Then why is it that in order to obtain the Celestial Glory and be reunited with our Heavenly Father, we not only have to have faith and belief in Jesus Christ as our personal savior, but we are also required to have faith and belief in Joseph Smith as a prophet and as a instrument of restoration in bringing the temple ordinances previously unknown in the Biblical writings or teachings of Jesus?
Doesn't it strike any LDS member as strange that faith and belief in Jesus Christ alone won't get you there? Didn't he say that he was "the way, the truth, and the life, no man comes to the Father but by me" ?
Jesus forgot to mention Joseph Smith as the "replacement messiah" for the latter days, didn't he?
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Well, first off we obviously would have to believe that Joseph Smith was a Prophet in order to believe in the First Vision which is the very basic belief in the Restored Church, BoM, etc. If we don't believe in modern-day prophecy then visions and Restoration would be invalid. Secondly, even the Bible makes reference to the importance of prophets in Acts 10:42-43
"And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead. To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins." This just states that the Lord gives prophets His Spirit to witness of the truth and to speak in the name of the Lord. We know that the only way we can obtain salvation is to first have faith in His Son Jesus Christ, but we also need to have belief in modern-day prophecy in order to believe in the complete teachings of the Restored Church.
Why would we "obviously" have to believe that Joseph Smith was a Prophet in order to get to heaven?
I don't believe that True Christianity ever "had" to be restored to the earth and that visions, prophets, revelations, and translated texts are part of that process. Joseph Smith is the same as Mohammed of Islam faith. There is nothing pure and uncorrupted about Mormonism, it is a conglomeration of Joseph's philosophy, opinion, and personal quest for power, "mingled with scripture" to sway the masses of devotees.
You obviously missed the whole point of the question I asked, so I'll rephrase it:
Christianity's central figure is Jesus Christ. Mormonism's central figure is ___________?
Ask 10 Mormons who their founder, prophet and leader is, and most of them will name Joseph Smith. A truly "restored" Christian movement would name Jesus Christ. As it should be.
The whole point I'm trying to make is that Mormons believe Joseph Smith had the same role as Jesus Christ. The fundamental belief in Mormonism is that you can't obtain the highest levels of heaven and dwell with God "unless" you accept Joseph Smith as your savior, the man who restored true Christianity to the world through his "First Vision" and his work in "translating" the Book of Mormon, which cannot be independently verified like the Bible can.
Jesus didn't get the job done, so they needed Joseph Smith to finish it, restore it, and begin a whole new era of "revelations" and prophets, just like in the OLD TESTAMENT. Think about that. Mormonism has done more to restore old JUDAIC practice than it has in concentrating and appreciating the life and work and purpose of Jesus. And they believe they will obtain a higher glory because of their acceptance of JOSEPH, not JESUS only.
It's been corrupted. It's not like the NEW TESTAMENT teachings where they did away with ritual, sequential prayers, washings, anointings, etc. Belief in Jesus as your savior was supposed to be sufficient. Now, suddenly it's not anymore. At least if you're Mormon it's not enough. That's why I have decided that Mormonism and Christianity are NOT the same, and that Mormons have no right to call themselves a member of the Christian pantheon.
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