Anti Mormon - Walter Ralston Martin - Examining the Facts

"Doctor" Walter R. Martin was the founder and director of the Christian Research Institute in San Juan Capistrano, California. His books The Maze of Mormonism and The Kingdom of the Cults" have been common sources for sectarian world to turn to when seeking knowledge about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Martin's books appear well documented, and his type of writing was bombastic in exposing the "serious threats" of the Mormon Church to Christian society, making very entertaining and compelling reading until you go beneath the surface and investigate his claims and credentials. I have provided a sample below.

Phony Academic Credentials

"Doctor" Walter Martin's only doctorate was from a non accredited correspondence school in Southern California, one step above a degree mill. He also claimed a master's degree in Comparative Religion. However, for years prior to getting his "doctorate," Walter Martin was referring to himself as "Doctor" On both of his most popular books, Martin claimed to have four degrees. His "degrees" are from Stony Brook School [a high school!], Adelphi University [where he attended one semester], Biblical Seminary of New York [where he attended a summer session], and New York University [where he received a master's in Philosophy, not Comparative Religion, as he claimed]. In short "Doctor" Martin did not hold a valid doctorate in anything.

False Ministerial Credentials

Walter Martin commonly claimed to be an ordained Baptist Minister of the Southern Baptist Convention and the American Baptists Convention. However, Martin's only valid ordination was revoked in 1953. Yet, in 1973 court documents relating to his second divorce, Martin claimed, under oath, to be "an ordained Minister of the American Baptist Convention in good standing"[1]. In a letter from the Executive Director of the American Baptist Churches, USA, Reverend Linda C. Spoolstra stated: "Walter Ralston Martin is not listed in the American Baptist Churches' Professional Registry, nor is he listed in our Directory of Professional Church Leaders. This means that he has no standing in our denomination." In a letter from the Southern Baptist Agency, Barbara Denman wrote: "We have searched our . . . personnel records for the name of Walter Martin, but are unable to come up with anything. Evidently, he is not Southern Baptist, nor is he ordained."

Walter Martin's False Genealogy"

Walter Martin repeatedly claimed in his book , in his lectures, and on radio shows that he was a descendant of early Mormon Leader Brigham Young. In a taped lecture in 1977, he made this statement to his audience:

Wayne Cowdery and I are very close because he is a descendant of Oliver
Cowdery, who allegedly wrote down the Book of Mormon that Joseph dictated.
he is now a reborn Christian. I am a descendant of Brigham Young---
successor to Joseph Smith, ruler of the Latter-day Saints Church ---- a born
again Christian.

Walter Martin was not a descendant of Brigham Young. That was proven in a public setting in 1984, whereupon Martin changed his claim. He then said he was related to one of Brigham's brothers--- also a false claim. [As it turns out, Wayne Cowdery was not a descendant of Oliver Cowdery's only surviving child, a daughter, died childless!]

Martin's "Sloppy Scholarship"

Martin claimed to be an authority on the doctrines and the finances of the LDS Church. In the preface of his book The Maze of Mormonism, he stated: "The facts herein contained must be sound and reliable if the conclusions arrived at are to be considered valid. . . . I have made every effort to accomplish this goal of accuracy."[2]

However, inside the text of his book, Martin proves to be pathetically inaccurate on every issue. For example, on pages 16-22 he illustrates "the Mormon threat," by claiming that Mormons own or control major businesses in the U.S. and have enormous wealth and holdings to create a position of power. Research into his claims has proven him wrong. [3]

Martin depended on the sensationalism of his claims to carry the day for him. the information he lied about is readily available from the public corporations involved or from widely published industry statistics. Martin clearly assumed that his adherents would not check his references or dispute his conclusions.

Martin's Christian Research Institute [CRI] once a small rented suite in a modest business complex, hawed a $12,000,000 in gross income from 1979 to 1982, and was a "religious" organization, CRI paid no taxes. It is a well funded, and growing institution benefiting Martin's pocketbook. Further, in a 1985 Newsweek article, Martin's book The Kingdom and the Cults was listed among the most popular religious books of the day. At that point it had sold 319350 copies at $14.95 --- that's $4,774,282 in gross income. Obviously, Martin's attack on the Church was profitable for him.

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[1] Brown and Brown, They Lie in Wait to Deceive [Mesa, Ariz.: Borwnsworth Publishing, 1986], 3:8

[2] Walter R. Martin, The Maze of Mormonism [Grand Rapids, Mich, : Zondervan Publishing House, 1962], 12

[3] Brown and Brown, They Lie in Wait to Deceive [Mesa, Ariz.: Borwnsworth Publishing, 1986], 3:135-78