THE EXALTED MAN-GOD
by Larry Hall
"...I am God, and not man;
the Holy One in the midst of thee:"
(Hosea 11:9)

In 1996, Sword of the Spirit Apologetics began an investigation into the internal structure and significance of the occultic Mormon temple ceremonies. We examined the satanic keystones, pentagrams, and insignias used by the Mormon church as part of their temple architecture. We heard the testimony of former Mormon, Mason, and Witchcraft High Priest William Schnoebelen and listened to his startling admission that, "The LDS anointing ceremony is a procedure nearly identical to witchcraft anointing rites." ¹

We examined the satanic symbols sewn into the holy Mormon undergarment and followed their origins back to esoteric Masonry, where Schnoebelen "...learned the profound links between Lucifer-worship, Wicca and Masonry." ²

As we now walk through the various temple rooms and examine the ceremonies involved, please understand one thing. My intention is not to insult, belittle, or impugn the character of anyone involved with these practices. The adherents of these groups are victims of a giant demonic ruse that I think was designed by Satan himself to kill and destroy the soul.

I would not cast blame on a rape victim just because she happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Likewise, I do not cast blame on the victims of the carefully masked satanic lies. I was a victim of cultic activity for many years, including the Masonic Lodge. However, as a result of one man's concern for my eternal destiny and his uncompromising spiritual guidance and advice, I left the lodge and all of its idolatry.

That man who was brave enough to tell me the truth became one of my closest friends. I sincerely pray that every Mormon and Masonic reader will study this material with an open mind and then decide what to believe. My intention with these articles is only to offer facts and alternatives. The Lord knows my heart and the concern I have for every one of Satan's victims!

Leading to the Endowment...

It is now time to pursue the actual Mormon Temple Endowment Ceremony. I understand that some of the information presented to date by APOLOGETICS has been somewhat difficult for many to understand. Let me explain the problem. When we attach a particular statement, symbol, or procedure to the Mormon Church and then use the identical information to explain Masonic or witchcraft rites, the whole affair can appear rather convoluted and confusing.

It is hard to keep all the players straight. But that, in itself, should prove the point I will make. A rose by any other name is still a rose. For example, you can take a pig out of the pen, give it a bath, and dress it in an expensive three-piece suit; but it is still a pig. Likewise, you can take a satanic symbol out of the coven, wash it with a bath of "traditional righteousness," and move it to a luxurious temple; but it still remains a symbol of the devil!

The fact that APOLOGETICS presents the tools of Mormonism, Masonry, and witchcraft interchangeably (and often in the same sentence) should be a red flag to any honest seeker after truth. Adherents of these three groups are all being directed by the very same god of this world! The obvious parallels between the three groups should alarm even the most hardened cultist.

The New Name...

After the Mormon candidate has been washed, anointed, and clothed in the temple undergarment, he is escorted to a small booth where he is given a secret "new name." The new name did not seem awkward to Mr. Schnoebelen, who explains: "When someone is initiated into a mystery cult, it is common practice to give them a new, secret name. Magick groups and covens give their candidates secret names to represent a new spiritual identity. Secrecy protects your new status and power." ³

In witchcraft, the candidate is given a new "Craft" name. In Masonry and Mormonism alike, the candidate is given a new, secret name for most major steps throughout the ceremonies. These names will be examined as we explore them in future articles, and I believe their meanings will startle you.

It is the Mormon belief that Jesus will use the person's new name to call him out of the grave on the morning of the first resurrection. The new name gives to the candidate a feeling of superior status and importance. This new Mormon status will apparently be very important to him at the time of the resurrection. Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith explains why: "In the resurrection, some are raised to be angels, others are raised to become Gods." ⁴

According to Chuck Sackett, former Mormon Temple Worker and author of What's Going On In There?, "Mormon leaders are half-truthful in their claim that theirs is a restoration of ancient temples and ancient rituals; however, it was in the temples of Nimrod, Osiris, and other pagan polytheistic temples - not Solomon's Hebrew temple - where these Satanic abominations were practiced anciently." ⁵

An important point should be made at this time. During this "new name" portion of the temple work, the husband is allowed to know the new name given to his wife (which will allow him to call her out of the grave). According to Ed Decker and Dave Hunt, co-authors of The God Makers, "...there seems to be no remedy for her if he purposely or forgetfully fails to do so." ⁶

The man's wife, however, is not permitted to know his new name. According to Mr. Schnoebelen, "Names are felt to have power over the object named; if you know someone's name, you have power over that person." ⁷ In a purely occultic sense, the husband possesses his wife's spirit. She is placed in an inferior position and is trapped in psychological bondage to him. It is not strange that so many Mormon women suffer from such deep oppression within this "patriarchal order."

The Mormon woman experiences a no-win situation. Not only is she held in bondage with her inferior position, but she is afraid to leave. According to Thelma Geer (great-granddaughter of Mormon pioneer John D. Lee, one of the bodyguards of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young), "...a woman's only salvation in the celestial world is to be sealed in the temple to a Mormon husband in good standing. If a wife apostatizes [sic], her husband has a perfect right, according to the church, to divorce her and with the divorce withdraw all of her celestial rights--she will be left in the grave on resurrection morning. Mormon women have a great fear of such a fate." ⁸

The Endowment Ceremony...

This two-hour ceremony is presented to groups of Mormon patrons (rather than individually, as is done with most of the other rituals). It has been described as a 19th-century melodrama, that is performed in large, theatre-type rooms decorated with floor-to-ceiling murals. For a century, live actors portrayed the various parts of the ceremony; but now most temples have changed to a motion picture and tape-recorded presentation. The ceremony is divided into four parts or "acts": The Creation Drama, the Garden of Eden Drama, the Lone and Dreary World Drama, and the Terrestrial World Presentation. Only the Creation Drama will be examined in this article.

The Endowment Ceremony begins with a long, monotonous, repetitive version of the six-day creation period. The setting begins with Elohim instructing Jehovah and Michael to begin his creative work, one day at a time. He begins with the command, "Go ye down and organize it into a world like unto the worlds that we have heretofore formed. Call your labors the First Day and bring me word." ⁹ On the second day, Elohim instructs them to, "Gather the waters together and cause the dry land to appear." ¹⁰ He gives them similar commands through the creation period and the formation of man up to the sixth day.

There are several interesting points to be made about the creation scene as depicted in the Mormon Temple drama. Of central importance is the fact that Elohim commands Jehovah and Michael to bring him a report on their activities following each act of the creative process. The reason for his command is simple: Mormon doctrine teaches that God is only a man with a body the same as other mortal men! Consequently, because the Mormon god cannot hear or see beyond the normal distance of the mortal man, he cannot know what they are doing.

An Exalted Man...

The impotent, helpless Mormon god (only one of many trillions of gods before him) has been described as a natural man by many Mormon authorities. The Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith stated: "God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits in yonder heavens!...I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea, and take away the veil, so that you may see. ...we may converse with him as one man converses with another;..." ¹¹

The bodily form of the Mormon god is explained clearly in their Doctrine and Covenants: "The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's;..." ¹²

Additionally, in The Articles of Faith by James E. Talmage, we find: "It has been said...that God is everywhere present; but this does not mean that the actual person of any one member of the Godhead can be physically present in more than one place at one time. Admitting the personality of God, we are compelled to accept the fact of His materiality; indeed, an 'immaterial being,' under which meaningless name some have sought to designate the condition of God, cannot exist, for the very expression is a contradiction in terms. It is impossible for Him to occupy at one time more than one space of such limits;..." ¹³

Mormon President Heber C. Kimball declared: "...our God is a natural man,...the first of all mechanics. Where did he get his knowledge from? From his Father, just as we get knowledge from our natural parents." ¹⁴

And finally, the words of Brigham Young: "Our God and Father in heaven, is a being of tabernacle, or, in other words, He has a body, with parts the same as you and I have;..." ¹⁵

The blasphemous contention that God is only an exalted man and that man may become a god himself is not an original Mormon idea. It is certainly not a Christian doctrine. Rather than being ashamed of its derivation, the spiritually dead Mormon authorities have proclaimed it proudly! Listen to the Lucifer link as Mormon authority Milton R. Hunter (of the First Council of the Seventy) draws his conclusion:

"Mormon Prophets have continuously taught the sublime truth that God the Eternal Father was once a mortal man, who passed through a school of earth life similar to that through which we are now passing. He became God -- an exalted being -- through obedience to the same eternal Gospel truths that we are given opportunity to obey.

"The Mystery Religions, pagan rivals of Christianity, taught emphatically the doctrine that 'men may become Gods.'

"Hermes declared: 'We must not shrink from saying that a man on earth is a mortal god, and that God in heaven is an immortal man.'

"This thought very closely resembles the teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith and of President Lorenzo Snow." ¹⁶

Yes, Mormonism clearly and openly aligns itself with the "Mystery Religions, pagan rivals of Christianity." They even view their religious doctrine as paganism revived and use this connection to prove that Mormonism is true. In Hunter's admiration of Hermes, he must have known that Hermes was a mythological Greek god who served as a messenger of the other gods. Hermes was identified by the Romans as the god Mercury and is depicted with winged shoes and hat, carrying a caduceus. He was known to the Egyptians as the god Thoth, also described as Osiris. Hermes was also the god of cunning and guide of departed souls to Hades!

In Masonic legend, Hermes Trismegistus was a philosopher during the reign of Ninus. He is a pillar of ancient and modern occultism. According to Masonic author Albert G. Mackey: "In all the old manuscript records which contain the Legend of the Craft, mention is made of Hermes as one of the founders of Freemasonry. This Hermes...was claimed by the alchemists as the founder of their art, whence it is called the Hermetic Science, and whence we get in Freemasonry, Hermetic Rites and Hermetic Degrees." ¹⁷

Hinduism, which embraces and unites numerous pagan traditions, also teaches that men are gods who have just "forgotten" their true identity. The purpose of yoga is to bring back these memories of godhood through religious rituals and "self-realization."

Scientology, a mixture of Hinduism and psychology, teaches that the "real" man is an uncreated god called the "Thetan." The Thetan, who uses the human body in which to live, is an immortal entity who cannot experience death. When the physical body dies, it "exteriorizes," and the Thetan counterfeits the dying process by simply forgetting the event. The Thetan then returns to a planet and procures another body of the same type and race as before to start another reincarnation. According to L. Ron Hubbard (of Dianetics and Scientology fame): "The Thetan,...takes with him old tin cans, rattling chains, bric-a-brac and other energy phenomena that he feels he cannot do without and stashes this in the next body that he picks up." ¹⁸

The similarities between Mormonism and paganism are no coincidence. As we explain this connection in future articles, you will be able to see clearly the evidence of their common inspiration.

The Hands and Feet of God...

Anthropomorphisms, or the attributing of human shape or characteristics to God, is a basic tenet of Mormonism. Mormon theologians are quick to point out various passages in scripture which describe God as having hands, feet, eyes, nose, head, etc. They then use these arguments to "prove" that God is only a big man and that we are created in his physical image (Genesis 1:26-27).

According to their reference guide for missionaries and teachers: "A USEFUL GOD MUST POSSESS- A Mouth, Or, how can He speak? ...Eyes: Or, how can He see?... A Nose: Or, how can He smell? ...Feet: Or, how can He stand? ...Hands, Face, and Body: Or, how can He lift up and cover with his hands, or have his face and back parts be seen?" ¹⁹

The Mormon authorities have gone to great lengths to make God in man's image. Their literal interpretation of anthropomorphic passages helps them to justify the Mormon doctrine of man's eventual exaltation to godhood.

Anthropomorphic terms, however, are viewed quite differently by the Christian. Scholarly tests of Biblical interpretation will allow only one explanation: They are literary devices designed to portray in human terms something of the character of an Eternal God in understandable form. They allow our finite minds to comprehend, albeit to a very limited degree, the nature of an infinite and immortal Being.

Let's look at the futility of Mormon thinking for a moment. Assume that the "nostrils" of God found in Exodus 15:8 are to be taken literally to prove that God has a nose. The passage reads: "And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea." Are we also to understand that the sea has a literal heart?

The Mormon proof-text used to show that God has eyes is found in Psalms 94:9, "...he that formed the eye, shall he not see?" But now look at Proverbs 15:3, "The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good." This would imply that God has many eyes, for how could just two eyes be in every place?

In 2 Chronicles 16:9 we read: "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth,..." Are we to assume that God's eyes have sprouted legs, allowing them to "run to and fro"?

Is God a literal "consuming fire" of Deuteronomy 4:24? Does He have a real physical "sword" coming out of His mouth in Revelation 19:15? And what about the attributes of Jesus as portrayed in the New Testament? How do Mormons visualize the Creator who is described as "the True Vine," "the Living Bread," "the Way," and "the Door"?

And how about Psalms 91:4? "He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust:..." Does this verse prove that God is a bird with wings? If so, and if we are created in God's physical image as the Mormons insist, why do we not have wings as well?

It is easy to discount the ridiculous notion that these passages should be taken literally. It is a very serious mistake for the Mormons to do so, and God warns them against such nonsense:

"....thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes." ²⁰

"God is not a man, that he should lie;..." ²¹

"...for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee:..." ²²

"To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?" ²³

The message of Holy Scripture is perfectly clear. God is not a man! John 4:24 proclaims that, "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." And Jesus himself left no doubt concerning the physical attributes of a spirit when he spoke to Thomas in Luke 24:39, "Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have."

As the Creation Drama comes to a close, "...many patrons are asleep, and most are drowsy by its completion. This might best be described as a consciousness-lowering, mood-altering experience." ²⁴

Is this quasi-hypnotic effect intentional? Is it meant to anesthetize the patrons against the spiritual shock that awaits them in the dramas to follow? Could it be that the Creation Drama is merely the sedative as Dr. Lucifer gets ready to perform spiritual surgery? You'll learn the answer in the Garden of Eden Drama.

References:
(1) William J Schnoebelen/James R. Spencer, Mormonism's Temple of Doom, 1987, p. 12
(2) Ibid., p. 13
(3) Ibid., p. 16 (from The New Golden Bough, Frazer, 1959, p. 187)
(4) Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, compiled by Joseph Fielding Smith, 1976, p. 312
(5) Chuck Sackett, What's Going On In There?, 1982, pp. 14-15
(6) Ed Decker/Dave Hunt, The God Makers, 1984, p. 57
(7) William J Schnoebelen/James R. Spencer, Mormonism's Temple of Doom, 1987, p. 16
(8) Thelma Geer, Mormonism, Mama and Me!, 1979, p. xi
(9) Chuck Sackett, What's Going On In There?, 1982, p. 22
(10) Ibid.
(11) Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, compiled by Joseph Fielding Smith, 1976, pp. 345-346
(12) Doctrine and Covenants, Section 130:22
(13) James E. Talmage, The Articles of Faith, 1982, p. 42-43
(14) Journal of Discourses, 1861, Vol. 8, p. 211
(15) Ibid., 1854, Vol. 1, p. 50
(16) Hunter, The Gospel Through the Ages, 1958, p. 110 (from The Godmakers, by Ed Decker and Dave Hunt, p. 27)
(17) Albert G. Mackey, Mackey's Revised Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, 1956, Vol. 1, p. 449
(18) L. Ron Hubbard, The Phenomena of Death (from The Rediscovery of the Human Soul, Hubbard, 1996, p. 57)
(19) Keith Marston, Missionary Pal, Reference Guide for Missionaries & Teachers; 1959, pp. 65-66
(20) Psalm 50:21
(21) Numbers 23:19
(22) Hosea 11:9
(23) Isaiah 46:5
(24) Chuck Sackett, What's Going On In There?, 1982, p. 8

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