An Infidel in Mecca

Last week I had the opportunity to visit the Holy Land of the Mormon Faith, Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. On Monday evening, I had the honor of visiting the new Art Museum with my parents and two sisters. They are all Mormon. So out of respect for them, I restrained myself from interrupting the tour guide as she explained the different displays. From my eyes the museum is an attempt for Mormons to find some substance to their faith. Their faith is anchored only to a single testimony.

The witness of visitation by God and of receiving new holy scripture. This alleged holy scripture chiseled on Gold Plates, the original source of the Book of Mormon, is nowhere to be found. It is said they were taken back to heaven until the world can handle the remaining sealed portion of its message. One can only image that marvelous day, when an angel from Heaven brings the plates and more written scripture is given to the Mormon saints. Joseph Smith, jr. is the witness. The only person who has supposedly seen God, the Father, and Jesus, and was instructed that no truth could be found on the earth and he needed to restore it. These main pillars of faith for the Mormon are based on the words of a single boy.

The museum tries to anchor the Mormon Faith to reality. There is no disputing that their was a farmhouse where Joseph lived when he was a boy or that the Hill Cummorah even exists. It is also remarkable all the effort and craftsmanship that early believers poured into their faith. But what can not be shown in any photograph or by any physical evidence is the truth of the claims made by the Mormon faith. It is not unlike what some early Christians attempted when visiting the Holy Land. Building large monuments to show where milestones in Jesus’ life took place. His birth, His miracles, His death, His resurrection. There is danger in creating idols or the needing of physical evidence for faith. It is even more dangerous to deceptively advertising these relics as proof of faith. Relics do not prove faith. They may demonstrate the commitment of the believer, but it does not prove the claims.

Later in the week, I returned to Temple Square. I had planned to met up with a small group that was passing out tracts at the North gate of temple square, but I arrived way too early. So as a non-member, infidel, I entered the gates of Mecca to the Holy Sites of the Mormon Faith. The visitor center was to my immediate right so I went in. I wondered around the first floor looking at the lovely paintings of Jesus and climbed the arching walkway up to the giant statue of Christ. It is a magnificent statue.

Next I wandered into the basement where the distinct Mormon story is told. The displays demonstrating the diverging beliefs and world view of the Mormon faith compared to traditional or historic Christianity. The theme was a restored gospel. It was in the middle of these displays when I was approached by two young ladies, Mormon missionaries.

They arrived at the moment I touched the screen to listen to a short narrative about the two witness of Christ. The Bible. The Book of Mormon. I listened and the two missionaries asked me how I felt about what I had heard. I took this as my Que to begin sharing my Christian faith with them. After talking with them for several minutes, I walked toward the next display and sat down. They followed cautiously joining me on a neighboring bench.

Eighty minutes later and at some point of the discussion two more missionaries joined us, they made their final testimonial witnesses and departed. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir was about to begin rehearsal and they wanted to go and listen. So we parted. It is hard to remember everything I asked them about and talked about and heard, but much of our discussion was about truth, discovery of truth, feelings, the bible, the need for modern prophets. One point I remember asking them, “Why do you consider the Latter-Days after Joseph Smith the fullness of times, and not the time when Jesus walked in Galilee?” They assured me that the mission of Christ was important and nothing measured up to the atonement of Christ, but that Joseph weaved all the gospel together. Restoring it to its fullness.

Another moment that I wanted to share was about truth. The discovering of truth is unrelated to warm feelings. Human emotion is fickle. Truth is not. I shared with the missionaries that asking the Lord to confirm the truth of written words by feelings, is backwards. The written words should confirm themselves without tempting God for emotional proof. There is a subjective response for me when I read or discover truth in the bible. I did not ask for the response, it is given, though. My point is that if you are looking for a specific emotional response to measure your spirituality, you will eventually get it.

In the end, the challenge remains to me and to the rest of the world either Joseph was a prophet or he was not? Either the Bible is the word of God, or it is not? Either Joseph was a prophet or the bible is the word of God? Both can not be true. They both exclude that possibility. The only other option is that neither is. For me I have chosen to trust that the Bible is the word of God. That God is able to protect his words. The apostle Peter, recognized by Mormons, Catholics, and Protestants clearly states in his epistle,

“Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for ‘All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.’ And this word is the good news that was preached to you.” 1 Peter 1:22-25 (ESV)

Destroying Truth

After listening to a conference talk given by a false Mormon apostle testifying of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, I post this as a rebuttal. The Book of Mormon is a fable authored by a guilty false prophet. This is the story of the printing press, a symbol of dispersing the truth of God. A divine instrument of salvation and the death of liberty, when it is destroyed. I would ask that false teacher, did he step over the mangled printing press in Nauvoo to find the truth of the cornerstone of his religion?

Part One.
Some of the inventions of mankind are so revolutionary that they change the course of history. These inventions are inspired genius. They are even more remarkable when they redistribute power from the ruling classes and restore it to the people. It is especially marvelous when a single invention can flood the world with the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The printing press changed the world by mass production of written text. It allowed for the printing and mass distribution of the holy bible. The power of God unto salvation was released to the four corners of the world again. God in his infinite wisdom spread His merciful message of grace through thousands of copies of the scriptures just as He did in the beginning of this common area when thousands of scrolls flooded the ancient world with the written gospel message of the saving faith available to all through Jesus Christ.

“For I the LORD do not change” Malachi 3:6 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” Hebrews 13:8. Just as the hand written scrolls of the ancient world flooded the world with the written word of the Lord, so did the printing press fill the world with the preserved written word of God again.

Those ancient scrolls and the printing press were able to spread the word of truth given in the written word, so that the Truth would be revealed. “What is Truth?” asked the Roman Dictator. But before the question is ever asked aloud our Lord provided the answer, “I am the way, the truth, and the life”. The printed words of scripture are made alive by the power of God’s Spirit to testify of the Truth, Jesus. The word made flesh. Immanuel. Urged on by the Rulers of some of the Jews that Roman Dictator would try to silence the truth and crucify the word made flesh. An appeasement to keep the kingdom of Caesar at peace. By killing the Prince of Peace.

Those printed words upon the pages are only reinforced, not undermined as more of those ancient manuscripts are found each year. The reliability of the written word of scripture, the Holy Bible, is sustained by Almighty God. The Psalmist sing, “The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.” Psalm 119:160; The prophets proclaim, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” Isaiah 40:8; The Apostle appeals “but the word of the Lord remains forever.” 1 Peter 1:25. And the authority of the Master declares, “For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” Matthew 5:18. The printing press, an instrument used to proclaim truth, flooded the world with the written truth, the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Part Two.
There is another story about the printing press that is a little more obscure. It is a small printing press from Nauvoo, Illinois around 1844, about 300 years after its invention. When another truth was being made known to the world. The truth that the false prophet Joseph Smith, jr. had been a closet polygamist and had more than one wife. Published proof that Joseph was living contrary to the commandments of God “Thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s wife” and “Thou shall not commit adultery”; yet he still professed to be the prophet of God. “If you love Me, keep My Commandments” the Lord said. What prophet of God would rebel against God by not keeping His commandments?

Rather than take responsibility for the consequence of his many sins, the false prophet led a mob and broke into a private business and destroyed the offending printing press, the symbol of dispersing the truth. He attacked the sacred right of freedom of speech and of the press. This American Dictator did this to kill the truth to protect his small kingdom in western Illinois. Not unlike that Roman Dictator did so many years before in killing truth and murdering its twin peace. Yet the rule of law would finally prevail, he would be arrested for this crime of destroying another man’s property. While waiting for trial the wage of sin found him, death.

Joseph claimed to be a lamb being led to the slaughter. The last lie in a long string of “bearing false witness.” The largest lie being the five hundred page fable titled the Book of Mormon. He was guilty, has there ever been a guilty lamb? No.

Yet, was this last crime punishable by death? No, the breaking into a private business and destroying a printing press does not deserve death. But then again was the loss of several minutes from a single tape from the oval office that bad? No, but when it is the last link in a long chain of immoral activity, why shouldn’t the full measure of the law be enforced? Did Al Capone deserve 21 years in Alcatraz for tax evasion, or did he deserve more than that for all the other high crimes he had committed. Wouldn’t Joseph the false prophet deserve more punishment for enslaving millions on his highway (shiny and paved four lane toll road) to hell? Wouldn’t all the false prophets that succeeded him deserve the same condemnation?

Conclusion
Where am I going with all this? The tale of the printing press is a symbol of the dispersing of truth with two different endings. The divine and the dark. First the divine story, after a thousand years of abuses by the powerful Catholic hierarchy, the power of God was unleashed to the masses, through this small invention millions were set free into the Liberty of Christ. Second the dark tale, another printing press was destroyed to enslave millions more in a vain attempt to kill the truth. A desperate act to destroy truth. Has any harm ever come from shining the light of truth into darkness? yes, but it is harm for the devil and his minions. The light burns evil. Evil must destroy truth along with every instrument that brings it forth. Even if it is only a small printing press in a little newspaper office on the frontier of America. Truth must die for evil to grow.

“and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32.

This is one more testimony among many thousands of others I hold for my love for the written word of my LORD, the Holy Bible. The great sovereignty of God to save mankind through the expansion of truth. The truth of His Son, Jesus Christ offered to save us from the growing evil and those who would destroy the truth or try to hide it.

The written word of God is not only a pillar of belief for conservative Christian theology. It is the truth of God. It completely and clearly reveals the power of God unto Salvation. It reveals Jesus Christ, in all his power, glory, and splendor made weak like the rest of His Creation to suffering and die to set men free from sin. Don’t try to cover your own sins by destroying your neighbor’s printing press, don’t kill the truth, instead let the blood of Jesus wash you clean. Believe Jesus. Trust Jesus. Love Jesus. Obey Jesus. Jesus will set you free.

Twelve Apostates

I could not let this one pass by without making a comment or two about it.  From the The Brigham Young University newspaper The Daily Universe on April 6, 2009.

Carefully read this mistake on the caption of this BYU newspaper photograph.  Some us would argue that for once the newspaper finally got it right.  These twelve apostates are voting to sustain another to join them.  Apostate is one who renunciates a religious faith.  Mormon leaders like these have been renouncing Biblical Christianity since the beginning of the church, in their claim that they belong to the only true church.

Finally, the truth of their church has come out.  They have strayed from the gospel of Jesus and replaced it with a sugar coated lie that denies the power of God, but speaks about him affectionately.  God’s salvation is for all.  A gift freely given by God’s power, not earned as a reward for being good.  It really is as simple as John 3:16. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Are Mormons Christians?

No.

(But they can be)

Final Part.
Part Four.  Biblical argument against Mormons being Christians.

I wish the only proof I would have to write to convince my brothers in Christ, members of the universal church (body of Christ), and my neighbors that Mormons are not Christians could come from the Bible.  But everyone does not trust in the words of the Bible.  They do not use it to define the words they speak.  Some do not even believe there should be a standard to define who a Christian is and that tolerance and acceptance of others should reign supreme (more on tolerance later, another topic).  I hold the bible to be the only trustworthy authority in all matters.  It is the complete revealed word of God.

One reason Mormons are not Christians is because of their belief about the authority of the bible.  The official doctrinal position of the LDS faith is not to accept the bible as being “translated correctly” (Article Eight of their Faith, www.lds.org, Articles of Faith).  So any proof or argument made from it according to their point of view may not be based on the true word of God additional revelation and knowledge is needed beyond the bible to obtain the truth.  So this appeal is more to my brothers in Christ those who hold the bible to be the authority and a call for them to refrain from expanding the tent of Christianity or the title of Christian to apply to our LDS neighbors.

They are distinct in their beliefs and as Christians we ought to be distinct in our beliefs.

Being able to call yourself a Christian in its simplest form depends on following Christ and not chasing down a false christ.  There is more to being a Christian than the definition of Who Christ is, but if this single point of doctrine differs then why are further proofs needed?  I am not going to cite all the Bible verses that point to the distinct differences between the concept of the LDS Christ and that of the Christ of Traditional Christian.  Only eleven words from the Bible are needed.  Apologetics of the LDS faith may need reams of paper or megabites of data to make the argument that they are Christians, but God only needs eleven words.  Again I believe in the power of God and in His words, not in the arguments of men. (Psalm 119; Hebrews 4:12, 2 Timothy 3:16-17)

“For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” Colossians 2:9 (KJV, www.biblegateway.com)

This is a simple teaching of who Jesus is.  He is God.  There is one God and the Godhead lives within the physical body of Christ (Jesus).  This means that for God the Father and the Holy Spirit (Ghost) to reside in fulness within the body of Jesus, they would not possess their own physical body.  It does not confine God to only exist within the body of Jesus, but there is no physical division of God.  God is not spread into more than one physical body. (see also Hebrews 1:3) [If I am in error about this understanding of God, show me from the Bible were I am wrong? and I will humbly accept the correction.]

The First article of faith in the LDS faith states “We believe in God, the Eternal Father, in His Son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.” (www.lds.org, Articles of Faith)  The definition of the Godhead for the LDS faith.  Again from the foundation of belief in the LDS faith based on the supposed first visitation (not vision) of God to Joseph Smith, jr.  He clearly states that there were personages (more than one) visiting him.  If that is true then How could the fulness of the Godhead in personages dwell in Jesus bodily? Personages can not dwell in the same Personage.  This difference by itself points to a different Christ (and a different God).

One Christ defined by the Bible and universally accepted by all who call themselves Christians.

Another false christ defined solely by a single man claiming to restore a lost gospel and the first leader of a people who should continue in their distinctiveness and remain “Mormons”. (Perhaps Brighamites is a better term, research the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints, www.utlm.org)

The real questions that might need some exploring begin with, “are Mormons Mormon?”  Do members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints follow the teachings of their prophets and the commands of their God? see my previous post.  Is there a unity of their faith?  Is the LDS faith on the verge of fracturing again? can practicing polygamists that believe in the Book of Mormon have the same right to self-given titles, can they call themselves Mormon because they differ in some of the current doctrine?

Back to the question at hand, Are Mormons Christians? By the nature of the Christ they follow they are not. But as one of my favorite public personalities who recently passed on Paul Harvey would point to “the rest of the story.”  Mormons are not Christians, but they can be.  Here is the rest of story.

If “Mormons” want to be called Christians the answer is simple.  Do not try to redefine a word to fit your beliefs or make a part-time outward swap of a title or name.  But call on the God of Heaven and Earth to make an inward change in your life and cast off the false Christ a personage in a Godhead and seek after the True and Living Resurrected Christ.

Read your bible, put your other books of scripture away.  I challenge every LDS to focus on reading your bible and only your bible for one year.  And see what picture it paints of Jesus, does he fit inside Mormon Doctrine?  I would argue that He does not.  Start with Psalm 119 to establish a new trust in the Bible and its words and then go from there.

Are Mormons Christians?

No.

Part Three.  Case against Mormons calling themselves Christians from the heart of Mormon Orthodox Theology.

personal note:  If anyone doubts that I was every LDS, I was.  The first twenty years of my life was saturated with everything Mormon (24 hours – 7 days).  Enough that when I presented this idea to my Aaronic Priesthood leader, a Bishop, when I was a sixteen year old priest who would weekly bless the sacrament, he agreed that “Mormons need to be distinct from other groups” and it was a command from God to be distinct from others including garden variety Christians.  So from the dark recesses of my memory I offer the following proof to my LDS neighbors the same proof I shared with my bishop all those years ago to not call themselves Christians, but to stick to their own brand of Religion “Mormon”.  If that brand does not sell to the public anymore, some self examination should be taken as to why? that is.  I would suggest it is the false doctrine, the false prophets, and the false Christ it devotes itself to.

If you believe that Joseph Smith, jr. is a prophet and seer.  If you believe that He did in reality receive a visitation (not a vision) from God the Father and His Son-Jesus.  If you believe these two core points of the LDS Faith.  Then you should shrink away from any outside associations.

From the official account of the “first vision” of Joseph, he records how God commanded him to not join with any of the sects.  As far as I know Christians were the sects God was speaking about.  So the first command of this dispensation was for Joseph to not join with Christians–that would include in name also.

If as a faithful member of LDS church you want to be disobedient to your God, and break your baptismal covenant which you renew each week when you partake of your sacrament and recieve the condemation for hypocritically partaking, then be disobedient to the first commandment of your God in these Latter Days and join those sects in name.  Call yourself a Christain.  Fall off that first stair of your eternal progression and break your baptismal covenant.  It should not matter that much, for you don’t really believe there is a hell, just differing degrees of glory.  Sell yourself into one of those glories for your thirty pieces of silver and be counted among the unfaithful and disobedient to your God.

Are Mormons Christians?

No.

Part Two.  Religion versus Relationship
(Comparison of Mormonism and Christianity)

When I boil Mormonism down to its barest from.  It is a religion of process.  The plan of salvation outlined by Mormon Theology is an eternal process which the God of Mormonism inherited from His God and some day faithful LDS Members will inherit from the God of Mormonism and then they can use that same eternal process on the worlds they create.

In this world the process looks like this–Faith, Baptism, Repentance, Holy Ghost, …(Sacred Temple Ordinances)…  The plan of salvation (Mormon’s call it the gospel) can best be described as a staircase to heaven.  If you climb each step you make it to celestial glory.  But since man is not perfect, but always striving for perfection, no one can actually climb all the way up but the truly faithful and obedient will get really, really close and then the Jesus of Mormonism will provided the balance due.  The Jesus of Mormonism provides for a limited atonement by his suffering in the garden, on the cross, and his death.  An atonement that is an earned wage–not a free gift.

Mormonism is self-centered.  It is a process of self to achieve Godhood.  The work of achievement is up the individual.  The Jesus of Mormonism came to show how to be perfect.  Mormons are to seek that same perfection by following the same process that Jesus did.  Then they will be perfect also.  Arguments may come from Mormons that they are all about Family.  Not really, Family is just another vehicle to propell self up the staircase.  In the end, It is Individual.  It is self-centered.

Christianity is not religion.  Christianity is not a process.  True Christianity is relationship.  The leader of Christianity, Jesus, when he walked on the dusty roads of Galilee and Judea taught the commandments, both are relational.  Love the Lord your God with all your might, and second Love your neighbor as yourself.  The relationship with God is pre-eminent in Christianity.  Christianity is God-centered.  Relationship that can only be restored by individual belief (faith, trust) in Jesus.  The relationship with God was broken because of rebellion by man.  Rebellion is sin.  Jesus alone is sufficient to restore that relationship by his death for all sin.  The work of salvation is all ready completed.  No further work is needed.

By faith in Jesus the believer is spiritually born, beginning his/her relationship with God.  Each believer begins their journey from far and wide locations there is no blue print to perfection.   [Yet the Bible is the handbook for the daily journey.]*  Jesus is the Light and true believers often called sheep hear their masters voice and walk toward Him.  He is the way and the Destination of Christianity.

Final Thoughts

I climbed some of those stairs on my way to the celestial glory by my strength and my power.  The process (Mormon plan of Salvation) is a tired and lonely climb.  So Mormonism is Me-ianity.

Then I saw the Light (Jesus) and trusted in Him got off that stairway to my glory and started seeking the glory of God.  God guides me one step at a time down the path.  Each step is a step of faith onward toward the light of Christ’s glory.  So Christianity is Christ-ianity.

*added to clarify that the bible contains God’s complete revealed word on both the relationship between God and man and between fellow men.

Dawn

I get really irritated with the endless distortions of the bible from different groups, but most of my irritation comes from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints, who claim that the bible is the word of God as far as it is translated correctly. Two questions: Is the King James Version translated correctly? If not, then why use it? Two follow up questions: Do the supposed prophets of the Mormon faith still claim to be prophet, seers, and revealators? If so, then why not use their gifts to translate the Bible correctly?

I have spent the past months since the start of the year reading through the bible, I have had made it to 2 kings chapter 4, in the Old Testament, and the beginning of the book of Acts in the New Testament. Recent events have once again reminded me of my continuing irritation (possibly righteous anger) at the continued distortion of the bible by LDS apologetics particularly as it relates to their past practice of polygamy and their continued defense of it as an eternal principle of their gospel, even though they do not practice it anymore. Of course all of this comes from the recent raid, arrest, and rescue of abused children and their young mothers in Texas.

I understand the logic of why so many LDS need to defend a practice that they have not done for over 100 years, It is simply that their founding prophet Joseph Smith, jr. said it was an eternal law; So it must be so. Their belief in the law of plural marriage results from the false claim that the modern prophets of God are without error in their revelation from God. If Joseph Smith, jr. was wrong about plural marriage, then he might also be wrong about other things? That chink in the armor must be continually protected, in order to protect the rest of Joseph’s revelations.

It is the proofs that really get under my skin, the argument that Father Abraham was a polygamist, so other faithful men should also be polygamists. A carefully reading of the words in the Bible reveal that practice of plural wives was never in God’s plan. Starting with the first revealed practice of Lamech who had two wives and murdered a young man. (Genesis 4:23-24) Then Abraham whose union with Hagar is the continued source of turmoil in the Middle east even today. God told Abraham to put Hagar out his is camp (Genesis 21:12), and then God took care of her and her son. God later tells us that Isaac is Abraham’s only son. (Genesis 22:2) God accepted Abraham’s repentance from turning away from having more than one wife and remembered his sins no more.

Not to mention the favoritism of Jacob of Rachel over Leah (Genesis 29:30), and the family strife that it trickled down to the sons; the ten older ones were so jealous of the love that Jacob had for the son of his favorite wife, they conspired to first kill him and then sold him as a slave for twenty pieces of silver (Genesis 37).

Yet the pinnacle of the troubles caused is illustrated with King David and his son, Solomon. King David even with all his wives, still was ensnared by lust to covet another man’s wife, which lead to adultery and murder. ( 2 Samuel 11-12) And Solomon who married so many wives that they eventually introduces their idol worship into the Jewish Monarchy. ( 1 Kings 11:8 ) This is just a brief summary of all the trouble that came from plural marriage from the pages of the bible–It was all accounted as sinful, by God. But God is merciful and was able to forgive those who sought repentance for their sin. (Psalm 145:8-9, 14)

In the beginning God created Adam and Eve, that is God’s intended marriage–between one man and one woman.

I recently watched the movie, September Dawn, a movie based on the events of another September 11, were a wagon train of settlers were massacred by a group of Mormons. The movie depicted the events as an act of vengeance against the Missourians that had driven the Mormons out of their state. It is full of conspiracy and blind obedience to leaders. Regardless of who was involved, there has never been a genuine apology from the LDS church to the families of those killed. There is little doubt that the church had a role in it given the careful way the surviving children were distributed to various Mormon settlements near where the massacre happened.

The movie hinged around two brothers, one who was faithful in blindly following his leaders (his father) by taking more than wife, and actively participated in the massacre; and the other brother who was a rebel and did not blindly following his leaders (his father), who as the movie goes fell in love with of the young ladies in the wagon train. It was his love for the young lady, who was shot right in front of him (by his father) that lead him to save the baby, she was trying protect. A picture of how new beginnings or dawns are possible in the midst of calamity and tragedy.

But there is a new dawn. And there is still time for apologies. Might I recommend to the leaders of the church to not ignore another tragedy caused by their faith. I recommend that the Mormon church go down to Texas and work with the state to take care of all those “wards” of the state, they were created by their eternal law of plural marriage that some still practice. I know the church distances itself from polygamists as much as it can, but why miss an opportunity to restore some of the wayward followers of Joseph and return them to the “flock” of the faithful.

I would also recommend to the Christian leaders in Texas to reach out to the young mothers and their children and do as James told us “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows” (James 1: 27) and also as Jesus taught “for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ (Matthew 25:34-36, NJKV)

May the people of God not stand by and just watch the secular state gobble up more children and have them be raised as lifetime dependents of the state. It is a new dawn, Let us all stop living in the twilight of the past and embrace the bright morning sun (Maybe even for some the Morning Star–Jesus Christ).

Chains of Authority

I have been reading the book, Spiritual Authority by Watchman Nee. Its main premise is that rebellion against the authority of God is the foremost sin committed and submitting to God’s authority in obedience reflects the love we have for God.  As with every book I read, I always read it through the lens of my past. It has helped me understand the importance of obedience to God, and also to His servants–including my church elders and pastors (still waiting for a teaching pastor, but with excited anticipation) and all my brothers and sisters in Christ. I have a much better grasp of what it means to be in submission one to another. This submission is an extension of the love we are to have for each other.

From my background with authority as a child I was taught according to the LDS faith, there are two articles of Faith from the LDS church that relate to authority, Article V and Article XII. Article V speaking to the point that a man must be called of God by someone in authority and in Article XII speaking on the submitting to earthly powers. Once I was born-again (spiritually awakened) I cut those chains of authority and replaced it with a direct link to Jesus, but as an immature Christian, there was no other authority in my life I thought I needed to be subject to. But as I continue to grow and have my mind transformed by Jesus–through the power of the Holy Spirit–I have come to view authority in a fresh and new way. It differs from my background from Mormon culture and my early transition in being a Christian.

In Mormon culture, there is a chain of authority that is traced through their priesthood. As a holder or partner of a husband that is a holder, you are subject to the authority of your priesthood quorum leader (an elder president if you are an elder, or stake president if you are high priest, or the bishop if you are a holder of the aaronic priesthood), then up the chain of other priesthood leaders all the way to the President of the Church. This chain does not only travel up through the ranks, but spans through past presidents of the church all the way back to Joseph Smith, jr. So everyone in the church, according to their beliefs are subject to the authority of Joseph Smith, jr. Who made claim to have received his priesthood from the hands of Peter, James, and John (These first apostles having received their authority from Christ). This is a long chain of authority to get back to God. No wonder LDS members are weighed down or held back in their souls. The chains of authority bind them from experiencing a personal relationship with the LORD God. Their connection to God is dependent on the chain.

I personally experienced the affects of this broken chain. There is no blame to be laid at anyones feet, It is the system that is flawed. When my father was excommunicated from the church, my chain was broken. This disturbed me. It got me thinking that if my father or the link right above me broke the link, then what if someone else in the chain also broke the link. I would no longer have a connection to the authority of God. This system burdens everyone in the chain and is why it is so hard for people to leave their families and it holds them captive, because of their guilt in not wanting to be the weak link. No wonder depression runs so deep in Mormon culture.

As a Christian, there is another chain of authority. It is a direct connection to Jesus, through faith, a chain with only two links, you and Jesus. This compares to the chain in Mormon Culture. The Christian chain is completely dependent on Jesus to sustain and hold it, your part is to be obedient to the authority of Jesus, your obedience is the outward manifestation of your inward faith. The Mormon chain can be broken by any of the leaders between a member and God, both in the present or from the past. If any link is found to be broken then the chain is broken. Within the bonds of the Christian link of authority the mercy, grace, and love of God hold it together. It may be hard thing to understand, but once connected to God nothing can break that link.

Romans 8:31-39 (NKJV)
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written:

“We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

As with many things in the Faith and Culture of Mormonism, they live and practice their religion in ways that are contrary to the written word of the Bible, an authority by God-infallible and innerent. The Prophet Isaiah spoke of this, when he declared the words of the LORD, “My ways are not your ways.” Mormon ways are not God’s ways.

Shadows of the Groundhog

It has been several weeks since I have written anything. Many topics have been filtering there way through my mind. Here are four that occupy some of my energy. They are pieced from four smaller entries, I almost deleted, but now have decided to publish together to honor the last six weeks of winter as predicted by a beloved rodent. I can relate to the groundhog shadows are terrifying things, (Psalm 23) The current story of my life is to wait for the spring a little longer. With the snow continuing to pile up, I am reminded that snow is nothing more than evidence of God’s storehouse and future provision of life (water) for us.

Ignoring a reformer.
Utah culture does not give praise to Martin Luther King, jr because of the influence of past Mormon theology.

In the state of Utah, for the Mormon majority, Martin Luther King, jr. is meaningless to its history or culture. It is why the State Legislature ignored the national holiday and began its session. It is why only recently the state even acknowledged his existence replacing their human right’s day. For one, He was a Black Christian pastor, in 1964, the LDS church still held their revealed truth that blacks were cursed by the sin and mark of Cain. In the 1960’s blacks had no right to the complete presence and glory of the Lord, especially a black pastor from one of the illegitimate daughters of corrupted catholicism.

They were only allowed to be dimly lit from afar by others. They were only allowed to pick up the crumbs from the white and delightsome race.

They could not hold the sacred priesthood or work out their salvation, as taught by the Mormon church. They were not even allowed to baptism each other into the church, only by the good works of their white brethren could they be ushered into the true church. It was only 10 years after the murder of Martin Luther King, jr that stubborn leaders of the church-among them the recently deceased Hinckley and now Monson- finally received new revelation from God, that the curse of Cain had ended and Blacks could once again after 5000 years of punishment be allowed to enjoy the full glory of God to worship him as priests.

Given another 20 years, perhaps the culture of Utah maybe ready to venerate the work that Martin Luther King, jr did to remind everyone what the bible teaches in Genesis that all men are created in the image of God; but it would then have to acknowledge at least in part the work of another reformer Martin Luther who challenged the universal church with the simple gospel that it is by faith in Jesus Christ not by working through a religious system that offers entrance into the Kingdom of heaven.

Praising a dead false prophet.
The end of last month brought the passing on the president of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Once again, I glanced at a piece of my former life. My life when I was blinded by my religious fervor. I listened as the sister of the dead false prophet give the final benediction for his life in a prayer. I was reminded of the unique doctrines of men that the LDS church has that are contrary to the words God has spoken.

In that short prayer, she praised the work of her dead brother and spiritual leader. She imagined him walking the halls of heaven with his eternal bride. It was not until the final ten or twelve words that God was even mentioned. It was her hope and faith that he was in a better place. It was her faith in the deeds of her brother that are not unlike her own that set him in his place of honor. It was only mere afterthought and habit to invoke the name of Christ, but only at the end.

This short prayer told me that the doctrine and fundamental belief of the LDS faith are the same as when I turned away from them a decade ago. That men are gods in training and their works gain them reward in the life here after. That Jesus is not the way; He is merely the ending of their own way. That philosophy alone reverses God’s way. Jesus is the author and finisher of anyone’s faith. He is the beginning, middle, and end of the pathway of faith that alone leads to presence of God.

Waiting upon the Lord.
Last spring when I learned that Lifeway was going to be beginning a new series of teachings to cover the breadth and width of the Bible. I asked God to grant me the privilege to teach from His Holy Scripture for the entire series. Six months later, I was given the news that my job was not going to be supported any longer. The current grant was not renewed and would expire.

I spent the weeks and months since then applying for jobs. The lowest point was around my birthday in October, when after hearing once again that “although you have many qualifications, we have decided to hire another candidate for this position, thank you for applying and good luck in future career”. In my heart I still knew that God wanted me to stay in Logan and continue to grow closer to him and to share (teach) the Bible to others. I applied for a job the first week of November to work as the new Geographic Information Specialist for North Logan City. My supervisor even helped me in writing my resume.

I recently interviewed for that position, but before I went into the interview my supervisor had called me about a possible position for me coming up early next year that would allow for me to continuing working on campus at Utah State University. During the course of the interview for the job working for North Logan city, I learned that one of my co-workers had also applied. And God whispered to me that this was not my job.

The next morning, I did something I had not done since I was LDS. I fasted (this was not a random thought, I had recently read a chapter in a book about 12 spiritual disciplines for men that was about fasting), it was not a long fast it was only for 6 hours, but I did no just skip breakfast and my morning snack at work; I was deliberate in having my hunger pains remind me of God presence and my prayer was for him to close and open doors of employment for me. The door slammed closed on that job, but the position that my supervisor had told me about was beginning to crack open more.

My continued prayer and for each day and especially Wednesday morning since then, when I fast and pray for God to open the door for me to get a job here in Logan that would last long enough for me to continue to teach the Bible to others as long as God wanted. Even if this job does not work out, I know that God will provide. I continue to have my strength rise as I wait upon the Lord.

Considering a new president.
This will be and has been the least productive thing that I spend energy on. But I can not stop considering the great dilemma I find myself in. I am a conservative. I have been since I first heard Rush Limbaugh’s radio show in 1988 (at age 14) I have not always listened to it, and recently I find myself spending more time listening to on-line bible sermons from oneplace.com, than listening to the guru of conservative radio. I do split with him on most all things related to God. He may be a Christian, but his speech lends him to be a leader of a political movement more than a devoted follower of Jesus.

Anyway, I can not and will not vote for Mitt Romney as the next president of the United States. The main reason is religion. He is Mormon. I will not place a Mormon in position of that much prominence that would place his church in a position to blind more people and snatch them away from the word of God-which is God’s special revelation about Jesus Christ. It is a matter of conscience.

On the other hand, Could I vote for Governor Huckabee simply because of religion? I am not sure. He would likely lead the nation about 90% of the way that I would like for it to run. But the United States of America is a secular state. Secular states needs secular leaders. I always feel uncomfortable when an America President has to make politically correct statements about other faiths or philosophies that I know are false. Again, I am uncomfortable putting fellow Christians in that position.

Also, I can also feel the pendulum of the pulse of America swinging from the conservative end of the spectrum back toward the liberal side. For me a liberal human secularist like Obama or even Hillary Clinton would do harm to the American culture and nation. That is why I stop in the center and currently support John McCain as the next president. It is the practical and logical choice for me. Not the one my heart would first pick, but an acceptable choice, when I factor and weigh every point and position.

Personally, I would like to see a constitutional amendment to protect marriage and to define it as a union between One man and One woman. I would like to see a constitutional amendment to protect the life of every unborn child, the only exception being the LIFE of the mother. I would also like to see strong action taken to secure the borders of our nation, with physical barriers, and the arrest and deportation of all illegal immigrants and the change of the the requirements to become a citizen, not allowing mothers do give birth to children that are automatically citizens. I understand these actions are harsh, but if America is going to be a nation of laws, we can not begin making exceptions for immigration, what is next, are we then going to have safe havens for pedophiles, rapists, drug abusers, when will it stop, It would not. The laws of the nation would then be meaningless.

Not voting for Satan’s brother

Another Web log has a much more thoughtful response to this same event. It is written by Bill McKeever, The Relationship Between Jesus and Lucifer in a Mormon Context. My response here is more emotional.

There are two items from a news story about Governor Huckabee commenting on Governor Romney’s beliefs that I wish to comment on. They relate to the progressive truth revealed by false Mormon prophets that all humans are spiritually begotten by the Mormon God and that Jesus was first among this spiritual offspring and that Lucifer (the Devil) and every other human are among them.

One.
Why is acceptable to have LDS define what Christianity believes, but not for Christians to define what LDS believe? I am not going to sit in silence at allow for the LDS church spokesman (I thought it was the prophet’s responsibility and duty to lead the church not a spokesman) to define what Christians believe. Their definition has all ready been given by their founding false prophet, Joseph Smith, jr. He basically said that they all Christian denominations and beliefs are false. If LDS really believe that all Christianity is false then why try and have the same beliefs when it comes to trying and place Mankind as equals to Jesus. I will not allow Christ to be stripped of His divinity, nor will I allow for man to be elevated as equal to the Son of God. I am not going to let them talk out of both sides of their mouths. Maybe Mormons should read past James chapter 2 and see that He also warns us from having a tongue of fire (speaking in vague half-truths). Christianity acknowledges the Triune God as the Creator of all things. Jesus, the Son of God as spoken by John was with God in the beginning, and is not a created being. Mankind is created in the image and likeness of God, but is not an exact copy. Humans are not of the same species as God.

Two.
Angels are not Humans either. Again the founding false prophet of the LDS church states that a heavenly messenger or angel appeared to him in his room to reveal that their were some hidden golden plates that he had written some 14 centuries before. This basic belief that angels were once men or women that have died or have not yet been born is a fundamental teaching of the LDS church. By connecting the dots of the belief that LDS have of all humankind being spiritually created before birth including the devil and his angels, Jesus, and all the rest of us. Again this fundamental belief is still maintained and its tangled branches reach into the concept that Jesus and the Devil are spiritual brothers both begotten spiritually by the God of Mormonism with one of his heavenly wives. So by default that would make Mitt Romney the brother of the devil, why would anyone want to vote for Satan’s brother to be President of the United States?