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Wednesday, August 17, 2011

"Why do you hate us"

"Why do you hate us?" This has got to be the most common type of statement made by LDS that we (along with every other ministry) come across.  What would give anyone the impression that they are hated?  Let's take a look at some things to try and figure out the underlining cause of this issue.

I can't speak for everyone but I can say that myself along with everyone else in our ministry have yet to meet anyone we hate in person or on the internet.  We may dislike their statements or theology but that doesn't mean we hate them.  It is quite the opposite actually.  We love the LDS so much that we want to share the Gospel with them even though they disagree.  We are willing to risk any kind of friendship here on this earth in order to let them know the power of his grace.  Even Brigham Young agrees with us on this.  He said...



"If I should hear a man advocate the erroneous principles he may have imbibed through education, and oppose those principles, some might imagine that I was opposed to that man, when in fact I am only opposed to every evil and erroneous principle he advances." Journal of Discourses V7 PG191



 I might word that a little differently for those LDS who think we hate them.  I might say "When I hear a Mormon explain their un-biblical doctrine they may have inquired through lack of education, and oppose those doctrines, some might imagine that I was opposed to that Mormon, when in fact I am only opposed to every evil and un-biblical doctrine they advance."

Not very different is it?  Same concept and yet I can't tell you how many times we get comments stating we hate them.  Even LDS apologists will take a statement like that and attempt to use it to show everyone we hate them.  Yet in their very same argument I can't tell you how many comments we get from apologists that could reflect they hate us.

It is this same "Anti-Mormon" type of statement in order to get a conversation going nowhere.  They want you to spend time defending why you want to share the Gospel instead of really sharing the Gospel.  As of late we have seen a rapid growth in both people willing to hear it as well as people willing to lie all the way to their grave in order to keep their people faithful tithing members of the church.

Another type of comment you will see is them asking why we are trying to tear down their faith in Jesus.  They will love to try and claim that they believe in the same Jesus that we do.  However just like it was in the days of Jesus there were Anti-Christ wanting to lead people down a path of destruction. Jesus claimed to be God made flesh.  Not a God, or just the son of God (which he is) but the God of Jacob, Isaac,and Abraham (Mark 12:26, Matthew 22:32, Acts 7:32).  So when they claim that Jesus is anything but that demeans him and his power and therefor is a different Jesus.  Not the Jesus of the Bible.  We only want everyone to realize the true power of the cross.



So what can we get from all this?  Why would anyone be offended by someone wanting the best for them just because it isn't what they are used to?  The underlining factor in all this is Jesus.  More people are offended by the name Jesus then any other name in history.  You will not see Muhammad's name used as a curse word.  You will not see Joseph Smith's name written in history outside of LDS literature.  How he is defined means everything.

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