[SWF]http://www.youtube.com/v/OEbFMC-uqV4&hl=en,425,355[/SWF]
A talk given by Joel Groat of the Institute for Religious Research.
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I think Joel does a great job on how to talk with Mormons. He hits the nail on the head with the different levels you might find a Mormon at. I am at one of those levels. It helps me out quite a bit as I continue my journey to Jesus.
Truthseeker,
I am thankful and grateful that you have come to this site and specifically to this blog looking for information. I respect you for taking the courageous step in stating what you did in your post. You are the reason why Christians (non-Mormons) post on here. We want you to know the freedom, liberty, happiness and joy that you can have with the real Jesus of the New Testament.
Just the fact that you are troubled spiritually and are looking into things and not a “absolute church loyalist” (as defined by Joel Groat) is a good sign. Listen to the calling from Christ and come to him. The Mormon system and it’s impossible gospel mandate will only lead you farther away.
Jesus Christ loves you. He died for your sins and your sins will no longer be remembered when you come to him in repentance. You will have forgiveness immediately and permanently. You will be declared spiritually perfect in your standing before Heavenly Father because the work that Christ did on the cross for you is finished. Nothing else needs to be done. Nothing else can be done. Eternity with Heavenly Father is a gift – not a reward (Hebrews 10:10-18).
I don’t know who you are, your real name or where you live, but know this: I will be praying for you. Whatever issues you have that are preventing you from leaving the Mormon Church, Jesus Christ of the New Testament will be there for you, will strengthen you and will give you new life not only for eternity but also in this temporal state here. I was at a church in Salt Lake City last weekend that has over 400 ex-Mormons in it. I pray that one day you can have the joy and freedom in Christ that they do that I had the pleasure of learning about.
Berean, I appreciate your comments very much. I am just about finished reading the New Testament and have learned so much about our Savior I had not known in the past 20 years. I know more stories from the BOM and the people in there than I do about Jesus. That is now changing and it is like a whole new world when I study “one” set of scriptures only. Thanks for the prayers. My goal in this journey of mine is to get to know the Savior strictly from the Bible. Not another source. Thanks again.
Truthseeker,
I just want to encourage you to stay on your path of truth seeking. It will become difficult, if it already hasn’t. My children and their mother, and all the family on her side are still LDS. It makes for a tough road.
I just want to leave you with my experience that led me out of the LDS Church. In prayer, I confessed to God that I didn’t know if Joseph Smith was a prophet, if the Book of Mormon was true, or if the Church was true. That confession opened the windows of heaven for God’s grace. I got up from my knees and randomly opened the Bible (such a happening does not always occur; your moment will be different than mine) to Isaiah 42:10: “before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me” (KJV). In His grace, mercy, and wisdom, God revealed to me His word that firmly contradicts the teaching focus of Mormonism that man will become a god. That moment changed my life. Truthseeker, God is preparing you for such a moment. It will change your life forever. I just can’t describe the peace that comes from knowing that I am saved from an eternity separated from God simply because I believe in Jesus Christ and His work on the cross for me. I, too, will be praying for you.
Thanks Jackg. I have studied all the information I could find and I am able to step back and look at this logically and see the truth that God teaches. There are reasons we choose certain paths in our lives. To this point life has been great but will now be even greater having the peace within me knowing that there is only one God. My family is not aware of my studies. Soon I will tell my wife and invite her to see the things that have been kept quiet from the church members. I am excited to share with her. Thanks for the prayers. I will need them!
truthseeker,
I too would like to echo jackg. I too am a former Mormon, and everyone in my family except my wife (she was a Christian when I met her, and still is) is LDS. I too will be praying for you because as you said, you WILL need it. I’ve watched the piece above a couple of times and agree that Joel nails it. Many within the LDS community would probably label this Mormon Coffee blog as anti-Mormon, but the truth from what I see here, most of the Christian posters post because we have a great love for the LDS people, and want more than anything to bring them to a true relationship with Christ. Mormons are good, God-fearing people, and there is much good to be found within the LDS church. But the gospel that it preaches will not save, and there are some very unsavory things in the LDS church especially when it comes to the history and past doctrine statements of church leaders since it’s inception.
A bit of advise that has helped me: when I am reading the Bible, I conscously ask the question “is this what it is really saying?, or am I reading in LDS doctine because I was exposed to it for so long?” Doing this has caused the Bible (especially the epistles in the NT) to come alive. I pray that you will grow in your relationship with Jesus as you read His Word. It will not be an easy road, but from one that has gone through it, it is much more than worth it. I promise that as you grow in your walk with Christ, God will work in your life in ways that you never immagined possible within the LDS church.
God bless you, dear truthseeker. And welcome to this forum.
“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.” — Ephesians 1:3–7 NLT