When I mentioned that the late Apostle Bruce McConkie had admitted in a letter that Brigham Young had indeed taught the Adam/God Doctrine another of the missionaries with whom I was speaking (there were 4 of them in all) told me I should be very careful what I say about one of God's Apostles.
Like the vast majority of Mormons, those young men have no idea what their Church really taught in the past. They are quite content to believe what their Church leaders tell them to believe today.
But if Brigham Young really did teach that Adam was God and the LDS Church today does not, then somebody is wrong.
If Adam really was God, as taught by Brigham Young, that CANNOT have changed, therefore Brigham Young was right and the Church today is wrong. On the other hand, if the Church today is right and Brigham Young was wrong, then he was not a true Prophet of God. It must be one or the other - assuming Brigham Young did teach this doctrine.
The bottom line is this: If it can be shown beyond any doubt that Brigham Young taught the Adam/God Doctrine, the LDS Church is in serious trouble. And no amount of "praying about it" will alter the facts. So, what is the evidence?
Joseph Fielding Smith, 10th prophet of the LDS Church said:
Source of the Adam~God Theory. President Brigham Young is quoted - in all probability the sermon was erroneously transcribed! - as having said:"Now hear it, O inhabitants of the earth, Jew and Gentile, saint and sinner! When our father Adam came into the Garden of Eden, he came into it with a celestial body, and brought Eve, one of his wives, with him. He helped to make and organize this world. He is Michael, the Archangel, the Ancient of Days, about whom holy men have spoken - He is our father and our God, and the only God with whom we have to do." (Journal of Discourses, vol. 1, p. 50.)
That entire quotation, with the quotation from Journal of Discourses embedded, is taken from Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. 1, p. 96
Please notice two things about what Joseph Fielding Smith says:
2. He suggests the sermon [singular] was "erroneously transcribed".
Joseph Fielding Smith, in the same volume, pages 101-102, again quotes Brigham Young as recorded in Journal of Discourses Vol. 1, page 50. This time it is with reference to the first of the human family (Adam) being the father of Jesus.
Once again, Brigham Young's statement is declared to be:
So, it would appear that anything recorded in the churches own books which no longer complies with church teaching is simply 'written off' as having not been recorded properly.
This 'loophole' becomes less credible when one realises that Brigham Young taught the Adam/God Doctrine (not theory), for almost 22 years!
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, The late Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Apostle and writer, admitted in a letter that Brigham Young taught the Adam/God Doctrine. A photocopied reproduction of this letter is available from Utah Lighthouse Ministries, To view a page from it Click here or to view the relevant paragraph from that page (enlarged for easier reading) Click here. But if you are a Mormon I doubt that will be sufficient proof for you - after all, sermon after sermon after sermon of Brigham Young's have been recorded expounding the Adam/God doctrine, but because your church no longer teaches this ridiculous doctrine, the written records of all those sermons are deemed to have been recorded wrongly. Besides, I have had Mormon missionaries say to me "That may have been Bruce McConkie's opinion, but it does not mean it's true."
All right, let's look at a couple of historical documents from Brigham Young's time.
The date is Sunday, June 23d, 1889 Abraham H. Cannon begins his entry for that date by telling us it was a very hot day, a few lines later (lines 6 and 7), speaking of his father he writes:
That is to say, he believed that Adam was Jesus' Father and our God.
Why did he believe that? Because that is what Brigham Young was preaching.
For example, on February 19, 1854 Brigham Young preached a sermon, this is a page from the hand written sermon notes which 'Prophet' Brigham Young used as he preached.
Since this is the actual written page used by Brigham Young during his sermon and not a printed version made sometime later, the claim that it has been "Not recorded exactly as he said it." cannot be used.
Read what "Prophet" Young said - and remember - he claimed this doctrine was revealed to him by God. Beginning at the end of line two:
"... his father is our God, and the Father of our spirits, and he is the framer of the body, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Who is he? He is Father Adam; Michael; the Ancient of days."
Second, the front page of The Deseret News dated June 18, 1873. The page consists of five columns of text. If we read the top of column one we discover that the text filling that page is a discourse (Sermon) by President Brigham Young, delivered in the New Tabernacle, June 8, 1873.
In columns four and five you will see some text underlined and pointed to by a hand. This page is too small to read so let us take a closer look at the underlined portions of text - first that in column four.
"The quality of printing in those days was not too good, so, in case you have any difficulty reading it, allow me to repeat it here:
How much unbelief exists in the minds of the Latter-day Saints in regard to one particular doctrine which I revealed unto them, and which God revealed to me - namely that Adam is our father and our God..."
The underlined text in column five is of particularly poor quality, it reads thus:
Well, says one, "Why was Adam called Adam"? He was the first man on the earth, and its framer and maker...Then he said, "I want my children who are in the spirit world to come and live here. I once dwelt upon an earth something like this, in a mortal state. I was faithful, I received my crown and exaltation. ...
I want my children that were born to me in the spirit world to come here and take tabernacles of flesh...."
The thirteenth article of faith of the LDS Church begins:
If you will be honest with yourself you will be forced to the conclusion that Brigham Young did indeed teach the Adam/God doctrine. Further, he taught that this doctrine was revealed to him by God.
Which prophet will you believe, Today's - who says Adam is not God, or Brigham Young, who taught for almost 22 years that Adam is God? One of them must be wrong yet the Bible says a TRUE prophet is NEVER wrong - not even once.
Orson Pratt could not accept Brigham Young's new teaching that Adam was God. All the other Apostles did however accept this new doctrine (unlike today's Apostles). Click on the following links to read the minutes of that meeting. There are three typed pages.
To rule out the argument that anyone could have typed these words, there is also one of the original hand written pages from which the typed version was made.
The hand written page begins with the word "Antagonistic". This corresponds with column one of page 2, at the bottom where Apostle Orson Hyde is speaking - see the sixth line up from the bottom.
Notice also on page three, the drawn cross - like a plus sign with a dot placed in each of the sections. This is part of a secret code used by Freemasons.
Now for those links to the minutes of that meeting. Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Handwritten page
If you are a Mormon, please do not ignore this evidence, use your God given ability to think for yourself. Could a true prophet of God teach such a thing?
Jim Cowen
Good Tidings Ministry.
