. By applying that percentage to the role of 15 million leaves slightly over 5 million members worldwide. That’s less than the population of the city of New York. These inactive members and their information stay in the LDS records for perpetuity unless the members specifically words a letter requesting to be taken off the rolls. (Name Removal Instructions - Resignation from the Mormon Church 2012) Such actions, however, tend to illicit a less than Christ-like response from the hierarchy. Personal anecdotes will relay that wards are dwindling, branches are dying, and stakes are becoming more impotent, yet Salt Lake projects the visage of a healthy, vibrant community. A church living in a lie is no church of our Lord.

Regardless of how it is examined, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is not the church of our Lord that they claim to be. Nor are they led by a prophet of God or a divine, alternate testament of Christ. It is nothing more than a legalistic trap set forth by deceitful men to capture unwary, uninformed, or hurting people. Nowhere in its history has it fulfilled any requisites for a Church of God. It has, however, shown time again that it is a false doctrine led by false prophets. Biblically speaking, the LDS church is an anathema that should be shunned and avoided at all costs.

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[ 1 ]. Smith, Jospeh. Book of Mormon: Doctrine and Covenants 62:3. Salt Lake city, Utah: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 1835.
[ 2 ]. Givens, Terryl L. By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture that Launched a New World Religion. Oxford University Press, 2002.
[ 3 ]. History of Joseph Smith: The Prophet by Himself. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, n.d.
[ 4 ]. Quinn, D. Michael. The Mormon Heirarchy: Origins of Power. n.d.
[ 5 ]. Smith, Joseph. Doctrine and Covenants 130: 14-15. Salt Lake City, Utah: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 1835.
[ 6 ]. Smith, Joseph. Book of Mormon. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 1835.
[ 7 ]. Mormon Newsroom. 2014. http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/facts-and-statistics/ (accessed May 2014).
[ 8 ]. Cunnigham, Perry H. Activity in the Church. 1992. http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Activity_in_the_Church (accessed May 2014).
[ 9 ]. Name Removal Instructions - Resignation from the Mormon Church. 2012. http://www.exmormon.org/remove.htm (accessed 2014).