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The recent appointment of Elder Clark G. Gilbert as a new Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) offers a timely occasion to re‑examine the theological framework of Mormonism through the lens of historic, Reformed, Scripture‑based Christianity. When judged by the standard of the Holy Bible, the LDS concept of continuing apostleship, and indeed its wider system of revelation and authority, collapses entirely.
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. Matthew 24:4-5
1. The Fallacy of Continuing Apostles
LDS Position:
The LDS Church teaches that after the deaths of Christ’s original apostles, the priesthood and true authority of the Church vanished from the earth. They claim that Joseph Smith restored both through angelic ordination in the nineteenth century, re‑establishing a living quorum of twelve apostles authorised to receive revelation and govern the Church — a tradition continued in the recent appointment of Elder Clark G. Gilbert.
Reformed and Biblical Response:
This teaching is incompatible with both Scripture and apostolic history. The Bible presents the apostolic office as unique, foundational, and completed in the first century. The New Testament closes with no hint of a continuing succession, and Paul’s own apostleship — often misused by the LDS as precedent — instead proves the opposite.
a. The Apostles Were a Foundation, Not a Succession
The apostles were divinely chosen by Christ Himself to bear direct, eyewitness testimony to His resurrection and to establish the doctrinal foundation of the Church. The qualification was explicit in Acts 1:21–22, where Peter declared that an apostle must be one who had companied with Christ and witnessed His resurrection.
That cannot be replicated today. The original office was historical, not hereditary. As Paul himself notes, the Church is:
“Built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.” — Ephesians 2:20
A foundation is laid once, not endlessly reconstructed. To speak of present-day apostles is as incoherent as building a house by perpetually relaying its foundations.
b. Paul Was the Final Extraordinary Apostle, Not a Pattern for New Ones
Some LDS apologists invoke the Apostle Paul as evidence that God can appoint apostles at any time. But Scripture itself refutes that argument.
Paul’s commissioning was exceptional, not normative. He was directly chosen by the risen Christ, by personal encounter, outside the normal apostolic circle:
“And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.” — 1 Corinthians 15:8
That phrase “last of all” is crucial. Paul understood his calling as the final act in the series of resurrection witnesses. He did not inaugurate a new apostolic era — he closed it.
Paul met the true biblical criteria:
- He saw the risen Lord (1 Corinthians 9:1).
- He was directly commissioned by Christ Himself (Acts 9:15).
- His ministry was authenticated by miracles: “The signs of an apostle were wrought among you” (2 Corinthians 12:12).
- His writings became Holy Scripture and were recognised as such (2 Peter 3:16).
No LDS apostle can meet even one of those requirements. Their appointment is institutional, not supernatural — an act of human succession, not divine calling. Paul’s apostleship therefore exposes the LDS claim, rather than validating it.
c. The Apostolic Era Ended with the Completion of Revelation
With the death of the original apostles — including Paul and John — divine revelation ceased. The canon of Scripture was closed, and the faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 3) became the final rule of truth.
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” — 2 Timothy 3:16–17
This completeness of Scripture means there is no need and no ground for new apostles. Their supposed revelations, adjustments, and doctrinal changes therefore reflect not divine guidance, but human ambition.
d. False Apostles Were Foretold
The apostle Paul himself warned that such claimants would emerge:
“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.” — 2 Corinthians 11:13
Modern apostleship creates endless doctrinal fluidity, placing the authority of men above the authority of Scripture. Every new revelation becomes a pretext for another distortion of truth — precisely what the apostolic warnings foresaw.
e. The Biblical Model of Church Leadership
After the apostolic age, the New Testament knows no continuation of apostolic authority. Christ governs His Church through the teaching of the apostolic Word and through elders and teachers who expound it faithfully (Ephesians 4:11–13, 1 Timothy 3).
The Reformed position recognises that ministers and pastors today are custodians of the apostolic faith, not new apostles. Their authority is derivative — rooted solely in Scripture, not in claimed revelation.
Paul’s apostleship was an exception within the foundation, not the beginning of a line of successors. The LDS concept of living apostles denies that finality, undermines the sufficiency of Scripture, and replaces Christ’s fixed Word with the subjective declarations of institutional leaders.
Thus, the very existence of the Apostle Paul — a man called “as one born out of due time” — not only fails to support the LDS claim but conclusively destroys it. Paul stands as the last of Christ’s witnesses to the Resurrection, after whom the foundation was complete and the revelation closed forever.
2. The Nature of God
LDS Position:
Mormonism teaches that God the Father was once a mortal man who attained godhood through eternal progression, and that human beings may follow the same path to divine exaltation. This is epitomised in the statement of early LDS leader Lorenzo Snow:
“As man now is, God once was; as God now is, man may be.”
Reformed and Biblical Response:
This doctrine is blasphemous and philosophically incoherent. The God of Scripture is eternal, uncreated, and immutable:
“God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent.” — Numbers 23:19
“Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.” — Isaiah 43:10
“I am the LORD, I change not.” — Malachi 3:6
“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” — John 4:24
“Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” — 1 Timothy 1:17
The Reformed faith recognises the absolute distinction between Creator and creature. Any teaching that declares man can become God is not an exaltation of humanity but a reenactment of the serpent’s lie in Genesis 3:5 — “Ye shall be as gods.” Mormon theology thus destroys true worship by confusing the infinite with the finite.
3. The Person of Christ
LDS Position:
In LDS belief, Jesus Christ is the first spirit-child of the Heavenly Father and His wife, followed by all other humans and spirits, including Lucifer. Jesus is seen as an exalted being within the same ontological family as men.
Reformed and Biblical Response:
The biblical and historic Christ is uncreated, co-eternal, and co-equal with God the Father.
John 1:1–3 declares:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by him.”
To present Christ as a created or derived being is to preach “another Jesus” (2 Corinthians 11:4). The LDS Christ cannot save because He is not the eternal I AM, but a diminished deity within a polytheistic cosmos. Only the self-existent Word made flesh can redeem fallen man.
4. Salvation and the Gospel of Grace
LDS Position:
The LDS Church teaches that grace enables man to perform saving works through faithfulness to ordinances and covenants — baptism by LDS authority, temple marriage, tithing, and moral obedience are seen as conditions for exaltation. A key LDS text reads: “We are saved by grace, after all we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23).
Reformed and Biblical Response:
The biblical gospel is grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
Salvation is a free gift, not a cooperative endeavour:
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast.” — Ephesians 2:8–9
To make grace contingent upon human performance negates Scripture’s teaching that Christ’s work is complete. The Saviour cried, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Mormonism’s hybrid of grace and merit is a return to the very bondage of works from which the gospel frees us.
5. The Authority of Extra-Biblical Revelation
LDS Position:
In addition to the Bible, the LDS canon includes the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price, all regarded as inspired. Prophets and apostles may issue new revelations or reinterpret old ones.
Reformed and Biblical Response:
This directly contradicts sola scriptura. The Word of God is complete and normatively sufficient. The Book of Revelation closes the canon with this warning:
“If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book.” — Revelation 22:18
New “scriptures” and living revelations introduce endless mutability; they create a system where truth becomes subject to leadership, not to Christ. The Reformers recognised that man either submits to Scripture or ultimately rules over it.
6. The Book of Mormon: Historical and Doctrinal Defects
Even apart from theology, the Book of Mormon fails every test of divine inspiration.
Its language, culture, and assumptions reflect nineteenth‑century America, not ancient Israel or the pre‑Columbian world. Its stories lack archaeological, linguistic, and genetic corroboration. It reproduces large portions of the King James Bible, including translation errors unique to seventeenth‑century English.
This is not the fingerprint of revelation but of fabrication. Genuine revelation bears marks of divine authorship; the Book of Mormon bears the marks of its human author.
7. The Claim of a Great Apostasy and Restoration
LDS Position:
The LDS Church teaches that after the original apostles died, Christianity fell into apostasy until Joseph Smith restored the true church by divine direction in 1830.
Reformed and Biblical Response:
This narrative is incoherent in light of Christ’s promise:
“Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” — Matthew 16:18
If apostolic authority and true doctrine perished for eighteen centuries, then Christ’s own words failed. The Reformed position upholds that while corruption did enter the Church, its witness never utterly ceased. The Protestant Reformation was a recovery of biblical truth, not a reinvention of Christianity, and certainly not a human “restoration.”
8. The Heart of the Issue
At its core, Mormonism transposes the gospel from divine grace to human ascent. It replaces the eternal God with an exalted man and transforms salvation into self‑deification. It denies the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice and the finality of His Word.
Those who follow its teachings may be earnest, but sincerity cannot redeem falsehood. The theology of the LDS leads souls away from Christ’s finished work.
“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” — Galatians 1:8
Summary Table
| Doctrine | LDS Teaching | Biblical (Reformed) Teaching | Scriptural Basis (KJV) |
| Apostles | Continuing apostolic authority today | Apostolic office completed and foundational | Acts 1:21–22; Ephesians 2:20 |
| Scripture | Bible + later LDS books + modern revelation | Bible alone, sufficient and final | 2 Timothy 3:16–17; Revelation 22:18–19 |
| God | Exalted man who progressed to godhood | Eternal, uncreated, immutable God | Isaiah 43:10; Malachi 3:6 |
| Christ | Created spirit-child of God and brother of Lucifer | Eternal, consubstantial Son of God | John 1:1–3; Colossians 1:16 |
| Salvation | Grace plus works and temple ordinances | Grace alone through faith | Ephesians 2:8–9; Romans 11:6 |
| Revelation | Continuing divine revelation by prophets | Revelation complete in Christ and Scripture | Hebrews 1:1–2 |
| Church | Restored by Joseph Smith | Continuous since Christ’s institution | Matthew 16:18 |
Conclusion
The LDS Church cannot be considered a Christian denomination; it is a separate religion that borrows biblical language while overturning biblical truth. Its system of continuing apostles, ever‑changing revelation, and human exaltation stands in direct contradiction to the teaching of the Word of God.
Reformed Christianity, grounded upon the Innerant, Preserved, and unchanging Word of God, confesses that divine truth is final, complete, and immutable. There are no new apostles, no new revelations, and no new gospels — only the eternal Christ, the unchanging Word, and the grace that saves wholly by Him.
