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Inspirational: Unfulfilled by life? That’s by design. Seek God.

“Unfulfilled by life? That’s by design. Seek God.”

Ever wonder why the luster to life fades, no matter what it is? Whether you’re falling out of love with your job, your family, your friends, your church, your mission… have you ever considered this might be by design?

It’s not that the work or the people aren’t fulfilling anymore. It’s that you aren’t fulfilled by them. You’re not supposed to be fulfilled by them. Their effects on us are temporal. The warm feelings this world brings us are short-lived.

“Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:13-14 KJV)

We are not carnal creatures, though we have carnal bodies while we live on this planet. We were made in His image (Genesis 1:26;) we are spirit (John 4:24.) Therefore, nothing in the flesh will ever fully satisfy us. When we eat, we get hungry again. When we drink, we get thirsty again. Memories fade. History fades. Our physical lives fade.

So what are you chasing? Who are you living for? Who are you worried about pleasing more?

“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.” (Mark 12:30 KJV)

There are at least 40 Bible verses that teach us to seek God. If you’re feeling unfulfilled by your life, I recommend you start here.

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UPDATE 04/25/2020

A new article from Tim Branch continues to build on this concept! Yes, God really does want deeper intimacy with you!

Inspirational: One in God is a Majority

“One in God is a Majority”

The power of God goes way beyond our understanding, so why is it we allow people and events to shape us and our experiences instead of He who called us into being? Our identity is in Jesus; not the world. If we understand this, we will not be moved by the world, but by He who moves.

P.S. – Enjoy this message by Dan Mohler and let it mess you up in a good way.

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Inspirational: One Single Soul Saved

“One single soul saved shall outlive and outweigh all the kingdoms of the world.”
– JC Ryle

Even after decades in (and out of) the church, I’m only recently beginning to understand this truth. That God so loves us that He sent his only Son to die for our sins. I suppose I’ve never really meditated upon that. I’ve never realized that this kind of love means we have massive value in our Father’s eyes. Endless value? I’m not going to try to quantify that truth, but I certainly need to recognize it, accept it and learn to step into it.

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Spiritual Pitfall: Judgment

“You hate My children; therefore, you hate Me.”

Those were the devastating words that rifled across my mind as I finished internally scoffing at a pedestrian for his appearance. It was a beautiful sunny morning as I was driving to work. I was feeling pretty strong in the Spirit, actually. Well, until that happened, anyways.

Thought I Was Doing Well

Just the evening before, my wife and I had an unpleasant exchange with a parent at our gym’s pool, where we let them know their child was behaving badly. The child wasn’t doing anything too naughty—just haunting our children, saying mean things, sticking her tongue out at them and my wife—typical attention-seeking nonsense that deserves ignoring. Since we would want to know if our own children were behaving like this, we decided to let the mother know. This is what we explained to her. To our surprise, she completely rejected the notion her child could be in error and said maybe it’s best our children stay away from each other.

What?

Well, while this didn’t bother me very much, the unsavory exchange ate at my wife for hours afterward; even into the next morning. I had the benefit of having soaked in Dan Mohler’s message of our identity in Christ’s love for a couple weeks now, so I was relatively unphased. I understood the Christian response was to love and pray for that family—not fret over their defensive response. I was in a good place, I thought.

That night, during bedtime prayers with the kids, we prayed for the Holy Spirit to work on that family and ourselves, that we may grow in our own capacity to love others the way Jesus loves us. As Pastor Dan points out, can you imagine if God loved us the way we love others? Can you imagine Jesus complaining to the Father about us? Because we mistreat each other? Use harsh words? Lie? Carry lust or envy or contempt in our hearts?

Ridiculous.

So why—if we’re following Christ and keeping our eyes on God—do we let anything or anyone in the flesh knock us off course. The very fact we can be distressed by the world around us is evidence we don’t know who we are in Christ or how great our value is.

Can you imagine Jesus scoffing at someone moving down the sidewalk happily minding their own business?

No. Neither can I.

Fortunately for us, He doesn’t love the way we do. He calls us to love the way He loves us.

But in a flash, I noticed this stranger and compared them against a social model for what it means to look “proper”. Then I failed them. They were cut off in my own eyes. In an instant. I didn’t even know them. Judgment. Based on appearances. Based on the physical. I was operating from the flesh. I was not in the Spirit as deeply as I hoped.

That was when those words separated my thoughts:

“You hate My children; therefore, you hate Me.”

Crushing words. I had been praying for greater capacity to love. To be emptied out and made a larger vessel for pouring out His love. With hours of soaking in Dan Mohler videos on YouTube, I was doing better on this wavelength, I thought. I was weathering things better at home, and at the office—even at the pool. I thought I was getting it. And maybe I am.

But in this moment, I was not love. I was a wretch, thinking wretched thoughts.

I won’t even tell you what the guy looked like. I don’t want to allow you to step into judgment with me on this. But I do want you to listen to your thoughts and confess the thoughts that are unworthy of His holy presence.

Home for the Holidays

Years ago, after I had lived out-of-state for a few years, I came back home to visit for the Christmas holiday. Prior to the visit, I had been shocked and appalled to see my thoughts from the outside. I noticed how judgmental I had been, how I had been assessing everyone and myself. I noticed the critical eye through which I was perceiving the world. When I realized how polluted my thinking was, I became frantic. I was disgusted. As I said back then, I carved that thinking out of myself with a dull spoon. The first step to healing our blind spots is to bring them into the light, right? Awareness.

However, when I came home that holiday season, I gained new insight. I saw judgment everywhere. My own family would even see people on the television screen and make critical comments. Again, I was appalled. I told them so. While my observation wasn’t appreciated at the time, it did end the public feast of criticism.

Thankful for Correction

Fast-forward to this morning. After days of successfully loving on people through their issues—through their conflicts and tantrums—in one brief moment of silence, the fallen me peeked out and made its presence known. My prayer looked like this:

Thank you, Father, for loving me enough to correct me. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, for speaking into my awareness and for showing me the gravity of this sin. Please forgive me. I would ask that you send your Holy Spirit down upon me to purge and burn of anything in me that is not of You. Please take this thinking from me—this spirit of hatred—and burn it at the foot of your cross. I’m sorry. Please forgive me. I ask this in Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.

Of course, I’m not 100% sure the criticism came from within me. Sometimes things are whispered into our thoughts, but really, I’m pretty sure it was me (unfortunately.) So I’m pleased I was pained over it. That tells me my heart is on the right path. I thank the Holy Spirit for pointing it out and I’m asking the Holy Spirit to continue His work in me. Thank you, Father.

A Case For and Against King James Only

In extreme King James Only-ism, the bible-believing Christian pins all authority on the King James Version (KJV) bible, turning a wary eye toward the “new age” versions, which usually includes anything other than the KJV, but specifically:

  • New International Version (NIV)
  • New King James Version (NKJV)
  • English Standard Version (ESV)
  • New American Standard Bible (NASB)
  • Revised Standard Version (RSV)
  • New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
  • New Century
  • And more

The King James Only View

KJV Only assertions include beliefs that

  • The inerrant, unchanging Word of God has been preserved in the KJV which the newer bible versions have bubbled up to usurp.
  • Newer versions have already shown a tendency to footnote key passages and then, in the next release, the footnotes have been removed entirely (NIV, for example.)
  • Copyright law dictates new bible versions must be changed “substantially” in order to be considered new and marketable, forcing a conflict of interest (accuracy versus money.)

“To be copyrightable, a derivative work must be different enough from the original to be regarded as a ‘new work’ or must contain a substantial amount of new material. Making minor changes or additions of little substance to a pre-existing work will not qualify the work as a new version for copyright purposes.” (The Derivative Copyright Law, per Ecclesia.org)

  • Newer bible versions have been derived from corrupt sources, leading to egregious omissions and alterations.

One King James Only Argument: Isaiah 14:12

In her book, New Age Bible Versions, Gail Riplinger attempts to highlight many of the errors and omissions propagated by the newer books. One example that merits mentioning is the contortion of Isaiah 14:12, where the single biblical reference to the name Lucifer is removed by the new age versions, replacing the reference with “morning star”–a title given to Jesus Christ in Revelation 22:16. King James Only opponents argue this whole passage is obviously sarcastic in tone and that “morning star” or “shining one” are “perfectly acceptable translations of the Hebrew word.” (White, The King James Only Controversy, p.180-181.)

Riplinger establishes the newer versions are taking liberties with the original Hebrew in this case. She writes:

“An examination of the original Hebrew will dispel any illusion that ‘morning star’ is an acceptable substitute for the word ‘Lucifer.’ The Hebrew is ‘helel, ben sharchar,’ which is accurately translated ‘Lucifer, son of the morning.’ The NIV and NASB give an English translation as if the Hebrew said, ‘shachar kokab, ben shachar‘ or morning star, son of the morning (or dawn). Yet the word for star (kokab) appears nowhere in the text. Also ‘morning’ appears only once, as the KJV shows, not twice as new versions indicate. The word kokab is translated as ‘star’ dozens of other times by NIV translators; morning or dawn is likewise used hundreds of times. New version editors know boqer kokab is ‘morning star’ since it is used in Job 38:7. If God had intended to communicate ‘morning star’, he could have repeated hit here. The word he chose, helel, appears nowhere else in the Old Testament, just as Lucifer appears nowhere else.” (Riplinger, p.42-43.)*

According to Revelation 13:4, Satan’s ambition to be worshiped will be realized: “and they worshiped the dragon.” As Riplinger points out, for this to happen, the world will have to be confused on Satan’s true identity. As in the Garden, this begins with corrupting God’s Word, which–as a King James Only supporter–Riplinger eagerly defends.

Against King James Only

Unfortunately for the KJV Only cause, that eagerness turns overzealous in places and Riplinger–like many vocal KJV Only advocates–falls into a number of traps and errors along her way. One example is when she attempts to use acrostic algebra to reduce (NASV-NIV)-AV=X into SIN=X. Even her use of NASV disrupts her own pattern of referring to the version as NASB everywhere else in her book. Still, if even 50 percent of Riplinger’s work is accurate, it becomes impossible to refute there is a corruption of God’s Word taking place.

However, the KJV itself is not without its errors. For instance, KJV Only advocate Dr. Terry Watkins asserts the ESV has removed the word “hell” 40 times and removed the words “devil” or “devils” 83 times. While this can and should be alarming to anyone looking to rest in the truth the Bible is God-breathed, Watkins leaves out the fact that the ESV largely corrects the term “hell” to the words that actually show up in the original Greek, Aramaic and Hebrew: Hades, Sheol and Gehenna. The KJV Only argument is that most the public won’t be familiar with the terms Hades, Sheol and Gehenna, however this is certainly not a sound argument. Are we to bend the Scripture to the ignorance of the people (as many have tried) or are we to elevate the people to the level of God’s Word? (Of course, this argument could be pushed to the literal end and lead us to abandon all English versions since the Bible was originally written in ancient Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic.)

Another example where opponents to KJV Only state the KJV translation is inferior is in Genesis 50:20. On page 287 of Dr. James White’s detailed analysis, The King James Only Controversy, he compares the passage as it appears in the KJV and in the NASB:

KJV
20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

NASB
20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about [a]this present result, to preserve many people alive.

Here is how the actual passage looks in Hebrew according to the Masoretic text:

genesis 50 20

For reference, the definition from Strong’s Concordance:

2803 chashab khaw-shab’ a primitive root; properly, to plait or interpenetrate, i.e. (literally) to weave or (gen.) to fabricate; figuratively, to plot or contrive (usually in a malicious sense); hence (from the mental effort) to think, regard, value, compute:–(make) account (of), conceive, consider, count, cunning (man, work, workman), devise, esteem, find out, forecast, hold, imagine, impute, invent, be like, mean, purpose, reckon(-ing be made), regard, think.

The word in question here is chashab (chashab) and it is clearly repeated in the Masoretic example. (Notice how accent marks change between the two instances.) White tries to make the case that it would make more sense to mirror the intent of the original author and use the same word in repetition. To that end, it might. As he does with regularity, White stops short of diving into actual textual analysis to explain the context surrounding both usages to reverse engineer the KJV authors’ decisions. He may be quite right in his assertion, but he–like Riplinger whom he sarcastically attacks–often expects the reader to swallow his sortie of arguments whole.

Conclusion: King James First

Many intelligent people stand committed on both sides of the KJV Only issue. Both sides have done their homework. For every superstitious, paranoid KJV Only advocate, there seems to be an equally apathetic, callous new age bible advocate. Both sides lean to intellectualism and textual criticism to make their points, however neither side is faultless when advancing their perspectives through their prejudices. To a serious student, it becomes painfully apparent that even learning ancient Greek and Hebrew won’t fully help you discern truth; even those experts disagree!

Still, if half the KJV Only case is true, it remains irrefutable there is an erosion game being played on God’s Word. Inversely, if half the new age bible defense is true, the pattern of corruption entering the newer bibles still isn’t satisfactorily addressed.

And so, this student is landing on a position of KJV First; not KJV Only. I can acknowledge we have many more supporting documents and copies on which to base solid translation work than the Hampton Court Conference had during their work in the early 1600’s. The KJV could be made more accurate, certainly. At the same time, I can look at the assertions by the KJV Only camp and recognize there is absolutely a targeted devolution (alt. devil-ution) occurring in the contemporary versions. If we look at the Enemy’s attacks in the Garden and on Jesus in the desert, it is plainly evident the Enemy favors the tactic of undermining God’s Word.

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* I found it interesting to discover for as much as White attacks Riplinger in his book The King James Only Controversy, his 2009 revision glosses past Riplinger’s more thorough analysis of the Hebrew text in this case. Certainly, if her textual criticism on Isaiah 14 was errant, he would have been sure to dismantle it.


References

Anthony, Richard. Bibles are only Milk. Ecclesia.org. Retrieved from http://www.ecclesia.org/truth/bibles.html

Genesis 50:20. Blue Letter Bible. Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/gen/50/20/t_conc_50020

McElroy, Jack. Which Bible Would Jesus Use? AV1611.com. Retrieved from
http://av1611.com/kjbp/articles/mcelroy-nkjv.html

Riplinger, G.A. New Age Bible Versions. 1993. AV Publications Corporation.

Strong, James. 2010. The New Strong’s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Thomas Nelson.

Watkins, Terry. The Fruit of the ESV. AV1611.com. Retrieved from
http://www.av1611.org/kjv/ESV_Fruit.html

White, James. The King James Only Controversy. 1995. Bethany House.

White, James. September 1, 1996. New Age Bible Versions Refuted. Alpha and Omega Ministries. Retrieved from http://www.aomin.org/aoblog/index.php/1996/09/01/new-age-bible-versions-refuted/

Wikipedia.org. List of Bible verses not included in modern translations. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bible_verses_not_included_in_modern_translations

What do Mormons Believe?

The following is a collection of several key differences between Mormonism and Christianity. In most places, the differences are exclusive; the points being made can’t both be true.


The Authority of the Bible

Mormon – The Bible is God’s Word.. but only insofar as it has been translated correctly.

(8th Article of Faith of the Mormon Church) “We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly…”

—versus—

Christian – The Bible is God’s Inerrant Word

The inspired inerrant word of God. It is authoritative in all subjects it addresses.

(2 Timothy 3:16) “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”

Establishing the Authority of Scriptures

If Joseph Smith’s vision is right, there was no valid Christianity on the earth for hundreds of years. When did it disappear? 1st century. When did it reappear? 19th century. This means Christ and the Apostles failed in their efforts to establish a meaningful church. Their work unraveled into apostasy soon after the physical deaths of the Apostles and not even God could preserve His Word for earnest seekers until Joseph Smith resurrected and delivered it properly in the 1800’s.

Mormonism is pinned on four revelations:

  • The Book of Mormon
  • Doctrine and Covenants
  • Pearl of Great Price
  • KJV Bible (insofar as it is correctly translated)

To establish Scriptural authority, ask the following:

  • Oh, you read Greek and Hebrew?
  • How do you know it’s incorrectly translated?
  • Did the same God inspire all four books?
  • Are they all of equal validity?
  • Does God ever lie?
  • Can God be relied upon at all times?
  • Which is the oldest of these four texts? [Answer: Bible, which spans a period of over 5000 years.]
  • Don’t you think it’s proper to judge the younger revelations by the oldest revelation, because God who cannot lie, will tell us the straight story from the very beginning? And if the other books don’t agree with the oldest book, well then obviously something must be wrong with the younger books, right? (Martin, W.)

The Nature of God: One God of Many?

Mormon – There are many gods.

(Pearl of Great Price, Book of Abraham 4:3-) “And they (the Gods) said: Let there be light: and there was light…”

According to Mormon theology, all people represent the embryonic status of their own godhood. In a forum article, “Do Mormon Believe in Many Gods?”, the answer is given:

“Mormons believe that every human being is a God in “embryo” form, or childlike form. Just as a boy becomes a man or a girl becomes a woman, we believe men and women become Gods and Goddesses. We believe the purpose of this life is to move us along that path, and that this life is one of multiple steps in that direction. Of course if this is what we believe, then yes, we believe there are multiple Gods. In fact, there must be billions, trillions, or even more Gods.”

Additionally, when asked about the hierarchy of these gods, it is the Mormon belief that all these gods are equal in power and authority. Otherwise, a holier god could come along and usurp the authority of any lesser god resulting in utter chaos! So why do Mormons still say they only worship one god? They employ word-play at this point.

“To sum up, Mormons believe there are many Gods, but only believe in one God. Or to put it another way, Mormons know there are many Gods, but only know one God.”

—versus—

Christian – There is only one God.

(Isaiah 43:11) “I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.”

(Isaiah 44:6) “Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.”

(Isaiah 44:8-9) “Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.

They that make a graven image are all of them vanity; and their delectable things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed.”

(Isaiah 45:5-7) “I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:

That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.

I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.”

The Nature of God: Was God a Man?

Mormon – God is a created being and was once a man.

God an Exalted Man

(Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.345) I will go back to the beginning before the world was, to show what kind of being God is. What sort of a being was God in the beginning? Open your ears and hear, all ye ends of the earth, for I am going to prove it to you by the Bible, and to tell you the designs of God in relation to the human race, and why He interferes with the affairs of man.

God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret. If the veil were rent today, and the great God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by his power, was to make himself visible,—I say, if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form—like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as a man; for Adam was created in the very fashion, image and likeness of God, and received instruction from, and walked, talked and conversed with him, as one man talks and communes with another.

In order to understand the subject of the dead, for consolation of those who mourn for the loss of their friends, it is necessary we should understand the character and being of God and how he came to be so; for I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea, and take away the veil, so that you may see.

These are incomprehensible ideas to some, but they are simple. It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God, and to know that we may converse with him as one man converses with another, and that he was once a man like us; yea, that God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did; and I will show it from the Bible.

—versus—

Christian – God has always been God.

(Psalm 90:2) “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.”

(Isaiah 57:15) “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”

The Nature of God: Does God Have a Body?

Mormon – God has a flesh and bone body like ours.

(Doctrine and Covenants 130:22, Compare with Alma 18:26-27, 22:9-10) “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us.”

(Articles of Faith, by James Talmage, p.41) ”Therefore we know that both the Father and the Son are in form and stature perfect men; each of them possesses a tangible body, infinitely pure and perfect, and attended by transcendent glory, yet a body of flesh and bone.”

—versus—

Christian – God is a spirit without flesh and bones.

(John 4:24) “God is spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth.”

[Note: Joseph Smith translated this passage to read, “For unto such hath God promised his Spirit. And they who worship him, must worship in spirit and in truth.” (JST, John 4:26.)]

(Luke 24:39) “Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.”

(Romans 1:21-23) “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.”

The Nature of God: Additional Comments

God Does Not Change

(Malachi 3:6) “For I am the LORD, I change not;”

(James 1:17) “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

(Numbers 23:19) “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”

We Are Called to Seek God’s Face

The first commandment given to Moses for the Israelites is found in Exodus 20:2-3, “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.” We must seek the one true God.


The Nature of the Trinity

Mormon – Three separate gods: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

(Articles of Faith, by James Talmage, p.38-39) “The Godhead: The Trinity:–Three personages composing the great presiding council of the universe have revealed themselves to man; (1) God the Eternal Father, (2) His Son, Jesus Christ; and (3) the Holy Ghost. That these three are separate individuals, physically distinct from each other, is very plainly proved by the accepted records of the divine dealings with man. […] Joseph Smith, while calling upon the Lord in fervent prayer for wisdom to guide him in his religious professions, saw the Father and the Son, standing in the midst of light which shamed the brightness of the sun, one of these declared to the other, “This is my beloved Son, hear Him.” Each of the members of the Trinity is called God, together they constitute the Godhead.”

—versus—

Christian – One God, three personages: Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

The Trinity is the doctrine that there is only one God in all the universe and that He exists in three eternal, simultaneous persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.


The Nature of Jesus: Jesus’ Conception

Mormon – God had sex with Mary.

(Journal of Discourses, vol. 8, p.115) “The birth of the Saviour was as natural as are the births of our children; it was the result of natural action. He partook of flesh and blood–was begotten of his Father, as we were of our fathers…”

(Mormon Doctrine, by Bruce McConkie, p.547) “Christ was begotten by an Immortal Father in the same way that mortal men are begotten by mortal fathers…”

—versus—

Christian – Jesus was born of the virgin Mary.

(Isaiah 7:14) “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

(Matthew 1:23) “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”

(Luke 1:34-35) “Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

“And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”

The Nature of Jesus: Who is Jesus?

Mormon – Jesus is Lucifer’s brother.

(Gospel Through the Ages, p.15) Jesus is the literal spirit-brother of Lucifer, a creation.

Because Jesus is a created being like the angels and like humanity, he is our spirit-brother.

(Gospel Doctrine, Joseph F. Smith, p.70) “Among the spirit children of Elohim, the firstborn was and is Jehovah, or Jesus Christ, to whom all others are juniors.”

—versus—

Christian – Jesus is God.

Jesus is the eternal Son. He is second person of the Trinity. He has two natures: He is God in flesh, and the creator of all things.

(John 1:1, 14) “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. […] And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

(Colossians 2:9) “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”

(Colossians 1:14-18) “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.”

The Nature of Jesus: Additional Comments

False Christs

(Matthew 24:5-8) “For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Jesus was a Polygamist?

Mormon apostle, Orson Pratt—in the November 1853 edition of the Mormon publication, The Seer—asserts Jesus married Mary and Martha and others.


The Nature of Salvation

Mormon – Salvation earned through works.

Salvation has a double meaning in Mormonism.

(Articles of Faith, by James Talmage, p.78-79) “The first effect [of the atonement] is to secure to all mankind alike, exemption from the penalty of the fall, thus providing a plan of General Salvation. The second effect is to open a way for Individual Salvation whereby mankind may secure remission of personal sins…”

“As these sins are the result of individual acts it is just that forgiveness for them should be conditioned on individual compliance with prescribed requirements–‘obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel,'”

(Doctrines and Covenants 137:7–9) “For I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts.”

—versus—

Christian – Salvation cannot be earned.

Good works are an outgrowth and testimony of regeneration in Christ; not the pass by which we achieve salvation. Salvation is the forgiveness of sin and deliverance of the sinner from damnation. It is a free gift received by God’s grace through acceptance of Jesus Christ and cannot be earned.

(Romans 11:6) “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.”

(Romans 6:23) “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

(Ephesians 2:8) “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

(Romans 4:5) “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”

(Galatians 2:21) “I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.”

Jesus says in John 8:24, “Unless you believe that I Am, you shall die in your sins.” Jesus assures us we are to rest in Him and Him alone. No additional revelation required.

(Acts 16:31) “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved…”

(1 Corinthians 15:3) “For I delivered to you as first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.”

(Ephesians 1:7) “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.”

(1 Peter 2:24) “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”

(Colossians 2:13) “He forgave us all our sins.”

We are not saved through works. How can anything we ever do be good enough before a Holy God?

(Isaiah 64:6) But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.


Final Comments

We Are to Accept No Other Gospel

(2 Timothy 4:4) “And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”

(Galatians 1:6-9) “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!”

The Joseph Smith Translation (JST) boasts over 3,000 additions, subtractions and changes to the King James Bible.

“Joseph Smith, the first prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, made a “new translation” of the Bible, using the text of the King James Version (KJV). This work differs from the KJV in at least 3,410 verses and consists of additions, deletions, rearrangements, and other alterations that cause it to vary not only from the KJV but from other biblical texts. Changes range from minor details to fully reconstituted chapters.” (Matthews, 1992.)

Discerning False Prophets

(Deuteronomy 13:1-5) “If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,

And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;

Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.

And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the Lord thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.

(Deuteronomy 18:21-22) 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.

Mormon Division Doesn’t Add Up

In Mormon teaching, the primary catalyst that spurned Joseph Smith to seek the truth about God and the afterlife was his dissatisfaction with the confusion and strife between Christian doctrine. Today, the Mormon church suffers from this same fragmentation. The “one true church” currently enjoys over 100 different sects, all of whom claim they are the “one true church.” That’s a lot of fracturing in just 200 years from a church boasting a steady stream of God-sent “prophets”.

The Stakes Are Different

If the Mormon is right, their works-based religion allows nearly anyone into a level of heaven, so long as they keep doing good works; regardless of whether you’re Christian, Jehovah Witness, Unitarian, etc. On the other hand, if the Christians are right, the Mormon church isn’t even worshiping the right Jesus and has fallen prey to false doctrine which could lead many to hell.

(Matthew 7:13-15) “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”

(Romans 1:17-23)

17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.

What if Joseph Smith was wrong?

If you are beginning to question your Mormon beliefs, please understand you do not have to lose your faith in God, but you do need to get clear on who God is and who He is not. The disillusionment felt by Mormons as they begin to emerge from the Mormon church can be devastating, especially as they begin to lose the support of their Mormon friends, family and church. As a sad testimony to the gulf that separates Mormonism from Christianity, know this abandonment is definitely not a Christian response!

If you are earnestly seeking God’s truth, humble yourself before His cross and—for a brief moment—step outside your Mormon vows, priesthood, and doctrine. Stand before Him as a simple man or woman searching for His truth and pray this heart-felt prayer:

Lord Jesus,
Open the eyes and ears of my soul and my mind
so I may hear your voice, and
explain this to me, teach me, save me
so I may serve you the way I ought to.

God’s Word can be relied upon completely. When it comes down to deciding between Joseph Smith and Jesus Christ, please believe Jesus Christ. So much of your life may be tied up in Mormonism, including your loved ones. Jesus says, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26)

I pray that you will be humble enough and courageous enough to seek God’s Truth for us as it’s been preserved in Scripture.

matt signature

Matt Schoenherr


References

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The Bible and the Book of Mormon

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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 1981. The Doctrines and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. http://media.ldscdn.org/pdf/lds-scriptures/doctrine-and-covenants/doctrine-and-covenants-eng.pdf

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Nelson, William O. July 1987. Is the LDS View of God Consistent with the Bible?  https://www.lds.org/ensign/1987/07/is-the-lds-view-of-god-consistent-with-the-bible

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Smith, Joseph. The Pearl of Great Price. 1981. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. http://media.ldscdn.org/pdf/lds-scriptures/the-pearl-of-great-price/the-pearl-of-great-price-eng.pdf

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