August 26, 2010 by Pilgrim

Mormon sues LDS organization for injury he received while performing an unbiblical task.

A Las Vegas man is suing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for medical expenses after he injured his back in 2007 performing baptisms for the dead.

In a civil suit filed in 3rd District Court on Wednesday, Daniel Dastrup claims he suffered a severe herniated disk in his lumbar spine after performing about 200 baptisms on Aug. 25, 2007. The then 25-year-old claims some of the young men and women he completely immersed in water in the name of the dead weighed as much as 250 pounds.

Read the entire article here.

August 12, 2010 by Pilgrim

Reinventing themselves . . . once again.

Ever-reinventing and re-polishing themselves till they get it right, the LDS church is back at the drawing board once again. This news article from BNet highlights the latest product of the LDS propaganda machine: Pathetic pandering to the culture.

Notice how he claims the LDS church “teaches good principles?” Since when do “good principles” save a man? Did you also notice how he said the LDS church makes a bad person good and a good person better? This is just further proof that this organization doesn’t preach the Gospel, nor even remotely understands it. True Biblical Christianity does not make a bad person good and a good person better, it takes a dead man and makes him alive; it takes an enemy of God and makes him an heir.

But being a cult does have its benefits though, because since truth to a Mormon is subjective and ever-changing, what was “truth” yesterday, is now relegated to:

We have new revelation.

We don’t teach that anymore.

We don’t believe that anymore.

That was just that prophet’s personal opinion.

You’ve taken that LDS teaching out of context.

A new prophet supersedes anything a previous prophet says.

You misunderstood what the LDS church was trying to say back then.

Just try to nail us down on something, you’d have better results trying to nail Jello-O to the wall.

In other words, “forget what our history and our doctrine say, this is what we want you to think of us now.”

HT: UTLM.org via Facebook

August 2, 2010 by Pilgrim

Cultoons: A dying man on a Mormon’s doorstep.

DefCon is pleased to introduce its first ever Cultoon. If the dialogue in this Cultoon sounds familiar, it was loosely derived from an actual debate featured on this previous post. Enjoy.

July 19, 2010 by Pilgrim

Dangerous pragmatism.

I just read a great article on why a transformed life is not proof of salvation that I highly recommend to all DefCon readers. It is well thought-out, well-written, and can be found here at Better Than Sacrifice.

Here’s an excerpt:

The seed which fell upon stony ground appeared to burst into life – it ‘immediately sprang up’. Why? ‘Because there was no depth’. Far from the immediate flourishing of growth being an indicator of eventual fruit, that growth was caused by the seed falling upon unprepared ground. This is sobering; the implication is that a quick conversion – an abundance of early growth – might very well prove to be ill-grounded. . . . The seed which fell on stony ground is likened to one who hears the Word and immediately receives it with joy. Yet there is no depth there, no true understanding of what has been declared.

If this is sometimes the case with those who hear the true Word of the Kingdom, properly proclaimed, how plainly this exposes the dangers of our modern watered-down presentations of man’s sinful state. Rather than risk offending people by telling them of the wrath of a holy and just God toward sinners, we instead talk of having ‘made mistakes’ and ‘messed up our lives’. Instead of warning of the coming judgement, we tell people that God loves them, omitting any mention of His holiness and justice. Rather than call sinners to repent, we entice them with the offer of a better, more abundant life.

And thus we emasculate the Gospel, robbing it of its majesty and power. For if God is not angry with sinners, the punishment of His Son in their place on the cross can make no sense. Truly, it is this kind of diluted evangelism that results in false converts, lacking depth and with no understanding of the amazing grace that has been poured out upon sinners through the cross of Jesus Christ.

The Church’s task is not to make the Gospel palatable to unbelievers. It is to preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins in Christ so clearly that the offence of the Gospel – Christ crucified in our place, the just suffering for the unjust – is plain to everyone who hears.

Our message should be such that it is impossible for anyone to accept, except the Holy Spirit be at work supernaturally in people’s lives. The Church is charged with preaching the Law in all its severity to frighten comfortable sinners, and then to comfort frightened sinners with the Gospel.

HT: CrossTalkBlog

July 11, 2010 by Pilgrim

A Mormon explains the LDS gospel (or the lack thereof).

It was two years ago (July 2008) that a Mormon named Keith visited us on a post regarding Faith and Works. During this discussion I tried to get Keith to explain how I could be saved if I only had a few minutes to live. Keith did a lot of talking (including changing the conversation, accusing me of trying to manipulate him, and accusing me of asking a trick question), but he never answered the question.

I decided to publish this discussion (with all of our typos) in this post to show you exactly how Mormonism advances “another” gospel; one that gives false hope to a dying man, if any hope at all.

You can check out the entire conversation (and how it began) by checking on the comments section of this post from December of 2007.

When you get to the end of the discussion, if you are still perplexed as to what one has to do to “be right with God” according to Mormonism, the answers are actually listed here: Requirements for Mormon salvation.

Enjoy the conversation.

_________________________________

The Pilgrim says:

July 10, 2008 at 1:39 am (Edit)

Ok, Keith, here it goes:

It’s late at night.

You hear something at your front door.

You investigate.

You find me laying on your porch step covered in blood.

You see a blood trail where I dragged myself which leads to the street where fresh skid marks are present on the asphalt.

I was just hit by a car that sped off.

You call to your wife to dial 911 and you kneel down to offer any assistance that you can.

I only have a few minutes left to live (and by your estimation of my condition you know it’s true).

I’m in fear of facing God and I ask you one simple question.

“How do I get saved?”

You’ve got five minutes.

The clock is ticking . . .

– The Pilgrim

Keith says:

July 10, 2008 at 7:02 pm (Edit)

Ok, this is a trick question for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but this is what I will say. My dear friend you are not lost because God in his wisdom has made a plan for every one of his children. Your acceptance of Jesus Christ at this time will be to your great advantage and your sorrow and asking for forgiveness for your sins will be of merit for you. When you get to other side you will find that you still have an opportunity to learn of his work. Through the miracle of the restoration of the Gospel the Lord has made it possible that your baptism can still be done and you can upon meeting the requirements have the blessings of the Gospel in your life. Now Pilgrim, rejoice in the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ because it is through him that you will live again and receive his great blessings. I love him and I want you to know that I know that he lives and that through him you will be resurrected and can receive forgiveness of your sins and be accepted into his presence. Now should we pray together and ask for God to hear your plea.

As you know Pilgrim your understanding of the term of salvation and mine are different and just because we understand the same scriptures differently does not make me wrong and you right. I am interested in your reply.

Continue reading →

June 21, 2010 by Pilgrim

Mormon church releases statement on Blood Atonement.

The ever-changing mainstream Mormon church has taken yet one more step to distance themselves from the original teachings of their church. This is just another step to appear more “Christian” as they reject the doctrinal roots of their founders. Can anyone recognize Mormonism anymore?

Here’s the very brief article:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released this statement Wednesday:

In the mid-19th century, when rhetorical, emotional oratory was common, some church members and leaders used strong language that included notions of people making restitution for their sins by giving up their own lives.

However, so-called “blood atonement,” by which individuals would be required to shed their own blood to pay for their sins, is not a doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We believe in and teach the infinite and all-encompassing atonement of Jesus Christ, which makes forgiveness of sin and salvation possible for all people.

Source: Deseret News

Could the timing of this press release have anything to do with this week’s execution by firing squad of Ronnie Lee Gardner in Utah?

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Find out more about the truth of Mormonism’s doctrine of Blood Atonement from these previous DefCon posts:

The Mormon doctrine of Blood Atonement as taught from the mouth of (Mormon Prophet) Brigham Young.

The Doctrine of Blood Atonement as taught by the Mormon organization.

May 30, 2010 by Pilgrim

Film review: The Bible vs. Joseph Smith.

Joel Kramer and Sourceflix have hit another home run with their latest release, The Bible vs. Joseph Smith.

DefCon has been pleased to feature Joel Kramer’s past documentaries DNA vs. the Book of Mormon, The Bible vs. the Book of Mormon, and Lifting the Veil on Polygamy, and now The Bible vs. Joseph Smith continues in the excellence of quality, production, and product.

Joel Kramer sits down with a lifelong Mormon and puts Bible prophets and Mormon prophets to the Deuteronomy 18 test “to see which prophets are truly speaking for God.”

This video not only deals with such problems as the Book of Mormon error of stating that Jesus was born in Jerusalem, but it also deals with Joseph Smith’s problems of false prophecy, so clearly in fact, that I suggest to you that this video conclusively proves that Joseph Smith was a false prophet.

“In a conversation between a Christian and a Mormon, the prophets of both the Bible and the Book of Mormon are put head to head in a test to see which prophets are truly speaking for God. If even one prophecy fails to come true, that prophet is a false prophet, and must be put to death.”

May 23, 2010 by Pilgrim

Bruce McConkie’s “Mormon Doctrine” out of print due to low sales.

For those dealing in counter-cult apologetics, if you do not have Bruce R. McConkie’s Mormon Doctrine you better get your hands on it soon, as it’s about to get harder to find and possibly more expensive to purchase. Anyone dealing with Mormons knows the value of this book, and now it will no longer be in print due to a decreased demand. I procured my copy a few years back and I won’t be selling it anytime soon.

Part of me wonders if the decision to stop printing it has anything to do with how much of the real Mormonism it reveals: God was once a man; you can become a God; the black race is cursed; Christ couldn’t atone for all sins and you yourself must atone for some of your own sins by your own shed blood just to name a few.

None of these teachings, I might add, were of McConkie’s own imagination; he merely expounded on already established LDS teachings and doctrines, even though the mainstream LDS organization has been back-peddling from many of these core Mormon doctrines in recent years as they’ve done a phenomenal job at PR in their attempt to look just like Christians. This, of course, is perplexing when you consider that the genesis of their very existence was precipitated on the idea that Christians are apostate.

Oftentimes when a non-Mormon quotes from Mormon Doctrine he is met with the typical Mormon responses that it is not authoritative, it is not scripture, it is not part of LDS canon, and it was only McConkie’s opinions. Ironically these excuses are never appealed to whenever they quote from the Mormon apostle’s work.

This selective use of LDS teachings by Mormons makes the following article from the Salt Lake Tribune even more revealing as they admit:

Although McConkie, an LDS apostle who died in 1985, took sole responsibility from the start for Mormon Doctrine ‘s content, it often was quoted over the pulpit and treated by members as quasi-official. The book, with its presumptive title, seemed to provide an answer to every question and left little room for ambiguity.

“Mormon Doctrine served two generations of the Mormon rank and file as the main authoritative source of LDS teachings,” said LDS sociologist Armand Mauss. “With its authoritative tone and constant promotion from high places, it came to be regularly cited in the church curriculum, especially in [Church Educational System] materials, and soon took on almost a scriptural stature.

You can read the entire article of the demise of McConkie’s tome on the Salt lake Tribune website by clicking here or below by clicking the following link:

Continue reading →