The Mormons are a religious group that embraces various concepts of Christianity but also the revelations put forth by their founder, Joseph Smith.
It’s a relatively new religion in the grand scheme of things, having been founded in 1830, and a common question surrounding the faith is, do Mormons believe in reincarnation?
Mormons don’t believe in the idea of reincarnation. While Mormons do believe that life doesn’t begin when you’re born into this world, they don’t believe in a continuous cycle of life on earth, much like Hinduism or Buddhism.
Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, taught that reincarnation is a false doctrine.
This article will discuss whether or not the Mormons believe in reincarnation. So keep reading! We have everything you need to know about Mormons’ beliefs on reincarnation.
Do Mormons Believe In The Idea?
The Mormons are a religious group that has embraced the various teachings of Christianity and molded them into a distinct belief system.
While Mormons consider themselves members of the Christian faith, different Christain churches don’t recognize them as a denomination of Christianity.
The Mormons follow four specific texts: The Book of Mormon, the Christian bible, The Pearl of Great Price, and The Doctrine and Covenants.
They agree with much of what modern Christianity puts forward; however, various ideas, such as Adam and Eve living in Missouri, branch them off from traditional Christian beliefs.
While the Mormon religion was founded upon various teachings from Christianity mixed together with the revelations of Joseph Smith, they are often considered to be a branch of the Latter-Day Saints.
Joseph Smith was born in 1805, and as a young child, he said he was visited by an angel known as Moroni, who revealed to him a sacred book supposedly written in the 4th century, which he had to translate.
By the mid-1830s, Mormonism had spread throughout Missouri, Illinois, and Ohio.
Joseph Smith, known as a prophet to many Mormons, explicitly taught that the idea of reincarnation is a false doctrine and should not be incorporated into any Mormon beliefs.
It suggests it is a corruption of the plan of salvation.
Minor Similarities Between Latter-Day Doctrines And Reincarnation
While most Mormons generally believe the words spoken by Paul, “there’s only one death, not numerous,” sometimes written as “it’s appointed to men to die only once,” there are a few similarities between the Eastern idea of reincarnation and the Western idea of immortality.
Various Mormons and members of the Church Of The Latter Day Saints would agree there are a few similarities between their doctrine and that of reincarnation.
Mormons don’t believe that life begins when you’re born here on earth and doesn’t end with death.
Mormons believe they are spirit children of the great Heavenly Father and that we all lived in a somewhat premortal state, or “first state,” before we were born here on earth. As we were born on this earth, we were given a physical body, and the same goes for animals and plants, too, as all things existed before life here on earth.
Various Mormons believe that all things were created in the spiritual realm before they were created and born naturally upon the face of the earth; this is even quoted by Moses. Thus, there are numerous similarities between the nature of reincarnation and our eternal life.
So, Do Any Mormons Believe In Reincarnation?
So, while some Mormons can see the similarities in their doctrines and those of the far east, which incorporate reincarnation.
Both sets of prophets speak about aiming to be righteous to determine circulates in the next place; most Mormons disagree with Eastern ideas of endless reincarnations until you break the cycle through righteousness.
As we mentioned above, Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, strongly opposed reincarnation, believing it was counterfeit to the plan of salvation.
Nor does it agree with the doctrines of The Latter Day Saints, their purpose of life, and the actions taken by Jesus Christ so that we could all reach salvation.
Conclusion
So, we have compared the Mormon idea of the afterlife to the Eastern belief of reincarnation, and how there are a few similarities; however, Mormons do not believe in the idea of continuous reincarnation on earth.
Joseph Smith, their founder, and prophet, also strongly disagree with the concept, which is the opinion of the Church Of Latter-Day Saints.
