Truth vs. Wisdom

"If you lack knowledge, go to school.  If you lack wisdom, get on your knees! Knowledge is not wisdom. Wisdom is the proper use of knowledge." ~Vance Havner

If you've ever met with Mormon missionaries or even talked with a Mormon I'm sure that you've been told that you just need to pray to know if the Book of Mormon is true.  An argument you will often see is them using James 1:5-7 which states...

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.  But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.  For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.  For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord."

I have always stated that there is a big difference between truth and wisdom. So in order to better understand what James was getting at let's look at those definitions. Then we can go back and see if it clears things up a bit.

Truth: 

1. A fact that has been verified.
2. Conformity to reality or actuality.

Wisdom

1. Accumulated knowledge or erudition or enlightenment.
2. The trait of utilizing knowledge and experience with common sense and insight.

An example I like to use is the burner on your stove.  It is either on or off (True or False). Wisdom is being smart enough not to touch it if it's on.  So how can we apply this to the passage in James and especially praying over the Book of Mormon?  James says to pray for wisdom and I completely agree.  However when you hear "You just need to pray to see if the Book of Mormon is true" there is an instant issue.  Can the Book of Mormon be verified?  The answer is a resounding "NO!"  Is it reality or actuality?  Since there is no record of anything prior to Joseph's publishing in 1830 that is also a "NO".

When this point is going nowhere they will often turn to "The Spirit told me the Book of Mormon is true, and that is good enough for me."  Well there is a problem in that for the heart can't be trusted can it?

Jeremiah 17:9  

"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"

So if the heart can't be trusted, what can we trust to test if something is truth or not? Very simple.

Romans 12:2-3
"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your MIND.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will."

So I think we can start to see a pattern here.  Romans is telling us to renew our MIND and wisdom is utilizing knowledge.  Now when we go back and look at the definitions listed above we can clearly see how this is not a standard for truth.  So asking for wisdom is to ask how to best use the knowledge "truth" we have already been given and the only way to know that truth is to compare all things through the lens of the Bible.  This example is made clear in Acts 17:11 when we read...

"Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."

Notice they didn't pray about it.  Instead they went to the written Word.  Jesus also used the written word to test truth.  We read this in Mathew chapter 4.

I pray this helps those who read this understand how Mormonisms methods for truth are not of God.  Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. May God bless you and keep you safe.

Is God Unchangeable?

By John Merilatt

Is God unchangeable from eternity to eternity,
Or was he a mortal like you or like me?

The Bible makes it clear that God always was and always will be,
Mormonism claims he was once a man like you or like me.

It would seem that Mormonism can't even get it's own story straight.
For the Book of Mormon even says that he is unchangeable in Moroni chapter eight.

Mormonism now lowers God to make him appear less than what he is,
For when it comes to works saving you it isn't yours, but His.

For if that isn't enough the Mormon god can't create.
For Jesus to be born unto Mary he had to procreate.

With Mormonism Jesus's blood won't cut it.
Your works play a role for your sins to omit.

Is God unchangeable as the Bible tells us?
Or just an exalted man as Joseph's story would tell us?

What is the need to change the nature of God,
And go out spreading this message abroad?

My guess is it all comes down to being exalted.
For it is mans ego that needs to be fed
And it's mans own opinions for which they are lead.

For if you can bring God down a notch and raise up man,
The need for Jesus isn't as high a demand.

So please make sure you read God's Word
And see that he IS unchangeable and your salvation
can be assured.

In Psalm ninety verse two we read that from everlasting to everlasting thou are God
Yet in Mormonism he was once a man that dwelled  near Kolob.

For we can read how Jesus is God made flesh.
And when you truly rely on him will you find rest.

Are prayers are that all Latter day Saints will understand his Word.
And that with his blood shed on the Cross can one be made pure.

May God bless you can keep you safe.

"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.

Matthew 23 (Mormonized)

You teacher of the law and blind sheep that sit in your Wards. So you must obey your leaders and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on your shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the fig leafs on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the temples; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ‘ Apostle.’

“But you are not to be called ‘Elder’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you will be your servant.For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Elders, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Elders, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.

“Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Elders, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Elders, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Elders! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Elders, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Elders, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers!

“You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your temples and pursue from town to town. And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of  Baker-Fancher wagon train, whom you murdered at Mountain Meadows. I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation.

“O Mormons, Mormons, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me until you say, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

Do your works play a role in your Righteousness?

I had the pleasure of talking with an LDS apologist named Stephen and I asked him what verses in the Bible he thought justified the LDS stance that our works play a role in our righteousness.  I am going to go through each of the 13 verses he gives one by one and we will see how LDS apologists will spin God's word in order to keep the members of their church in bondage.   He proceded these verses by starting with the following comment...

"John you will notice that a lot of these scriptures require an action of some kind on our part".

• Verse #1. Acts 10:35 - but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.

Well from the very beginning we can see that this verse isn't talking about a person and their righteousness.   It is about an entire nation.  However I am REALLY BIG on context so let's look at the paragraph that this verse is in.


Acts 10:34-38 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how HE went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.


So as you can see the context of this passage has nothing to do with anything we do so let's move on the next one shall we...

• Verse #2. Mathew 3:15  Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” 

Well this verse taken out of context would appear to prove his point but what is the "it" he is referring to?  Let's look.


Mathew 3:13-16 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.


Well we can see the "it" is Baptism now.  However is it something that must be done to be righteous? This isn't talking about anything we need to do.  It is talking about the Baptism of Jesus.  So this passage doesn't fit Stephens argument.

• Verse #3.  Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness

Does this passage need any further explanation?  I think anyone who wants to be closer to God has a hunger and thirst for righteousness.  Does this imply that anything we do achieves that goal on our own merits?  No.

• Verse #4. Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you 

Yet again I think all believers would agree that we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.  Does this ever imply we will achieve it on our merits?  No.  And what are these things that will be added to us.  It is talking about the small things in life for if he takes care of the plants and birds he will surely take care of us.  

• Verse #5. Romans 5:17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

Of all the verses he would try and cherry pick I think this is possible one of the worst to try and prove his case.  The one man's offense it is referring to is Adams, and then it goes into grace and the gift of righteousness.  If it is a gift then it wasn't anything you did to earn it.  Again the credit goes to Jesus and not us.

• Verse #6. Romans 6:18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

O.K.  Maybe I was wrong.  This has got to be the worst possible verse to prove his case.  This tells us that we were set free from sin before we achieved any kind of righteousness.  Nothing leading up to.

• Verse #7. Romans 8:4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Well for starters I think we need to take a look at the prior verse.  It goes "For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh".  Well there goes his argument with this verse.  Right out of the gate we see that our salvation is not dependent upon our merits.

• Verse #8. 1 Corinthians 15:34  Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.

Now we may just be getting somewhere.  This verse would appear to help his cause as it sits.  Let's look at the prior verses.  Verses 29-33 Otherwise, what will they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? Why then are they baptized for the dead? And why do we stand in jeopardy every hour? I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. If, in the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage is it to me? If the dead do not rise, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”

Now this could go down a completely different issue when it comes to Mormonism with Baptism for the Dead.  Without going way off topic I think we can see that this has nothing to do with any merits on our part but in what company we keep.

• Verse #9 Ephesians 6:14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness

Now again at face value this would appear to help his cause. However who is this passage addressing?  It is talking to those who are already Christians.  It is talking about the Armor of God in order to resist the devil.  I see no part of this section talking about us being able to make ourselves righteous.  

• Verse #10. Ephesians 5:9 for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth.  

I think we would all agree with this verse.  For if you have the spirit in you should display goodness, righteousness, and truth.  And if that isn't enough verse 8 says "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light".  The following verses say " And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light."  I think it is safe to say that this could be applied to Mormonism but not in the light Stephen was shooting for.  It is because of verses like this that I and many others stand up against Mormonism and its so called fruits.

• Verse #11. 2 Timothy 2:22 Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

Again Stephen I think we would all agree that we need to pursue righteousness.  I again see nowhere that it says anything we do will make us so.  If we read the context of this passage we see it again is talking about us standing up against those who proclaim the wrong message.

• Verse #12. James 3:18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

I have no argument against this verse, but what does it have to do with any part of our merits making us righteous?  I would like to think the passage this verse is in is talking about wisdom and yielding to his spirit.  Not about any of our merits making us righteous. 



Last but not least...

• Verse #13. 1 John 3:6-11 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

Instead of me trying to explain this I will leave this to Pastor Marc Estes.

http://vimeo.com/26247385

And Pastor Frank Damazio.

http://vimeo.com/26556760

So in conclusion we can see that LDS apologists will make any efforts they can to sway the investigators to believing their efforts and yours have an impact on our salvation and righteousness.  I pray that the message of the cross can impact all members of the LDS church and help them realize their efforts are in vain and need to lay all their cares at the cross.