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Archive for the ‘Foundation of Mormonism’ Category

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures”.

The Book of Mormon is fraught with problems, but today we’re looking at just one issue: contradictions.

This time around the contradictions are concerning how Book of Mormon authors complained about the lack of materials they had available to write their pseudo gospel, while going into great detail of events taking place. Jarom 1:14  Their excuses ranged from the ‘awkwardness of their hands’, to the font size of letters in Reformed Egyptian. (more…)

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 Isaiah 14:12–14; “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13  For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”

Earlier this month we went back and looked at the basics of Mormonism. See Foundations: Christianity and Mormonism Compared, and saw some key differences between the Mormon Jesus and the real Jesus of the Bible.

Today is another segment of this, as we look at what Mormons teach about Jesus Christ being the brother of Lucifer. The key Mormon verses regarding this topic are both found in the Pearl of Great Price. They come from Abraham 3:27 & Moses 4:1, and both verses have plagiarized Isaiah 6:8.

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“My Hope is Built on Nothing Less”
by Edward Mote, 1797-1874

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand….

That hymn is one of my all time favs, and I pray all Mormons will come to know it in the depths of their souls as I have done…

The singular hope of every believer is God’s merciful redemption of the soul. Along with that hope comes the full understanding God’s provision has been granted solely through the means of the blessed sacrifice of His Only Son who became the propitiation for the sins of man. Without that singular intervention, all hope for man’s eternal well being is eternally doomed.

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Many new ideas stemmed from the visions of Joseph Smith.  As we begin our foundation series I felt it was better to begin here with testimonies.

If it weren’t for the tesitmony of Smith, everything in Mormonism is all for naught.

No testimony is more significant to us in our time than the witness of Joseph Smith.” – Robert Hales, Ensign, Nov. 2009, pg. 30.

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foundationsIn the spring of ’92 I was expecting my third child in four years and wondering how many more babies I’d have to give birth to before the Mormon god would accept me.  Half way through my pregnancy I went out for a walk with my 14 month old daughter Jacqui and noticed a couple of women about my age standing outside chatting with each other.

As I got closer I saw one of the women wearing a cross necklace.  I thought of it as another opportunity to find out more about the all elusive cross that as a Mormon I was told not to worry about and directly told not to have in our homes.

The questions I asked Nancy set into motion the things I should have done years before.  It had been a long road for me in the eleven years between the time I left Utah and Seattle.  I had traveled the world, lived in many places throughout the states and quite frankly, I was tired.  I was tired of trying to live up to the demands of what I had learned in my Mormon life of what it meant to go to heaven.

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foundationsThis particular teaching of the LDS Church is one of the three main reasons I left the Mormon Church.

In order to believe in Mormonism, the acceptance of man living with God before the earth was created is a must.  They teach that mankind was created spiritually through a sexual union between God and one of his billions of wives.  Your behavior in the pre-existence determined which family you’re born into, where and when you would live your mortal life and what color of skin you’d have here.  If you had anything less than stellar behavior there, the chances of you being born “white and delightsome” here were slim to nothing.

I was taught in countless Sacrament Meetings, Primary, MIA classes and LDS Seminary that my black curly hair, dark brown eyes and olive skin was proof I hadn’t been valiant.  I always wondered what the millions of other people must’ve done to deserve being born in Africa or China.  In the end my biggest question was why God suddenly liked my family in June of 1978 when we hadn’t changed anything in our behavior.  Kimball’s revelation was the first time I started questioning the leadership.

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He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” – Matthew 16:15-16

Those two verses captured my attention as a teenager growing up in Utah Mormonism. I didn’t understand the meaning of the word Christ, but instinctively knew it had to mean more than what I was being taught.

Today whenever I meet a Mormon missionary, my question is always the same;

Whom do you think Jesus is?

Not surprisingly, I get a different answer from each and every Mormon I encounter.  When I think of the missionaries who come to my door I can’t help but think of a song by Hillsong called “Inside Out”. One of the lines says “…the art of losing myself in bringing You praise…”  It never would’ve crossed my mind to do such a thing as a Mormon, and the way the missionaries talk about Joseph Smith, I’m convinced it doesn’t for them either. So again, I am asking:

What did Jesus do in your life today?

Do you even know?

Have you even stopped to think of it?

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foundationsIn this part of our series on the “foundations of Mormonism”, we’re taking a look at the Holy Ghost or the Holy Spirit of Mormonism.  I remember being around Christians as a Mormon and wondered where they got their effervescent personalities.  They always seemed to be a “free spirit” without the shame ridden fears I carried around with me all those years.

Little did I know at the time I was witnessing the presence of the Holy Spirit.  This Holy Spirit moved them in their lives and allowed those around them to see God’s love for His creation.

Not long after the day of my salvation I remember laying face down with arms stretched out on my living room floor in total adoration for God and the unspeakable gratefulness I held in my heart for the God of everything.  It was the first of many times I’ve been in that position before my God.

A Mormon missionary asked me not long ago what if anything I felt when I “changed religions”.  I shared that experience with him and how incredibly free I am in Christ.  It is through His Holy Spirit that I have freedom to prostrate myself before Him and it is through the workings of the Holy Spirit I know that I am worshipping Him in spirit and in truth.

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foundationsConvince us of our errors of doctrine, if we have any, by reason, by logical arguments, or by the word of God, and we will be ever grateful for the information, and you will ever have the pleasing reflection that you have been instruments in the hands of God of redeeming your fellow beings from the darkness which you may see enveloping their minds.” – The Seer, pgs. 15-16, Orson Pratt, apostle

Boyd K. Packer, “The Mantle is Far, Far Greater Than the Intellect”, 1981, BYU Studies, Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 259-271; “Church history can be so interesting and so inspiring as to be a very powerful tool indeed for building faith. If not properly written or properly taught, it may be a faith destroyer… “There is a temptation for the writer or the teacher of Church history to want to tell everything, whether it is worthy or faith promoting or not…Some things that are true are not very useful.

Have you ever heard of Carfax?  It’s a cool little concept.  You can get a report on any car you’d like to buy and in that report is all the information you’d ever want or need to know about that particular car.  It’ll even tell you how many times the oil was changed and when, the number of previous owners, if it was a lease or loan, etc., the list just keeps going.  You’ll have no doubts or worries about the history of the car you have your sights on.  If you know what you’re looking for, the writings of the Mormon Church are like Carfax in many ways.

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foundationsA few weeks ago an e-mail came through asking for my opinion on whom I believe the Mormons are praying to.  You’ll find the original e-mail and my response below.

Dear Michelle,

I have been a Christian for many years, and along the way have had one family who were very dear Mormon friends.  I do know about their false doctrines, as I have read many books on people who have come out of Mormonism, but something really puzzles me and I crave to have an answer for this question, please…WHO do Mormons pray to and when they say they receive answers, is this really true?…She talks so much about answered prayer…which is a wonder to me and it bothers me very much…can you give me an answer, Michelle?

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foundationsPeople tell me all the time that Mormons are some of the nicest people they’ve ever met.  I would agree with that up to a point.  They’re very nice up until you disagree with their theology, then all bets are off and the gloves come on.

I still cringe whenever I think back to my life before the Lord saved me.  I had the warmth of a buzz saw.  I was in a bad mood 24/7 and no matter what I said outwardly, my thoughts were always filled with judgmental animosity for those who didn’t agree with me at any given time.

My grandfather used to tell us kids to “quit being ugly” and he wasn’t referring to the way we were dressed or the funky hair styles we loved back in the eighties.  At the time I could never understand what he meant…hmmm…nowadays I am still dealing with the buzz saw personalities, but it’s through the e-mails I receive from those who are active LDS.  Here are a few examples of what we see from many e-mails we receive every day.

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foundationsIn January of 1972 I sat on a platform in front of my local Mormon ward.  I was receiving the prayers and “laying on of hands” for the “gift of the Holy Ghost” and becoming a member of the LDS Church.  Twenty four hours earlier I had been washed in the baptismal font of the Stake building to receive a remission of my sins.  I was eight years old.

The remarkable point to this whole scenario is the real gift I received from the Church that changed my life forever and what was to become the beginning of the end for me and Mormonism.

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