Mormons VS Jehovah’s Witnesses: A Cage Match

Mormons

Mormonism is described by many as being polytheistic, meaning that Mormons worship many gods. They are often placed in the same category as Hindus, or the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians. The problem with this is that Mormons do not worship many gods, but they only acknowledge many gods. This is called Henotheism. Henotheism is the belief that other gods exist, but that only one of the gods is worshiped. Only one god captures the attention of its subjects. Mormons call this god, “Heavenly Father.”

Mormons believe that when you die, if you were good enough in this life, you will ultimately reach the highest of heavens, and you would become a god of your own world. This is called the doctrine of exaltation. I encourage you to click the links within the text below to read more on this.

Henotheism in Mormonism ultimately proves the existence of a transcendent, all powerful God, as seen in the Mormonism Impossible series (Part One, Part Two and Part Three). Because this is philosophically and theologically impossible, it ultimately means that Mormonism is false.

Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah’s Witnesses (JWs), on the other hand, also worship a single “God,” and many of them would argue that they are monotheistic (belief in only one God), but when pressed about Jesus in light of John 1:1, they have little to say about His nature, other than that He is a “little god.” Their translation of John chapter one, verse one, ends with the idea that Jesus was “A” god. It seems that Jehovah’s Witnesses are thus also “henotheists” of a sort. This type of Henotheism is the worship of a single, highest god, while not denying the possible existence of other deities, whatever the type may be. It seems that this description of henotheism also fits the bill nicely. Just because they do not teach that there are many, doesn’t not mean that this is an unqualified description. The problem is that they teach that Jesus is a lesser god, although still a god.

When asked about this, they will often tell you that Jesus is a “lower-case g God.” But what exactly does this mean? When one points them to Exodus chapter 20:3 ("You shall have no other Gods before me."), they often change the subject or deny any part in polytheism. Changing the subject is an easy way out for a Jehovah’s Witness. It is likely one of their most popular tactics, so be ready for it. When this happens, it seems good to gently, but firmly direct them back to your questions.

Jehovah’s Witnesses (Hereafter, JW) teach that Jesus is Michael the Archangel, and because of such, this means that the JW Jesus is incapable of doing certain things, such as what we see in the book of Jude, verse 9. Michael the Archangel does not rebuke Satan, but in Matthew 4:10, we can see that Jesus does rebuke Satan. This is clearly a different Jesus than what the Bible teaches.

So who would win this fight over the championship belt in a battle of truth? The answer is that they would both meet their demise. They would both lose the battle. Much like a double-knockout in the ring. When boxers or MMA fighters strike one another with a hard blow at the same precise moment, they will sometimes both fall flat on their backs. Stunned by the shock of fist meeting face.

The reason for this double-knockout between Mormons and JWs is that they distort the truth about Jesus, to which Paul writes in Galatians 1:6-9:

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.”

The question is, will the Mormon Jesus or the JW Jesus be sufficient for salvation? It seems that the above passage of scripture gives us the answer to that. The Mormon Jesus and the JW Jesus are literally different Jesus’s than what the Bible teaches, as well as being different Jesus’s from one another. The thing is, neither of them hold to the doctrine of the Trinity.

In John 10:30, Jesus says, “I and the Father are one.” Then after He said this the Jews who heard Him say this wanted to kill Him! The Old Testament orders Jews to kill those who commit blasphemy.[1] It is a serious sin that God wanted to purge from His people. Also, knowing that this would likely be one’s punishment would encourage people not to do it.

The issue here is that the Bible teaches the doctrine of the Trinity, and that Jesus is a person in the Trinity. God is one,[2] but He exists in three Persons.[3] The Jews saw a man before them who was claiming that He was God.

So since the Mormon Jesus and the JW Jesus does not fit this description, teaching that Jesus is truly God and truly man,[4] these false religions both fall short of eternal life: knowing the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom He has sent.[5]

For more, see my book on Mormonism:

https://www.amazon.com/Mormonism-Refuting-Fundamental-Apologetics-Latter-Day/dp/1662885377/

Written by Nace Howell through the grace of the Lord Jesus

[1] See Leviticus 24:14.

[2] See Deuteronomy 6:4.

[3] See John 10:30-33; Acts 5:1-4; compare Isaiah 43:11 and Acts 4:12; Revelation 1:8, 17-18, et. al.

[4] If Jesus is not God, then He could not forgive sins (See Hebrews 7:25); If Jesus is not man, then He could not be tempted and could not be the perfect sacrifice (See Hebrews 2:17-18. 4:15-16).

[5] See John 17:3

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