Isaiah 35:8 “And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.”
With the advent of each General Conference, Visiting Teachers are instructed to choose a talk from the conference to use as a lesson for that month’s Visiting Teaching Message. With no pun intended, I’ve chosen to use Mr. Monson’s talk on ‘Choices’. You can read his talk in full at the link below.
General Conference, ‘Choices,’ April 2016
To keep this at a manageable size, we’re highlighting just a few of the comments from Mr. Monson’s speech. The two things that stood out most was a reference to a Disney movie, but more on that in a moment. And the other thing – Mr. Monson didn’t use one biblical reference in his entire speech. The whole talk focused on the new temples, Alice in Wonderland, and making the correct choices to be temple worthy. Absolutely nothing about Jesus was mentioned.
One would think a Christian church might give Him a shout out at a worldwide conference after all…
Here’s what Mr. Monson had to say about choices people make in life –
“I have been thinking recently about choices. It has been said that the door of history turns on small hinges, and so do people’s lives. The choices we make determine our destiny.”
That they do, Mr. Monson, that they do. Each time a door to one of the 150 Mormon temples is opened and shut, the eternal destiny of that person takes another step further away from the Lord.
The Bible tells us Jesus is a more perfect tabernacle in which we find a better sacrifice, not a building where works for the dead are performed! Why haven’t any of the Mormon prophets pointed to Jesus?
Hebrews 9:11, 14 “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building. 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
Mr. Monson went on to reiterate another unbiblical belief of Mormonism, which sadly, he’ll have to answer for someday.
“When we left our premortal existence and entered mortality…”
There are plenty of biblical examples disproving the Mormon pre-existence, but today our example here will suffice to show their error.
John 3:13: “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.”
Without belaboring the rest of Mr. Monson’s talk, I have a couple of questions… Why is he using Alice in Wonderland as an example for making the right choices in life, and not Jesus’ invitation to follow Him as in John 14:6?
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Another biblical example is the ‘Highway of Holiness’ from Isaiah 35. Could it be an intentional way of not pointing to Jesus?
Oh, how I wish they would encourage the people through God’s perfect word! Isaiah 35:3-10 assures believers the Lord has already provided safety for them, and vs. 8 is especially poignant. This my friend, is where true safety lies.
“And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.”
Mr. Monson also reminded members the ultimate goal in Mormonism is, ‘celestial glory’. He made no mention of a goal to spend eternity with the Lord; it’s all about their godhood status at the end.
“Our goal is to obtain celestial glory, and the choices we make will, in large part, determine whether or not we reach our goal.”
In my 50+ years of experience with Mormonism, I know the phrase of ‘spending eternity with God, and/or the Lord’ is a rare thing to hear which is beyond sad.
Another concern we have is the references to Disney, and other movie type scenarios. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this in the past handful of years, which is also disheartening. It’s bad enough they’re worshiping a false Christ, but now they’re utilizing the secular world to push their agenda. Here are a few examples:
Mr. Holland’s talk last week alluding to the Broadway Production of ‘Annie’
Mr. Uchtdorf’s talk, ‘Your Happily Ever After Starts Now’
Melissa’s numerous examples of how the Church is becoming more mainstream
Last, but not least, here’s the final comment we’re looking at –
“As we contemplate the decisions we make in our lives each day—whether to make this choice or that choice—if we choose Christ, we will have made the correct choice.”
If you’ve chosen to accept the real Jesus Christ into your heart, then yes, you will have made the correct choice.
Tragically, Mormons have declared more than once the Jesus they worship, isn’t the Jesus of the Bible Ensign 2007. That brand of theology is downright disastrous!
Pray with us won’t you? Pray that Mormons do indeed make the right choice to worship the Jesus of the Bible, and not the one Joe Smith invented.
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