Hi Dwight,
You tell me, "Bill, A person that uses truth to help someone to better their self is a very good thing but me thinks you just might have a few wires crossed."
I am sure that all discerning folks on the Religion Forum HAVE noticed that a number of times I have written that the Mormon, or Latter-Day Saints, church worships a man named Jesus Christ who is a created being, spirit brother of Lucifer/Satan -- and not Jesus Christ of John 1:1-5 who is the preexisting God the Son -- and YOU HAVE NOT refuted my statement.
I am sure that all discerning folks on the Religion Forum HAVE noticed that a number of times I have written that the Mormon, or Latter-Day Saints, church teaches that a "committee of gods" came together and devised the plan to "create the heavens and the earth" -- and YOU HAVE NOT refuted my statement.
I am sure that all discerning folks on the Religion Forum HAVE noticed that a number of times I have written that the Mormon, or Latter-Day Saints, church teaches god, their god, was first an exalted man who worked himself into being god -- is not the preexisting God of the Bible -- and YOU HAVE NOT refuted my statement.
So, Dwight, my Friend -- who has crossed their wires?
You tell me, "Bill, when attempting to teach religious principles,. . ."
I do not teach "religious principles" -- I share Christian faith with folks. There is a world of difference between the Traditions, Rituals, Exalted Temples, and other religious mores of your cult church -- and having a relationship with the preexisting Son of God, Jesus Christ.
Then, you tell me, "Remember one thing if nothing else from this post, YOU WILL NEVER CONVERT ANYONE TO WHAT YOU ARE CALLING TRUE GOSPEL DOCTRINE. Only the Holy Ghost witnesses truth and has the power to convert people. And some of the truths you are teaching will NEVER be witnessed as truth by the Holy Ghost because they are just doctrines of men!"
Dwight, for once you have stumbled upon something upon which we can agree -- ONLY the Holy Spirit can save a person. With that I concur totally!
However, Christian believers have been given the marching orders directly from "our" Jesus Christ -- that we should Go, Make disciples, Baptize them, Teach them (Matthew 28:18-20) and that we should be His witnesses in our Jerusalem (our family, our community), in our Judea (our city and state), in our Samaria (our nation), and to all the world (Acts 1:8, Mark 16:15).
And, to better explain what He means, in Matthew 13:1-23 (also in Mark 4:1-9, and Luke 8:4-8) He teaches the parable of the Sower and the "seeds of salvation" he sowed. We, the Christian believers, are to sow the "seeds of salvation" -- which the Holy Spirit will harvest as eternally saved souls. Amen and amen!
God does not need us in His "soul saving" business -- but, praise God, He has chosen to use us as His hands and feet on earth to spread the Gospel and sow the "seeds of salvation." You really should get on His Team and join us in saving souls. Or, are you too busy "working" toward having your own world where you will be the god, as taught in the Mormon church?
Next, you tell me, "Also as the saying goes, you catch more flies with hunny (sic) than you ever will with vinegar."
Amen to that! However, in John 21:15-17 Jesus Christ teaches that we, Christian believers, should "Tend His lambs" and "Shepherd His sheep" and "Tend His sheep" -- meaning that we Christian believers should protect His flock from predators. Predators come in many shapes, sizes, and waving many different banners. Your banner happens to be from a cult church, the Mormon church.
You suggest, "Go get on your knees and pray to God. . ."
Sound advise! But, I will be praying to the God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob -- the preexisting God who is manifested in three preexisting Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
I will NOT be praying to your "committee of gods" nor to your "exalted man turned god."
You tell me, "If you need wisdom about what I have just written, do as James 1:5 tells you. . ."
James 1:5 tells us, "But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him."
Let me see if I can recall "wisdom" as taught in the Mormon church: "God himself was one as we are not, and is an exalted man. . . I say, if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form. . . like yourselves in all the the person, image, and very form as a man. . . He was once a man like us; yea, that God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth" (Joseph Smith, "History of the Church," vol 6, page 305).
Man may become god. "Here then is eternal life. . . to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves, an to be kings and priests to God, the same as all gods have done before you. . . To inherit the same power, the same glory and the same exaltation, until you arrive at the station of God" (Joseph Smith, "History of the Church," vol 6, page 306).
"In the beginning, the head of the Gods called a council of the Gods; and they came together an concocted a plan to create the world and people it. . . In all congregations when I have preached on the subject of the Deity, it has been the plurality of Gods" (Joseph Smith, Founder and First Prophet, "History of the Church," vol 6, pages 308, 474).
"The appointment of Jesus to be the Savior of the world was contested by one of the other sons of God -- Lucifer. This spirit-brother of Jesus desperately tried to become the Savior of mankind" (Milton R. Hunter, First Council of Seventy, "The Gospel Through The Ages," page 15).
Do we need more?
Finally, Dwight, you suggest, "Then get a great dose of truth at" and you guide me to your Blog which preaches your Mormon religion. No thank you. I read enough of that on my first, last, and only visit. And, even if one did want to read any of your Blog, you make it clear that to understand what you are teaching -- one must start at your very first blog and real all 69 plus articles. Sorry, my Friend, I personally do not have that much time to waste.
And, after all, if I want to know more about the Mormon church -- I have many books from the Mormon church in my personal library. And, there is a world of information on the internet about that church.
Also, if anyone is interested, Dr. Walter Martin's definitive book on cults, "The Kingdom Of The Cults" has a good section (pages 192 through 259) on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons). This was one of my first books on cults added to my personal library.
In the Introduction, Dr. Martin tells us:
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is distinctive among all the religious cults and sects active in the United States in that it has by far the most fascinating history, and one worthy of consideration by all students of religions originating on the American continent.
The Mormons, as they are most commonly called, are divided into two major groups: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah; and the Community of Christ (formerly known before the year 2000 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) with headquarters in Independence, Missouri.
From Dr. Martin's Quick Facts about the Mormon church:
The Trinity consists of three gods born in different times and places; the Father begot the Son and Holy Ghost through a goddess wife in heaven.
The earth is one of several inhabited planets ruled over by gods and goddesses, who were at one time humans on other planets. Mormonism is polytheistic in its core.
Salvation is resurrection, but exaltation to godhood, for eternal life in the celestial heavens, must be earned through self-meriting works.
Dwight, I am sorry; but, as often as you come on the Religion Forum preaching a false religion and false teaching -- God willing, I WILL be here to refute those teachings.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill