Dear Mormon, can you guess who said the following?
1).
I saw two spirits… One was God my maker, almost in bodily shape like a man… below him stood Jesus Christ my Redeemer, in perfect shape like a man…
2).
. . . the angel had made known to me in the vision, that all Churches and Denominations on the earth had became corrupt . . .
3).
He also told me, that every denomination of professing Christians had become extremely corrupt . . .
Answers:
From Samaritan Ministries:
This is the human genome in book form. If you were to print all of your DNA in only one cell of your body, it would fill all of these books in this bookcase. It’s estimated that the human body has 50 to 75 trillion of these bookcases.
It is not uncommon to hear about a pastor (i.e. hireling) lying about one thing or another: Lying about personally seeing the dead raised (usually in some foreign country where verification is not possible), lying about their “relationship” with their secretary, lying about the church finances, or lying about what the Bible says on a particular subject (just to name a few). But every now and then you read about a pastor’s lie that just makes no sense.
Take for example the lie that Pastor Jim Moats told about his military experience, even going so far as to give an interview in the local paper about his military exploits that never occurred.
In the wake of the dramatic Navy SEAL raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound earlier this month, it was perhaps to be expected that some expansive soul would step forward to claim the prestige of a fabricated tour as a SEAL for himself. Such tall tales are not uncommon, after all, amid high-profile military actions.
This time the exposed fabricator was a preacher–though at least one person who monitors this brand of public lie notes that members of the clergy are often tempted into such misrepresentations. More curious still, the prevaricator in question seems to have lifted at least some details of his account from the 1992 Steven Seagal SEAL-themed blockbuster, “Under Siege.”
Since when does preaching Christ and Him crucified fail to be enough to get you out of bed in the morning?
Perhaps Mr. Moats will do well to meditate on John’s statement “He must increase, but I must decrease”(John 3:30).
You can read the entire article on Jim Moats here.
Here’s the product description of this Bible designed to dumb down and trivialize God’s Word for kids.
Let this family of adorable bruins introduce your little cubs to God’s Word!Color pages featuring favorite Berenstain Bears characters * Complete NIrV written at third grade level * Book introductions * Dictionary * Reading plan * Presentation page * For early readers ages 4 to 7 * Size: 5.5″ x 8.5″ x 1.75″ * 2048 pages, hardcover from Zonderkidz
I wonder how kids ever learned the Bible for the past two thousand years before the Berenstain Bears came along.
And after your little ones grow up (in age, not in godly maturity) you can ween them off Bible stories told by silly bears as you introduce them to r father n hvn: up 2 d8 txts frm d bible.
Here’s the product description:
“T8st & C dat d Lord is good! Psalm 34:8.” Message your friends with these cryptic biblical texts. Includes a dictionary of abbreviations and symbols; brief summaries of books of the Bible; insights into the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes; and more. 144 pages, softcover from Westminster John Knox.
And here is how the publisher describes the book:
Ride the next wave of electronic communication! This book is a collection of “up 2 d8 txts frm d bible,” guaranteed to get you and your text-messaging friends laughing as well as reflecting on “d word” as never before Included are text messages sent from around the world to the ship-of-fools.com website and complemented throughout by Simon Jenkins’ witty cartoons.
Do you still ponder what’s wrong with the church in the West?
Two former Mormons explain the evidence they discovered that led them out of Mormonism and into Christianity in this eleven-part video from the John Ankerberg Show.
One:
In recent years Mormonism has been trying very hard to appear as if they are Christians (a far cry from historic Mormonism who openly opposed biblical Christianity), and due to Mormonism’s great PR, many folks have bought this lie, believing that Mormonism is just another branch or denomination of Christianity (a recent example can be seen here).
But anyone who takes the time to study what Mormonism actually teaches and believes (and who knows the biblical doctrines of the Christian faith) is well aware that nothing could be farther from the truth. Christianity and Mormonism are not compatible. Mormonism preaches another gospel with another Christ; neither of which can save.
There are many examples that can be cited of the great chasm of theology between biblical Christianity and Mormonism, but today I wanted to bring your attention to Mormonism’s version of the unforgivable sin, the concept of Mormon purgatory, and Mormonism’s doctrine of Blood Atonement.
Simply put, the LDS doctrine of Blood Atonement teaches that some sins a man commits cannot be cleansed by the shed blood of Christ and that man has to shed his own blood (die) in order to atone for that sin (as if man’s own blood is of greater value and is more efficacious in washing away sin than that of the Son of God).
Although this post is not primarily about Mormonism’s doctrine of Blood Atonement, being acquainted with it will help you better understand the concept of Mormon purgatory as well as their version of the unforgivable sin. You can find out more about the Mormon doctrine of Blood Atonement here: The Mormon doctrine of Blood Atonement as taught by Brigham Young and here: The Doctrine of Blood Atonement as taught by the Mormon organization.
Roman Catholicism is credited with creating the fictional place between Heaven and Hell called purgatory which they claim is where sinners burn off (atone for) their sins. In reality it was just a way to make more money for Rome. Mormonism, on the other hand, did not invent a new place of torment or suffering, they just employ Hell itself as the place where some sinners pay for their sins.
Where Mormonism’s Blood Atonement leaves off with the sinner paying for his sin on earth, Mormon purgatory picks up in the afterlife.
The following excerpts come from Spencer W. Kimball (the twelfth president, prophet, seer, and revelator of the Mormon church) from chapter nine of his book The Miracle of Forgiveness. After seeing what Mormonism teaches about forgiveness, you’ll wonder what’s so miraculous about it.
From Page 127:
The murderer denies himself salvation in the celestial kingdom, and in this sense he cannot be forgiven for his crime.
So there’s no forgiveness for murderers? Try to find that in Scripture.
From Page 128:
Another scriptural character responsible for murder-and this in conjunction with adultery-was the great King David. For his dreadful crime, all his life afterward he sought forgiveness. Some of the Psalms portray the anguish of his soul, yet David is still paying for his sin.
The Prophet Joseph Smith underlined the seriousness of the sin of murder for David as for all men, and the fact that there is no forgiveness for it. “A murderer, for instance, one that sheds innocent blood, cannot have forgiveness. David sought repentance at the hand of God carefully with tears, for the murder of Uriah; but he could only get it through hell: he got a promise that his soul should not be left in hell.”
Wow! According to Mormonism David is still paying for His sin and he’s in Hell clinging to the promise that eventually he’ll get out because God won’t leave him there forever?
From Page 129:
Man’s mortal life is given him in which to repent and prepare himself for eternity, and should one of his fellowmen terminate his life and thus limit his progress by making his repentance impossible, it would be a ghastly deed, a tremendous responsibility for which the murderer might not be able to atone in his lifetime.
Since when does man atone for any of his own sins? Atonement for sin is what Christ–the spotless Lamb of God–came to earth to accomplish. If man could do it then there would be no need for a Savior.
From Page 131:
Even unpardonable sins should be repented of. The murderer does not have eternal life abiding in him, but a merciful God will grant to every soul adequate rewards for every good deed he does. God is just. He will compensate for every effort to do good, to repent, to overcome sin. Even the murderer is justified in repenting and mending his ways and building up a credit balance in his favor.
Man does not build up his own credit balance. He is incapable of doing such a feat. This is why Christ died, in order to remove our sin and credit His righteousness to us (2 Corinthians 5:21).
As if this wasn’t enough to send you running, on this same page (131) Kimball quoted Joseph Smith when he said that murderers “could not be baptized for the remission of sins, for they had shed innocent blood.” Then Kimball quoted Doctrines & Covenants 42:18 when he said “Thou shalt not kill; and he that kills shall not have forgiveness in this world, nor in the world to come.“
So, according to Mormon theology, not only would King David have to suffer in Hell to atone for his sin of murder, but so would the likes of Moses and the Apostle Paul (and they still would not receive forgiveness). Apparently the Apostle Paul was unaware of this minor detail because he was under the (inspired) assumption that “to be absent from the body is to be with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8)
and “to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).
And lest you think you’re safe because you’ve never murdered anyone, remember that Jesus equated being angry with your brother to that of murder; both being in danger of the judgment (Matthew 5:21-22).
The Mormon teaching that some sinners are outside the realm of Christ’s atonement and God’s forgiveness is not only completely foreign to the Bible but the Mormon doctrine of Blood Atonement and the idea that murderers cannot be forgiven but must seek repentance while in Hell is utterly blasphemous, for it ascribes to the sinner’s suffering and shed blood a purity and cleansing power that Christ’s suffering and shed blood was supposedly insufficient to provide.
There is only one transgression that the Bible clearly expresses that will not be forgiven, and it is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 12:31-32 says:
Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
Notice the Bible says that “all manner of sin” will be forgiven except “blasphemy against the Holy Ghost.” Mormonism has once again taken the liberty to add to and alter God’s perspicuous Word.
No sinner is ever justified before God or has their sins cleansed because they died or suffered for their own transgressions. Only sinners who have put their faith in Christ have had their sins removed by Him (Acts 10:43, Romans 5:2, 1 John 3:5), and they are saved from the wrath of God by the precious shed blood of Christ (Romans 5:9, 1 Peter 1;18-19) not by man’s shed blood nor by man suffering in purgatory or Hell.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
__________________________________________________________
You can read Kimball’s The Miracle of Forgiveness online here.
HT: Belt of Truth
Mormonism is known for its tall tales: Claims of Quaker-like people living on the moon, people living on the sun, God living on the planet Kolob, spiritual vegetables, black skin being a sign that you’re cursed of God, or Joseph Smith’s claim that he was visited by two members of the Trinity in the secluded woods (depending, of course, on which version of his vision you actually believe).
Then there’s this doosey from Spencer W. Kimball, the twelfth president, prophet, seer, and revelator of the Mormon church writing in his book The Miracle of Forgiveness (pages 127-128) about an encounter a fellow Mormon had with a still-living biblical character.
Meet 6,000+ year-old Cain:
On the sad character Cain, an interesting story comes to us from Lycurgus A. Wilson’s book on the life of David W. Patten. From the book I quote an extract from a letter by Abraham O. Smoot giving his recollection of David Patten’s account of meeting “a very remarkable person who had represented himself as being Cain.”
“‘As I was riding along the road on my mule I suddenly noticed a very strange personage walking beside me—. His head was about even with my shoulders as I sat in my saddle. He wore no clothing, but was covered with hair. His skin was very dark. I asked him where he dwelt and he replied that he had no home, that he was a wanderer in the earth and traveled to and fro. He said he was a very miserable creature, that he had earnestly sought death during his sojourn upon the earth, but that he could not die, and his mission was to destroy the souls of men. About the time he expressed himself thus, I rebuked him in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by virtue of the Holy Priesthood, and commanded him to go hence, and he immediately departed out of my sight . . . .”
In light of the question posed in Coram Deo’s recent post, and in light of this fictional article about a Mississippi farm boy claiming revelation that the LDS church is apostate, I offer for your listening pleasure an audio piece that you can stream (for free) or download (for a small fee) from the podcast This American Life about how a real faction/split from Mormonism occurs with all sides claiming inspiration, revelation, and heavenly visitations (just like Joseph Smith).
You can find the podcast here. (The part of interest is the first 22 minutes of the hour-long podcast.)
The reason this piece is relevant is because we so often hear the mantra from the Mormon camp that Christianity is false as evidenced by its denominations, while Mormonism is true because they’re one and united, without any splits, divisions, or denominations.
This, like so many other LDS claims, is simply not true. Mormonism is rife with splits and divisions. You can see them chronicled here: The Lie of LDS Unity.
Your sermon of the week is one that defenders of the faith are going to love. The Deity of Christ – An Examination of the Verses the Cults Use by Charlie Campbell examines the eight most commonly used verses that Jehovah’s Witnesses employ to attack Christ’s deity. Campbell does a fantastic job of presenting the texts as the Jehovah’s Witnesses do (twisted and out of context), then he goes point by point as he dismantles each of their misrepresentations using the light of Scripture.
The following article is from World Magazine:
Confirmation of biblical wisdom came earlier this fall from an unlikely source: an Ivy League savant who says it’s wrong to depend on the Bible.
The prestigious Oxford University Press sent me the new book Morality Without God by Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, a Dartmouth professor. (I’m going to quote him a lot, so I’ll use his initials.) WSA begins by complaining that his students quote to him Dostoevsky’s favorite line, “If God is dead, everything is permitted.” WSA then argues that we don’t need God: We all should simply agree not to harm others—cause death, pain, or disability—unless there is “adequate reason.”
Wondering if WSA is one of those exceedingly rare secular professors with the courage to be pro-life, I emailed him to ask. He responded that there is no “simple solution to this complex problem . . . the moral problem of abortion cannot be solved by citing religious texts or religious leaders.”
Hmm . . . How can it be solved? WSA wrote, “What matters is the present and future harm to the fetus and others. This does not solve the problem, but it tells us where to focus our discussions. I hope this helps.”
Hmm . . . It helps only if WSA can tell us how to compare “harm to the fetus” (death) to other harms, so I emailed him again. He responded, “The bottom line is that I think some moral problems are insoluble. . . . They are just too difficult for us to figure out. . . . The answer, ‘I do not know,’ should become common.”
Read the entire article here.
That’s a fantastic question from a fantastic article recently posted by Worldview Weekend entitled:
Rick Warren’s Infiltration of the Reformed Faith
This is a must-read for everyone who’s concerned with what’s been happening lately in Reformed circles.
Here’s a quote from the article to whet your whistle:
“Rick Warren desires credibility and influence more than anything else, and he has been able to accomplish both over much of the religious landscape in America over the last decade. Some important holdouts have been the celebrity pastors of the Reformed book/conference circuit who were in stated opposition to him for his handling of Scripture and his man-centered, false gospel. All of that is changing quickly. What Rick Warren needed was to win over a leader whose status was great enough among Reformed evangelicals who could deliver the holdouts into his arms. He found such a man in John Piper. . . . Warren’s photo ops with Reformed leaders do nothing for the truth, and they do everything for Rick Warren’s relentless campaign for credibility and influence among those who should know better.”
Read the entire article from Worldview Weekend here.
A few years ago those who observed that John Piper was heading down a bad road when he began validating Mark Driscoll were all but crucified by those who thought the ones raising the concern were jumping to conclusions.
But then the next shoe dropped: Piper invited Rick Warren to speak at last year’s Desiring God conference (and I noticed there were a lot less voices being raised from the defend-Piper-at-all-costs crowd). Rick Warren was unable to make it to that conference but this year Piper is traveling to Warren’s church.
This link contains the video (and other information) for John Piper’s upcoming Desiring God regional conference on “Meditations of a Christian Hedonist” being held at Rick Warren’s Saddleback church.
It appears that the slippery slope some of us were talking about over the past few years is rapidly turning into a cliff.
Will Piper surprise us and preach a non-compromising sermon on Christ and Him crucified to those who’ve been nursing on Warren’s messages for years (we can only hope and pray), or will things only get worse as the years go by and perhaps next year we’ll see an endorsement of Thomas S. Monson? I guess time will only tell.
Nasty, snarky, condescending, and vitriolic comments will not be approved.
I recently read an article about cults in Mexico that I found absolutely fascinating. It seems that the Roman Catholic organization is experiencing some competition in one of their stronghold nations.
Here’s a quote from the article about the growing worship of fictional drug-trafficking saint, Jesús Malverde:
“The emotional pressures, the tensions of living in a time of crisis lead people to look for symbolic figures that can help them face danger,” says José Luis González, a professor at Mexico’s National School of Anthropology and History who specializes in popular religions. Among the helper figures are Afro-Cuban deities that have recently found their way to new shores and outlaws that have been transformed into miracle workers, like a mythical bandit from northern Mexico called Jesús Malverde. There are even saints from the New Testament repurposed for achieving not salvation but success. In this expanding spiritual universe, the worship of a skeleton dressed in long robes and carrying a scythe—La Santa Muerte—is possibly the fastest growing and, at first glance at least, the most extravagant of the new cults.
There’s a reason for God’s prohibition against graven images and the bowing down to them. Our hearts are truly idol factories and here’s an example of how one such idol was created:
Eligio had been working as a driver in 1976 when he was knifed and shot in a holdup and left for dead. He prayed to Malverde, whose only monument at the time was a pile of rocks where his grave was said to be, promising to erect a proper shrine in Malverde’s honor if the saintly bandit saved his life. When he survived, he kept his word. González appears to have understood that people would grasp Malverde’s real importance only if there were an image of him they could worship, but unfortunately no photograph of Malverde existed—and, in fact, no evidence at all that he’d ever lived. In the 1980s González asked an artisan in the neighborhood to create a plaster bust: “Make him sort of like Pedro Infante and sort of like Carlos Mariscal,” Infante being a famous movie star from Sinaloa and Mariscal a local politician.
And then there’s the skeletal idol of death known as La Santa Muerte reminiscent of the Grim Reaper:
Antonio explains what gives La Santa Muerte her powerful attraction: “La Muerte is always beside you—even if it’s just a little postage stamp that you put up above your cot, you know that she’s not going to move, that she’ll never leave.” . . . El Niño and Antonio say just that La Santa Muerte will grant your prayers—but only in exchange for payment, and that payment must be proportional to the size of the miracle requested, and the punishment for not meeting one’s debt to her is terrible.
I find it ironic that the official position of the Roman Catholic organization is in opposition to the worship of Jesús Malverde and La Santa Muerte when they are one of the worst offenders of idol worship around and seem to have no problem when the idol being worshiped is one that they’ve created.
Mexicans who retain a strong connection to the Roman Catholic faith might turn instead to St. Jude Thaddeus. At a time when no-win situations abound, he is experiencing a rise in popularity comparable only to that of La Santa Muerte, perhaps because he is known in the Catholic Church as the patron saint of desperate causes. . . . St. Jude’s official feast day is October 28, and thousands of his followers feel inspired to come and pray to him on that day every month. Sixteen Masses are celebrated in the parish from dawn to evening, and worshippers crawl to the statue of the saint on their knees, praying for help, protection, and survival.
But let me caution you, before we look down on these souls in Mexico who are steeped in idol worship, let us not forget that we in America are equally as guilty of this sin; our idols just come in different forms (cars, sports, money, status, possessions, self, etc.).
To read the entire National Geographic article (and to view more pictures) visit National Geographic online.
This video portrays why my heart grieves for these precious souls and why Mormonism and Christianity never has and never will be compatible.
Source: GodNeverSinned.com
Imagine if you will, that you’ve been witnessing to your next door neighbor for years. Let’s call him Bob. Bob is a big burly biker who swears that he’ll never step foot in a church as long as he’s alive.
Then one Saturday night he knocks on your door and tells you that he’s been thinking a lot about life lately and that he’d like to come with you to church the following morning. You try to hide your over-exuberance and tell him it would be your honor and you’d even offer to pick him up.
After Bob leaves, you receive another knock at the door. It’s Adam, one of your other neighbors you’ve been witnessing to. Adam is an Atheist and not only rejects the idea of the existence of God, but in your conversations with him he’s even mocked your faith calling Christianity a “crutch” and a mindless religion best suited for wimps and sissies. So imagine your surprise when he’s on your doorstep and tells you he’d like go to church with you in the morning. After you recover from your shock you tell him you’ll pick him up in the morning.
You go to your bedroom to pray about what has just happened and thank God. And as soon as you get done, you hear another knock on your door. This time it’s your neighbor Mike the Mormon.
In the years you’ve spent sharing the gospel with Mike he’s always objected to Christianity because of the foolishness he used to see in the churches before converting to Mormonism. He tells you that he’s been thinking a lot about your conversations over the years and would like to attend church with you in the morning. After you regain your composure you tell him you’ll pick him up in the morning.
As you’re getting ready for bed the phone rings. It’s Mohammed from work. The Muslim you’ve been witnessing to for years is on the phone asking if he can come to church with you in the morning. Once again, you try to contain your excitement as you tell Mohammed that you’ll pick him up in the morning.
The next morning you arrive at the church with Bob, Adam, Mike, and Mohammed. All of you make your way inside and find seats in the sanctuary.
The pastor gets up and announces that they have a very special guest today. A well-dressed man steps onto the platform and the next thing that you, Bob, Adam, Mike, and Mohammed see is this:
Ingrid Schlueter appropriately asks:
What happened? How did it come to this? What kind of teachings or lack thereof would allow evangelicals to view this as Christian worship? In short, why?
HT: Crosstalk Blog
Want to help get doctrinally sound theology books into the hands of pastors in Africa? Here are two ways:
1). There’s the Portuguese Adopt a Pastor program for Mozambique, Africa (along with video introduction) here.
2). You can also support indigenous pastors in Liberia, Africa with books and other resources and learn more about the work of Village Church Planters by visiting their website here.
Not only are they desperate for help in sound doctrinal teaching, and not only are they in a spiritual battle against native pagan religions and the spread of Islam, but they also have the proliferation of cults to tend with (for more on cults in Africa see the Africa Center for Apologetics Research). These pastors are poor and can’t afford to attend the conferences that pastors in the West attend, nor can they afford to purchase the theological books that line our bookshelves and that we take for granted.
Will you consider helping the saints today?
If I had a nickel for every time a Mormon cited Christendom’s presence of denominations as proof that Christianity is apostate while citing their Mormon unity as proof that they’re the one true church, I’d have . . . well, an awful lot of nickels.
Chances are, if you’ve ever engaged Mormons in a debate you too have experienced this erroneous LDS apologetics tactic. But do not feel at a loss on how to cut through this smokescreen, for below is a list posted by 4 Mormon.org citing the plethora of Mormon splits, divisions, and denominations.
______________________________________________________
MORMON SPLINTER GROUPS
Sects that broke away from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Proponents of the Salt Lake City based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as LDS or Mormons) boast of the alleged “unity” of their 12 million membership. Pointing to multiple denominations of Christian churches, Mormons attribute their “unity” (i.e., uniform church structure and belief) to latter-day revelation and to additional books they regard as Scripture.
They challenge the potential convert to read and pray about the Book of Mormon in order to gain a “testimony” of the truthfulness of the book. This “testimony” (consisting of a “burning in the bosom” sensation) is alleged to be the main test for determining whether the potential convert should become a member of the LDS Church. Given the fact that over 100 splinter groups have developed on the foundation of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, we question the validity of the Mormon “testimony” in solidifying the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the sole possessor of the “restored gospel.” Since all of these movements base their authority on the Book of Mormon and the Prophet Joseph Smith, how can a “testimony” gained through praying about the Book of Mormon be sufficient to prove which church of all of these movements one should join? The following list of dissident groups is taken from the book Divergent Paths of Restoration:
FOUNDED BETWEEN 1830 AND 1844
NON-EXTANT MOVEMENTS FOUNDED 1844-1860
EXTANT MOVEMENTS
Splinter Groups and Sub-movements of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, James J. Strang, 1844
Splinter Groups and Sub-movements of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Brigham Young, 1847
Splinter Groups and Sub-movements of The Church of Jesus Christ, Alpheus Cutler, 1853
Splinter Groups and Sub-movements of The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 1851-1860
Splinter Groups and Sub-movements of The Church of Jesus Christ, William Bickerton, 1862
Splinter Groups and Sub-movements of Church of Christ (Temple Lot), Granville Hedrick, 1863
Christ Alone Wyoming 