165th Anniversary of D&C 132
ABC News notes an important LDS anniversary while the Mormon Church keeps a low profile. Watch the video report for the full story.
My Bishop Made Me Do It
On 9 June 2008 Fox News carried an Associated Press story from Hawaii. It seems that three men from Oahu have been charged with stealing rocks from a protected Maui beach, to be used in an underground cooking pit at their church – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I don’t mean to make light of environmental conservation issues, but the crime seems pretty minor in the grand scheme of things. Nevertheless, it’s interesting to read the unfolding story.
Initially, one of the men, Charlie Bright, told the state Department of Land and Natural Resources that he bought the rocks. However, Mr. Bright would not identify the seller.
Later Mr. Bright told reporters that he had a letter granting permission from the landowner for the men to take the rocks. Mr. Bright was unwilling to identify the landowner, but indicated that the name would be provided at the subsequent hearing.
Later still Mr. Bright called state officials confessing that the three men had taken the rocks, but he said they did not know it was illegal.
The men had allegedly loaded 943 coconut-sized river rocks into pickup trucks, planning to take them to their LDS ward on another island via the interisland ferry. One of the accused men, Ralph Chun, is the Kahaluu Ward bishop. Mr. Bright explained the incident:
“‘We do this for the Mormon church. Our bishop told us to come to Maui to get imu rocks because ours is old already, about 10 to 12 years old,’ Bright said, according to the report. ‘We use the rocks to cook kalua pig for the Boy Scouts to support them through our fundraisers. It was for a good cause.’”
Like I said, the “crime” was pretty insignificant, and it was most likely done in ignorance. The courts will decide whether to grant the men mercy and declare them innocent, or whether they are guilty and required to pay a fine.
While we might chuckle over the lighter side of this story, there is a more serious lesson to take away from it. I think about Mr. Bright getting caught, as it were, with his hand in the cookie jar. He offers several excuses, hoping he’ll hit on one that will get him off the hook. He begins by trying to make the crime appear to be no crime at all. Then he pleads ignorance. Finally he tries to blame someone else and finishes with an appeal to the idea that the end justifies the means.
This reminds me of the scene in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit. When God confronted them Adam said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then God said to Eve, “What is this that you have done?” Eve said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” And why did they eat? Though they knew it was wrong, they thought the end would justify the means: “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate” (Genesis 3:1-13).
It’s human nature to make excuses for our sin. Like Adam and Eve — and like Mr. Bright as well – we try to divert attention away from our transgressions. But when we stand before the Holy and Just God, no excuse will do. Each one of us is guilty, plain and simple. Each one of us deserves condemnation for our sins (Romans 3). Just as the apostle Paul wrote, every one of us may cry out, “Wretched [person] that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24) Paul’s immediate response to his expressed grief was this: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
Why does Paul praise God when faced with his own wretchedness, his own sin? Because
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1-4).
Indeed, Paul had reason to praise God, Paul’s sinfulness notwithstanding. Every person who is “in Christ Jesus” will join in that praise, for there is no condemnation for anyone who has been rescued and redeemed by Christ.
When we stand before God to be judged there will be no place for excuses, no option for casting blame on another, no acceptable appeals to a higher cause. When we stand before God to be judged we stand alone and condemned by our sin; or we stand with Jesus our Advocate, who pleads our case on the basis of His finished work on the cross. According to His abundant grace, Jesus endured the wrath of God in our place so that our sins are no longer counted against us. If we abandon all our excuses and instead cry out for mercy, surely God will grant it (1 John 1:7; 2:1-2; 1 Peter 1:3-4).
Yes, thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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Related devotional reading: One Appeal: His Mercy
The Duty to Expose a Shameful Ceremony is Infinitely More Sacred Than a Shameful Ceremony
Richard Packham’s video is also available on YouTube
Publicly exposing the Mormon temple ceremony takes away the superficial power of secretiveness and mystery and helps people face reality. The power of mystery is largely sapped with a simple YouTube video.
Obeying God’s commandments is a form of Christian worship. God’s word tells us:
“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, ‘Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’” (Ephesians 5:11-14)
Even the LDS Articles of Faith say, “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.” Since many Mormons use this verse to argue that the someone’s form and content of worship (especially their own) should never be criticized, I ask: Are Mormons going to criticize my form and content of worship when I obey God by exposing shameful things?
Trade in your green fig leaf apron for a cross. What God has revealed to the children of man, he has revealed to all the children of man. Find more private satisfaction in the public, personal word of God than in the shameful ceremonies of Joseph Smith.
Tips to Christians For Using (or Not Using) the LDS Temple Ceremony Content When Engaging Mormons
- Be led by the Spirit and be respectful and sensitive to people. The challenge here is immersing yourself in the Bible so that you adopt more biblical concepts of love and respect than worldly concepts. Being loving and sensitive will often require you to engage other issues of the heart and simply point people to the true nature of God and the gospel. But the Spirit may lead you to tear down false pretensions (cf. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5) and idolatry by exposing the ceremony. It is no more disrespectful to expose the shameful LDS temple ceremony than it is to expose pervasive mold to a prospective house buyer.
- Part of the whole question of whether to reveal the temple ceremony concerns strategic and loving engagement, but there is also a power struggle that is real. It cannot be ignored. People who feel like they have secrets often feel like they have a power over other people. Mormons will sometimes refer to the temple as the only appropriate place to discuss certain doctrines. Sometimes it helps to break this superficial facade of power and exclusivity by revealing your knowledge of the temple.
- Bringing up the ceremony will often end a conversation, so be wise about if and when you do it.
- That said, I suggest teaching Mormons who haven’t been through the ceremony, especially teenagers, the three secret hand clasps. Ask them if they think secret handshakes will help get them into Heavenly Father’s presence. Many will vehemently say, “No!” Express your agreement. Ask the same people, “If Satan told you to make a green fig leaf apron, what would you do?” The responses I hear are interesting. “I wouldn’t do it!” “I’d tell him to be quiet.” I like to advise people, “If Satan ever tells you to make a green fig leaf apron, rebuke him!” If they go through the temple ceremony, they will be reminded of these things. This will help them feel creeped out by the ceremony. They should feel that way, and you owe it to them in love to help them be sober about it.
- Break the news to them. The things you have just spoken of are actually in the LDS temple ceremony. If they don’t believe you, tell them to ask their parents. Or Google. The internet has more power to deliver knowledge than the Mormon “priesthood” ever will.
- Don’t over-sensationalize the role of Satan in the temple ceremony. I recommend a good article by Jerald and Sandra called, Obsession With Lucifer?.
- Expect opposition over this. Letting the cat out of the bag will drive some defenders of Mormonism in your community nuts. But keep a sober mind that this isn’t about them. It’s about the true seekers. The inherent shamefulness of the LDS temple ceremony really causes a crisis of conscience in people that causes them to leave the Mormon Church and take Christianity more seriously. Don’t want to see a close relationship severed? That’s OK. You can at least get the word out to people who haven’t been through the temple, who you can tolerate being upset at you. It’s worth it in the long run for their own sake.
- Remind your LDS friends that this isn’t a matter of trivial humor. It’s serious. It is a matter of informed consent. People have a right to know about this all before they join Mormonism.
- Ask, “Is the Book of Mormon is sacred?” “Of course.” “Is it public?” “Yes.” “So, if something is sacred, does it have to be secret and hidden from the public?” This helps when someone explains that simply because the ceremony is “sacred” it cannot be discussed publicly.
- Ask, “Why was the temple veil torn in two when Jesus was crucified?”
- Ask, “Can you think of any examples of people being married in the Old Testament temple?”
- Ask a Mormon if they are aware of the changes in the temple ceremony. Also ask, “Are the parts of the temple ceremony removed in 1990 still sacred?”
- Express your feelings about having your pastor mocked as a hirling of Satan in the pre-1990 LDS temple ceremony. Ask, “If Protestants had a secret ceremony where we called your bishops hirlings of Satan, what would you think if I said it was too ’sacred’ to talk about?”
- Point them to the sufficiency of Christ. Share Hebrews 7 and tell them you want them to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, our great high priest. Eternal life is all about knowing Jesus, receiving Jesus, and believing Jesus as he freely offers us the forgiveness of sins and fellowship with God forever. Christians now have the indwelling of the Spirit, and our level of intimacy and fellowship with God is not dependent on whether we are in a certain building.
- Be like Jesus: “And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.’” Mark 13:1-2
I’ll close with a letter from an ex-Mormon Christian written to Bill Mckeever:
“Good afternoon Mr. McKeever. This email is an apology to the nasty and derogatory remarks I sent you in the past. I do not know if you remember our conversations but it was obvious that I was so deep into Mormonism, I did not realize how uneducated I sounded for defending a false faith. It is my prayer that every member of the LDS church come to the realization that Joseph Smith is one of the false prophets that the Bible warns us about. I came to my realization shortly after finding out the details of Temple rituals. I was officially removed from the membership records as of May 2005… Realizing that accepting Christ as my personal savior and putting all of my trust in him instead of Gordon B. Hinckley has made a magnanimous impact upon my life as a Christian. I want to personally thank you for distributing websites like these to bring LDS members out of the dark and into the light. Thank you for being a bold servant of Christ and May God Bless you and your co-workers always. Please feel free to post this message on your site as a hopeful inspiration to all LDS who wish to leave.”
The ‘Lectures on Faith’: A Case Study in Decanonization
The ‘Lectures on Faith’: A Case Study in Decanonization
Mormon John Nilsson questions the foundational Mormon stories of priesthood bestowal
Mormon John Nilsson questions the foundational Mormon stories of priesthood bestowal
Spiritual Identity Theft
In an article titled “Your Divine Heritage,” LDS General Authority (Seventy) Robert C. Oaks wrote about what he called “spiritual identity theft” (Ensign, April 2008, 49-50). Mr. Oaks suggested that a significant threat to Latter-day Saints achieving their divine potential is the “theft of our eternal identity.” He wrote,
“We know we are sons and daughters of God, with the potential to become like Him as described in His plan of happiness…
The Mormon’s divine potential – described by Mr. Oaks as becoming “like” God – is more properly understood as becoming a God. Throughout the history of Mormonism LDS prophets and apostles have taught that Godhood is the divine potential of men. For example, consider this teaching from an LDS manual:
MEN ARE GODS IN EMBRYO
We Have the Potential to Become like Our Heavenly Parents
Man is the child of God, formed in the divine image and endowed with divine attributes, and even as the infant son of our earthly father and mother is capable in due time of becoming a man, so the undeveloped offspring of celestial parentage is capable, by experience through ages of aeons, of evolving into a God. (Achieving A Celestial Marriage Student Manual, 130)
With an understanding of what Mr. Oaks meant by the use of the term “divine potential,” consider what he wrote next:
“We also know that Satan is totally dedicated to thwarting and derailing this marvelous plan-of-happiness knowledge and process…
“How does Satan do it? He is quite straightforward and predictable. First, he attempts to prompt doubts in our minds about our divine potential. He even cultivates doctrine in the world implying we are much less than we really are. He undermines our faith—and thus our confidence—in our ability to achieve our potential. He strives to bring us to a mind-set in which we believe that we, individually, are not good enough to ever achieve our celestial goals.”
This is the LDS picture of spiritual identity theft: Satan plants doubts in the minds of Mormons about their potential to become Gods; he suggests Mormons are less than Gods in embryo; he erodes the confidence Latter-day Saints have in their ability to achieve Godhood; and he tries to convince them that they are not good enough to become Gods.
While Mr. Oaks attributes this strategy to Satan, think carefully about these statements from another source:
“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. (Isaiah 43:10 plants doubts about men becoming Gods)
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. (Ephesians 2:1-3 suggests men are, by nature, children of wrath, not embryonic Gods)
For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. (James 2:10 challenges the individual’s self-confidence regarding his or her ability to achieve Godhood via perfect holiness)
Behold, you were angry, and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved? We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities. (Isaiah 64:5-7 demonstrates we are not, and will never be, good enough to become Gods)
God Himself declares men will not and cannot become Gods. God declares mankind is not worthy to even be brought into His presence, let alone to become equal with Him in power, might and dominion. Unlike Mr. Oaks’ description of Latter-day Saints being the victims of spiritual identity theft, the opposite is closer to biblical truth. Mormonism attempts to steal the unique identity of the Almighty Creator for the eternal aggrandizement of those who are merely creatures.
Though we shall not become Gods and we are not worthy to live eternally in God’s presence, our hope is nevertheless great. Because God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. How’s that for divine potential?