Time for a Change

So this past weekend, I was blessed to take part in the Utah-Idaho Southern Baptist Convention 47th Annual Convention.   This meeting was a huge blessing. I was able to hear a lot of good preaching and was able to think about a lot of things. 

Over the time I was there to hear what we need to do, God smacked me around a little and gave me a path, goal, and information that I needed to grow His kingdom in the Duchesne area and the areas around.  Now this will move people, move them to get off their butts and work or will get them to move their butts to want me out.  but no matter what happens, I will do all things through the power and truth of Jesus Christ.

This is just the start, stay with me, follow me and see how God changes this very lost state.

PS. thank you to Bruce T. for going with me and seeing the vision too.

END OF LINE

Are we Different?

So over the weeks I have seen a lot of LDS bloggers and others complain about how Christians say that Mormons “have a different Jesus” or “Don’t have the Jesus of the Bible”. Well as most Christians and pastors and people who look into the difference in the two beliefs, they understand this to be truth. This is one of the reasons Christians are called anti-Mormon, but it’s not anti-Mormon it’s fact. We believe in two different God the father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Also we believe in two different origins of man. In a attempt to make it clear, here is a chart that I have used from the book “Mormonism Unmasked”.

One God of the Bible	Plural Gods of Mormonism
God The Father
Infinite	Finite
Always God	Became God
Absolutely Holy	Achieved Holiness
All Knowing	Achieved Knowledge
Eternal Perfect	Achieved Perfection
All Powerful	Attained Power
Only Creator	One of Many Designers
The Son (Jesus)
Eternal	Procreated by God and Wife
Creator	Our Brother
The Holy Spirit
Eternal	Procreated By God and Wife
Creator	A Spirit Brother
Human
Created on Earth	Same Species as God
Spiritually Adopted Children	Born to God and Wife

When you look at this you can see that there are two different things. That’s why we say the LDS has two different God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit.

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Teachings of Thomas S. Monson (Part 3)

It has been a week and a half since my last post on the teachings of Thomas S. Monson, but I am back. I did not want anyone to think I have given up. By the way, how has your reading been? You know, I asked you to read a Christian book as I read this one. Is anyone doing it? Let me know.

So today I want to talk about the section on Eternal Life that starts on page 101 but the quote I want to look at is on page 102 paragraph 2.

“Eternal Life in the kingdom of our Father is your goal. Such a goal is not achieved in one glorious attempt, but rather is the result of a lifetime of righteousness, an accumulation of wise choices, even a constancy of purpose. Like the coveted “A” grade on a report card of a difficult a required college course, the reward of eternal life requires effort.” (“Decisions Determine Destiny,” LDS Student Association Young Women’s Meetings, Logan, Utah, May 16, 1968)

Now is this what the bible says? NO NO NO

39 Then one of the criminals hanging there began to yell insults at Him: “Aren’t You the Messiah? Save Yourself and us!” 40 But the other answered, rebuking him: “Don’t you even fear God, since you are undergoing the same punishment? 41 We are punished justly, because we’re getting back what we deserve for the things we did, but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!” 43 And He said to him, “I assure you: Today you will be with Me in paradise.” Luke 23:39-43 (HCSB)

Here we have the showing that Jesus gave salvation, in one glorious action to a criminal. No life time of righteousness, no good works, not sealed in a temple, no nothing. The Criminal just asked and he received eternal life.

16 “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (HCSB)

In John 3:16 the key word is believe. If we believe in Jesus have faith in Him, put our faith in Him, repent of our sins, we have eternal life. This takes place in one glorious moment not a life time. If we were to look at our life we would see that we have sinned more then we have done good. That’s way Romans 3:10-12 is so important;

10 as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one. 11 There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away; all alike have become useless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one. Romans 3:10-12 (HCSB)

There is no one that is righteous because one sin gives us eternal death but Romans 6:23 calls eternal life a gift.

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 (HCSB)

You cannot work for a gift; a gift is given to you. I love the way Romans 11:6 tells it.

⁶ And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work. Romans 11:6 (NKJV)

So what does the bible say? It’s a gift that happens when you ask for forgiveness.

What does Thomas S. Monson and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints says? It a lifetime of righteousness and good works.

Sorry Thomas but you got it wrong. That’s not what the Bible says.

END OF LINE…

What does the bible say…

“By obedience to God’s commandments, we can qualify for that ‘house’ spoken of by Jesus when He declared: “In my Father’s house are many mansions. … I go to prepare a place for you … that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:2-3)” (Thomas S. Monson, “An Invitation to Exaltation,” Ensign (Conference Edition), May 1988, p. 54. Ellipses in original).

“God our Father, and Jesus Christ, our Lord, have marked the way to perfection. They beckon us to follow eternal verities and to become perfect, as they are perfect (see Matthew 5:48; 3 Nephi 12:48)” (Thomas S. Monson, “An Invitation to Exaltation,” Ensign (Conference Edition), May 1988, p. 54).

Here are 2 quotes from Thomas s. Monson.  Now the question I have is, if members of the LDS clam to Believe in the Bible then what about these verse?

6 Now if by grace, then it is not by works; otherwise grace ceases to be grace. Romans 11:6 (HCSB)

justification: The act of God as judge that declares sinners (who were in the "wrong") to be "right" or righteous in His sight.  He is just in doing this because Jesus died on the cross to take away their sins and to give them His own righteousness (2 Cor 5:21). The sinner receives this justification by faith and by grace when he trusts Christ's work.

Jesus did the work, we only have to have faith and repent of our sins and we are saved. 

For all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.       Romans 10:13

If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation. Romans 10:9-10 (HCSB)

Looks like the bible says something else.

END OF LINE…

A Mormon comes to know the Truth

Monday Bible Study

sorry it’s on Tuesday, forgot to put it on my blog

Answer to A Mormons Question

Dear XXXXXXX,

XXXXX asked me to write you this Email to answer the question you asked, “Why we don’t believe that Mormons are Christian”. I hope that looking at the bible and LDS scriptures; I can explain the differences between our two very different religions.

God

The first theological difference that separates us is God. To be clear, we have two different Gods. We believe in the trinity that states that God is one but is also 3 beings. The father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit make up the Trinity.

I hope that this explains it a little better. I know that this doctrine may seem a bit hard to understand but we need to remember that God is bigger and we are not to understand all elements of Him but we need to have faith. But in answering your question, this is one of the major points that evangelical Christian look and sees that Mormons don’t believe in this and call LDS non-Christians.

Another point is the belief that God was once a man and that there are more than one God and that man may become a 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 the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did, and I will show it from the Bible” (Teachings of the Prophet Jo­seph Smith, pp. 345-346. Italics in original. See also Gospel Principles, 1997, p. 305).

· “As man is now, God once was; as God is now, man may be” (The Teach­ings of Lorenzo Snow, p. 2. Italics in original. See also The Life and Teachings of Jesus and His Apostles manual, 1979, p. 59).

The Issue is that Christians believe that God is eternal and there is only one God. This is a major point in the Book of Isaiah chapter 45.

· 5 I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God but Me. Isaiah 45:5 (HCSB)

· 22 Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth. For I am God, and there is no other. Isaiah 45:22 (HCSB)

Before the world there was God and no other. Evangelical Christians believe that God is God and there is no other God. We do not believe that God was once a man but that He has eternally been God. When I have read the Book of Mormon, I have seen this belief as well in verses like;

· “For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable be­ing; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity” (Moroni 8:18)

· “And the king said: Is God that Great Spirit that brought our fa­thers out of the land of Jerusalem? And Aaron said unto him: Yea, he is that Great Spirit, and he created all things both in heaven and in earth. Believest thou this? And he said: Yea, I believe that the Great Spirit created all things, and I desire that ye should tell me concerning all these things, and I will believe thy words” ( Alma 22:9-11).

So this is where Evangelical Christians stand on God. As we both know, Mormons have a different believe on whom God is and therefore it is easy to see that we have two different Gods.

Jesus

· 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created. 4 Life was in Him, and that life was the light of men. 5 That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it. John 1:1-5 (HCSB)

This is the best verse to understand who Christians believe Jesus is. In this verse you are to see that the word, Word and Him are used for Jesus. This says that Jesus is God in the flesh and again is eternal. But the idea of Jesus in the eyes of the LDS is that He was the first born son of God and that Jesus was not God in the flesh.

“Jesus was born of heavenly parents in a premortal world—he was the firstborn of our Heavenly Father” (Robert D. Hales, “Your Sor­row Shall Be Turned to Joy,” Ensign (Conference Edition), Novem­ber 1983, p. 67)

But the bible makes it clear that the father and Jesus are one. We believe that God became flesh in the forum of the Son to die for the sins of man.

· The Father and I are one. John 10:30 (HCSB)

· 36 He sent the message to the Israelites, proclaiming the good news of peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all. Acts 10:36 (HCSB)

Salvation

According to the bible, salvation comes from God as a gift through the Son Jesus Christ.

· 8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift 9 not from works, so that no one can boast. Eph 2:8-9 (HCSB)

· 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 (HCSB)

We believe that salvation come to us when we seek God’s forgiveness and repent of our sins and put our faith in Jesus Christ. Again this is another point that Christians and Mormon have a difference on. Christians believe, once again, that salvation is a free gift and we can do no works to earn or keep our salvation. It is a onetime thing that happens when we call on the name of the Lord.

· 13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Romans 10:13

But this is something different that is talked about in Mormon scripture. From what I understand and what I have read of the Mormon faith, there is an aspect of work that has to be done to earn and keep your salvation.

· “For we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (The Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 25:23)

· “I do not believe that a man is saved in this life by believing, or professing to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, but that he must endure to the end and keep the commandments that are given” (Joseph F. Smith, Conference Reports, April 1915, p. 119).

We believe that one is saved by grace and faith alone. God understood that man could not save ourselves and God, being a loving God, sent His Son to die on the cross and that anyone who puts their faith in Him and lives for Him will be saved.

An idea I always ask members of the LDS church is, “How much works do you have to do to pay off your sins?” If we sin everyday and have to work it off, then will anyone have salvation? This is why salvation is a gift, because God know that there was not the number of animals on the earth that could pay for everyone’s sin. He sent is Son to earth to be the perfect Lamb of God and by the spilling of Him blood on the cross, we are saved.

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; but it is the gift of God; 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

I know I have used this verse before in this letter but I thought I would use it out of the Joseph Smith Inspired Version of the Bible to show that Joseph Smith did not change Ephesians 2:8-9 showing that salvation is a gift from God.

When writing you this letter to answer your question, I hoped I have showed you that we belong to two very different religions. Being an evangelical Christian and other Evangelical, we do not see members of the Mormon faith to be Christians because of these points. There are other points as well but for this letter I thought that these were some of the main ones I wanted to point out.

I pray that you read these and pray about them, understanding that God loves you and has a plain and place for you in His kingdom. But I also want you to understand that only one of our religions can be right. According to the Mormon belief, if I die tonight not being Mormon I would go to the Terrestrial Kingdom. But according to the Bible if one dies and he or her name is not written in the book of life, then one will be cast into the lake of fire.

I would love to meet with you face to face and we can talk more. You are always welcome to come to a service at First Baptist Duchesne and know that I keep you in my prayers.

Thank you for your time and God Bless,

Rev. Wil R. Hoffmann

Roman Road Bible Study