May 7 — Is He Chasing After You? John 10:10-11 “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.”
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The first time we see God chasing after man is in Genesis 3:9 with Adam trying to hide from God. Another example is the Apostle Paul in Acts 9:3! If you’re a Christian there’s no doubt you’ve had the experience of God chasing after you as well, and it’s the reason He’s been affectionately referred to as the ‘Hound of Heaven’.
While the visual of hiding in bushes might bring a silent chuckle, we have to stop and ask ourselves – am I guilty of the same? Hiding from God can happen even after salvation. It happens each time we ignore the Lord’s Spirit prompting us to change our ways.
Joseph Smith was a classic example of what happens when we choose to ignore the Lord’s warning about the thief. Mormonism is the thief who came to steal salvation from millions. He had ample opportunities to heed the call of the Good Shepherd, and instead he chose another voice to guide his ways. God was everywhere present in the early 19th century. We see this in the countless revival camps in the 2nd Great Awakening.
Mr. Holland’s argument for Joe Smith’s restoration actually works against itself. If God does work in the world, why did we need a restoration, and why did Smith try to join the Methodists after God supposedly visited him?
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A Perfect Brightness of Hope ‘The Restoration reaffirmed the foundation truth that God does work in this world, we can hope, even when facing the most insurmountable odds.’ — Jeffrey R. Holland
This is exactly why there was never an apostasy of Christ’s church. Jesus is referred to as the “Good Shepherd”, John chapter 10 is a good place to learn about this. A good shepherd would never abandoned his flock. And Christ never abandoned His Church.
John 10:11 ” I am the good Shepherd: the good Shepherd givith his life for the sheep”. He gave His life for you so you can have eternal life. Not so you can follow and obey ordinances and commandments from your prophets so you can be exalted.
Many early followers of Joe Smith, followed and believed him, because like so many people today, they were too lazy to read their Bibles. They preferred having somebody preach to them, rather than to read the Word of God themselves.
“He call his own sheep by name and leads them out of the sheep pen. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them and his sheep follow him Because They Know His Voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, They Will Run Away From Him Because They Do Not recognize a Stanger’s Voice.” (john 10: 4,5)
Mormons do not recognize the voice of Christ, but would rather follow the Voice of a Stranger, such as Joe Smoth, Brighman Young or Russ Nelson.