Saturday, October 31, 2015

Mormons worship an angel of light

How can a Mormon, call themselves a Christian?

How the LDS Church makes it plainly obvious that they are not.
I know many Mormons who think they are Christians. My brother is a devout Mormon, the family I was raised in is part of a church that is an off shoot of the LDS church. Growing up I thought I was a Christian. When I run into Mormons I ask them how they can call themselves Christian. They are puzzled as to why I don't consider them Christians and defend themselves with many arguments.

However instead of getting bogged down in a lot of debates, let's just step back and look at Mormons.

2nd Corinthians 11:3 But I fear lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

So with the simplicity that is in Christ let's look at the Mormon church and ask, is it of Christ?

Mormon Baptismal Fonts

I had the opportunity to visit a Mormon temple before it was dedicated to God. So all us “un-godly” as my twin put it, could visit it without defiling “God's sanctuary.” Because you know what God? until the Mormon's say its yours, they can get publicity by letting people view the splendid work they built for you. Ok that is sarcasm, but seriously.

I have never liked Mormons, heck I've never liked the church I was raised in. All the Joseph Smith worship just felt wrong. But upon seeing the Baptism Font the feeling of viewing something entirely evil came over me.  

This is a oval font mounted on the backs of twelve oxen supposedly signifying the twelve tribes of Israel. Different temples have the font made of different materials. Some look gold, some look to be plaster. However the very design seems sinister as you can see below.



This baptism font was designed by Joseph Smith's directions for the baptism of the dead. This is a Temple only Baptism Font specifically for this rite. The “Stakes” which is what Mormons call their weekly church buildings, do not have these. Maybe too much for the new converts?

While researching the significance of oxen online, I found this curious and actually quite hilarious article about the baptismal fonts in the Mormon church at www.utlm.org.


Oxen Cut From Twelve To Six
In some of the newer, smaller LDS temples they are only using six oxen in a half circle, against a wall of mirrors. In 1982 Peggy Fletcher commented:
Some months ago, while perusing periodicals for our section called "Mormon Media Image," I spotted a curious item in the newsletter of a group who call themselves, "Saints Alive in Jesus" (a group fervently dedicated to "exposing the Mormon fraud and reconverting its members to Christianity"). It read:
The LDS church unveiled plans for the smaller, economy size one story temples recently. Ten of the already announced new temples will use the new design. One interesting difference is that the baptismal font will rest on 6 oxen rather than 12, and a mirror will be used to create the other 6.
The newsletter went on to query sarcastically, One can only wonder which of the 12 tribes have been disenfranchised for the sake of a little economy?
Naturally I presumed it to be a false rumor, a bit silly at that, another attempt by this group to discredit the Church, but thought it worth checking out anyway. To my dismay the Church Building Department confirmed it to be a fact. Six oxen and mirrors. The brain reels with the possibilities that introduces. Said one of my editors, "Effective placement of mirrors in local chapels could quickly double sacrament meeting attendance while cutting in half the number of officers needed to staff the ward." Missionaries wouldn't need companions, only mirrors.
What sort of mind, I asked myself, came up with this innovative scheme to save money, substituting tricks and sleight of hand for sacred symbolism?  (Sunstone Magazine, July 1982, p. 18)
Mirrors to deceive people that something is there that is not? Does that seem odd? Shall we just make a pretense of Christianity? Is it enough for me to put up a good show? Apparently it is for Mormons.
But do these Golden Oxen remind you of anything? Think back to the last time there were golden statues of cows? Here is a photo prompt.


This is a depiction of the worshiping of the Golden calf made by the Israelites in Exodus 32. What did God have to say about that?
Exodus 32:7 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:
But come on man! Mormons don't worship the baptismal font oxen! You're over reacting. It's just artwork. Chill out. I have no doubt that is what a lot of people think. No big deal right? Tell that to the Bible. It's pretty clear.
Exodus 20:1-4 And God spake all these words saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in the heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Okay that is pretty clear. So if you are a Bible-reading-Christian, you know that God isn't that up on engraven images,. especially golden cows. I wonder, is that part IN the Mormon Bible? Oh did you know that Joeseph Smith re-wrote the Bible too? That's another article.
But lets look at some more graven images.

What is this?!........This is the “Angel Moroni”. All nice and golden. And look, it's an angel blowing a trumpet. The trumpet of truth and wisdom across all the world. Hmmmm.....anyone wanna take a guess what Mormons do with this?


There you go! They put it on top of their Temples!!!

Okay so now lets look at the Angel Moroni. This is supposedly the angel that gave Joseph Smith the plates of gold to write the Book of Mormon and then took them back. Is this Moroni ever mentioned in the Bible? No.
When Jesus was ministered to by Angels who was it that came to him? Moses, Elijah and Moroni? Nope! No Angel Moroni. Hmmmm.....maybe this Moroni just got a promotion so that HE got to minister to up and coming prophets in the 1830s? Yeah Moses, Elijah, Paul and Peter were all busy that day so Moroni got to talk to little Joe Smith? That's it!
What is the Angel Moroni Statue?
Wikipedia says this. “Because of his instrumentality in the restoration of the gospel, Moroni is commonly identified by Latter Day Saints as the angel mentioned in Revelation 14:6, "having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people."
The image of the angel Moroni blowing a trumpet is commonly used as an unofficial symbol of the LDS Church. Moroni appears on the cover of some editions of the Book of Mormon, and statues of the angel stand atop many LDS temples, with most statues facing eastward.

And supposedly Joseph Smith himself calls this Moroni “An Angel of Light”. Well he got THAT part right. However lets see what the Bible says about this. Hang in there because I'm going to take you the long way through it.

2nd Corinthians 11:4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
This is Paul warning of false prophets. Lets continue at verse 12.
2nd Corinthians 11:12 But what I do, that I will do, “that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion: that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we.
For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.
And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
Okay that's pretty clear. There will be people teaching a different Christ (read the KJV and the Book of Mormon or any of my Bible vrs Book of Mormon blogs, and you'll see it does teach a different Christ.)
So Mormon's have an Angel of Light on their temples. Graven images of oxen holding up their baptism fonts for their baptism of the dead rituals, if you even dig into their teachings they are teaching a different Jesus.
So are they Christians? Ask yourself what this looks like? Mirror tricks, engraven images, and at the very top of their temple a golden statue of an angel of light. On Christian churches if there is anything it's usually a cross which ties to Jesus Christ and salvation. Mormons worship an angel of light though. If you don't agree with that statement, why is that statue the most lifted up image in Mormonism? Pretty hard to make it more obvious.
But the cleverness is in it's obviousness. So plain that no one thinks that Satan would make it so clear that that he is atop those temples. He's the master of deception! And the best deceptions are those that are in plain view.

Discrepancies and Why?


If God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, which the Bible states in Hebrews 13:8, then why would He write the Bible differently than the Book of Mormon? The Bible was written over hundreds of years by a multitude of different authors and then compiled and canonized. Why would He change that delivery to an angel delivering plates to a boy who translates the entire scripture?

Why would God hide the true testament of Christ for years then deliver it to some European? Even if it was waiting for America, then why wasn't it delivered even a hundred years earlier?

3 Nephi 7:27 in the Book of Mormon states, "That these sayings which ye shall write shall be kept and shalt be manifested unto the Gentiles, That through the fulness of the Gentiles, the remnant of their seed-which shall be scattered forth upon the face of the earth because of their unbelief-may be brought in, or may be brought to a knowledge of Me, their Redeemer." The issue with that is that if that was being done with the Book of Mormon then how come God sent the Bible out which was easily accessible to gentiles over a thousand years earlier? And why would God wait over a thousand years for the gentile Joseph Smith? Gentiles were plenty before that.

If you look at the point that the Bible was already available, how does the Book of Mormon bring the knowledge of the redeemer? It doesn't, the gentiles already had the knowledge of Christ. Unless the Book of Mormon speaks of a different Christ than the one in the Bible?

One more thing:
Galatians 1:6-9 (KJV) - "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel than that we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

"Person of Faith" Cover Reveal!




Christians are often bombarded by instructions on how to be a person of faith and what it means if they are not. They are often confronted with the idea that they need to have a stout and strong faith to please God or for good things to happen in life. Person Of Faith explores the idea of what it means to have a powerful faith in God and then delves into the truth of how to be a person of faith. 

Do you want to be a mighty man or woman of God? The goal of this book is to further your understanding of faith so you can deepen your walk with God and take your next leap of faith.

Make sure to keep an eye out for Person of Faith which will be coming out on Amazon this November!

Saturday, October 10, 2015

Rocky Foundation?

There is the idea in the Mormon church that the rock Jesus will build His church on is His doctrine and that if you go against this doctrine you will suffer destruction.

Wow. It seems so simple that at first glance it might be difficult to argue with. However, it is a sly ploy to keep you afraid and from arguing with the Mormon church. If you stop and think a moment, the Bible clearly spells out you will suffer destruction if you are not saved. So, thusly you will suffer destruction unless you follow the true way but it's not actually about the doctrine it's about the blood of Christ. You do not suffer destruction because you come against the doctrine of the Mormon church, in reality you suffer destruction because of your own sins.

That is why Jesus had to die because he was a perfect, lamb free of spot or blemish so His sacrifice was worthy. Thusly you could be forgiven because His sacrifice washes away your sin. That is the only way to heaven and what could keep you from heaven isn't doctrine necessarily but your own filthy sins that aren't under the blood of Christ. So in a way doctrine could keep you from heaven if you believe on a doctrine that causes you to believe you are okay without the blood of Christ, but your sin is the actual issue.

Also, if you read the verse in the Bible about how he builds the church it's not on doctrine. The verse in Matthew 16:16-18 says, "And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

There are two popular interpretations of this verse. One interpretation is that Jesus is actually saying he will build his church upon Peter, which seems doubtful as Peter is simply a human. It's also hard to compare him to a rock considering he denied Christ three times. Also, Jesus just got done saying he is blessed because the Father revealed unto him that Jesus was the Christ and if just that knowledge is a blessing it seems a leap for Jesus to suddenly go on to say the gates of hell won't prevail against a church founded on Peter. Besides the fact that if the Church was founded on Peter than we should worship Peter and we'd have a pretty weak foundation. Regardless, using this interpretation the Mormon church belief does not line up.

The other interpretation is that Jesus is referring to what Peter said as the foundation of the church, the proclamation, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Doctrinally that seems to make a lot more sense, plus if you read it that way then Christ is actually saying upon Himself He will build His church. God is referred to as the rock in Psalms 62:6 and Jesus is referred to as the chief cornerstone in Ephesians 2:20. This interpretation seems more likely the actual meaning. Regardless, it also does not line up with the Mormon teaching as Jesus is building His rock upon Himself, not the Mormon doctrine.


Saturday, October 3, 2015

Questions for the Validity of Mormonism

Below I've listed several questions that bring forward the questionable validity of the mormon church. I feel these can be good questions to ask when looking at the mormon church and also Joseph Smith, the founder of the mormon church, and just mormonism in general.

*Smith was supposedly told during his vision not to join any church because current churches were false and he would bring forth the true church. However, 8 years after his supposed 1828 vision, he applied for membership in a Methodist church. Why would he do that?

*If the plates he got the book of mormon from actually existed, why couldn't they be here for everyone to see and believe?

*If there were so many Jews, etcetera that were 'lost sheep', stretching across the Americas, wouldn't they have had the same/similar language as the rest of the Jews? Think about history for a moment, Native Americans, Mesoamericans, etcetera, all had different languages and civilizations. And supposedly the language Joseph Smith translated was reformed Egyptian, why would these Jews use Egyptian when the rest of the Jews kept Hebrew?

*Joseph was a bit of a nut, a treasure hunter, he believed in things such as mystical or magical stones. In fact, he used a seer stone in a hat to translate the Book of Mormon. Why would God use sorcery to translate the word? (He wouldn't is the correct answer.)

*Joseph Smith claimed that six feet tall men lived on the moon and lived to be a thousand years old. Isn't it a little extreme to try to prove men never landed on the moon so you're religion isn't proven false? Shouldn't actual, in stone, proven scientific evidence support your beliefs, if they are in fact, true?

*Joseph Smith claimed that Jesus would return by 1891. How could a prophet of God be that far off?

*Where are the wheeled objects that should be in the Americas then since the Jews would have known of the wheel?

*If Joseph Smith was translating from a document that no one had seen before and the translation was given to him directly from God, why are the errors in translation as well the added words (the words in italics) that are in the King James Version of the Bible also in Joseph Smith's Book of Mormon? Maybe he wasn't hearing from the Lord but was actually copying from the Bible directly? God wouldn't give him an incorrect translation.