My Mormon Dermatologist

I love my Mormon dermatologist.  He helped me get my acne cleared up and I am extremely grateful to him for that!

I am going to be moving out of the area for awhile and so I wanted to make sure I took the opportunity to share with him before I leave about my concerns with Mormonism.  We were talking about the mission he had served and I decided to ask him if he was a hard-core Mormon or more of a doubting Thomas.  He said he thought he was more of the hard-core type.  I then asked him if he would be open to watching a DVD if I sent it to him.  He wanted to know what it was about so I explained it compares the prophecies of Joseph Smith with the prophecies in the Bible.  He looked a little skeptical and uncomfortable and said he knew there was a lot of “anti-Mormon” information out there, but he felt he had received his answer.  He said I could send it to him, but that he probably wouldn’t watch it.

He then jokingly asked me if he could send me a Book of Mormon.

Martha’s Testimony: Religion Destroys, Jesus Restores

I have not had time to blog lately so I asked a friend of mine who was raised LDS if she would like to share her testimony for a blog post.  This is her testimony in her own words:

I was born into the Mormon Church and raised going to Sunday school and Seminary. I went to church regularly. I attended Brigham Young University. I had a brother who did the same. My brother was a bit more rebellious than I was, but met a woman and married her in the temple. The marriage was short lived and they divorced. After a time, my brother met another woman and moved in with her. My father was the Bishop at the time and my brother was in the Ward. The LDS church required my father to excommunicate my brother. My brother and his future wife moved away to a place only I knew of. I was devastated. I could not believe a God would destroy a family like that. I became agnostic. Even to the point of finding the nicest atheist I could find and marrying him – to spite God and my parents.

At one point, the Mormon Church began harassing me. They consistently sent their 14-year-old boys to collect tithing and calling me. One day the Bishop showed up at my door and I asked him if he had a piece of paper. He gave me one and I wrote down the request to take me off the Mormon list. They held court, which I did not attend.

Inspired by fallen men

Perhaps nothing stirs the hearts of believers more than learning about the human nature of saints of old.  The leaves of Scripture are filled with stories of men who both served God and also failed miserably to match His holiness.  Some of the tales read like a modern tabloid magazine.  Judah sleeping with his daughter-in-law.  Noah lying naked in a drunken stupor while his son mocks him.  Jacob deceiving his father and stealing his brother’s inheritance.  Solomon amassing a legion of wives.  David hiring the military to murder a man to conceal his own adultery.  Paul violently persecuting Christian believers.  No student of the Bible wears rose-colored glasses when looking at the people portrayed in it.  The struggles that they lived through and the choices that they made were fleshly–just like the men themselves.

In the New Testament James urges believers to confess their sins to one another and to pray for each other (5:16).  The ideal church model is not for pious Christians to put on a facade on Sunday morning.  Like the believers in Acts who came and “openly confessed” their sins, we too are to be authentic and expose our faults to our brethren.  Confessing sin is a humbling process that requires great humility.  But it is the process of overcoming sin that truly magnifies our Savior.  What a blessing it is to hear of someone caught in an addiction, in a lifestyle, in a horrible situation who cried out to Jesus for help and was rescued.

Worshiping Jesus

Hi,

I haven’t been blogging here much lately, but I am very busy worshiping and serving Jesus.  I just wanted to say hi to anyone who still occasionally checks in here.  Here’s an inspirational music video I ran across today that was a blessing.

May you all reflect on the Savior’s awesome love and mercy as you prepare to worship tomorrow.

The Bible vs. Joseph Smith DVD

…is now available!!  Get your copy here.

I can’t wait to see it!  I just learned from someone who has seen it that it’s the best one yet by Joel Kramer & Co.  I have been impressed by the quality of their previous DVDs and am really excited to see this one!

Trailer

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Grappling with God’s Love, Justice, Omnipotence, Foreknowledge, and Hell

Katie’s reflections at the end of her post on Romans 3 stirred me to work on a post on this topic.  I can completely relate to her wrestlings on the doctrine of hell as I have long grappled with this doctrine myself.

The question is far deeper for me than “Why would a loving God send people to hell?”  At first glance, this question appears difficult because God’s redemptive love has to be reconciled with His divine justice.  But upon further reflection, it’s actually much harder to comprehend how a thrice-holy God could reward unrepentant, evil creatures with eternal pleasures.  That makes Him seem more than a little bit evil and creepy Himself.  My mind makes the human comparison to an earthly judge who would let a rapist or murderer off without requiring any consequences for their crime.  I would consider that judge creepy and immoral in the extreme.  In addition, it has also been pointed out that unrepentant persons would not enjoy heaven.  In their unregenerate state they would have no desire to join with saints worshiping God forever and ever.  That would be like hell for them.

No, the deeper question for me has been why He would have created eternal beings with free wills in the first place, knowing that some would eternally reject Him and end up suffering eternal separation from the Source of all that is holy, loving, and good.  On its surface this question also seems to be fairly easily reconciled when one considers that God has made provision for all to be saved, everyone is given a free choice, some choose to perpetually rebel and so, as C. S. Lewis said, “all that are in hell choose it.”

But the problem goes a little deeper than that for me when (in my limited human comprehension) I ponder why, if He desires that all would be saved (2 Pet. 3:9), and if He is all-powerful, why would He not use His power to draw all to Himself?  Is His omnipotence somehow limited by human freedom, and if so, why?  Further, how is it ultimately more glorifying to God that sinners go on existing forever (albeit eternally quarantined from saints)?  Would it not demonstrate His power better or bring Him more glory if sinful people were completely destroyed (Annihilation) or if everyone was brought to repentance (Universalism)?

How a Man Should Love a Woman

In my devotions today I was pondering the relationship between Christ and His Church.  By using the human illustration of how a man should love his wife, the scriptures intimately reveal the nature of the love that the Savior has for His Bride.  The scriptures say that Christ

“loved the church”

and

“gave Himself for it”

so that He could

“sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word”

so that He could

“present it to Himself a glorious church”

“not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing”

“but that it should be holy and without blemish”

In speaking of the kind of love that a man should have for a woman the apostle Paul says, “For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church” (Eph. 5:29).  When a man is joined to his wife they become one flesh (Eph. 5:31).  So it is between Christ and His Church.  When He laid down His life to purchase His Bride He became forever intimately connected with her.  ”For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones” (Eph. 5:30).

A question for LDS came to my mind as I was studying this passage.  Is it possible that Christ could ever become disconnected from His own flesh and bones?  

Dwelling in The Holiest Through the Blood of Jesus

“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having an high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised)”-Heb. 10:19-23

I often kneel or lie prostrate on the floor when I pray, and in my mind I often picture myself kneeling or prostrating myself before God’s throne in heaven.  Theologically, I know that I am seated in the heavenly places with Christ (Eph. 2:6; Col. 3:3) and my spirit is not limited to time and space. So, spiritually speaking, I have access at all times to heaven itself and the glories that are there in my Heavenly Father’s presence.  God is of course not limited to time or space either and He is with me everywhere I go – comforting me when I’m sad, convicting me when I sin, and enlightening my mind to understand Him more clearly as I study and meditate on His Word and spend time with Him in prayer.  But sometimes I take this all for granted.  I seldom sit and reflect on what an awesome privilege I have to enjoy the healing presence of my Heavenly Father everywhere and at all times.  I was recently reminded of what an amazing blessing God has given to His children that we can rest at all times in His comforting embrace.  Like little chicks can hide in their mother’s wings, we can hide in the shelter of God’s presence, safe in His habitation (Ps. 91:5-10; Matt. 23:37).

Hudson Taylor and his Mormon Contemporaries

My pastor has been recommending a book of the month at my church and so this month I am participating in reading Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret.  I have been challenged and inspired by reading this historical account of Hudson Taylor’s devotion to Christ and his life of sacrifice for the people of China.  During his time of preparation for going to China, he moved away from his family to a very poor neighborhood where the solitude allowed him to set himself to prayer, studying God’s Word, visiting the poor, and evangelistic work. By living mainly on oatmeal and rice, he found that he was able to sufficiently pay for his own needs with a third of his income so he could use the rest to give to those in need.  He experienced more blessing and happiness when he gave more and spent less on himself.  When he set sail for China he fully believed he would never see his family again.

Controlling Everything from Headquarters

I ran across a curious article that was published last week in Deseret News.  This article claimed to be reporting a change in how the Church History Department collects, preserves, and disseminates the church’s historical information to LDS members.  After reading the article, however, I cannot figure out what the changes were or how the process was “decentralized” as the article claims was the goal.  I will quote the relevant sections and highlight the areas that jumped out at me.  Maybe someone here can help me figure this out.

“Last year, it was decided that they [the Church History Department] needed to implement a decentralized model and start making church history more accessible to the world. Under the direction and approval of area authorities, options will be given to preserve area histories locally — and hopefully, in the future, digitally.

“We wondered, ‘How do we fulfill the commandments of the Lord to keep a history of the church continually and do it in a way that we weren’t asking the brethren for millions more dollars in head count by controlling everything from headquarters?’” Crosby said.

It all happened in a garden…

The Christian tradition is rich with terminology and language that is accepted by all the adherents.  A typical message from any church service, LDS or traditional Christian, includes a wealth of phrases and words that both faiths accept—sin, death, Christ, God the Father, heaven, Satan, the atonement, grace, faith, works, righteousness, and justification.  To an outsider from another religion, our two faiths could seem identical—the same words and expressions are used in both.  But even a simple examination into the faith of either group reveals stark differences in semantics that are impossible to ignore.

No Motorized Couches at BYU

Add this to your list of things NOT to bring to college: motorized couches. Note the student’s observation that his invention really makes him a hit with the ladies.

Do you agree with Glenn Beck’s soteriology?

Wow!  This looks very promising!  I am praying for Thomas Monson – that he will soon start preaching this same gospel.

Mormon Ceremonial Laws

Mormonism claims to be a restoration of original Christianity and yet the many unique doctrines of Mormonism cannot be found in ancient first century texts.  The Mormon response has been that the scriptures containing Mormon doctrines have been lost.

I started the inductive Bible study on the book of Galatians with the challenge that we could test this LDS claim of “lost” scriptures by comparing the books of scripture we do have to see if these books would allow for the simultaneous existence of doctrines that would have to have been present in the alleged lost texts. For example, could the overarching themes of the book of Galatians co-exist with a “lost” letter to the Galatians that would have included the Mormon gospel?

Comparing Presidential Salaries

In the year 1873 the congress of the United States passed a bill that provided a large wage increase for the President and other senior members of Congress.  The congressmen received a salary increase from $5,000/year to $7,500/year.  President Ulysses S. Grant faired even better–his salary increased from $25,000/year to $50,000/year.  These numbers seem paltry by today’s standards, but in the late 19th century the President’s wage would have been comfortable indeed.  Using the Consumer Price Index to show the difference in salaries that inflation makes, Grant’s salary today would have jumped from just over $460,000/year to $925,000/year.  By comparison, President Obama collects $400,000/year.  Grant’s signing of the bill might be considered somewhat greedy, perhaps excessive.  The same year that he signed his raise into law there was a stock market crash and a rise in inflation that sparked a six-year depression.  The following year congress was forced to repeal the “salary grab” bill, but the presidential salary remained unchanged and Grant continued to receive his cushy paycheck.

Oh Prophesy to Me

The opening pages of church-produced Our Heritage: A Brief History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints detail the necessity of a restoration. The argument can be summed up very briefly as follows: the power of the priesthood and many gospel truths were removed from the earth following the death of Christ. This began a long period of spiritual darkness known as the apostasy. Although many churches and Christians were honest in their intent, they did not have the authority and fulness of the gospel. But the dawn of the nineteenth century and the birth of Joseph Smith’s church were the springboard for a new awakening. As the book declares, “The long night of apostasy was about to end” (1996, p. 1).

The apostasy really is a pivotal issue that divides LDS from traditional Christians. Attempts from both evangelicals and LDS to reconcile, build bridges and seek unity are really fruitless when the very foundation of the one faith is that the other faith is apostate. The message that Joseph Smith declared that he received from God was that all the other Christian denominations were wrong and all their leaders corrupt.

Enemy of the Cross – New CD by Adam’s Road Band

I just ordered my free copy of the new Adam’s Road CD.  You can request a free copy too – info at this link.

Galatians Study – The New Creature Rule

This will be the second to last post in the series on the book of Galatians.  Previous posts in this series can be found here, here, here, here, here, and here.  In the last chapter of this book I want to focus on a couple of points that Paul makes.  I would be interested in hearing your observations as well.

Chapter six starts out with Paul’s instructions on how to deal with Christians who are overtaken in a sin.  Direction is given concerning those who are responsible for restoring a sinning brother and how, or in what manner, they are to carry out this ministry of restoration.  Paul identifies those who are “spiritual” as having this responsibility.  They are to carry out this ministry “in the spirit of meekness” recognizing their own vulnerability to be tempted (v. 1).  Paul notes that those who are lifted up with pride are deceived (v. 3).

I think Paul’s instruction here fits in with the overall theme of the letter. Because the Galatians have been affected by the leaven of the Pharisees, there are those who are puffing themselves up and viewing themselves as more spiritual than others.  In their pride, they are ignoring the weightier matters of the law (just as the Pharisees did), emphasizing rituals and rules more than loving their neighbor.  They are preaching law, not grace, and performing works of the flesh rather than fruits of the Spirit (v. 7-8).

3 Views on the Atonement in 1856

In this post I thought it would be interesting to compare what preachers from each of our faith traditions were saying around the same time frame on the same subject. All of the following sermon excerpts come from the same year, within just a few months of each other, on the subject of the atonement.  Spurgeon and Finney are only two of the 19th century’s prominent and influential Christian leaders; they just happened to be the ones from whom I was able to find sermons with relative ease for the year 1856.

Mormonism claims to be a restoration of Christianity, so I believe it is very important to investigate the roots of the Mormon tradition and, in particular, the claim of prophetic authority. As you read through each of the following sermons, please prayerfully consider not only the teachings of these men, but also the men themselves.  Which men strike you as the most filled with God’s Spirit of love and grace?  Which ones appear to be off course and out of line with Biblical teaching?

Is it ethical to stay LDS if you know this verse is teaching a damning heresy?

LDS bloggers on this and other blogs seem to have a different understanding of grace than I encounter when I talk to non-internet Mormons.  I never hear anything but the traditional interpretation of 2 Nephi 25:23 from non-internet Mormons.  And so this brings me to a question for internet Mormons who no longer hold to these traditional interpretations.

Moroni 10:32 says,

“Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ…”

If you are a Mormon who no longer believes this verse is true (but rather who sees in light of the clear teaching of the New Testament that this verse is a damning heresy), is it ethical for you to continue to give explicit or implicit approval to a church that says this verse is the word of God? This verse is teaching the exact opposite of the good news of the grace of Christ proclaimed by the apostles!  This verse, if followed, would sever a person from the grace of Christ!

Here’s the truth from God’s Word:

“And He said unto me, ‘My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9)

How can such a lie with eternal consequences be merely shrugged off?