Today we’re doing things a little differently! Woo-hoo!
To start off with, let’s take a look at what God tells us through His prophet Isaiah about putting our trust in Him.
Isaiah 12:2; “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.”
That one verse would put an end to all the ‘isms’ in the world if we’d just heed what it says.
How many times have we faced opposition and forgotten the significance of what that one verse means for us personally?
How many times have we come to any crossroads in life, and tried to rationalize our decisions instead of going back to the basics of what God said in Isaiah 12:2?
If we’d think about what He said, we could eliminate many a worry in life!
The other day I visited a site for a new app known as ‘Periscope.tv’ It’s a cool way to share what you’re doing in life. You can video yourself while doing an activity, or interview yourself wherever you’re at, and post it in real time via Twitter. In other words, it’s like Youtube, but live. Crazy, I know!
Long story short, Melissa introduced me to this site via her pastor last week. He gave a sermon challenging people to let God grow your life through sharing your testimony, or by using it in a ministry God has called you into.
As I scrolled through some of the posts, I came across one from a guy who was talking about the
dangers of being in the cult of Hinduism. I’ve posted some of what he said here because when you read his warning, it’s the mirror image of Mormonism. First, take a look at what Joe Smith had to say about happiness –
Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 256; “Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God. But we cannot keep all the commandments without first knowing them, and we cannot expect to know all, or more than we now know unless we comply with or keep those we have already received. That which is wrong under one circumstance, may be, and often is, right under another.” – Joseph Smith, 1842
Now with that rolling around in your head, look at the following statements made by the guy on Periscope…
“…Because this is usually the point where some “guru” jumps up and starts declaring that they are the only true way to be able surrender properly to God. And so the world of strict rules and moving targets and never-ending sacrifice starts. It’s amazing the sheer number of gurus so selflessly volunteering to let you surrender yourself, your family and your money to them. The more you can surrender, the more chance you will find the happiness you desire…
…Do you see the catch there? You have to surrender your entire will in order to be “happy”. The question I always had, but no-one ever seemed to have an answer to was this: If you’ve surrendered your will, whose happiness is it? If you have no sense of self, how can you experience “true happiness”? If you lose your will, and thus yourself, you lose the sense of identity that allows you to identify what happiness actually means to you. So how can surrendering ever bring you anything other than a sense of loss and confusion, as the one thing that would help you experience happiness, disappeared: Your self.
It’s in that lost and confused state that most people begin to get manipulated. They think they have failed, because they aren’t happy, like they were told they would be. The guru demands more from them, and they give it, but nothing changes. And always there is the underlying message that because you are not happy, it is because you have not surrendered enough. You have failed. And it becomes this abusive cycle that can easily be compared to the same cycle of abuse that is seen in domestic abuse as well. “I beat you because you have failed me”. “I beat you because you have failed me”. It systematically destroys your sense of self, and therefore your sense of self esteem. There is a constant message of failure, so you stay to try and prove to your abuser that you are worthy after all. But it will never be enough, and I don’t see how fear motivated belief can be remotely spiritual.”
That, my friends, is a classic picture of ‘isms’. Take your pick, it could be Hinduism as in this case, or Mormonism, it’s all the same. Furthermore, as I’ve pointed out in the past as this person did, the effects of abuse and isms are much the same.
The price to be paid for the Mormon ideal of happiness is much too high! The cost of following God is simple and straightforward. Salvation. Do you see the difference?
Mormonism’s moving targets are exhibited in its claim of clinging to an open-ended canon and prophets with continuing revelation. Your happiness will never be attained because its predicated upon their needs and wants, not yours, and most certainly not God’s.
Just how happy are you when you’ve had to perform like a circus animal at a dog and pony show?
That scripture really helped me today, thank you. I had some not so good news from a Cat scan. My cancer is growing and spreading even with the chemotherapy. Very depressing. The scripture helps me to try and leave it at Jesus feet, and lessen my burdens and give them to him.