The Worldview of Mormonism
Mormonism and Christianity advocate two deeply contrasting and conflicting worldviews. As Fuller Theological Seminary President Richard Mouw correctly states, “At the heart of our continuing disagreements, I am convinced, are the very basic worldview issues.” Dr. Stephen Robinson makes the same general point: “The real sticking point is not what the LDS think about Christ and his gospel, but rather the different ontological frame or view of the nature of the universe into which the Mormons fit the gospel.”
James Sire, in The Universe Next Door, defines a worldview as “a set of presuppositions which we hold about the basic make-up of our world.” A worldview is a view of total reality that is developed by the use of words and concepts in order to create a coherent frame of reference for all beliefs, thoughts, and actions.
Essentially, a worldview is our answer to the ultimate questions of life: What is primary reality, the really real?
Essentially, a worldview is our answer to the ultimate questions of life: What is primary reality, the really real?
What is the nature of external reality, the world around us? What is a human being? What happens to a person at death? Why is it possible to know anything at all? How do we know what is right and wrong? What is the meaning of human history?
It is no accident that the official LDS Web site declares that Mormonism, as the real restored truth, provides answers to life and worldview questions such as these: What’s the purpose of my life? Where did I come from? Did I exist before this life? Could a young farm boy really have seen God? Is motherhood part of God’s plan? Will I be with my family after death?
Mormonism is much more than just another religion; it is a full-fledged worldview. As the official Web site reveals, Mormons teach a totally different perception concerning the nature of God, the pre-creation universe of eternal realities, the origins of our world, the nature of humanity, and the eternal potential of humans to become gods. In fact, the worldview constructed and promoted by Mormonism mirrors several aspects of ancient paganism, Egyptian and Greek mythology, Hinduism, and New Age, and is foreign and destructive to a biblical Judeo-Christian worldview.
This article is adapted from Mormonism Explained: What Latter-day Saints Teach and Practice by Andrew Jackson.
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