This idea of becoming like God is not unique to Mormons, or Gnostics. I did a post on the Orthodox Christian idea of theosis. Some of the ancient Christian fathers had very “Mormon” sounding ideas. For example, Athanasius said, ‘God became man, that man might become God.’ Personally, I think it is a shame that most Western Christians have pulled away from this idea, though I’m impressed that Orthodox Christians still actively support this idea.

Primarily, I see the importance of temple worship that is emphasized in the Nag Hammadi texts as a striking similarity to Mormonism. The temple is described as a holy building, within which were several rooms, each with different purposes, where sacred rituals were performed. This isn’t in itself unique among religions, but in the Nag Hammadi text of Phillip, it is mentioned that a new name and garments are given in the temple, and that a ritual washing and annointing are performed. Sounds a lot like the descriptions I’ve heard of the Mormon temple rituals? Also, although the exact purpose and ritual of the bridal chamber is not fully known, it is mentioned several times in the Nag Hammadi texts. It is described as the room within the temple that is the ‘holiest of holies’, and in some cases in context with what sounds like eternal marriage. In the gospel of Phillip from Nag Hammadi: “Christ came to repair the separation which was from the beginning and again unite the two, and to give life to those who died as a result of the separation and unite them. But the woman is united to her husband in the bridal chamber. Indeed those who have united in the bridal chamber will no longer be separated…”.

- Although not exact, their is a similarity between Seth hiding the religious texts ‘in a mountain’ until the end of time, and Moroni hiding the gold plates ‘in a hill’ until the end of time.

- The notion that we can become like god, or A god, through knowing him is a component of both Mormonism and the book of James in the Nag Hammadi texts.

- The notion of a ‘Veil’ that is placed over our mind upon receiving a physical body in Mormonism, a veil which causes us to forget our pre-existence. The Apocryphon of John from the Nag Hammadi text says: “This is the tomb of the newly-formed body with which the robbers had clothed the man, the bond of forgetfulness; and he became a mortal man” and also, “…she lifted the veil which lay over his mind. And he became sober from the drunkenness of darkness.”

I haven’t finished reading them yet, but I keep coming across things that remind me of LDS practices and teachings. I am also aware of the distinct differences as well, but I thought the similarities specific enough to peak my interest. I’m also not a scholar when it comes to Mormonism, so I may have also missed some similarities or misunderstood some of those I mentioned above. Thoughts?

Most of the similarities in this link are either completely false, or too general to indicate a legitimate parallel between the Mormons and the writers of the Dead Sea Scrolls (scholars aren’t even sure if it was the Essenes, or multiple groups who authored the scrolls). More importantly, the differences between these groups are blatantly ignored in this link.

If similarities as general as keeping a written record of your activities, being led by men, and being oppressed for your beliefs are indicative of a theological association, then we could postulate a connection between any two groups we choose. A more interesting comparison with the Mormons is to the early Gnostics who buried the codices at Nag Hammadi. I’ll post more on this below.