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William Branham’s Message-The mixing of Mormonism with Christianity Was William Branham taught by Mormons? Or, did he adopt their teachings as he did others a as he became the center of the Latter Rain revivalism of the late 40s? William Branham was apparently exposed to Mormonism when he was young and believed, and incorporated various parts of their teachings which are not found in the Bible. One of the main ones was about spirit preexistence which he used to explain his own gift. He also taught that man is a little god; he agreed with Joseph Smith, who said this long before him. Of course, Satan was the first to try to influence Adam and Eve in this teaching; being the very reason he fell in heaven. This concept of preexistence was held by Greek philosophers. “Before time began,the soul was without a body, an archetype, the heavenly man pure in spirit in paradise, yet longing after the archetype, God. Some of the pure spirits descended into bodies and lost their purity”(Plato and the Stoics philosophy). Metaphysics teacher Hilton Hotema, “All visible forms have their counterpart in the invisible world” (Hotema, Mystery Man of the Bible p.25-26) Branham said,“ But your souls were made up before the foundation of the world when God created man in His own image ...”(53-0608A, Demonology, Physical Realm, Roberts Park Amphitheater, Connersville, IN). Clearly, Branham has another creation account explaining the way God produced life. He is teaching a metaphysical version where man existed as spirit, before they became human. Which is also found in the mystic book of the Kabballah; which he apparently read along with other mystical books. Mormonism teaches: “We were first begotten as spirit babies in heaven and then born naturally on earth” (Journal of Discourse, Vol. 4, p. 218). “Man was also in the beginning with God ... (Doctrine and Covenants 93:29). That we lived as spirit creatures in heaven. Branham speaking to an attendee of hiscrusade clarifies his doctrine, “…Jesus has knowed you 'fore you was born. He knowed you when He formed your spirit before the foundation of the world when you were created in the--back there in spirit form ” (55-1009, The Way To Have Fellowship, Lane Tech High School, Chicago, IL). “When the Lord Jesus permitted me to come to the earth.” (64-0427, A Trial, Ramada Inn, Tucson, AZ). “Listen, you don't remember it, neither do I; but we was before the foundation of the world.” (55-0116A, The Believer's Position In Christ, Lane Tech High School, Chicago, IL). According to Branham, we were all made as spirits in heaven, that is, when we were made in God’s image, and we are still not alive when we are put in the body that is made on earth. To become alive, we must breathe outside the womb. Which becomes a blatant internal contradiction to the bible. Branham said, “I don't believe in that Mormon doctrine of pre-existence of souls anymore than I believe in reincarnation or transmigration of souls” (Church age book p. 154). What he meant is that he does not adhere to it exactly the way Mormonism teaches; he had nuanced differences on specific points. But there is no denying your position when you have so many statements on it and say,“But your souls were made up before the foundation of the world when God created man in His Own image”(53-0608A, Demonology, Physical Realm, Roberts Park Amphitheater, Connersville, IN) The Bible says in explicit language, “However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; and afterward the spiritua l. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven”( 1 Cor. 15:46-47). Neither Adam, nor did any Man get his spirit in heaven before he received his body as Branham taught. Paul provides a contrast between the first Adam, a natural being made from the earth, and the last Adam (v.45), who is the Lord from heaven who came to earth, taking upon himself humanity, that from Adam. V.49 “And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.”We are all born as offspring of the first Adam, until we are spiritually born. Only those spiritually born from the last Adam are given the heavenly image of Christ. Clarifying the spiritual is not first, but the natural is. Here is how Branham explained the beginning of life, just like Mormons do… “When a baby is being--a baby is being formed in a womb of a mother, soon as it's put there... See, see? But first it's a spirit. As that spirit begins to take on flesh, a little germ of life begins to take on flesh, and as soon as it drops from its... Now, in the womb, it's a little, quivering, jerking muscles. We know that. That's cells. Just like you take a horse hair and put it in the water, it'll cap over and it'll move, and you touch it and it'll jump. That's the way a baby is. But as soon as it's borned in this world and breathes its first breath, it becomes a living soul ” (61-0112, Questions And Answers, Branham Tabernacle). “that unborn children are not alive until they take their first breath. “You say, ‘Oh, it’s alive!’ No, it isn’t! That’s little nerves jerking, muscles.… The baby hasn’t received life till it’s born ” (Seven Church Ages, pp. 275-286.) Branham would contradict God’s Word, in this matter. He said the baby must wait to be born to become alive. “There's a little angel spirit waiting to receive that natural body. Just as soon as it's born, the breath of life comes into it. And God breathes it in there, and it becomes a living soul.” (65-1205, Things That Are To Be, First Assembly Of God, Rialto, CA). To accept his view, which is more akin with Mormonism, spirits' pre-existence, which has nothing to do with biblical teaching on when life begins. So Branham would be on the side of the pro-abortionist view of when life begins. The problem with his teaching is obvious, if something is not alive it does not grow. Not only were we spirits, but he says we were angelic, Branham explains: “…I think that the people today that are possessed with this Spirit, or the spirit, a part of these angelic beings, spirits which rotated off of God, that never fell in the beginning and resisted the devil's lie in heaven… Them was spirits that was made up back there when God began to make man off of there in His Own image, created those supernatural beings .” (53-0729 Questions and Answers (Genesis). In explaining this, we find him saying of man,“He was made in the image of God. God had hands; God had feet; and so therefore a man was made like Him. So he is an amateur god”(61-0205E, Jesus Christ The Same Yesterday, Today, And Forever, Central Assembly Of God, Tucson, AZ). Exactly like Mormonism, God is a man, man is made in the image of God. As Branham describes, “a perfect reflection of the highest in heaven, which, God is a Man . See? God is a Man; so therefore, it proves it. And when God came down to dwell among us, He was a Man. See? A Man, so it shows that the perfection of evolution was God, which is a Man ” (62-0909M, Countdown, Branham Tabernacle). God, as spirit, is in the form of man. This image is not as the bible describes, spiritually, morally but is an actual literal image as man. Which is what is also found in Occultism. Joseph Smith said that, “First God Himself, who sits enthroned in yonder heaven, is a man like unto one of yourselves, that is the great secret. . .I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined that God was God from all eternity. . . God himself; the Father of us all dwelt on an earth the same as Jesus Christ himself did, . . .You have go to learn how to be gods yourselves; . . .No man can learn you more than what I have told you.” (Joseph Smith, Times and Seasons, Vol. 5, pages 613-614) Branham tells us how God came to be God also, and it is even more kooky than Joseph Smith’s fantasy teaching, because it is drawn from Occult teachings. This is said multiple times “ And you got your spirit before you're--ever come to the world. ” “Your spirit's in your heart. See? And you got your spirit before you're--ever come to the world. (59-1223, Questions And Answers, Branham Tabernacle). “Now, so were you in, if you've got Eternal Life, you were a ... in God before there ever was a world. You are a part, a son of God, an attribute of God ” (65-1204, The Rapture, Ramada Inn, Yuma, AZ). Branham’s view of pre-existence was completely flawed. “In the beginning when God made man in his image he made him a theophany. ” (Question &Answers 1959). “So then when God made His first man, He was a spirit man. He was something on the order of God, or the Son of God, the Logos. That was the first man” (53-0403, The Cruelty Of Sin, And The Penalty That It Cost To Rid Sin From Our Lives, Branham Tabernacle). He later said,“And then the Logos went out of God, which become the theophany, and that was in the form of a man.” (57-0908M, Hebrews, Chapter Five And Six #1, Branham Tabernacle). “when God made His first man, He was a spirit man. He was something on the order of God, or the Son of God, the Logos. That was the first man ” (53-0403, The Cruelty Of Sin, And The Penalty That It Cost To Rid Sin From Our Lives, Branham Tabernacle). God having a body of flesh is exactly what William Branham taught. He spoke favorably of Mormonism, not like he spoke of other Christians in different denominations. “ Now they may be present, some Mormon brethren or sisters,... Some of the finest people I... you would want to meet would be in the Mormon people--very fine type of people; … And the vision, I don't doubt at all but what he had the vision. I believe he was a sincere man, but the vision he had was contrary to the Scripture; therefore, they had to have a Mormon Bible to make it. This is It here, to me. This is--I tell you this is the Word; that's it” (God Hidden and Revealed in Simplicity; 63-0323, The Sixth Seal, Branham Tabernacle). So his vision is contrary to Scripture but Branham’s copying of his teachings is not contrary? And where did he get this knowledge of Mormonism? He visited their church, “Now, I've been in their temples many times; they're very fine people” (54-0515 Image of the Beast). He tells us that before his conversion, he learned what others believed, not just from Mormons. He also tells us, “Many years ago, when I was just a boy, at the dedication of the Mormon Temple ... I didn't remember whether it was Tempe or “Mesa,” is where the brethren said” (62-0118, Convinced Then Concerned, Full Gospel Church, Tempe, AZ). … Branham tells us that he had their books (and others) in his library (51-0509, Testimony). Apparently, this was in 1927 when William Branham was 18 years old he attended a dedication. If one is not a Mormon he is not allowed to be at the dedication of the temple. Connection to Mormonism? In the 1930s, Otto Fetting was a Mormon who claimed that he had been visited by John the Baptist, he joined the Temple Lot Church of Christ. Since Latter-day Saints are accustomed to angelic his visitations were accepted by the Temple Lot organization. However, later, when Fetting said he was given the same “keys to the priesthood” that was given to Joseph Smith, they had him leave. He then became the founder of a “Church of Christ” of his own. After Fetting died, William Draves at 17 years of age, an elder in his church began to receive messages from the same angel, which was not accepted. This then forced him to form his own church, known as the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message . In 1937, in the preface to the vision, Draves said he was awakened, hearing footsteps on the ground floor. I raised up in bed and looking toward the staircase seeing a light coming shine up the stairway. He saw it was a man dressed in a white robe and a light radiated from him, lighting the whole room. Around him it was much brighter. His beard was radiant, his eyes which shone like neon light, though piercing and bright, were gentle and pleasant, his looks kind. I was somewhat afraid” The angel who identified himself as John the Baptist and Elijah and is described similar to Branham’s angel (minus the beard), said, “I am the Messenger of the Covenant. I am sent to bring the message, to prepare the way…with the warning that the hour of His judgment is on and His coming near. This is the closing time, a time of haste.” Drave’s formed a Church of Christ with the Elijah Message. He used the scriptures (that Branham would us), He has come as Christ said he would. “Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things ” (Matthew 17:11). “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). Drave’s described the heavenly messenger as: “The messenger wears a white robe, his hair is a tiny bit gold next to his skin and blended to whiteness like pure wool, white as snow. His eyes are like a flame and his feet like the brightness of fine brass, as if they were ablaze. His voice has the sound of one having authority. His countenance is as the brightness of the sun with its greatness in light, even brighter than light that shineth down on the earth. He is enveloped in light and immediately around him is very bright.” Drave’s published 90 revelations he had received in a book called “The Word of the Lord Brought to Mankind by an Angel.” His message was called a warning to all people about the second coming of Christ. Drave’s also prophesied on the Second World War and got much, if not all wrong. All of it was Reminiscent of Joseph Smith’s visitation of the angel Moroni, and many portions are strikingly similar to another angel that came after to William Branham. Here is where it gets bizarre; in message number 52, he mentions William Branham. He describes “The Messenger of the Lord appeared in my room 3:20 a.m., October 4, 1941. … I plead with you that know it not as yet, go to God in all humility and ask in faith as to the truthfulness of the coming of John the Baptist, the Elias clothed in light and power, and it will be made known to you by the Power of the Holy Ghost” (W. A. Draves). In message 52:18. “ Therefore; let John Bracken, Lloyd Ford, John S. Seiffert, George William Draves, George T. Morris, David Spitler, William Pearl Brown, and My servant William Branham be set apart as elders.” Is this the same William Branham who claimed to be the one with the Elijah message? He did not speak unfavorably against the Mormon church. Is it a coincidence that Branham taught a number of doctrines that Mormons held? Is it a coincidence that the Mormons call their church a tabernacle? The fact that he used the same terminology, such as terrestrial body celestial body. These are not normal words in Christianity but they are in Mormonism, this coincidence is uncanny. God is Mother and Father Like Mormonism William Branham had various opinions on who God is, on His nature and personhood.“And Christ is our Mother. We realize that God is our Mother , for we are born of Him”(65-0919, Thirst, Grant Way Assembly Of God, Tucson, AZ). He had taught that in heaven man was made in Gods image, as the spirit man, and that is who Adam was, until they were separated on earth in the body. As if this were not confusing enough, he would also say, “Jesus Christ is here. He is our Father. He is our Mother” (63-1201E, Just Once More, Lord, Life Tabernacle, Shreveport, LA). While this has similarities to Mary the Queen in heaven found in Roman Catholicism, Branham leaned far more into Mormon doctrine. Not only did Branham wrongly believe that Jesus is the Father (then who sent him to earth from heaven?), but he also said he is a mother, just as he is the Father. These terms were not kept in their biblical context. This is the origin of our spiritual organization in heaven. The spirits of all mankind, destined for this earth, were begotten by a father, and born of a mother in Heaven long anterior to the formation of this world. The personages of the father and mother of our spirits, had a beginning to their organization, but the fulness of truth (which is God) that dwells in them, had no beginning; being “from everlasting to everlasting.” (Psalm 90:2)” ( Delivered in the Tabernacle, SLC; President Brigham Young; July 24, 1853. The mother of human spirits and the wife of God the Father. Jesus Christ is our elder brother, the first spirit born to God the Father and Mother in Heaven. Christ and Lucifer are spirit brothers, in a pre-mortal pre-existence (Gospel Principles, by the Mormon Church, 1986 and older editions, pp.15-16). Why is it that Branham mimicked the Mormon teaching of a God and a Mother in Heaven that produced spirit children in a premortal existence, who are born into this world as mortal, flesh and blood infants? “We got a Mother that answers when you … a Mother who is in Heaven, who Mothers us all. “As a hen hovers her brood, and coos to them, and—and woos over her… broods over her chickens, so will I brood over you ” (57-0922E “Hebrews, Chapter Seven). Speaking of Abraham, “He was what? El Shaddai, the Breast. So in other words He would be the mother to God--or to Abraham. Is God a Mother? Sure He is . We are borned of God. Is that right? So that makes God our Mother. God is our Father ”(56-0816, The Working Of The Holy Spirit, Prince Albert Arena, Prince Albert, SK). Branham adjusted Mormon teaching to be more conducive to the church. Branham “Now, the Spirit of God that dwells in the Church, is the Spirit that come from heaven, that God knew before the foundation of the world, that rejected the devil's lie. And that spirit had to take a body of flesh to be--to take his testings. He had to come flesh like these others did, and all of them put on the equal yoke” (57-1006, Questions And Answers On Hebrews #3, Branham Tabernacle). This is Mormonism with a twist of Gnosticism and a dash of metaphysical teaching that when eaten is poison. You can read more of the same https://letusreason.org/LDS25.htm How Branham used stories to affirmed his personhood and message. He spoke in this story, “And up here at Santa Rosa not long ago, the minister may be standing present now; ... And they was trying to put a man out of the prayer line. And he kept saying, “I'm not wanting in the prayer line; I'm wanting to see this minister.” And I said, “Let him alone,” down like this. “What do you want, sir?”And he said, “How do you spell your name?”And I said, “B-R-A-N-H-A-M.”He said, “Mother, that's it. That's it.” And a lady came forth. They had an old paper, turned yellow. They were evangelists, belonging to the Assemblies of God. … it'd be about twenty-six years now. Twenty-two years before that, one said they had a gift of speaking in tongues, the other one had the gift of interpretation. And when they were ... Said they were down praying, twenty-two years before that, and the interpretation come. And this was one of their messages they had laying back, said, “THUS SAITH THE LORD, in the last days before the coming of the Lord, I'll send My servant, William Branham, up the West Coast with ...” And there it was wrote on old paper” (51-0509, Testimony, Calvary Temple, Los Angeles, CA) This is all hearsay and a story that cannot be verified. To actually say THUS SAITH THE LORD in the last days before the coming of the Lord, I'll send My servant, William Branham when it is not mentioned in prophecy, diminishes the Bible as the final arbiter of truth. This Came from a Pentecostal Church. But Branham went further to try to validate himself. “And then one night, I was coming out of Seattle, and there was a man standing over there. And he had a book under his arm. He kept telling me, “Brother Branham, you're in the wrong church.” And I didn't know what he was talking of. And he put the book under my arm. It was called the Mormon Word Of God. I don't know what it was. It's a--it's one of their prophets of The Latter Day Saint, some bunch of them, that they claims they see the neophytes. ... on a certain page there... I have the book in my library. It prophesied, their prophet, and sai d, that, “In the last days that Germany would have a--a ism called Nazis.” And it went ahead and said, “In that day, let W-i double l-i-a-m, William Branham be called and set aside in humility for the service that I have called him to.” That's right. Wrote years” (51-0509, Testimony, Calvary Temple, Los Angeles, CA) Sounds very much like the same story. Was it revisioned? This was a Mormon prophecy bearing witness to Branham, validating him. Did the Holy Ghost speak through a Mormon on Branham? Branham who claimed to be a prophet used it. Are we to accept a prophecy from a false church as an accurate prophecy? Branham certainly wanted them to accept the story. William Branham appears to think that this Mormon prophecy was about him. If it was, then could it be the same William Branham that William Drave’s spoke of in number 52. Is the Mormon teachings just coincidence? Highly improbable.
“Now, Mormons believe prophecy. I don't--might not be any here, but
they--but they do believe in--in prophecy. But, so, now, maybe I'm
talking out of school, well I... Yeah. Yeah. But, however, they
believe. And he say, he come back to me, said, “I understand that
you are a prophet.” And he said, “I understand, that my brother tells me, that you are a prophet.” I said, “No , sir.” I said, “It isn't that I am a prophet.” I said, “The Lord has showed me things to come to pass”(65-0426, Proving His Word, Embassy Hotel, Los Angeles, CA ) What’s going on here? How many times did Branham say he was a prophet? “He said, Believe me to be God’s prophet”over 150 times; “believe me to be his prophet”over 200 times; He taught God’s prophets are his servants, saying, “ believe me to be his servant” over 200 times. Did he not say he comes as John the baptizer (a Elijah prophet), it is during this time he is claiming to be the last prophet to the church. “Joseph Smith met an angel. I wouldn't doubt that a bit. But when he got off the Bible, that's when I left it. See, right there when he leaves the Bible. God will never do anything contrary to what He's already written. He has to stay with His Word” ( 59-0424A, The Faith Of Abraham, Santa Clara County). Fairgrounds, San Jose, CA). What of when Branham got off the Bible and was not honest with his words?
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