Take Up Your "Garden" and Follow Christ

Did the Atonement of Jesus for our sins happened in Garden of Gethsemane?

The Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints does not view the atonement of Christ in the biblical and historical Christian manner. Instead of the atonement occurring on the cross, Mormonism teaches that the atonement occurred primarily in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus shed His blood. Please consider the following quotes from a BYU professor and the Mormon apostle Bruce McConkie.

•BYU professor Robert J. Matthews, who on page 282 of his book, A Bible! A Bible!, wrote, "It was in Gethsemane, on the slopes of the Mount of Olives, that Jesus made his perfect atonement by the shedding of his blood-more so than on the cross."
•Mormon Apostle Bruce McConkie, stated, "Where and under what circumstances was the atoning sacrifice of the Son of God made? Was it on the Cross of Calvary or in the Garden of Gethsemane? It is to the Cross of Christ that most Christians look when centering their attention upon the infinite and eternal atonement. And certainly the sacrifice of our Lord was completed when he was lifted up by men; also, that part of his life and suffering is more dramatic and, perhaps, more soul stirring. But in reality the pain and suffering, the triumph and grandeur, of the atonement took place primarily in Gethsemane," (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, vol. 1, p. 774).

This whole line of thinking diminishes the actual Atonement of Jesus on the Cross of little or none effect.  I've had Mormons say the reason you'll never see a cross on an LDS church building is because thinking the Atonement happened on the Cross is "rather foolish."  Could such a statement be what the Apostle Paul was referring to in I Corinthians 1:18 when he stated, "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God."  This would certainly mean that anyone thinking the Cross is of little or no affect in the Atonement is no only missing salvation, but does not know the power of God and is perishing spiritually.

So what did happen in the Garden of Gethsemane? The narrative is found in Matthew 26:36-46, Mark 14:32-42 and Luke 22:39-46. John's gospel mentions a garden (John 18:1), but only mentions that the arrest of Jesus took place there. Only Matthew and Mark identify the garden as Gethsemane. Only Luke tells us that His perspiration fell "as it were" great drops of blood. In the original Greek text the word for "as it were" is "hosei" which means "appearing similar to." In other words, the great drops of sweat falling from His brow would be just as heavy as if he had some kind of flesh wound, perhaps in the head, and heavy drops of blood were falling. But it was sweat, not blood. He did not bleed in the garden, much less bleed for our sins there. How do we know this? Luke has the answer.

Luke was a doctor, a physician specifically (Colossians 4:14). He would certainly know the difference between sweat and bleeding. Admittedly, there is a condition in which one can actually sweat blood. It is called "Hematidrosis." It is a medical condition that is very rare, but still documented in ancient times and Dr. Luke would definitely be familiar with it. "Hematidrosis" is also a Greek word that was available to Luke (who was Greek himself). Luke, in his role as Biblical historian, continually in Scripture is careful to use the most exacting terms and descriptions, but he did not use "hematidrosis," but instead used the word "hidros" -- sweat (without the "hema" -- or blood). Luke is very careful here to tell us that Jesus perspired in the garden, but did not sweat blood there. That's because the cross is the place where he shed his blood for our sins -- regardless of the Latter-day Saints telling us just the opposite.  Perhaps that's why the Cross is not seen on any Mormon building and you won't find "The Old Rugged Cross" or "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" in there hymnbook.  The Cross is perhaps foolish to them.  It is the reason that the Apostle Paul wrote, "The preaching of the cross is foolishness to them who are perishing."  In other words, the LDS are spiritually dying and only what Jesus did on the Cross can save them.

Hell is for Real (Jesus said so)

A best-selling book and recent motion picture told the story of Colton Burpo, a four-year old boy who supposedly died and went to Heaven during surgery.  While am a dubious of all NDEs (Near Death Experiences) I hear about (most do not line up with Biblical theology), Colton's story particularly struck a nerve with me due to the fact that most of his story was more "Wesleyan" than straight Bible.  His father is a Wesleyan pastor, and I have always had my suspicions the boy was "coached" in telling his story, much in the way very young children are coached in the Mormon church in giving their "testimony" that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true church, the Book of Mormon is the word of God and Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God.

In light of this, I began to search the Bible, expecially the words of Jesus -- mostly from the four Gospels -- to see exactly what Our Lord and Savior had to say on the subject of Heaven and discovered He actually said a lot more about Hell!  This is significant, in that most people absolutely don't believe in Hell and that includes many Christians (mostly liberal ones) who feel that references to Hell in the Bible are actually metaphors.

Believing that something doesn't exist, however, doesn't make it go away.  If I were arrested, I could tell the officer who "busted" me, "You can't take me to jail because I don't believe jail exists.  I've never seen a jail, never been there, in fact I've never known anyone who has been to jail, therefore I know jail does not exist!"  Once I was tossed into the "clink" and the big door slammed, I would probably quickly understand thatwhat I previously thought about jail didn't matter make jail non-existant.

It is the same for Hell.  Just because a person refuses to believe in Hell doesn't make it go away.  It's there, it's a real place, and all who do not put their faith and trust in Jesus to same them are headed for that final destination -- a sobering thought indeed!

Jesus certainly believed in Hell and made 32 specific statements concerning it.  He was not speaing metaphorically and he wasn't calling it a "state of mind."  It is a real place.  And if Jesus, who was God Almighty come in human form and was sinless (which includes never telling a lie), was convinced "Hell is for real," I think we'd better wake up and take notice of all he said about the subject.

These are the 32 statements Jesus made, and where they occur in the Bible:
1.  Jesus said it is a wrath to come (Mt. 3: 7)
2.  Jesus said those not bringing forth good fruit would be cast into the fire (Mt. 3: 10)
3.  Jesus said the chaff would be burned up with UNQUENCHABLE fire (Mt. 3: 12
4.  Jesus said anyone calling his brother a fool was in danger of Hell fire (Mt. 5: 23)
5.  Jesus said it was better to have a body part perish than be cast into Hell (Mt. 5: 29, 30)
6.  Jesus said the way to destruction was broad (Mt. 7: 13)
7.  Jesus said it was a place of outer darkness (Mt. 8: 12)
8.  Jesus said it was a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mt. 8: 12)
9.  Jesus said to fear God who is able to destroy both body and soul in Hell (Mt. 10: 28)
10.  Jesus said it was a place where tares (weeds) would be burned up (Mt. 13: 30, 38)
11.  Jesus said it was a furnace of fire (Mt. 13: 42)
12.  Jesus said it was worse than having a millstone tied around your neck and be cast into the sea (Mt. 18:6)
13.  Jesus said it was a place of everlasting fire (Mt. 18: 8)
14.  Jesus said it was a place where those who made light of His marriage to the Bride (Church) would be burned up (Mt. 22: 5, 7)
15.  Jesus said it was a place of damnation (Mt. 23: 33)
16.  Jesus said it was a place prepared for the devil and his angels (Mt. 25: 41)
17.  Jesus said it was a place of EVERLASTING punishment (Mt. 25: 46)

(Note:  Revelation 20: 10 tells us that those whose names are not found in the book of life will be tormented along with the beast, the false prophet and the devil, "day and night FOREVER AND EVER.")

18.  Jesus said it was a place where one's soul would be lost (Mk. 8: 36)
19.  Jesus said it was a place of shame (Mk. 8:36)
20.  Jesus said it was a place where no one would cease to exist (Mk. 9: 46) [note:  "Worm" in

the orginal greek refers to a constant eating away of a dead body]
21.  Jesus is was better not to be born than to go there (Mk. 14: 21)
22.  Jesus said he who does not believe would be condemned there (Mk. 16: 16)
23.  Jesus said it was a place of mourning (Lk. 6:25)
24.  Jesus said it was a place where one would be lost and cast away (Lk. 9: 25)
25.  Jesus said there would be those who would be thrust down there (Lk. 10: 15)
26.  Jesus said it was a place where the unrepentant would perish (Lk. 13: 5)
27.  Jesus said it was a place of flames and torments (Lk. 16: 23-25)

(Note:  I've heard liberals, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists and others dismiss Luke 16 as being only a parable.  First of all it's not a parable.  When Jesus told parables, he never used anyone's name.  But here he uses Lazarus' name, because Lazarus is a real person. And this is a real event.  And even if it were a parable, let me ask you this:  Would Jesus tell a parable that had wrong theology?  No.  Indeed, Jesus used parables to explain correct theology about the Kingdom of God.  You will also notice here also that the rich man was suffering even BEFORE the final Judgement, which is yet to occur.)

28.  Jesus said those in Hell would recognize the righteous dead (Lk. 16: 23)
29.  Jesus said there was a great gulf fixed between Hell and Heaven that could not be traversed (Lk. 16: 26)
30.  Jesus said the unbelieving in Hell would never see life (Jn. 3: 36)
31.  Jesus said Hell was where the unbeliever would have the wrath of God abiding on him (Jn. 3: 36)
32.  Jesus said it was a place of resurrection (the unrighteous dead would experience existance) (Jn. 5: 29)

Jesus' statements on Hell are backed up by Psalm 88 in the Old Testament which gives us an
excellent description of Hell:

Verse 5 says it is a place with people who God no longer cares to remember -- who are cut off from His care.
Verse 8 describes the distancing between the righteous and the lost (see ##28 & #29 above).
Verse 8 also says those who are there, are repulsive to the righteous.
Verse 8 also says no one can leave there (#30 above).
Verse 9 describes the crying there (see #8 above).
Verse 14 describes God's rejection.
Verse 15 describes the horrors.
Verse 16 also describes the terrors (also verse 17).
Verse 18 speaks of the great gulf (#29 above).
Verse 18 also speaks of the outer darkness Jesus referred to (#7 above).

Unlike Colton Burpo, the words of Our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ can be "taken to the bank" with 100% guarantee.  There is indeed a Hell.  It is a real place.  And you don't want to go there and suffer for all eternity.  The only way to avoid this eternal damnation is trust in Jesus with all your heart.  He will save you from Hell by His grace, something you cannot do for yourself by your good works (Ephesians 2: 8,9; Titus 3: 5).  Hell is a coming torment which culminates God's wrath poured out upon sin (which a perfect God cannot tolerate in His site).  All people whoever lived or who now live with either, upon dead, go to one of two places -- Heaven or Hell.  You can avoid Hell and live an eternity of bliss with Jesus by following the simple prescription laid out by the Apostle Paul in Romans 10: 9-13:

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Better than an attorney -- the LDS write great escape clauses!

     When Joseph Smith (or possibly Sidney Rigdon or Oliver Cowdery) put together the Book of Mormon, it was apparently intended that when Jesus spoke of "other sheep" (John 10:16) he was speaking of the Nephites and Lamanites who supposedly migrated from Jerusalem to the western hemisphere around 600 B.C.
     Then somebody (perhaps Smith, Rigdon, Cowdery or others) said, "Oops!  Christians will say Jesus was speaking of the Gentiles (non-Jews).  We need to stick something in here to counter that notion!"
     Therefore, three verses were added to III Nephi 15 (vv. 21-23):   "And verily I say unto you, that ye are they of whom I said: Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.  And they understood me not, for they supposed it had been the Gentiles; for they understood not that the Gentiles should be converted through their preaching.  And they understood me not that I said they shall hear my voice; and they understood me not that the Gentiles should not at any time hear my voice -- that I should not manifest myself unto them save it were by the Holy Ghost."       Now the argument can be (falsely) made by the LDS that since Jesus never spoke to a Gentile (ridiculous, since Jesus spoke to a Roman centurian (Matthew 8:5-13), the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:1-42), the Syrophonecian woman (Mark 7:25-30; Matthew 15:21-28) and others), the Gentiles would have to hear him through the Holy Spirit.  So Jesus must have been talking about some other people group (which the LDS claim were the descendants of Lehi in the New World).
     To say it another way, "Let's squelch their (Christian) arguments before they can make them!"  In terms of writing legal documents, this is called an "escape clause."  And if that doesn't work, use the "Great Mormon Escape Clause," Article 8 of the Articles of Faith:  "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly."  In other words, Jesus may have never mentioned "other sheep" in the first place!
     Because of "escape clauses," twisting Scripture, re-writing history and downright religious dishonesty, Latter-day Saints can win any and every argument.  The sad thing is that although they win the argument, they have lost their souls for all eternity.

The LDS Church (Mormon) has a document, which is a part of their inspired Scripture called "The Articles of Faith." Every Mormon knows these articles and knows that they are a summary of what they believe...or at least what they want the rest of the world to know they believe (you'll find nothing about their secret (they say "sacred") stuff such as the Temple Ceremony, and a few other things).

I thought it would be interesting to compare the 13 articles against Biblical Christianity and see if the LDS church passes the test for being called Christian. After the comparison, you will plainly see they fail the test MISERABLY!

In America, you have the right to believe any religious tenets you wish. I grant them this. But it really gets my dander up when they say they want to be considered as Christians when their doctrines are as far apart from Christianity as Earth is from Pluto (the planet, not the dog).

Let's take a look at the comparison:

1. We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. This statement does not affirm the three persons of the Godhead as one God (the Trinity).

Response: The Bible teaches that not only is the Father God, the Son is God also (Ex. 3: 14 c.f. Jn. 8: 58, 59) and the Holy Spirit is God as well (Acts 5: 3, 4). Jehovah (YHVH) and Elohim and one and the same (Dt. 6: 4 (Heb.)).

2. We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression.

Response: Adam's sin was passed on to all humanity. Humans are under condemnation for his sin (Rom. 5: 12).

3. We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

Response: The LDS definition of "saved" (resurrected to face judgment) is not the definition of the Bible (saved from the wrath to come (Mt. 3: 7; Lk. 3: 7; I Th. 1: 10). In Biblical Christianity, salvation is not according to obedience to laws and ordinances but by grace through faith in Jesus (Eph. 2: 8, 9; Rom. 4: 4, 5).

4. We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Response: Baptism, a work of righteousness, is not part of the Gospel nor salvation, nor does it remit sins (I Cor. 1: 17: Tit. 3: 5). The Holy Spirit is given in many incidents in the Bible without the laying on of hands (Acts 2: 4; 10: 44; 11: 15).

5. We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.

Response: Many men in the Bible were called of God without hands being laid on them (Noah, Moses, Gideon, Samuel, all twelve of Jesus' apostles, plus many others). The Mormon authority to preach and administer ordinances (the Melchizedek priesthood) does not exist in actuality since Jesus Christ holds the priesthood and it cannot be passed to anyone else (Heb. 7: 24 KJV "unchangeable" = Gr.: "aparabatos" = "untransferable").


6. We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.

Response: While pastors, evangelists and teachers exist in Biblical Christianity today, prophets (Old Testament) and apostles (New Testament) were the foundation of the church. The foundation has been laid. No one lays the foundation to a building twice (Eph. 2: 19, 20). Interestingly, the LDS do not use the term "pastor," but rather "bishop" when referring to the leader of the local congregation.

7. We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.

Response: Why isn't anything resembling the "gift of tongues" and the "interpretation of tongues" practiced today in the LDS church. These gifts are practiced today by Pentecostals and Charismatics (which number over 500,000,000). If these miraculous gifts exist in the LDS church, why is there a school to academically learn foreign languages at the Missionary Training Center at Brigham Young University?

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.

Response: The use of the term "as far as it is translated correctly" implies there are errors in the Bible (c.f. Prov. 30: 5; Mt. 24: 35; Mk. 13: 31; Lk. 21: 33). It is also apparently a "loophole" when LDS doctrine contradicts the Bible and also means the Bible is inferior to LDS Scripture. It is impossible to academically determine if the Book of Mormon was translated correctly since the original language document is not available. The Book of Abraham text is not translated correctedly from the source document of Egyptian hieroglyphics. Also, there are no additions to the Bible allowed (Dt. 4: 2; 12: 32; 2 Cor. 11: 4; Prov. 30: 6).

9. We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.

Response: Not all that is claimed to be revealed from God is actually from God. It must must not contradict God's already known revelation, the Holy Bible.

10. We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.

Response: America is nowhere mentioned in Bible prophecy and Christ's return will be in modern-day Israel (Zech. 14 : 2-4; Joel 3: 1-2: 14-16; Eze 43: 7). Isaiah 9: 7 reveals that Christ will sit on David's throne which has never been anywhere but Israel. The earth will not be "renewed," but recreated (Rev. 21: 1).

11. We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.

Response: If this is true, why did Joseph Smith claim he was told by God that all Christian churches and creeds were false and all who professed their faith in these churches were corrupt (Joseph Smith -- Hist. 1: 19)? Why does the LDS church consider themselves "the only true church" (Boyd K. Packer, 1985 (Packer is currently the president of the church's twelve apostles and in line to be the next Prophet of the church)? If I wish to join the LDS church, why will they not consider my Christian baptism to be valid?

12. We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.

Response: LDS church records show that both church leaders and members in Utah continued to practice polygamy, against United States law, after the state joined the U.S. in 1896.

13. We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

Response: There are LDS leaders and church members who are familiar with the doctrine called "lying for the Lord." Mormon Historian and former BYU professor D. Michael Quinn called the use of deception by LDS church leaders, "theocratic ethics." (The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power, p. 112) It is a recognized fact that Joseph Smith lied about polygamy to protect himself or the church; which was an extension of himself.

In our country, the LDS church has the right to believe whatever they please. They can believe in the Flying Spaghetti Monster or anything else for that matter. That's not the issue here. The issue is simple: STOP CALLING YOURSELF CHRISTIAN WHEN YOU DON'T BELIEVE WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS CHRISTIANS BELIEVE!!

Ciao for now,

Dave

The 12 Signs of a true church?

I have just viewed a YouTube video that attempts to explain why the LDS (Mormon) church is the only true church. (By the way, you can view it for yourself here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCTZVh3l3ZA. The video, most likely posted by an LDS zealot (it claims not to speak officially for the church itself), lists the 12 reasons by which we will know the "true church." After viewing this video, I quickly realized the LDS church fails ON ALL 12 COUNTS!!! Let's look at them:

1. The LDS Church has a prophet and twelve apostles, as did the Savior's ancient church.

As we turn to the Bible (which the Mormons claim they believe), we find in Ephesians 2:20 that the church was built on the foundation of apostles and prophets. That foundation was laid 2,000 years ago. After the foundation of a house or other building is laid, you don't lay another one. Christian (not Mormon) churches today were indeed built on a foundation of apostles and prophets, but we don't need to lay the foundation again.

2. LDS priesthood holders can trace their authority directly to Jesus Christ.

The problem here is that no man (sorry, ladies) in the LDS church holds the Melchiszedek priesthood. Hebrews 7: 21-25 is very clear when it says that Jesus holds the priesthood forever and it cannot transferred to another person. Verse 24 uses the Greek word "aparabatos" to describe Jesus' priesthood. That word (used only once in Scripture) means "incapable of being transferred." It cannot mean anything else.

3. The LDS Church is guided by continuous revelation through its prophet, as was the New Testament church.

Jesus told us specifically that ALL Old Testament-style prophets (which the LDS claim to have) ended with John the Baptist (Matthew 11: 3 - note the word "all"). The writer of Hebrews in chapter 1, verse 1 tells us clearly that although God did speak before through prophets, He now speaks only through Jesus Christ (Christ's word, of course, is the Bible).

4. The LDS Church understands and teaches the biblical doctrine that God and Jesus are separate and distinct divine beings, who communicate with each other, who are aware of each other's existance, and who work in perfect harmony with each other.

Biblical? This is IN NO WAY a Bible doctrine. This doctrine NEVER existed in the Christian church. No one ever heard of it until the Mormons came along in the early 19th Century. Matthew closes his gospel by quoting Jesus' commandment to baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Mt. 28: 19). "Name" NOT "names." There is ONE God who reveals himself in three persons. This is the God of the Bible.

5. The LDS Church affirms that the Savior was literally resurrected, and that he lives today.

This goes nowhere to prove the LDS is the only true church. Almost every Christian church believes this (of course, the "Savior" the LDS believe in is not the Jesus of the Bible. The Mormon Jesus was a created being. The Biblical Jesus is eternal and created all things (Colossians 1:16)).

6. The LDS Church obeys the law of tithing.

There is no "law of tithing." All Old Testament laws were nailed to the cross and fulfilled in Christ (Col. 2: 14; Romans 10: 4). Many Christians go well beyond "tithing" when it comes to giving to the Lord.

7. The LDS Church possesses the additional scripture prophesied of in the Bible.

The only thing in the Bible the LDS can REMOTELY point to as a "proof-text" for additional scripture is Ezekiel 37: 16, 19, the stick of Judah and the stick of Ephraim. If you read this portion of the Bible IN CONTEXT, you find Ezekiel is prophesying about Israel becoming a consolidated nation again. The word "stick" is never used in the Bible as a type of anything written, and especially not scripture. Actually, the Bible has strick warnings about anyone making additions (Deuteronomy 4: 2; 12: 32; Proverbs 30: 5, 6, et. al.).

8. The LDS Church is a missionary church, as was the Savior's ancient church.

This proves absolutely nothing. Almost every church has missionaries.

9. The LDS Church has a lay local clegy. Leaders are not salaried.

This an amazing smoke screen. Yes, no one in the local ward receives a paycheck, but the leaders of the church are the HIGHEST paid clergy on earth. I once worked for the Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (now known as Deseret Management Corporation -- parent corporation of major insurance, banking and broadcasting companies, to name a few). Their board members just happen to be the First Presidency and the 12 apostles of the LDS church. Having "been there," can tell you the dividends they receive are every bit as high as those of the board of General Motors or Microsoft.

10. The LDS Church teaches that baptism is essential for salvation. As did the ancient church and Prophets.

The "ancient church and Prophets" as well as the Bible do NOT teach that baptism is essential for salvation . There is no Scripture (or even concept) in the Bible that teaches, "he who is not baptized is damned." Titus 3:5 says, "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his own mercy has he saved us, by the washing of regeneration (new birth -- NOT baptism)...." (see also Galatians 2: 21; Ephesians 2: 8,9, et. al.)

11. The LDS Church teaches that our thoughts and actions play a role in our salvation.
Conversely, the Bible teaches that our thoughts are evil and what separates us from God (Jeremiah 17: 9); and our actions are incapable of obtaining salvation (see #10 above).

12. The LDS Church can answer the three great questions of life: "Where did I come from?" "Why am I here?" "Where am I going after death?"

Almost all Christians churches, in fact just about every religion, address these questions, so this statement provides no proof the Mormon church is the true church. In fact, the Bible actually has completely different answers to these questions from LDS doctrine.

A. Where did I come from? LDS: A pre-existance in which our station in this life was determined by how valiantly we fought in a war in heaven. Bible: Life begins at conception. God first knew us in the womb (mentioned 23 times in the Bible).
B. Why am I here? LDS: To work your way to exaltation. Bible: To glorify God.
C. Where am I going after death? LDS: To one of three heavens, depending on which one you earned in this life. Bible: Eternal life in Heaven with God or eternal death in Hell without Him, based on grace through faith and God's mercy.

Like I said at the outset, the LDS church fails on ALL 12 precepts. The real problem here is that when it comes to eternal things, the Mormons have asked the wrong question. It is not "which church is true," but rather "which plan of salvation is true." The Mormon plan of salvation is a complicated religious system involving good works and exalting yourself to godhood (if you're a guy...again, sorry ladies). The Biblical plan of salvation is recognizing that you are lost in your sins (Rom. 3:23), you need to be saved from God's wrath toward sin to come (Mt. 3: 7; Luke 3: 7; I Thessalonians 1: 10), you are under the penalty of death (Rom. 6: 23a), you can only be saved by the GIFT of eternal life through Christ (Rom. 6: 23b) and you must personally receive Christ (John 1: 12).

The question is not "which church is right," but rather which Savior is right. And that's the Biblcal Jesus, the second person of the Godhead, the very God Himself.

Ciao for now,
Dave

Joseph Smith, Jr.'s Non-Prophet Organization

Without looking anything up, I can -- off the top of my head -- think of about 20 reasons right off the bat to stay away from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Their doctrines are loaded with heresy and what they believe contradicts the Bible at just about every turn. That being said, I would rank the failed prophecies of their founder and first "prophet," Joseph Smith, Jr. as number two on the list (number one is the fact the LDS/Mormons don't even believe the same God that the Bible presents -- but that's a subject for a future post).

The failed prophecies are so blatent that their apologists have to do an enormous amount of backpeddling to attempt to explain them away, which they really don't. So, let's look at a few of these prophecies and see if Joseph is what the LDS claim him to be: "Prophet, Seer and Revelator."


#1. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST
In History of the Church, Vol. 2, Pg. 182 (1835) Joseph is chronicled as saying (under the inspiration of the "Holy Ghost" and through a vision), ".... . . it was the will of God that they should be ordained to the ministry and go forth to prune the vineyard for the last time, for the coming of the Lord, which was nigh — even fifty six years should wind up the scene...." Do the math. Fifty-six and 1,835 equals 1891. The problem is, Jesus didn't return in 1891. Joe missed it by at least 120 years -- and that's if Jesus were to come back today! Not only did Joseph ignore Christ's words about no one know the time of his return (Mk. 13:32), but he also falsely predicted the time of the return.

#2 THE OVERTHROW OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
In History of the Church, Vol. 5, page 394 (1943) Joseph "prophesied": "I prophecy in the name of the Lord God of Israel, unless the United States redress the wrongs committed upon the Saints in the state of Missouri and punish the crimes committed by her officers that in a few years the government will be utterly overthrown and wasted, and there will not be so much as a potsherd left for their wickedness in permitting the murder of men, women and children, and the wholesale plunder and extermination of thousands of her citizens to go unpunished...." Oops! The United States Government did not redress any of the wrongs committed against the Mormons in Missouri, and now over 168 years later, the U.S. Government is still around (or at least I still have to file my 1040 each year).

Prophecy #3 CONGRESS TO BE BROKEN UP AS A GOVERNMENT
Before his untimely death, Joseph prophetically wrote, "While discussing the petition to Congress, I prophesied, by virtue of the holy Priesthood vested in me, and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that, if Congress will not hear our petition and grant us protection, they shall be broken up as a government, and God shall damn them, and there shall be nothing left of them — not even a grease spot." (Millennial Star, Vol. 22, p. 455. See also History of the Church, vol. 6, p. 116, though when this prediction was incorporated into the official history, Mormon Church leaders decided to leave out the "grease spot" part.) Well, the petition was not heard nor was protection granted (Deseret News, Vol. 1, p. 59). Yet, Congress was never broken up and continues to function (after a fashion) to this day. It is interesting that the compilers of History of the Church, added an editorial note in an attempt to soften or explain this prophecy. They state that: "This prediction doubtless has reference to the party in power; to the ‘government’ considered as the administration;" (note, p. 116). According to the note in History of the Church, this means the Democratic Party, which was in control at the time. However, the prediction is that "Congress shall be broken up as a government" and Congress is made up of representatives from both parties. The Saints were making an appeal to the General Government, not to the Democratic Party, a point made by a summary statement in the left margin beside this prophecy as it is recorded in History of the Church.

Joseph later tried to cover his tracks (following a failed prophecy concerning the copyrighting of the Book of Mormon in Canada) by saying that "Some revelations are of God: some revelations are of men: and some revelations are of the devil." - AN ADDRESS TO ALL BELIEVERS IN CHRIST, David Whitmer, 1887 (Whitmer was directly quoting Joseph).

This is absolute baloney of the worst kind! The true test for a prophet of God is found in the Bible. Deuteronomy 18: 21,22 tells us, "And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him." Joseph only needed to miss one to be a false prophet, but the truth is -- HE MISSED A BUNCH!

There are dozens of other failed "prophecies" that space does not allow me to go into, but if you are really interested, go to our new website nextstepoutreach.org and click on any of the resource links. You'll find some websites with really interesting information about Smith's failed prophecies on the time of the building of the last temple, finding treasure in Salem, Massachusetts, The European military intervention of the U.S. Civil War...and people who live on the moon (they are about six feet tall, dress like Quakers and live to be around 1000 years old).

Before I close this post, let me emphasize, as I have before, it is not my desire or the desire of Next Step Outreach to hurt Mormons or put them down. We love them. Otherwise we wouldn't be trying to get them to see the truth of the real Jesus, the real Bible and the real God. Without these, they are headed toward an eternity separated from God, in a place which is known in the Bible as Hell!

It's the Mormons we love. It's the heresy we hate.

In Jesus,
Dave

Announcing Next Step Outreach!

After 39 years of "informal" ministry, Claudia and I have (after considerable prayer) have decided to make our efforts "formal." We have begun "Next Step Outreach," a ministry directed at educating the Body of Christ about cults and pseudo-Christian religions, particularly Mormonism.

In January of 1972, the Lord started me on this journey which involved mostly been lecturing in churches and on college campuses about the differences between Mormonism and Biblical Christianity. And believe me the differences are enough for most believers (especially me) to consider Mormonism outside the realm of orthodox Christian doctrine. Over the years, Claudia and I have witnessed to Latter-day Saints including many missionaries, and we've also assisted those wishing to leave the Mormon religion to get out, out spiritually, out literally and out legally. But until now, this ministry had no name, no incorporation, no website and no formal organization.

But now with the ground-breaking of the newest LDS temple just over 25 miles from our home...and with two Mormons running for President of the United States (Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman), there has grown a tremendous interest and curiosity in the Mormon religion. Christians are basically uninformed on the dangers of this organization, and tens of thousands are sucked in every year and held in the grip of an organization that can bring neither truth nor eternal life to those who sincerely seek God.

Most new Mormons are those who are born into the religion and baptized as children. However adults are being converted at the rate of 150 per day...meaning that somewhere around the world people are being baptized in to the LDS church at the rate of one every 9.6 minutes. The tragic thing is that the vast majority of them had membership in a Christian church before they were proselytized (research shows about 60% of these were Baptists).

Pastors are becoming alarmed at these numbers. That's why we are here to bring information to churches on Mormonism and the incredible pull it has on potential converts.

Also, although 100,000 people leave the LDS church every three years, only about one-third become born-again Christians. Again, we are here to try to correct that trend, seeking out disaffected Mormons and lead them to Christ. With all that in mind, four weeks ago I resigned my pastorate at Christ the Rock International Church to go into full-time ministry in outreach to Mormons.

The Lord has provided us (albeit with heavy financial expense) a weekly radio show on 50,000 watt WHIM 1080 AM in Miami, Florida. We'll be on the air talking about Mormonism (and occasionally other non-Christian religions) every Tuesday at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. We'll have experts on the subject and former cult members as guests, and you can call and talk to them. If you're not in the South Florida area, you can still listen to the live stream at 1080theanswer.com, and you can call on the toll-free number we'll give on the air.

Check out our new website at www.nextstepoutreach.org. We also can be reached at our email address nextstepoutreach@email.com or by writing Next Step Outreach, 102 NE 2nd Street, Boca Raton, FL 33432.

And please, PRAY for us. This is an uphill battle. The LDS have over 50,000 missionaries in the field whose only purpose is to win converts into this pernicious organization. There are less than 100 ministries we know of that are called by God to counter this religion. Pray for laborers. Pray for a vast harvest of souls.

Ciao for now,

Dave