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Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Be careful, the LDS church doesn't want you reading this.

It is pretty well known now that facebook will remove postings because it supposedly violates the terms.  However there is one as of late that seems to be getting censored rather quickly.  So in an effort to help you understand what is going on within the world of Mormonism we are placing the article here for you to read.

It is about an LDS missionary who is guilty of things we often hear about in the Catholic church or Kingdom Halls.  That is taking advantage of a child.  Now I can understand why they would not want this seen.  However that will not stop us from making sure then information is getting out.  Please follow the link below.  You may place any comments you like on our facebook page however should they be removed we may need to move it over to our discussion forum for your safety.  This posting has been removed at least 4 times from 2 different pages.

Click HERE for the article.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Earthly Permission Needed to Obtain Eternal Life?

I was encouraged to share this...

Several months back, I received a letter from my ex-wife's bishop. Here is the letter EXACTLY (minus the omission of some last names) as I received it, including spelling and grammatical errors.

Dear Joshua Hess,

This letter is in regard to Sara C**** a former spouse of yours. As you may already know Sara has remarried civilly and is currently seeking to go to the temple to be sealed to her current spouse, Tyson C****. Where Sara was previously sealed to you, she must go through the application process and receive a cancellation of sealing and submit the information to the First Presidency of the church for approval. Then if a cancellation is granted she will be allowed to proceed with the sealing to her new spouse.

Please promptly reply to this letter and include the following things:


  • your feelings about this application
  •  whether the applicant is current in financial obligations
Sincerely,

Bishop Boyd Kent Rowe
Pocatello, Idaho
_________________________________________________________________________

After some coercion and the ex-wife using my kids as leverage to make me write the letter, I wrote the following:

TO: Boyd Rowe
    RE: Sara C****

Boyd,

My records have been removed from the LDS church, and according to the official letter I received from the membership office in Salt Lake City, Utah, all temple blessings and sealings were removed, as well.

From a traditional biblical Christian perspective, I find it sad that people are still believing and falling for the nonsensical notion of "eternal marriage", "eternal families", and works for the dead. The Bible speaks plainly about such things, and the Book of Mormon even chimes in about it, too.

Jesus said in Matthew 22:29-30 "Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven."

There is no need for marriage after death because we will be so happy glorifying God that EVERYTHING else will be secondary.

Hebrews 9:27 states "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." There is no waiting room or second chance to receive "the gospel" and the "saving ordinances" that are done in the temple. There is not one single mention of any of the LDS churches saving ordinances in the Bible, except for baptism for the dead. Paul mentioned it one time, but when read in context, he is condemning the act. I would encourage you to read 1 Corinthians 15 in context as to who Paul is addressing and why he is addressing them. Also notice the wording he uses. He chose to use "they" instead of "we." If baptizing the dead was something that was supposed to be done, don't you feel Paul would have said "we" meaning all believers?

Also, in the Book of Mormon... Alma 34:35 "For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked."

Notice the word "final." There are no second chances, thus rendering temple work useless.

No marriage in heaven or during the resurrection, and no second chances. So, why perform acts for people who's fate is sealed according to the Bible and the Book of Mormon.

Since we can only depend on our earthly decisions, how can a person be saved and ensure we get to God? We are taught in Ephesians 2:8-9 "
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

There is nothing we can "do" to be saved. Nothing in the temple or otherwise that can save us. The Grace of God alone saves us. The Bible even calls our righteous deeds "dirty rags." (Isaiah 64:6) Why would God want our dirty rags? He doesn't.

Why would I care if my ex-wife wants to take part in cult activities with her husband? I am no longer a member of the LDS church because I used the brain God blessed me with and found far too many contradictions in the teachings and practices. If she chooses to reject the Word of God and make false promises in the temple, that is her choice, not mine. She is responsible for her own activities, not me.

Legally, however, Sara and her husband can not take my children, ***** ****** **** and **** ******* ****, through the temple with them to be sealed without my permission. I DO NOT AND WILL NOT GIVE MY PERMISSION FOR THEM TO DO SO!

I would encourage you to research your church. Read the original 1830 version of the Book of Mormon, and compare it to the current version. The differences are too many to disregard. Then read the Bible with the eyes of a child. The Book of Mormon and the Bible do NOT compliment each other. As soon as you read both, you will know.

I will be praying for you and all LDS people to accept the true and living Jesus of the Bible.

God Bless.

-Josh Hess

North Regional Director
Ephesians 2 Ministry
___________________________________________________________________________


He replied:



Wow!  This isn’t what you were asked for at all but it’s all that I need to get Sara and her husband on to eternal bliss.  It’s unfortunate that you have pushed the truth out of your life.


Boyd Rowe
____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Of course I couldn't pass up the opportunity to continue this conversation:




Your letter stated that you needed my feelings about the application. I shared my feelings about it, and also shared some biblical principals.

It's sad that you are unable to recognize that none of what goes on in the modern LDS temple has anything to do with what went on in the temples of the Bible.

I would be very interested in hearing more about what truth I have pushed out of my life.



Grace and Peace.

-Josh Hess

North Regional Director
Ephesians 2 Ministry____________________________________________________________


No response from him as of yet. I do find it interesting, however, that the LDS church requires what they consider an "apostate" to write a letter of permission for an ex-spouse to go to their temple to be sealed to someone else.

Apparently their God isn't big enough to make a decision like that.

Anyone else have similar stories? Please feel free to share them on the Ephesians 2 Ministry Facebook page: www.facebook.com/Ephesians2Ministry

Thursday, November 8, 2012

The Amazing Accuracy of the Prophet, Joseph Smith

It makes complete sense that if you are to trust what someone says, you consider several things: track record, honesty, integrity, openness, response to direct questions, etc. If you examined a broker’s track record and found he/she was wrong about which stocks to buy significantly more often than they were right, you would probably not allow them to invest your hard-earned green backs. 
Constant tardiness, poor work performance and excessive customer complaints would not yield an employee the vacant VP position at his place of employment.
A lying, crooked, money spending, self-centered politician does not encourage the votes of her constituents.
Obviously the track record of an individual is very important. The same is true when it comes to those who are to teach us the Word. It is an amazing responsibility and those of us searching for the Truth have a responsibility to research the track record of the would-be teacher.
The LDS organization holds to the belief that Joseph Smith Jr. was a prophet of God. This means that he received messages from the all-knowing, all-mighty, all-present God. Therefore it is reasonable to conclude that any message we receive from this individual is absolutely, and beyond the shadow of a doubt, TRUE.
Deuteronomy 18:22 confirms this by stating:
When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.
The introduction page of the Book of Mormon states that Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon “by the gift and power of God” further emphasizing that Joseph Smith claimed direct contact with God and that his messages were directly from God.
It is, therefore, completely fair (and smart) to look at what Joseph Smith has proclaimed in the past…in other words: Let’s examine his track record!
First, Mr. Smith wrote in the Doctrine & Covenants 84:2-5 that a Mormon temple would be built in “the Western boundaries of the state of Missouri”. In verse four Joseph Smith narrowed the time line by stating the “temple shall be reared in this generation.
Let’s stop right here for a few seconds. We all know that when speaking plain English “this generation” means the generation in which the speaker lives and is a part of. We also understand that the speaker sees the generation in which he lives as separate from ones past and those to come. There is generally no confusion when this phrased is used. However, a man I know, who served two terms as a Mormon Bishop, and is still a dedicated Mormon, stated something to this effect:
“When reading scripture it is not possible to know exactly how long a generation is. Some say it’s 70 years others say it’s up to 100 or more.”
OK, let’s run with that line of logic and see where it takes us. We’ll examine it on three fronts.
1.    
 No way to tell how long a generation is:
Let’s say I predict that there will be a snow storm of such magnitude in England that busses will be covered in snow, travel will be impossible and a state of emergency will be declared. However I give no definite date. I leave it open ended. This basically tells everyone that I am predicting this will happen at some time between the moment I say it and the end of the world. How miraculous is that? Anyone could be a “prophet” if it was that easy. Personally I don’t see why anyone is to be admired for such a vague prediction.
Exodus 1: 6- Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them.
Clearly this is Biblical confirmation that while the number of years each brother lived is not mention, they all are clearly seen to have belonged to one single generation- aka common sense.
Another example is found in Matthew 1:17 (NIV)
Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.
When we put number to things or groups of things it is because we see a definite beginning, end and/or separation of those things- days, weeks, months, years and also generations.
2.    
 The use of the word this:  Smith used the word “this” to describe the generation of which he spoke. Plainly he understood that there was a definite beginning and end to the generation in which he lived. It was not a statement of indefinite time. It was a statement in which he showed that he knew there would be an end to the generation he spoke of and a beginning of another.
3.     Generation equals parent, child, grandchild, etc.
Stand in any public place with a father, son and grandson present and yell loudly while pointing to the trio, “These three are of one family, a father, son and grandson. How many generations are they?” The unanimous answer will be “Three.” So apparently the general public understands what a generation is without the need to know exactly how many years equal a generation.
When considering the accuracy of this prophecy Joseph Smith plainly failed! No matter how you look at it a generation is definable and Smith himself put a finite description on the generation he spoke of. That generation has long passed which means that this prophecy has failed, period.
Let’s look at the Civil War Prophecy next. It is found in Doctrine and Covenants 87: 1--4 which states
Verily, thus saith the Lord concerning the wars that will shortly come to pass, beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina, which will eventually terminate in the death and misery of many souls;
And the time will come that war will be poured out upon all nations, beginning at this place.
For behold, the Southern States shall be divided against the Northern States, and the Southern States will call on other nations, even the nation of Great Britain, as it is called, and they shall also call upon other nations, in order to defend themselves against other nations; and then war shall be poured out upon all nations.
 And it shall come to pass, after many days, slaves shall rise up against their masters, who shall be marshaled and disciplined for war.
I've underlined certain words to drive home important points. 
 
Smith claimed that this message was from The Lord and that this event was shortly to come. So if this was from God then it should have happened exactly as written shortly after Smith spoke it.
But, this is what we actually find in history:
·        South Carolina had already rebelled when Smith wrote of “the rebellion of South Carolina”
·        That rebellion did NOT spark the civil war (1833) - the war began in 1860.
·        War was not poured out on the entire nation.
·        The slaves did not “rise up against their masters” as a major part of the war... it was primarily a war of white men against white men, North against South.
Here’s another one to consider:
Doctrine & Covenants 103:13-25 speaks of the men of Zion's camp, who were organized to march to Missouri and RESCUE the Mormons there (verse 24). Verse 25 promises they would avenge God's enemies. 
But in the History of the Church, Vol. 3, page 39 and following describes the failure of Zion's camp to do as predicted! God's OWN presence supposedly went with them according to verses 20 and 26...but the whole thing failed!
When considering this prophecy we must understand that not only does general history record that this prophecy failed but the very organization that believes in and teaches of the accuracy of Joseph Smith’s prophecies has recorded this one as a failure.
That’s very significant, don’t you think?
How about Mr. Smith’s attempt at predicting the second coming of Christ? Before we investigate its accuracy let’s consider a Bible passage about this event.
Matthew 25: 1-13 is a parable that ends with verse 13 emphasizing that we 
do not know the day or the hour” of Jesus’ return. 
For anyone to then take it upon themselves to predict when Jesus would return is to contradict God- a.k.a. dangerous!
The “History of the Church”, Vol. 2, page 182 records that Joseph Smith said the coming of the Lord was…
“nigh — even 56 years should wind up the scene.” 
This statement was made in 1835. Add 56 years to 1835 and you get 1891. This seems to be a little off, by 121 years….and counting.
Again- this “prophecy” was not a prophecy at all. It is another FAILED attempt at prophecy!
One last prediction:
In Church History, Vol. 2, pp. 380-381, Joseph Smith said he saw, in a vision of the CELESTIAL kingdom,
“the 12 apostles of the Lamb who are now upon the earth.”
But the History of the Church later records the apostasy and final excommunication of 5 of the 12 apostles referred to in this vision:
·        Lyman Johnson Vol. 3:20
·        Luke Johnson - Vol. 2:528
·        William McLellin - Vol. 3:31
·        William Smith - Vol. 7:483
·        Thomas Marsh - Vol. 4:284
So according to Smith these listed men would one day be in the Celestial Kingdom with God. But, if they were excommunicated this means (according to Mormon philosophy) that they were doomed to never enter that realm. This contradiction means the LDS organization, again recorded a failed prophecy of their own prophet, leader and founder.
In closing
Deuteronomy 18:22 clearly states that if a predicted event does not come true then the person who spoke it did not speak on the behalf of God. Only one failure is needed in order to show that the speaker is a false prophet, ONE.
We have reviewed only a few of Smith’s multiple failed attempts at predicting the future. 
Furthermore the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints- the very organization he founded- recorded (in their own historic writings) the failures of their supposed prophet!
I pray that any Mormon who reads this will research it to see if anything said here is true. Pick up your Church history and read what is recorded, compare it to Smith’s predictions then ask yourself, “If he failed at prophecy, can he really be a prophet of God?”
Nothin’ but love for ya!!
Ephesians 4:15
Your friend,
S.T.I.L (Speaking Truth in Love)