Five reasons not to “shut down” when someone wants to show you evidence that purportedly contradicts what/who you believe:
1. Curiosity. Curiosity is virtuous and healthy, and the only faith worth having is a curious faith. Faith seeks understanding. Faith should increase curiosity, not squelch it.
2. Humility. Humility implies a posture of, “I don’t know all of what I don’t know, I don’t know all of what I need to know, and I should be open to learning things people think I need to know.”
3. Faith that honors. To honor something as trustworthy, you don’t endlessly protect it in the dark — you let it demonstrate its trustworthiness in the light of scrutiny. Honor what/who you trust by letting it “come outside” and endure the examination.
4. Love for neighbor. The love-ethic of Jesus (“love your neighbor as yourself”) requires that we be interested in understanding and knowing and empathizing with our neighbor, even when — especially when — our neighbor disagrees with us.
5. Love for the one you trust. “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.” (C.S. Lewis)
Can someone tell me what Joseph Smith “restored”?
That would be a good question for a sincere, humble and curious Mormon to ask. Was it the priesthood? Is that the big deal that Smith claimed that was lost and needed restoration. Was it plural marriage? Was it the concept that all of the gods in the universe, with the exception of Jesus I guess, were once men who had gone through the Mormon system?
I’ve asked repeatedly for a Mormon to prove to me that what they believe in and practice was normative first century Christianity. They can’t do it. The best that they come up with is some mutterings about a supposed great apostasy and an incredible conspiracy that left Mormonism out of the Bible. All unproven of course but if a person is willing to accept the word of someone who claims to be a prophet, just about any thing could be offered.
I enjoy examining the beliefs, practices and history of the various Mormon sects and it appears to me that there are some significant differences in what is believed to be the “restoration”. Why any of them in particular think that their guy had it right is beyond me.
I’d suggest that a Mormon under take a study of the history of Christianity up to, say, AD 400. See if you can find any Mormonism any where even in the writings of the heretics.
Falcon,
Mormons can get quite creative in order to sell their distinctive claim of authority to those
interested in their religion . Their teaching of a alleged ” universal /complete apostasy ”
which necessitated a “restoration” of the church and gospel of salvation is a clever attempt
to try and convince people of their need for the latter day apostles of the Mormon church
in order to gain God’s favor for forgiveness and receive eternal life .
What was restored ? According to Mormon leaders their church is the one true church of
Jesus restored to the earth in exactly the same form as it existed when Christ established
it twenty centuries ago .
That’s the claim . Unfortunately many sincere people don’t ask enough questions , or the right
questions , and end up being fooled by Mormon missionaries .
Thank goodness their are ministries like MRM available to provide information that gives
people much needed information about the tactics of Mormon missionaries , or the clever
advertising of the Mormon P.R. Dept.
2014 is going to see multitudes of LDS choose to dismiss Joseph and the church he created ,
and exchange that for Jesus alone . Rom 10: 9 ,10 .
Why would people who are content in what they believe ever question it? They probably wouldn’t. However there will come the day when something just doesn’t fit the narrative that the true believer has accepted as fact. What to do then? Well with Mormons there are all sorts of little slogans that can be applied which, in effect, satisfies the dis-equilibrium the true believer is feeling and get them back to normal.
The other thing that will keep the true believer from questioning is fear. Who wants to go to Mormon hell, other wise known as “outer darkness”? There’s nothing worse in the eyes of a true believer than an apostate Mormon. Who’d want to have that label applied to them especially if they were living in a heavily Mormon area? Choice of friends is limited to those who are in the club.
But there are people for whom integrity actually means something. For those folks, something more than a cursory examination of Mormonism, will yield information in conflict with what they believe. Interestingly enough, all of the information can be found right within Mormon writings. No need to even visit the anti sites.
So it does take courage to question and not just swallow whole the fodder put out by the controlling agency, the LDS church.
I try to remind Mormons to a step back and take time to consider Jesus’ warning about
being on guard for prophets in the latter days who claim to be sent by Him to preach but who
are only counterfeits , and though most may be well meaning individuals , still they are
ultimately imitations and thus must be not followed —-Matt 24:11 .
Aaron listed 5 points to consider on this thread . Number 3 mentions examining who we trust .
This is pertinent for Mormons to consider in light of Jesus’ warning and the fact that they follow
a latter days prophet . Therefore it is crucial for the Mormon people to take time to heed Jesus’
warning by examining /testing their leaders . This was the wise and prudent thing to do
according to Jesus’ apostles like John —1 Jn 4:1-6 , and it is especially wise to do in our day —
2Tim 4:3-4 . Mormon leaders have claimed to be reliable guides who teach gospel truths
having been personally supervised by Jesus to restore His gospel ( Rom 1:16 ) and His church .
Thus type of claim must be examined by Mormons , as well as those considering Mormonism .
This won’t be easy for those Mormons who sense that something might be amiss with their
leaders and who actually begin think that the men who head the organization are wrong about
important issues/doctrines . For the rank and file members who maintain such thoughts , they
are told that to do so is to play Satan’s favorite game , and to criticize the leadership is to show
signs of a spiritual disease ! No wonder why many Mormons are afraid to take the time to test
their leaders properly as the Bible counsels .
Mormon leadership have left a teaching track record since 1830 that must be examined . So
the Mormon people should take Jesus’ warning seriously , because He gave it seriously . He
wishes that no one who has a desire to follow Him be led into false doctrine through following
men in the latter days who come on the scene and attempt to convince people they’ve been
sent by Him to preach the gospel of salvation .
Not all false prophets are like a Brian David Mitchell , some can be well dressed , polite , who
preach a lot about living a moral lifestyle that pleases God and being law abiding citizens ; and
that is great . But prophets are teachers , therefore test them as Jesus’ apostles counseled .
What does the latter days prophet say about God , Jesus , and how can a person be forgiven by
God and receive eternal life ?
Test the prophets .
“President Wilford Woodruff is a man of wisdom and experience, and we respect him, but we do not believe his personal views or utterances are revelations from God; and when ‘Thus saith the Lord,’ comes from him, the saints investigate it: they do not shut their eyes and take it down like a pill.”
– Apostle Charles W. Penrose, Millennial Star, v. 54, p. 191
BUT…
“The Lord Almighty leads this Church, and he will never suffer you to be led astray if you are found doing your duty. You may go home and sleep as sweetly as a babe in its mother’s arms, as to any danger of your leaders leading you astray, for if they should try to do so the Lord would quickly sweep them from the earth.”
– Prophet Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, v. 9, p. 289
BUT…
“What a pity it would be, if we were led by one man to utter destruction! Are you afraid of this? I am more afraid that this people have so much confidence in their leaders that they will not inquire for themselves of God whether they are led by him. I am fearful they settle down in a state of blink self-security, trusting their eternal destiny in the hands of their leaders with a reckless confidence that in itself would thwart the purposes of God in their salvation, and weaken the influence they could give to their leaders, did they know for themselves, by the revelations of Jesus, that they are led in the right way. Let every man and woman know, themselves, whether their leaders are walking in the path the Lord dictates, or not. This has been my exhortation continually.”
– Prophet Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, v. 9, p. 150
AND…
“We have heard men who hold the Priesthood remark, that they would do any thing they were told to do by those who presided over them, if they knew it was wrong: but such obedience as this is worse than folly to us; it is slavery in the extreme; and the man who would thus willingly degrade himself, should not claim a rank among intelligent beings, unless he turns from his folly. “When the Elders of Israel will so far indulge in these extreme notions of obedience, as to teach them to the people, it is generally because they have it in their hearts to do wrong themselves, and wish to pave the way to accomplish that wrong; or else because they have done wrong, and wish to use the cloak of their authority to cover it.”
– Millennial Star, “Priesthood,” 1852
BUT…
“My boy, you always keep your eye on the President of the Church, and if he tells you to do something wrong, and you do it, the Lord will bless you for it.”
– Prophet Heber J. Grant, as quoted by Apostle Marion G. Romney in “The Covenant of the Priesthood,” Ensign, July 1972, p. 98
My life is centered on Jesus Christ, who He is and what He did for me.
A Mormon’s life is centered on the LDS church, what they believe it is and what it claims it can do for them.
I am free in Christ! I have zero religious requirements to adhere to or follow in order to gain my eternal reward. If I am to boast about anything, it is the cross of Christ. That was the conclusion of the apostle Paul especially when he talked about his former religious life and how much he could point to as accomplishment. He also concluded that all of his religious observances gained him nothing in comparison to what Christ had done for him.
This is something for a Mormon to consider. Actually it’s the only thing to consider.
Belonging to a religious organization that claims to have the system by which its adherents can become gods is not Christianity. It’s not even devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s putting faith and confidence in a religious system that has no power to save but serves more to keep people from the saving grace of God.
I think one of the things that Mormons/LDS sect have a tough time wrapping their heads around, is that Christians believe they don’t have to do anything to merit eternal life. In the SLC sect’s version of Mormonism, it’s all about “earning” your way into the Celestial Kingdom and being rewarded with deity status. That makes perfect sense in the context of Mormonism.
The problem is it’s a false notion. I would challenge Mormons to do a study of the Bible and then also the first 400 years of Church history. They will not find any Mormonism there. And there-in lies the problem for Mormons. Mormonism didn’t exist until Joseph Smith invented it. His “restoration” took several different phases including his idea of who God is. One would think that a guy claiming to be a prophet would at least get that right, at the start.
But no, the invention of “continuous revelation” opened up all sorts of possibilities and covered the “prophet” for any dubious notions and pronouncements made previously.
I say, again, dump the Mormon prophets, pick up the NT and read it. What seems more plausible; the message there or the continuously changing clap-trap of such spiritual nitwits like Smith and Young?
Adding a few more quotes to ponder…
It’s ok to question them, but to speak it aloud, that’s a no-no.
Bother the Mormons and the U.S. will be “shivered to pieces”…. I’m still waiting…
What happened to the U.S. when they made the Mormons submit to the laws of the land? Why, nothing. What did the Mormons do? Everything they were told, all the while with it’s “prophets” proclaiming that the U.S. would be “destroyed”. This is the Mormon “anointed”. Wrong all the time. Why worry about speaking against them? Their “curses” carry no weight. Their God doesn’t support them with action. Their words are simply empty phrases and vain posturings. Take this next quote…
Well, that didn’t come to pass, did it? In fact, the Mormons then INVESTED in the very nation they said their God was going to destroy! They DESPERATELY petitioned for admittance to the Union! Why? If their God was going to destroy it? If every single place except “Zion” was to be “unsafe”? Yet the Mormons got rich off of investments in the very country that they disparaged over and over again! Who can believe these “anointed”?
Brigham Young duped by the phony “Spiritualists” of his day which “spirits” were all proven to be frauds, (especially by Harry Houdini), but don’t speak against “the Lord’s Anointed”,