The Mormon and Pentecostal Connection
 

Recently I spoke to an ex-Mormon who completely abandoned his former faith, and has embraced the Pentecostal faith (to some degree). Although he believes in the gift of the Holy Ghost and speaking in other tongues, immersion in the name of Jesus Christ, and the oneness of the Godhead, he made a startling statement that stirred my thinking.

Verbatim he said, "Pentecostalism and Mormonism are alike in the sense that both claim to be the rediscovery of lost Christianity. Both claim to have started by divine revelation from God, and both claim miracles and wonders validate their existence."

Why do you agree or disagree with the aforementioned? Keep in mind, doctrinally there are stark contrasts to both faiths, but as to their origins and the founders' intents there may be some strong similarities.

Re: The Mormon and Pentecostal Connection
 

That's a good reason why personally, I'm in neither of those categories. lol. As far as I'm concerned it is ridiculous to think that no one was really saved between the time of the apostles and the early 19th century.

Re: The Mormon and Pentecostal Connection
 

I certainly agree with this.

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I concur. Where the attitude of "The 20th Century is the most spiritually enlightened era in human history" ever came from I do not know, but it is very arrogant for modern theologians and scholars to condemn nearly 2000 years worth of Christ-loving souls to hell because they might not have believed entirely what is encapsulated in a book of by-laws, corporate church constitutions, or personal convictions of a few lords over God's heritage.

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Jesus certainly knows who his sheep were during the last 2000 years. :)

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I also agree.

A major turn off for many that are witnessed to is the arrogance displayed.

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But noone thinks that!

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The gates of hell shall not prevail against the church personally I feel the Christian faith or The Christian church has always been in existence every since it's inception.

While it's true certain truths has been rediscovered by people down through history.
There always been the church,it would seem to me that if the church ceased to exist then the gates of hell prevailed against the church.

Re: The Mormon and Pentecostal Connection
 

One major difference would be that William Seymour claimed revelation from scripture while Joseph Smith claimed revelation during an isolated miraculous event involving a visit from the angel "Moroni." The former is a tangible source and the "revelations" are therefore easy to verify or disprove.

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Amen :)

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Pentecostalism in the 21st Century goes back farther than William Seymour. Namely, Charles Fox(xe?) Parham and his little bible school in Topeka, KS is where the modern experience of speaking in tongues originated in the United States.

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Actually, there were many elements of Pentecostalism before Pentecostalism came about. Speaking in tongues have been known throughout history, as has dancing, shouting, rejoicing in ecstasy (the emotion not the drug), miraculous healings, miracles, and other phenomena. All of these have been seen through history, 20th century Pentecost brought all of these things together and said that they should be the rule, and not the exception.

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Good point Jay. These phenomenons preceded not only Pentecostalism but also Christianty.

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Tongues is the exception there, unless you are going to make an argument for Daniel. ;)

Re: The Mormon and Pentecostal Connection
 

Daniel?

No. Tongues have been occurring in pagan religions for thousands of years.

Re: The Mormon and Pentecostal Connection
 

Same can be said of Protestantism, Calvanism etc etc

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Joseph Smith was baptised as a Methodist. Then things went downhill. The Utah Mormons use the KJV bible. (if you want a free KJV bible call the Mormons, Two men in suits riding bikes will deliver it with the book of Mormon. Free.) Joseph Smith re wrote the bible. It is his "Inspired version" and sold by the Missouri Mormons. In Genesis is speaks of Jesus in Chapter 1. He was lazy and as the bible is expanded, changed a feew doctrines, inserted works salvation and said the prigonal was in great error.

The church has always existed, though their theology may have been incorrect on some points, as we are even today.

Re: The Mormon and Pentecostal Connection
 

Bingo! I am very wary of those who would show a "progression" of the truth with their current position labeled "full truth".

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Good point, Miss B, but I'm not so sure the "scriptural" revelations brought to light by our Pentecostal forefathers are so easy to prove or disprove. The scriptures are merely interpreted differently, and in some cases blatantly MISinterpreted, but the doctrines are still built upon those erroneous thought processes.

If one challenges those "revelations" that person can be disfellowshipped, blackballed, or discredited, and that's what bothers me.

Granted, the Pentecostal doctrine is not built on instructions from an angel that cannot be verified, but sometimes I think we're almost as bad.

Re: The Mormon and Pentecostal Connection
 

Unfortunately true.............

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I thank God for the revelations of 20th century Pentecostals. They have caused a dramatic turn toward the faith once delivered to the saints bringing in light to a darkened world. The restoration is not yet complete but Christianity looks more like it did in the early Church than it has for centuries.

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This is quite a mouthful Bro. Scott.
Does this assume the three-steps have always been somewhere throughout? One of my former pastors used to point out some obscure recorded source in history of a baptism in "Jesus Name". I used to think how strange that "truth" be hidden so deep in historical account.

Re: The Mormon and Pentecostal Connection
 

while we like to believe this it isnt true.

My great grandmother spoke in tongues way before Fox. She was of a family of Methodists that had the HG long before the 20th century started.


As has already been stated the Mormons came up with an entire new bible. Apostolics read the same bible everyone else does and claim no new scripture. There are vast differences between the mormons and pentecostals.

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When something has been driven underground or presecuted,the writings and history about such may have been destroyed,or rewritten by those who did the persecuting ,but it does seem to me in my opinion that the Christian faith would never have been extinct,because if the Christian faith had ever ceased to exist then surely the gates of hell would have prevailed against The Faith.

Re: The Mormon and Pentecostal Connection
 

True Biblical Christianity is certainly nothing new,however one never find denominations and a denomination system in the Bible.So a denominational set up must have come along after the Bible was written.

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I don't believe Christianity would have ever been extinct just because of a lack of documentatiion either bro. But when it comes to what we think or believe was driven underground, i.e. 19th, 20th century practices, we have to make assumptioms as to "what was" . I don't believe it to be a basis to prove or disprove truth. Fortunately we have "the book" to do that.

I believe that the argument over the words spoken over the baptismal candidate has been predominately a 20th century point of contention. Am sure others on here have an opinion on that.

Re: The Mormon and Pentecostal Connection
 

Who said that no one was saved from the apostles to the 20th century? Never, ever heard anyone say that, and I am 3rd gen...

Re: The Mormon and Pentecostal Connection
 

:thumbsup

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Heard it all da time in my old UPC...

Re: The Mormon and Pentecostal Connection
 

Here we go.
http://www.thomasweisser.com/index.html

Re: The Mormon and Pentecostal Connection
 

Hello, everybody, I am new here, but this thread interests me. Several years ago my daughter and I toured the Salt Lake LDS Temple, and well-dressed and nice-mannered young ladies were offering to be helpful and explain things or give us some literature.

I said to one of them, "I know quite a bit about the LDS. I have not read the entire Book of Mormon, but I have read a lot of it. I betcha I can tell you something you don't know about your religion."

She smiled and asked me, "What?"

"Well," I said, "Do you know what glossolalia is?"

"No," she responded.

"It's the same as speaking in tongues," says I. "Do you know what that is".

"No."

"Okay," I say, "I am Pentecostal, and I will tell you."

So I did.

"What does that have to do with our church?" she asked.

Says I, "Well, officially you Mormons believe in speaking in tongues, but I am sure you don't do it a lot now, if ever."

She was surprised.

However, this is true. If you look at official Mormon doctrine, they supposedly believe this. Don't remember---been several years---where I found this in my research, but I remember being somewhat taken aback by my discovery.

Can anyone verify this by citation of a source??? Or disprove my source, whatever it was (and it probably was Joseph Smith's writings or maybe the "revelations" from the LDS head guru).

Cliff

Re: The Mormon and Pentecostal Connection
 

I spoke to a man once who was some sort of Mormon (they are no more 'unified' than we are). I had been witnessing to a friend of mine about baptism in Jesus' name and the infilling of the Holy Ghost speaking in tongues, and this gentleman was nodding his head in agreement. When I spoke to him a little later, he told me that both of these things he had heard in a Mormon church. I did not understand which sect he belonged to, but he did confirm that he had heard both doctrines taught.

Re: The Mormon and Pentecostal Connection
 

Well, I NEVER heard it before!

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Fortunately, I have a vast collection of books from various religions, cults, occults, and Christian sects.

Even more fortunate, in the case of this thread, I have a book published 'THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS," and this is what their printed material has to say about the topic of speaking in tongues and the gift of the Holy Ghost.

"We believe in the gift of the Holy Ghost being enjoyed now, as much as it was in the Apostles' days; we believe that it [the gift of the Holy Ghost] is necessary...; we also believe in prophecy, in tongues, in visions, and in revelations, in gifts, and in healings; and that these things cannot be enjoyed without the gift of the Holy Ghost." (pg. 97)

Work Cited

Teachings Of Presidents Of The Church: Joseph Smith. Utah. Intellectual Reserve Inc., 2007. Print.

Re: The Mormon and Pentecostal Connection
 

Is any of it published on the net or do we have to buy this precious documentation.

Re: The Mormon and Pentecostal Connection
 

Thanks, Dante. It's good always to have a source--if for no other reason to lend a smidgen of proof to my conviction, when I can recall such, that my synapses (or some of them) are still firing.

Since Joseph Wrote this prior to the Pentecostal outpouring, I am curious as to whether such ever occurred in the LDS. If so, was it widespread? Or only sporadic? And how did the majority of Mormons react?

I'd also like to know if there is a modern "revelation" on the issue and whether it is done today.

Btw, the LDS as I recall came out of the Cane Ridge, KY revival where there was much Pentecostal-style worship. So did the Campbellites, now known as non-instrumental Church of Christ, and they went to the opposite extreme: they suppress just about all emotion in the church. No musical instruments allowed even to stir folks up.