Jehovah Witness Faith vs. The LDS Faith
Robert Hyatt
1996
The following is a series of questions in which the doctrinal position of the Jehovah Witness and LDS faith is given. Page numbers on the JW response are from their official book of doctrine. LDS responses are from Robert Hyatt.
1. Does God and/or Jesus Christ have resurrected bodies of Flesh and bones or just spirit bodies? What kind of body does the Devil have?
JW:
God & Jesus are spirit persons.
"Both God and the Devil are spirit persons, forms of life higher than humans and unseen to our eyes. pg.18
LDS:
God the Father and Jesus Christ have glorified resurrected bodies of Flesh and bones in the form of man. The Devil has a spirit body only.
________________________________________________________________________
2. Who is Michael the arch-angel spoken off in the book of Rev.?
JW:
Michael the arch-angel is Jesus Christ.
"War broke out in heaven: Michael [who is the resurrected Jesus Christ] and his angels battled with the dragon,..." pg.21
LDS:
Michael is ADAM not Jesus Christ.
________________________________________________________________________
3. When was the war in Heaven.
JW:
The war in heaven was 1914.
"When did this war in heaven take place? The evidence shows that it happened around the time of World War I, which began in 1914." pg.22
LDS:
The war in Heaven happened before the world was created commonly referred to as the Pre-existence or pre-earth life.
________________________________________________________________________
4. What kind of bodies will people have in Heaven?
JW:
Spirit bodies.
"Some humans will be rewarded with life in heaven with God, at which time they will receive spirit bodies. pg.37
LDS:
People that go to heaven will have resurrected bodies (Flesh and bones). Jesus Christ clearly taught this in the New Testiment.
________________________________________________________________________
5. Who is the Holy Ghost?
JW:
God's active force.
"As for the "Holy Spirit," the so-called third Person of the Trinity, we have already seen that this is not a person but God's active force.... Thus the facts make clear that the Trinity is not a Bible teaching."
pg.40
LDS:
The Holy Ghost is the third member of the Godhead and has a spirit body.
________________________________________________________________________
6. Was God alone in the Universe before he created man and the Earth?
JW:
God was alone before any creations.
"Before he began to create, Jehovah was all alone in universal space."
pg.44
LDS:
Many Spirits existed before God started the creation of this earth.
________________________________________________________________________
7. What is God's name?
JW:
God's name is Jehovah. pg.42
LDS:
God's name is Elohim and Jesus Christ is Jehovah.
_______________________________________________________________________
8. Can Adam go to heaven and receive everlasting life?
JW:
No Adam and Eve were sinners and cannot go to heaven.
"His (Adam's) act made him a sinner, ... As a result, he was not worthy of receiving God's gift of everlasting life." pg. 61,62
LDS:
Adam and Eve were very righteous excluding their original sin and like all of us through the atonement can repent of our sins and go to heaven.
_______________________________________________________________________
9. Who rules in God's kingdom?
JW:
Jesus Christ rules in God's kingdom.
"Jesus proved that he was worthy to be king of God's kingdom." pg.68
LDS:
God is king of his kingdom. Jesus Christ will be king of his kingdom.
________________________________________________________________________
10. What makes up the Soul of man.
JW:
The soul of man is the physical element only. At death nothing leaves the body.
"Since the human soul is man himself, then it cannot be some shadowy thing that lives inside the body or that can leave the body." pg.73
LDS:
The soul of man consists of the Physical body as well as a spiritual body. At death the spiritual element leaves the body.
________________________________________________________________________
11. What is hell?
JW:
Hell is the grave only.
"Sheol and Hades (Hell) refer not to a place of torment but to the common grave of mankind.
LDS:
Hell is not the grave but will be a separate place not on this earth, reserved for those who are referred to as "Sons of Perdition" or those who have denied the Holy Ghost. Also the third part of the host of heaven who rebelled against God rejecting the plan of salvation who followed Satan and never came to this earth to receive a body; Those also will go to hell and live with Satan.
________________________________________________________________________
12. What happened to the third of the host of Heaven who fell from God's presence?
JW:
They came down to earth to make bodies for themselves and have love affairs with beautiful women of the earth. They are forcing mankind to do evil works.
"Some angels stopped the work that God had given them to do in heaven, and they came down to earth and made for themselves fleshly bodies like those of humans...Yes, the angels put on fleshly bodies, and they came to earth to have sexual relations with beautiful women...Well, babies were born to these angels and their wives. But the babies were different. They kept growing bigger until they became giants, yes, wicked giants... These giants tried to force everyone to be bad as they were." pg.94 JW's quote Gen. 6:2 to explain this doctrine.
LDS:
The fallen angels (one third of the host of heaven) who rejected the plan of salvation as presented by God & Christ fell from the presence of God and came to this earth mainly as helpers of Satan to tempt mankind to reject the truth and disobey Father.
________________________________________________________________________
13. Will Job and John the Baptist go to heaven?
JW:
Job and John the Baptist will not go to heaven.
"He (Job) knew he would not go to heaven...This is so because John the Baptizer will not go to heaven."
LDS:
We see no reason why these great men will not merit eternal life in Heaven. Job suffered all manner of temptations yet remained loyal to God. Jesus said that there was no greater Prophet then John the Baptist.
________________________________________________________________________
14. Who are candidates for eternal life in Heaven?
JW:
Only those on this earth who are tried and tested followers of Christ.
"..it is clear that those who go to heaven will be tried and tested followers of Christ. This means that babies or young children, who have not been fully tested during years of Christian service, will not be taken to heaven...So rather than all good people going to heaven, the Bible reveals that only 144,000 tried and faithful persons will be taken there to rule with Christ... Angels have not faced such kind of testings. Nor have they experienced the problems common to humankind. pg.124. JW's quote Rev. 14:1,3
LDS:
All of God's children who come to this Earth and keep his commandments and receive all the necessary ordinances such as baptism will be candidates for eternal life in Heaven. Faith in Jesus Christ coupled with good works are qualifications for entrance into heaven. Children who die in infancy and those who have deficiencies are automatic candidates providing they accept the gospel plan in the spirit world.
________________________________________________________________________
15. What is your belief concerning alcohol (liquor, wine, and beer).
JW:
With moderation, alcohol is allowed. Getting drunk is not acceptable.
"The drinking of wine, beer or liquor in moderation is not against God's law. In fact, the Bible shows that a little wine can be good for a person's health. But it is against God's law to get drunk,.." pg 130
LDS:
The Latter-day Saints have a code of health which excludes the drinking of any alcoholic beverages. They believe that taking a little is still wrong. The Bible says that God does not accept sin in the least degree of allowance." Wine in the days of the Lord was for the most part grape juice. Fermented wine and liquors were expensive and forbidden.
________________________________________________________________________
16. Will Jesus Christ reign as King in Heaven as a resurrected being?
Will he come to earth as a resurrected being during the millennium?
JW:
Christ will reign as king in heaven but he will not have a resurrected body. He only has a spirit body. Because Christ does not have a fleshly body anymore, he will not appear as a man again on the earth.
"AT his return, Christ does not come to live on earth. Rather, those who are to rule as kings with him are taken to live with him in heaven.
Christ gave up his body as a sacrifice. He could never take it back and become a man again...If Jesus were to come and sit as a man on an earthly throne, he would be lower in station than the angels...Christ's return does not mean that he literally comes back to this earth." pg.142-147
LDS:
Jesus Christ has a resurrected body for all eternity as all those who are resurrected will have. When he comes during the millennium he will appear in his resurrected body and reign as king for a thousand years on this earth.
________________________________________________________________________
17. Will man be judged according to his sins?
JW:
People will not be judged on sins committed in their past, but will only be judged on Judgment day. Judgment day is the millennial era.
"So, contrary to popular opinion, he (Christ) will not judge persons on the basis of their past sins,..at death a person is set free or released form any sins he has committed. This means that when a person is resurrected he will be judged on the basis of what he does during Judgment Day (The millennium), not on what he did before he died." pg 175
LDS:
Believe that Mankind are punished for their own sins, and will be held accountable only for sins not repented of. Obviously Jesus Christ our judge and advocate with the Father will be fair and only punish us for sins that we knowingly committed."