After said conversation, I realized that maybe my friend's concerns were not isolated. Maybe there are other people that wonder the same things my friend was. So, I decided to try and highlight a few of the questions that my friend had raised and try to be as transparent as I can be, all the while honoring God in the process.
Why Are You Doing This?
I felt a call a while ago to put my testimony in words. I felt that my story was moving enough to maybe bring someone to the Great White Throne. I shared it with a couple of people in my life and they seemed to enjoy it. That, and a few other events in my life, led to me writing a book. Again, I felt called to share my knowledge and experiences with whoever would listen. I saw that a lot of people do not know what the Mormon Church teaches, and that includes Mormons themselves. My book's intention was to communicate what I felt that God placed on my heart to say. However, not everything I wanted to say was in the book, whether it didn't fit with the narrative or was more of a side note than a chapter. That led to the creation of this blog. I am enjoying the opportunity to share with the world what I think, however insignificant my opinion may be. I wanted an outlet to be able to share little tidbits of doctrine, inspiration, findings, studies, thoughts, etc. in a way that would impact the world for Jesus.
We Get It. You're Not Mormon Anymore. Why Keep Writing?
I think it should come as no surprise to anyone that I believe wholeheartedly that the doctrine taught by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a false one. I believe the Church is actively leading people astray from the true message of Christ. I have touched upon a few things in detail of what I mean by this. However, with as much righteous anger I have towards Mormonism, my heart breaks and reaches out to its members. As I've said, I have close friends and family that are caught up in this heretical gospel and I just want to see them in a fulfilling relationship with Jesus. So, I write my dumb little thoughts and what-nots in the hopes that maybe one LDS member would read it and think about what they believe. I hope that I would challenge them to dig deeper into the claims of Mormonism and ultimately develop a solid relationship in our Savior. I also write stuff to reach those people who have loved ones that belong to the LDS faith. They need to know what their loved ones are being taught so that they can better evangelize the true good news of Jesus' saving grace. I do not, however, write because I am somehow nostalgic for my old faith, nor do I need to convince myself of its falsities.
Does It Really Matter What Church We Go To?
Yes, and no. I'll start with the negative. It does not matter what church you attend or are a member of when it comes to salvation. The Bible says that we are justified by faith alone through the blood of Jesus Christ. I see no disclaimer anywhere that talks about where you park your car on Sunday mornings. So, no it doesn't matter...for salvation. On the other side of the coin, it does matter where you are being spiritually fed. If you believe the Bible to be God's word, then you need to attend a church that teaches from it and holds it at the highest authority. The LDS church unashamedly states that the Bible is not the final authority on spiritual issues, nor can it be fully trusted.
I Believe in Jesus, You Believe in Jesus... Who Cares If There Are A Few Differences Between Them. It's All The Same Right?
In my mind, logic would dictate that if God wrote it down then it must be important. And even though the Bible does not spell out every tiny detail of Jesus' life, it does tell us quite a bit about who He was, what He did, who He hung out with, who His family was, what He said, and so on. Some, but not all, of Jesus' traits or details I've listed below.
- Fulfilled God's promise to Abraham (Gal 3:8, Acts 3:25-26)
- Lineage of King David (Matt. 1:1)
- Born in Bethlehem (Matt. 2:1-6)
- Born of a virgin (Luke 1:35)
- Son of God (Luke 1:32, Rom. 1:3-4)
- He is God (John 1:1, Heb. 1:3)
- He is the Creator - not the created (John 1:10)
- Redeemed by His name only (John 14:6, Acts 4:12)
Quite literally, the list goes on. Jesus fulfilled hundreds of promises and prophecies and the Bible goes on and on and on about His deity, His authority, and His sovereignty. Clearly, the Author and the writers of the Bible (God and the apostles/prophets, respectively) wanted you to know who Jesus was. Furthermore, the Bible warns us of following a false Jesus. "For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect." (Matt. 24:24). God warns us that people might pretend to be Jesus and stay away from them. Or, more applicably, there may come a religion that will construct a Jesus that is not the one spoken of in God's word. So, the Bible tells us not only describes Jesus a hundred different ways, but also warns us of false ones. Sounds to me like it absolutely matters which Jesus we follow!
If you've read my book or my blog, you would know that the Mormon Jesus is not the Biblical Jesus. Mormons teach that Jesus was created, that Jesus is the brother of Satan, that Jesus is a God but not the God, and we are redeemed (or "saved") by Jesus AND our works. The Book of Mormon even states in Alma 7:10 that Jesus was born in Jerusalem rather than Bethlehem. So you see, these little nuances surrounding our Christ means we serve 2 different Persons. As Dr. Martin once said in his sermons, "You have two conflicting doctrines. You have the Apostles and you have Joseph Smith. Make your choice."
We Both Believe that Jesus Died For Our Sins, And We Use Our Good Works To Show Jesus We Are Worthy of His Grace, Right?
This is only a Mormon perspective, not a Christian one. Or, in other words, this idea of working to show worthiness of grace is not Biblical. This is a difference between looking inward and looking upward. Mormons look inward. They see that they need to prove their devotion to God. They have to show God they are believers by getting baptized, paying their tithe, getting married in the temple, and other such ordinances. In contrast, the Bible teaches that we are absolutely, without a doubt, 100% guilty of sin and deserving of hell (Rom. 6:23). Even our good deeds are drenched in sin (Isaiah 64:6). But, God is so good and "he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities" (Psalm 103:10). We therefore act because God has saved us. We show good fruit in gratitude and honor of the One who bares our sins. We aren't 'good' to prove worthiness, we are 'good' because He has changed us and we act out of love to worship and honor Him. It's a tiny difference, but an incredibly important distinction.
Why Do You Hate the Mormon Church?
If I were to try and categorize my feelings towards the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I would hope that I am righteously angry with them. You know, the type of anger that Jesus displayed when He was turning over tables in the temple for not honoring the Lord. As I said, I see them as a false religion that are leading millions of people astray. They have taken the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ and twisted it so that it's close enough to sound Christian, but has no authority, no true good news, and ultimately no hope for eternal salvation. They are the wolf in sheep's clothing, stalking those who are vulnerable or immature in their faith. That angers me to no end, and I don't think that's wrong for me to say. The Bible commands us to "judge correctly" (John 7:24) and to stand firm in the faith (1 Cor. 16:13). I absolutely hate what the LDS church has done to my Jesus and His gospel. That being said, I absolutely love, love, love, love it's members. I have a great deal of respect for my Mormon friends and family members. I pray for them often and would welcome a conversation with them any day of the week. They are great, loving, caring, and honest people. So, while I have strong feelings against the doctrines taught by the LDS church, my heart could not be more full of love and compassion for it's members.
In life, there comes a time (regardless of religious affiliation) when people question what they are being taught. Most people will examine evidences (sometimes in-depth) and decide whether or not they believe it. I have noticed that if a person does not get some type of tangible proof behind their faith they might eventually walk away. Even Christian churches have experienced a mass exodus of teens and young adults walking away from their faith because their pastors and leaders are not doing a good job of feeding them. Sadly, these people are not being taught archaeological, logical, logistical, geographical, scientific, astrological evidences that substantiate the Bible as the word of God. If the church would just speak up then this departure might be able to be minimized or even avoided.
However, in the case of Mormonism, I found the facts to be few and far between. There is not a whole lot of tangible evidences that can substantiate their claims. We have no geographical evidences of any of the places in the Book of Mormon. To date there have been no archaeological finds that point to any of the cities, wars, materials, peoples, crops, etc. talked about in the Book of Mormon. We don't even have the original Plates of Brass that Joseph Smith found in the hill Cumorah. So, when it comes to rooting a person's faith, all they can really rely on is their burning bosom testimony (their heart) which is not the best barometer.
From my experiences, this lack of evidence eventually comes to the surface, dividing Mormons into three harmful categories. The first category is the "All-ins." They want to believe it so badly that they just grab and and won't let go. They are the ones who will say to anyone, "I don't care what evidence you show me, what false prophecies you say that our prophets have done, or what Bible verses you can show me contradict our faith. I believe Mormonism is correct and there is absolutely nothing you can say to change my mind!" But, this is the exact definition of close mindedness and blind faith and should be avoided. The second category are the "Whatevs." These members just go along with it because it's safe and easy. They like their friends or the activities they get to do and they are completely uninterested in examining their faith because they are complacent. These people generally don't even know what they are supporting or really don't even care to know. Lastly, there are the "Burned outs." These are the people who have seen the ugliness that is Mormonism and instead of realizing there really is a God and that He loves them, they swear off believing in God completely. They want nothing to do with Him in any form and might even become actively Atheistic in their lifestyles. In my opinion all of these types come from the fact that Mormonism has so little evidences, weak teachings, and it's all based on a feeling. It's the parable of the sower laid out for all to see.
Mormons Are Good People. Why Hate On A Religion That is Helping People?
If, in the end, it came down to who was a good person then maybe I'd change my tone. But that is not what God teaches in His Bible. The Bible basically spells out that we are all dirty, rotten, sinners in need of a savior and that it is only through the blood of Jesus that we can be saved. Salvation is not a popularity contest. I don't care if you are a good person or not. I don't care if you give away all your money. I don't care if your name is Mother Teresa or Mahatma Gandhi. All I care about is that you have a relationship with the true and living God. Does the Mormon church teach it's members to be kind, loving, generous, awesome people? Absolutely! Does the Mormon church teach it's members to love, honor, worship, praise, and glorify the true and living God? In my opinion, take it or leave it, they absolutely do not! I know this may be harsh, but this blog may be the only opportunity I have to speak to some Mormons, and I don't have time to beat around the bush. You need the Biblical Jesus to save your soul...and you need Him badly. We all do, myself included.
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