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October 25, 2006 | South Carolina Headlines

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Elizabeth Smart: Prisoner Of Mormon Cult
Jimmy Moore
March 19, 2003

The eyes of the world were watching in amazement last week as missing teenager Elizabeth Smart was miraculously rescued from her demented captors after nine long months of being forced to serve a man who called himself a prophet of God.

Many have called her recovery a blessing from God and proof that miracles still happen today. While I believe that is true, I also have some concerns about this incident that I cannot keep silent.

These questions still linger in my mind: Why didn’t Elizabeth run away when she had the chance? Why did she lie to police about who she was when they were trying to rescue her? Why did she care so much about the fate of her kidnappers, Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Eileen Barzee?

The answer to all of these questions can be found in the Mormon Church.

For those of you who may not know it, Mormonism is a cult. Although Mormons may talk about Jesus Christ and do acts that make them look like they are Christians, they are NOT Christians.

The differences between Mormons and Christians are stark.

Christians believe the Bible is the God-inspired, inerrant Word of God. It is Absolute Truth and is the final authority on all matters.

Mormons believe the Book of Mormon and a book written by the founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith, called The Pearl of Great Price give inspiration to a living prophet on earth today. The entire Mormon theology is based on the doctrines and covenants professed by this living prophet.

Christianity has had to deal with cults from the days of the first Christian church in the Book of Acts until today. The modern day suggestion that “all good people will go to heaven” runs contrary to the words Jesus proclaimed when he said that He is the way, the truth and the life and that no man will come to God except through Him.

But the “god” of the Mormon Church is NOT the same God found in the Bible. In fact, Mormons believe that there are many “gods” and that man can actually become god! Even the “Jesus” of Mormonism is NOT the same Jesus of the Bible. In Mormon theology, Jesus was the brother of Satan, he was a married man and he was not considered a part of the Trinity. Salvation, or the remission of sins, only comes from doing good works and through baptism in the Mormon Church. These are all severe perversions of the Biblical teachings about God, Jesus and salvation through the blood of Jesus.

Elizabeth Smart’s family believe in Mormonism and are very active in the leadership of their church. They have invoked the name of “god” and “Jesus” many times over the past year during news conferences. Isn’t it amazing how this family was able to capture the hearts of Americans who hurt for them and the loss of their child? And how about the triumphant return of Elizabeth to her family? Didn’t the Smart family look and sound sincere in their thankfulness for the blessings of their god?

I don’t mean to sound cynical, but that is exactly what the Mormon Church has done each and every year since its inception. They have spent tens of millions of dollars annually promoting their dangerous cult through national radio, television and print advertisements.

I’m sure you’ve seen the ads showing a happy family having a good time around the dinner table that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside with a disclaimer at the end that says the ad was brought to you by the Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints. That would be the Mormons. There is little doubt that the Mormon church offered advice to the Smart family about having the media help in the search for their daughter. If any of us were in their shoes, we would have done the same thing.

But now that Elizabeth Smart is safely back at home with her family, it is important to understand a little about her religious background. From the time of her birth, she has been raised in a devout Mormon home. As a Mormon, she has been taught the concept that man can become god just by being good. She also understood that there is a living prophet that should be revered above all others. This was the foundation that Elizabeth Smart has believed to be true her entire life.

At the same time, look at Brian David Mitchell. He is also a Mormon. The media has tried to characterize him as a lunatic “religious fanatic” who claims to be a prophet. But there is no evidence that supports the notion that the man is insane. He is simply living out his Mormon beliefs that tell him that he has been called by his god to be a living prophet.

With this information in mind, it is apparent that in order to find out what happened to Elizabeth Smart, the Mormon Church connection should be closely examined.

There is no doubt that Mitchell abducted Elizabeth Smart and then told her that his god had chosen her to be his wife. He undoubtedly told her that she would become one of the many wives of a prophet of god. Although polygamy is illegal and socially unacceptable in today’s society (even in Utah!), it is still a major doctrine and practice in the Mormon Church. Because of this, I can only imagine that a young Mormon girl would feel honored by this and, thus, would not fear what was happening to her.

In the coming months, there will be an onslaught of public interviews with the Smart family, Elizabeth Smart, Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Eileen Barzee. Each of these people should be questioned about the role their Mormon faith played in this ordeal. Law enforcement officials and members of the legal community dealing with this case need to examine how Mormonism affected this case. If the truth about why this happened is going to be found, then it needs to begin with the Mormon beliefs of everyone involved.

While cults, such as Mormonism, sound wonderful with their espousal of family values, good works and love for one another, they are not founded on principles of God found in the Bible, but rather on a false god. The Bible says that the faith of people who believe in cults is in vain because there is “no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

Real truth can only be found in the Bible. If you are a Christian, then I urge you to pray for your friends and family members who have bought into the lie of cults like Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Science, Scientology and many others. If you are a member of any of these groups, then I pray that your eyes will be opened to the truth found solely in Jesus Christ.

We should also pray for Elizabeth Smart. As she gets older, maybe someone will come into her life and tell her about the one true God who loves her, died for her sins on a cross, rose triumphantly from the grave and desires to have a relationship with her today. The perfect relationship that she thought she had found in Brian David Mitchell can only be found in Jesus Christ.




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Comments


What an ignorant, close-minded column! So WHAT if people have different ideals and beliefs than you do? Their beliefs are no less correct than yours!  . . .

Read the rest.





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