January 31 – Church. Acts 11:26; “And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.”
Posts Tagged ‘Christians’
Witnessing Tip of the Day January 31
Posted in Witnessing Tip of the Day, tagged Adam, Antioch, Christianity started with Adam and Eve, Christians, church, ecclesia, false doctrines of Mormonism on 01/31/2016| 1 Comment »
Tip of the Day, March 6
Posted in Witnessing Tip of the Day, tagged Acts of the Apostles, Alma, bible, body of Christ, Book of Mormon, Christian church, Christianity, Christians, church, false gospel, false prophecies, false prophet, families are forever, gospel, grace, Holy Spirit, Jesus, joseph smith, lds church, lies, Mormon Church, mormonism, mormons, resurrection, salvation, Savior, truth on 03/06/2015| Leave a Comment »
March 6 –The first time the followers of Jesus were called Christians is recorded in Acts 11:26b; “And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.”
Christian Polygamy
Posted in Polygamy, tagged Christians, polygamy, Sister Wives, temple on 07/29/2014| Leave a Comment »
I’m sure you’re puzzled by the title of my article but please bear with me as I explain. Today I was watching a marathon of the past season of Sister Wives. I know, I don’t know how I can watch it either, but in my defense I have taken breaks from watching their show. The complete disregard for how God designed marriage gets to me, still I find it funny at times. I guess I’m easily amused. 🙂
Mormon Dilemma 195
Posted in Mormon Dilemmas, tagged Christians, endowments, false doctrines, godhood, idolatry, Mormon temples, mormonism, ordinances on 03/15/2012| Leave a Comment »
Why Build Temples?
Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, pg 147; “WHY BUILD TEMPLES. We are building temples to the name of the Lord. What are we building them for? That we may enter in and redeem the living and the dead.—JD 22:209, January 9, 1881.”
Tip of the Day, March 17
Posted in Witnessing Tip of the Day, tagged 3rd Nephi, angel of light, apostassy, apostles, bible, body of Christ, Book of Mormon, Christianity, Christians, false apostles, false teachers, freedom, Holy Spirit, Jesus, joseph smith, Lamanites, lds church, mormonism, Moroni, Nephites, salvation, truth, Witnessing to a Mormon, word of God on 03/17/2011| Leave a Comment »
March 17 – 1 Corinthians 14:33 tells us that God is never a God of confusion. “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints”.
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The Mormon Church teaches that three of the twelve apostles never died. If this is the case, then why do the Mormons claim the church needed to be restored?
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Introduction of 3 Nephi 28. “Each of the twelve is granted his heart’s desire – Three elect to remain on earth until the Lord comes in his glory…They are made immune to death and disaster”.
Tip of the Day, March 15
Posted in Witnessing Tip of the Day, tagged angel of light, bible, Book of Mormon, Christianity, Christians, endure, eternal, Everlasting, false prophets, false teacher, forever, God, gospel, Isaiah 40:8, Jesus, joseph smith, Lamanites, lasting, lds church, Mormon, mormonism, Moroni, Nephites, trustworthy, truth, word of God on 03/15/2011| Leave a Comment »
March 15 – Is. 40:8; “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever”.
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Word study time! Eternal and forever are the key words for today. Look them up in a dictionary, concordance and lexicon and then share your new found knowledge with the Mormon. Be sure to use some of your favorite verses from the Bible that contain these words. Don’t forget to explain why the verses you share are your favorites. What did God reveal to you through these things?
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2 Nephi 9:16; “And assuredly, as the Lord liveth, for the Lord God hath spoken it, and it is his eternal word which cannot pass away”.
Tip of the Day, March 14
Posted in Witnessing Tip of the Day, tagged Book of Mormon, Christianity, Christians, Exodus, false apostle, false doctrine, false prophet, false teacher, Genesis, God, God incarnate, grace, I AM THAT I AM, Jesus Christ, Jesus is God, Jesus spirit brother of Lucifer, John, joseph smith, lds church, mormonism, mormons, polygamy, Redeemer, salvation, Savior, truth on 03/14/2011| Leave a Comment »
March 14 – Ex. 3:14, John 8:58; “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM”. “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am”.
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What an amazing set of scriptures to give to a Mormon! Ask them why they think the Pharisees were so angry with Jesus after reading these two verses to them. Then share their own scriptures with them and ask them what it means.
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Introductory page of the Book of Mormon, 2nd paragraph: “JESUS IS THE CHRIST, THE ETERNAL GOD”.
Mentoring Handbook Chapter 15
Posted in Mentoring Handbook, tagged bible, celestial kingdom, Christian church, Christians, godhood, grace, lds church, mormonism, salvation through Jesus, sola scripture, true Christianity, works on 10/22/2010| Leave a Comment »
THEY NEED A CHURCH
Life After Ministries is a para-church evangelical organization. We do not sanction one denomination over another, nor do we endorse sole propriety of salvation within one denomination. However, we strongly encourage the ex-Mormon to get involved in the body of Christ through the means of a local church in their own neighborhood, city or town. The following small list of questions is merely our suggestions when looking for a good church.
Does this church believe that Jesus is God incarnate?
Does this church believe the Holy Spirit indwells each believer?
Does this church believe that Jesus was born of a virgin through the miracle of God?
Does this church believe that Jesus was fully God and fully man?
Does this church believe in salvation by grace through faith and not by works?
Does this church believe that Jesus was crucified for man’s sin and raised on the third day?
Does this church believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven?
Does this church believe the Bible to be the inerrant word of God?
Can this church provide a financial statement for the year?
Can this church provide a concise constitution of beliefs?
If the answer is “no” to any of these questions then it’s time to move on and look for another church. We ask our mentors to encourage the ex-Mormon to try attending a good Bible based church. If they are not comfortable with the style of worship at the church you attend, perhaps you could accompany them to a service at a different church if they’re scared. While that may seem a bit odd to the non-Mormon, it is a real experience for the ex-Mormon or soon to be ex-Mormon. We’re not asking you to change churches, just accompany them for one service!
Share your personal experiences with them of what your church life has been like. They will soon realize that what goes on in the Christian world is much the same even while being drastically different. Seeing children run around inside the church building and women wearing pants in church can be quite alarming to the new Christian; but if they are encouraged along the way you’ll soon find out there is a highly dedicated new member amongst the ranks! Now with all this being said let me also state that belonging to a man made religion does not bring you salvation. Acts 4:12 says;
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
It is not uncommon at all for the ex-Mormon to be “gun shy” about joining any church. I wandered around from the age of 18 to 30 before accepting the Lord into my life while being an inactive Mormon. When I did get saved and began attending a church I refused to join on the day I was baptized. Now this particular church usually had the members officially join at the time of baptism, but for me they made this exception which was very kind of them. I realize now the circumstances were different from that of the LDS Church, but at that time what I needed was to be baptized without “having” to join as a member. The unfortunate thing about what I did is that it was prideful sin. To ease the mind of the new ex-Mormon explain why the Christian church does both of these things at the same time.
If you are an ex-Mormon the reason we encourage church membership is so that you can have a safe place for fellowshipping with others who love the Lord. They can serve as mentors for you, while you in turn help them to understand Mormonism. God will use you wherever you are and no matter what “stage” you’re in with Him! However, church membership is not necessary for salvation. The thief on the cross is proof of that! Luke 23:39-43 says;
“And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”
This simply means that if you accept Jesus into your heart right this moment and something happened that you died in the next minute, you would go to heaven my friend! No good works are necessary, no church membership, no tithe, nothing but your heart. The other topic in this department is the subject of denominations.
As mentioned earlier we do not advocate one denomination over another, but it is important to keep in mind that most Mormons do not understand the concept of how they work; why there are different denominations; and sometimes they’ve never been taught the differences between Catholics and Protestants. Most of the Mormons I’ve mentored had never heard of Martin Luther or what happened in the sixteenth century. This would be a good time for a short history lesson!
Many times this subject is going to be a tough one for the new ex-Mormon. You may encounter a sense of uneasiness on their part created by distrust they’ve been taught to harbor in their hearts. They’ve been taught the different denominations are living proof that a restoration was needed and that the Christian church was no longer in existence on the earth. Joseph Smith said this in his personal testimony: Joseph Smith 1:18-9;
“My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak… then I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt…” –
Now compare that with what Jesus said in Matthew 16:18;
“And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
In the book of Acts we are given an historical account of the beginnings of the works of the Church. We see the martyrdom of Stephen, James, and a few other apostles; the indwelling of the Holy Spirit at the first Pentecost; the conversion of Paul on the road to Damascus, the miracles performed, and the missions of the new Church.
The Good News spread rapidly and even the Gentiles were being grafted in to the people of God, just as Jesus had promised His disciples. Why would these things all go to waste and not continue? Have the ex-Mormon think about this for some time.
1. What were some of Joseph Smith’s excuses as to why the “Restoration” was needed? (Give your understanding, not necessarily exact documentation of this). __________________________________________________
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The apostle Paul traveled more than 3,600 miles in his missionary journeys while proclaiming the word of God to the Gentiles. Some of the apostles stayed behind in Jerusalem while still others went with Paul or spread out in other areas. There were many trade routes opened at this time because of the expansion of the Roman Empire.
Jerusalem was totally destroyed circa 70 AD by the Roman Empire in retaliation of the Jewish uprising and the Jews were scattered all over the earth as they fled for cover. With the fall of Jerusalem another historical even took place. Can you name it?
2. ______________________________________________
Gently explain to the ex-Mormon how these things are not just a coincidence; using scripture of course! Why was it that Jerusalem fell, the Jews were scattered, there were no more temple sacrifices and the Redeemer had prepared His children for all of it. He went with them (believers) as they scattered and spread the gospel throughout the world. In Luke 4:18 it says;
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.”
If the theory of a restoration in 1830 is correct, then Jesus’ deliverance of the captives was a lie as is 1 John 3:8b;
“For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”
These are just some of the basic things that need to be shown to the ex-Mormon. Of course there is no way to teach them everything there is in the Bible, thus a solid Bible believing church is needed. These few examples show the ex-Mormon how God did sustain His church and His people.
Teaching them that scriptures are meant to be used as personal promises to them from God is a blessing they’ve not yet encountered in life. For example Philippians 1:6 is an assurance from God to us that the body of Christ will never perish.
“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
Now that you know what they need, it’d probably be helpful to understand why. As we’ve mentioned before, Joseph Smith claimed in his vision that God appeared to him and said that all Christian denominations were wrong, thus the need for a restoration. Throughout the history of the LDS Church the members have been taught to hate, mistrust and fear anyone who is not LDS and who claims to be a Christian. The leadership of the LDS Church has toned down their abhorrence towards us in the past twenty or so years, but the damage has been done. Incidentally, their “Standard Works” still contain the position of division. The following are some examples of the true feelings they harbor towards the body of Christ.
D&C 1:30; “And also those to whom these commandments were given, might have power to lay the foundation of this church, and to bring it forth out of obscurity and out of darkness, the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which I, the Lord, am well pleased, speaking unto the church collectively and not individually”
For more examples see the end of this chapter.
One of the most important things to remember is again the mindset of the former Mormon. From the examples we’ve given of the LDS doctrines it’s easy to see why they might have to work on their dispositions towards the Christians or attending a new church. Pray with them asking God to reveal what may be hidden deep in their hearts in this matter.
HC 5:389; “Compare this principle once with Christendom at the present day, and where are they, with all their boasted religion, piety and sacredness while at the same time they are crying out against prophets… Why, they are just ripening for the damnation of hell. They will be damned, for they reject the most glorious principle of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and treat with disdain and trample under foot the key that unlocks the heavens and puts in our possession the glories of the celestial world.”
Messenger & Advocate Vol. 1, Oct. 1834 No. 19; “Messenger & Advocate Vol. 1, Oct. 1834 No. 19; “That principle which actuates the children of men to revile, ridicule, calumniate and destroy the peace of one another, because they take the liberty to think for themselves in matters of religion, is certainly from beneath, and not from above…They are of their father, the devil, and his works they will do; and unless they repent, they must inevitably perish in some of the calamities that shall be poured out upon the ungodly.”
Elder Orson Pratt, JD 18:172; “But as there has been no Christian Church on the earth for a great many centuries past, until the present century, the people have lost sight of the pattern that God has given according to which the Christian Church should be established…”
Elder John Taylor 6:167; “There is not nation now that acknowledges that hand of God; there is not a king, potentate, nor ruler that acknowledges his jurisdiction. We talk about Christianity, but it is a perfect pack of nonsense. Men talk about civilization; but I do not want to say much about that, for I have seen enough of it…It is a sounding brass and a tinkling symbol; it is as corrupt as hell; and the Devil could not invent a better engine to spread his work that the Christianity of the nineteenth century.”
Brigham Young, JD 6:176; “Brother Taylor has just said that the religions of the day were hatched in hell. The eggs were laid in hell, hatched on its borders, and then kicked on to the earth. They may be called cockatrices, for they sting wherever they go. Go to their meetings in the Christian world, and you will hear them remark, “Our ministers dictate our souls’ salvation;” and they are perfectly composed and resigned to trust their whole future destiny to their priests…”
Orson Pratt, JD 14:346; “How long is it since Zion ceased? For everybody will admit, among all Christian denominations, that there has been no revelation for some seventeen hundred years,—among all the Protestants of the present day, among all the Catholics that lived before them and that now live, and among all the different peoples and nations and tongues that have received the doctrines…They all admit that, they all testify and acknowledge that God has had no inspired men on the earth since the days of the Apostles…”
EM, pg. 470; “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not see itself as one Christian denomination among many, but rather as God’s latter-day restoration of the fulness of Christian faith and practice. Thus, from its earliest days LDS Christians sought to distinguish themselves from Christians of other traditions. Other forms of Christianity, while bearing much truth and doing much good under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, are viewed as incomplete, lacking the authority of the priesthood of God…”
George Q. Cannon, JD 24:185-186; “…no thinking man can admit that Christianity so-called—I call it a false Christianity, untrue to its name—…You look in vain for those features that distinguished it, and that gave it power in the earth, and that made it the foe of Paganism and false religions existing in those days, and which gave it the wonderful success it achieved. It is destitute of these features… it nevertheless is destined to tumble with Babylon the great…”
© 2010 Life After Ministries, Inc.
Link for Chapter 16
Chapter 16. Getting Baptized…Again!
http://lifeafterministry.com/2010/10/22/mentoring-handbook-chapter-16/
Mentoring Handbook Chapter 7
Posted in Mentoring Handbook, tagged apostacy, bible, Book of Mormon, Christians, Christinaity, mormonism, mormons on 10/22/2010| Leave a Comment »
THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BIBLE
Writing about this subject was so intimidating to me that I put it as the last section to complete. I know I’m not articulate enough to convey the true essence of its importance even though in my mind it’s all worked out, coming off my tongue is quite another matter! Sometimes I take the easy way out and just pray Isaiah 40:8 for the Mormons; asking the Lord to “just fix their thoughts”, and make them know the truth of that verse!
Wouldn’t it be great if it was always that easy? This is why I am always amazed at how our God supplies for us, and this is one of the times that I’m beyond grateful that He laid it on the hearts of intelligent people to write books and papers about the authenticity of the Bible and its validity.
As a Mormon I was never encouraged to study factual information about the Bible, thus my great mistrust of its validity. Below are some basic facts of the Bible that would be beneficial for the ex-Mormon to hear.
I believe the most interesting fact I learned about the Bible is that it was God-breathed, “theopneustos”. 2 Tim. 3:16. By the power of the Holy Spirit the words were written down on papyri while God used each individual’s personality and writing style to give mankind His Law and reveal Himself to us.
The Bible is a compilation of 66 books, written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. It was written by more than forty authors in three continents over the span of more than 1,500 years. It is by far the most read book in the history of mankind.
There are 333 prophecies in the OT specifically about Jesus; 48 of which are in Isaiah chapter 53 alone! The odds of all those prophecies coming to fruition are staggering, yet that’s exactly what God did! Fulfilling just 48 of 61 of the prophecies concerning Jesus are 1 in 10157.
The Dead Sea Scrolls that were discovered in 1947 by a Qumran shepherd boy, taught the scholars no changes were necessary to the KJV Bible. The Bible is 99.9% textually pure. (Depending on the source, this figure ranges anywhere from 95% to 99.9%; I use the 99.9% figure based on the largest consensus of experts that I’m familiar with). The remaining .01% has no affect on the doctrine. Share with the ex-Mormon the method by which the scribes adhered to when copying the texts.
The original texts were hand written either by the author’s own hand, or by a scribe under their supervision. The markings, or letters, are known as jots and tittles. If even one of these were written down incorrectly, the entire page would be torn up, and thrown away (usually burned), and they would have to begin all over again. It was an incredibly tedious work! Pastor Floyd McElveen wrote;
“More than 25,000 sites have been excavated verifying the existence of cities, kings, kingdoms events, officials, etc., proving the historicity and incredible accuracy of thousands of Biblical references. Archaeologist Nelson Glueck has said, “It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference.”” (Evidence You Never Knew Existed, pg. 8).
The link below contains fantastic information on the Bible. I highly encourage you to go to this site, or any others you may know about, and share them with the one you are mentoring. They need to know, they deserve to know, and they will be more than shocked to know, the truth!
http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/bibleorg.html
The list of reasons why the Mormons don’t believe the Bible to be trustworthy is exhaustive. Joseph Smith spent an extraordinary amount of time berating the Bible, and everyone who had ever used it, or helped write it. No one was worthy enough to escape his tirades of scathing remarks, and “prophetic” utterances of disdain towards God’s word. Listed below are just a few examples of his, and other LDS leader’s, heretical comments. Also notice the way their teachings vary, thus keeping the Mormon confused.
PRO-BIBLE
2 Nephi 9:16 “And assuredly, as the Lord liveth, for the Lord God hath spoken it, and it is his eternal word, which cannot pass away, that they who are righteous shall be righteous still, and they who are filthy shall be filthy still; wherefore, they who are filthy are the devil and his angels; and they shall go away into everlasting fire, prepared for them; and their torment is as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever and has no end.” Also see 1 Nephi 13:23-4.
Articles of Faith, p. 214; “The historical and other data upon which is based the current Christian faith as to the genuineness of the Biblical record are accepted as unreservedly by the Latter-day Saints as by the members of any sect; and in literalness of interpretation this Church probably excels.”
ANTI-BIBLE
“A fundamental operating principle of “revealed” religions is that all truth cannot be completely discovered through human reason alone. Without God’s aid, no one can obtain the vital data, proper perspectives, and interpretive keys for knowing him (see Reason and Revelation). Because Latter-day Saints believe that their religion is revealed through living prophets of God, they subordinate human reason to revealed truth.” Encyclopedia of Mormonism, pg. 112.
A Bible! A Bible! P. 13 says; “Of course Joseph Smith also stated that the Bible had not been preserved in its original purity: “We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly” (A of F 1:8). The word translated as it is used here must be understood to include the idea of transmission. That is, error has occurred not only in the translation from one language to another but also in the transcription of the text from manuscript to manuscript, even in the same language. The Bible has apparently suffered mostly from omissions….”
The rest of this chapter is a contribution given to us by Pastor Elbert Sorrell from Alexandria, Ohio.
“…The missionary looked at me on one occasion during the evening, apparently upset with my continual use of the Bible and said that he didn’t care what I would show him in “that book.” No matter what verses I used to answer questions or respond to them as we discussed the matters at hand, I was wrong…”
The Bible is only accepted as truth in the mind of an average Mormon in a very limited, qualifying way. The reason this is so is because of the claims that Joseph Smith made in his early written works circa 1830. Today you can find this rock solid belief in their testaments of faith (Articles of Faith) posted at the end of the Pearl of Great Price. The list of their standard works of scripture made it to number eight of their thirteen testaments. (1)
Smith arbitrarily took out and left alone what he deemed worthy of notice and believability for his devoted followers. He convinced people that the Bible was indeed the “word of God as far as it is translated correctly”; however when any member of the Church is questioned about their belief in the Bible you will be met with an air of hesitancy as their demeanor changes into a defensive mode. They claim there have been many “plain and precious truths” taken away from the Bible (this goes for their beloved KJV) and they won’t be able to provide which parts have been mistranslated or taken away. Smith convinced his believers the Bible is shot full of holes and is the one of the causes of the “Great Apostasy” which is why God needed Smith to “restore the One and Only True Church”. (2)
In my experience as a missionary we often used the Bible as a “backup” to give other doctrines in Mormonism validity as we taught them. We were often taught by our mission president to, “go from the known to the unknown” in teaching an investigator. We were to teach what was alike in our doctrine first and then the doctrines that were peculiar to Mormonism could be elaborated on more easily.
Another tactic is for them to try to use the Bible to show the disunity among the various denominations. This is something that is done quite frequently by most Mormons. For the purpose of this section let me say that your job as a mentor is to get the Mormon or ex-Mormon to see the validity of the Bible and not to become sidetracked by another issue. Also, do not get caught up in the trap of trying to defend a particular denomination. The purpose is to develop within those you are mentoring, an ability for them to use the Bible as their guide and not a particular church or group as their guide to the Bible.
After coming out of Mormonism in 1985 I was dealing one day with a Mormon missionary that was in my home and each time we dealt with a specific topic it was my habit (a good one I continue to use) to go to the Bible to verify the truth of what I was saying. The missionary looked at me on one occasion during the evening, apparently upset with my continual use of the Bible and said that he didn’t care what I would show him in “that book.” No matter what verses I used to answer questions or respond to them as we discussed the matters at hand, I was wrong. In dealing with this subject a little basic information could be helpful.
Remember that your aim is not to show them how much you know, but to impart truth in a way that is understandable to them.
A famous theologian is reported to have said that on the occasions that he was permitted to preach the Word of God that he often had people of various stations in the congregation. Amongst his listening audience you would find the rich, poor, learned and illiterate, nobles and commoners. When he preached he would attempt to reach out to those of the lowest station of society and that if he was successful in doing that, he knew that he would also reach the nobles. The Bible has come down to us through the centuries from its original form to the translations that we have today.
The original writings (those of the OT prophets, NT apostles and others who wrote the New Testament like Mark and Luke) are what are commonly called the autographs. These original writings are no longer with us today.
We do have what are referred to as manuscripts; which are copies of those originals. Many of those copies exist today and are what is used to make translations of the Bible in various languages. Needless to say, some of the manuscripts that are used are more complete or accurate than others. And while there are those that are more complete than others, there is nothing to lend to the idea that we do not have the complete Word of God for us today.
You could ask the question of your students; “Do you believe God could give us His Word perfectly through the Biblical writers?” If they answer yes then ask the following question; “If God is able to do that then don’t you think He also would have the power to preserve His Word to us today?” By now you’ve probably seen some resistance being put up by the one you’re mentoring in regards to the truths you are presenting to them. This is totally normal as well as expected so don’t panic! They have just spent an extraordinary amount of time allowing lies to be placed against their soul and they took each one of them in as truth. They don’t doubt you per se; they doubt everything and everyone that comes into their path and this includes themselves.
Remember this isn’t about flesh and blood as Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:11; this is about the powers and principalities of the air. Your job is to continue laying the foundation of truth for them. Again, this is where prayer and perseverance on your part comes into play.
The subject of various versions or translations may come up from those you are mentoring as you approach the subject of the Bible. This is an area you need to be cautious in. Even though Joseph Smith did attempt a new translation of the Bible, it is not used in its entirety by the LDS church today. Unlike other cults today that has their own “translations” of the Bible, you are at an advantage with the ex-Mormon on this area because the King James Version is a reliable and beautiful translation. Rather than trying to get them to switch to another version, I would encourage YOU as a mentor to stay with the KJV in your mentoring for a few reasons:
1 – Accuracy of the language. Many things could be added here, but let it simply suffice to say the KJV is an accurate translation that can be trusted. Those you are mentoring need to have that security.
2 – Beauty of the language it is written in.
3 – Familiarity of the Mormon with it. You have enough to deal with as it is without having to contend with the issue of getting your students to acquaint themselves with a new translation of the Bible. It will also be easier for you to show how the Mormon Church has tampered with the Bible and twisted its meaning by using the KJV since this is the version they have historically twisted.
When they begin to see how their own church has twisted Scripture and lifted it out of context, while at the same time accusing various denominations of doing it, this could (and probably will) come as quite a shock to them.
You also have a wonderful opportunity here to share with the ex-Mormon or Mormon the fact that there have been Christians down through time that has given their very lives to give us the Bible in our own language. John Wycliffe in 1380 translated the NT and in 1382 translated the OT from Latin to English. William Tyndale translated the NT from Greek to English around 1524; Miles Coverdale and Thomas Matthews are also two men who undertook this noble task that are well known to those of us in the Church of Jesus Christ. These men, along with many others saw a need for the common man to have the Bible and in so doing; many were executed for their efforts.
Persecution was the order of the day simply because they loved the Word of God and loved the people they knew that needed the Word of God. It wasn’t enough they had it; they wanted others to have it as well. These people (just like those you are mentoring) went against the grain of a corrupt religious system and organization that did not want them to know the truth or tell it to others and yet at great personal cost to them in numerous ways, pressed on because they saw the reality of what the consequences were. This is another proof of the fact that the church of Jesus Christ was alive and well, even in those darkest and most difficult times, when the LDS church was yet to come into existence.
LET US REJOICE IN AND PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME!!!
Bibliography
1 – Articles of Faith 1:8; “We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.”
2 – Doctrines of Salvation 3:190; “We are informed in the Book of Mormon that the Hebrew scriptures went “forth from the Jews in purity unto the Gentiles, according to the truth which is in God,” and after they went forth from the Jews many changes were made, and “many parts which are plain and most precious; and also many covenants of the Lord have they taken away.””
© 2010 Life After Ministries, Inc.
Link for Chapter 8:
Chapter 8. The Truth about the Triple Combination
© 2017 Life After Ministries, Inc.
The Christian Church and Mormonism
Posted in Foundation of Mormonism, tagged apostacy, bible Book of Mormon, Christianity, Christians, church, gates of hell, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, joseph smith, lds church, Miormon Doctrine on 10/19/2010| 1 Comment »
People 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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And then there’s this…
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