Preachers of False Gospels Are Accursed

Galatians 1:1; 1. An apostle . . . by Jesus Christ] Christ chooses his own ministers, be they apostles, or elders, or deacons (John 15:16), and wo unto those who profess to hold ministerial power unless it has in fact come from the Almighty! Apostles] See Acts 13:50-52; Acts 14:1-7; 1 Corinthians 4:1-21.

Galatians 1:3; 3. God the Father, and... our Lord Jesus Christ] Two Gods, not one, and wo unto those who wrest the scriptures in futile attempts to sustain false creeds!

Galatians 1:4; 4. For our sins] Christ died for our sins on conditions of repentance (D&C 18:11-12), and wo unto those who do not accept his gospel and repent of all their sins! (D&C 19:4-21.)

Galatians 1:4; According to the will of God] "I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me." (3 Nephi 27:13.)

Galatians 1:4; Our Father] God the Eternal Father, the Father of spirits, the personal Parent of all men in pre-existence.

Galatians 1:6-12; 6-12. Apostasy was rampant among the Galatian Saints. Chiefly they were trying to harmonize their newly found faith with the law of Moses, so as to preserve the laws and ordinances of both the old and the new covenants. It was as though members of the Church today should attempt to harmonize the truths of the restored gospel with the beliefs and practices of the sectarian world.

Galatians 1:6-7; 6. Another gospel] 7. Which is not another] That there is and can be only one gospel—one Church, one plan of salvation, one true religion—is as self-evident as any truth known to man. There can no more be two true gospels or two true churches than there can be two true and differing scientific facts. Truth is truth. And truth and salvation and the gospel all are ordained of God. They are what they are; and they are not what they are not. Men either have the truths of salvation or they do not; they either possess the gospel, which is the plan of salvation, or they do not. If they have the gospel, it is, in over-all scope and in minutest detail, exactly what Paul had. If any part or portion of their system of religion differs from what the ancient Apostle taught and believed, what they have is in fact a perversion of the true gospel. There is no more sense or reason in saying that two differing churches are both true than in claiming that black and white are both the same color.

Galatians 1:7; The gospel of Christ] Romans 1:1-17.

Galatians 1:8; 8. That which we have preached] 9. That ye have received] What gospel is this? It is the gospel of God concerning his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord; it is that God is the Creator, that Christ is the Redeemer, and that based on his atoning sacrifice, men may be saved by obedience to his laws and ordinances. It is a gospel of faith, repentance, baptism, the receipt of the Holy Ghost, and enduring in righteousness to the end. It is a gospel of priestly power received from God; of apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, and numerous legal administrators; of miracles, tongues, gifts of the Spirit, revelation, visions. It is the everlasting gospel; the gospel of Adam, Enoch, Noah, and Abraham; of the Nephites and Jaredites; and of Joseph Smith and the Latter-day Saints. It is the same gospel preached by an angel sent from God in heaven to man on earth in modern times. It is the gospel recorded in the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. It is the power of God whereby men are saved in his kingdom; and in this day and age it is found only in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Galatians 1:8; Let him be accursed] Who? Anyone in heaven or on earth, in time or eternity, in Paul's day or ours, anyone who preaches any gospel other than the true one. Why? Because there is no salvation in a false religion. There is no saving power in a man-made system of salvation. Man does not have power to create the celestial kingdom any more than he has power to resurrect himself. Religion comes from God. He created it; he ordained it; he established the laws and conditions whereunder salvation may be gained. And any man—whether mortal or immortal, whether man or angel—who preaches any system other than the very one ordained by Deity, leads men astray and keeps them from gaining celestial salvation.

Galatians 1:8; To whom, then, doth the Apostle make reference? Specifically to the false teachers among the Galatians, but in principle to all false teachers, teachers of whom Nephi said, "And all those who preach false doctrines, . . . wo, wo, wo be unto them, saith the Lord God Almighty, for they shall be thrust down to hell!" (2 Nephi 28:15.)

Galatians 1:8; And who is a false teacher, a false minister, a false prophet? Anyone who does not teach the truth, minister the elements of true religion, or prophesy truly of that which is yet to be. It is truth, pure, diamond truth that counts, and nothing else. A true preacher is one who belongs to the true Church, believes the true gospel, holds that priesthood which is in fact the power of God delegated to man on earth, and who receives revelation from the one true Spirit Being who is the Holy Ghost. And wo unto all others for they fall under the eternal law here announced by one who was a legal administrator and who wrote by the power of the Spirit.

Galatians 1:8; False apostles] See 2 Corinthians 11:12-15. False rites] See 1 Corinthians 10:16-33.

Galatians 1:10; 10. One of the chief identifying characteristics of the true gospel is that it is not pleasing to the carnal mind; it does not make friends with the world; it does not please worldly people. Those who choose to eat, drink, and be merry, who are unclean and immoral, who are proud and worldly, always find themselves in opposition to the truths of salvation and to the organization which sponsors and teaches them.

Galatians 1:11-12; 11-12. Paul got the gospel in the same way every convert gets it—by personal revelation. No one ever receives the true gospel from man. It is not taught my man's power, but dawns upon true converts, by the power of the Spirit, in the form of personal testimony. Once the spirit of testimony is planted in the heart of a man, the door is open for the revelation of that added light and knowledge which assures an inheritance in the heavens above.