Did More For the Church

According to LDS doctrine Jesus is a babbling failure. He was unable to deliver on His Word.

"And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.  And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Matthew 16:18-19 NKJV

After speaking such words to Peter not only did His church fail in Jerusalem and the surrounding areas, but Jesus also came to the Americas to start a church the failed miserably also. What a flop! Poor Jesus couldn't do what Joseph Smith could.

"God is in the still small voice. In all these affidavits, indictments, it is all of the devil--all corruption. Come on! ye prosecutors! ye false swearers! All hell, boil over! Ye burning mountains, roll down your lava! for I will come out on the top at last. I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him; but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet."

- Joseph Smith in History of the Church, Vol. 6, pp. 408-409.

John 3:16

If this verse means every person to ever live, Paul and John don't agree.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
John 3:16 NKJV

Shouldn't Paul have said "as Jesus loves the world" instead?

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,
Ephesians 5:25 NKJV

Is the Bible Corrupted?

The Mormon looks at a Bible believing Christian with pity, for in their pride they believe they have the truth and that the Bible we have has been corrupted. They believe the Bible believing Christian is part of the abominable Church that is under the power of Satan and leading people to Hell.

This is the very foundation that prevents a Mormon from hearing and responding to Biblical truths. Why would they believe this? Because Joseph Smith told them so in Nephi, which is a prophet from the Book of Mormon.

26 And after they go forth by the hand of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, from the Jews unto the Gentiles, thou seest the formation of that great and abominable church, which is most abominable above all other churches; for behold, they have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious; and also many covenants of the Lord have they taken away.

27 And all this have they done that they might pervert the right ways of the Lord, that they might blind the eyes and harden the hearts of the children of men.

28 Wherefore, thou seest that after the book hath gone forth through the hands of the great and abominable church, that there are many plain and precious things taken away from the book, which is the book of the Lamb of God.
- Nephi 13:26-28

This prophecy by Nephi predicted that this corruption would happen "after the twelve apostles". Joseph Smith had started to write into the KJV the "precious things taken away from the book", and in 1867 the translation was published. Guess what these missing parts were?

They were prophecies about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. Imagine that! Check this out... A large part of what was added by Joseph Smith was added to the book of Isaiah, and these additions were specific prophecies about him and the Book of Mormon.

The Isaiah Scroll was found in 1947, and was written around 100 BC. This was written before the corruption that Nephi prophesied about, and is an exact match to today's book of Isaiah. Guess what is NOT in it? Joseph Smith's additions, the "precious things taken away from the book" are NOT in the Isaiah Scroll.

Who is it that has corrupted the Book, but Joseph Smith? Who then is the church that is taken captive by Satan and leading people to Hell, but his church? Yet they do not see...

BEWARE BELOVED

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
- James 1:22-25

I have found that church can be a scary place. It is so easy to get caught up in the christianeze, become preachy, and become so pious that we are no longer any good to reach the world. If we make ourselves unapproachable, what good are we?

Church is scary, because it is easy to get caught up into the idea rather than living in reality. The very culture around us, in every sense, tries to draw us into a works based way of living. When our religion becomes more about the external than the internal, the words Jesus spoke to the Pharisees begin to become personal.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."
- Matthew 23:25-28

Then the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness. Foolish ones! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also? But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you.
“But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them.”
- Luke 11:39-44

If we get caught up in the cultural ideas of church, letting our religion become superficial, then Isaiah's words come to our ears.

Therefore the Lord said:

“Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths
And honor Me with their lips,
But have removed their hearts far from Me,
And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,
Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work
Among this people,
A marvelous work and a wonder;
For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.”

- Isaiah 29:13-14

Let our focus be on our walk with the Lord, in humility of spirit and surrender of heart, and let our outward lives simply be the reflection of the truth that lies within us. Jesus says He will take care of EVERYTHING external for us, if we will but seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. The Kingdom of God is within us, so let us allow the Word to have its perfect work in us.

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

Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”
- Luke 17:20-21

As God has brought conviction and caution to me, I now share the same with you. Let us be sure that the truth in our hearts is our concern, for whatever is on the inside will come out no matter what. Let us be sure also that our lives are louder than our words. Let us not get caught up in some dog and pony show, deceiving ourselves, but rather let us live in the spirit to our Lord in truth. God bless you!

WORSHIP

So many get caught up in the emotions behind worshipping God in song and dance, or in their worship rituals, yet fail to worship Him in the manner He desires most. Let us talk about it.

This topic is to promote self examination in us, for it is easy to deceive ourselves. People may go to a church and enjoy the singing and worship, yet it is possible they are doing so in vain. It is even more likely that a person may be in church worshipping an idol instead of the true God. They may be singing to a god of their own imagination instead of the God of the Bible.

Therefore the Lord said:

“Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths
And honor Me with their lips,
But have removed their hearts far from Me,
And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men"

- Isaiah 29:13

 

What does the worship of the Bible look like?

 

Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

- John 4:21-24

 

If that is the kind of worship God is looking for, what does it look like?

 

Sacrifice and offering You did not desire;
My ears You have opened.
Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require.
Then I said, “Behold, I come;
In the scroll of the book it is written of me.
I delight to do Your will, O my God,
And Your law is within my heart.”

- Psalms 40:6-8

 

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

- Romans 12:1-2

 

So... Whether you worship God with hands in the air, singing out loud, singing in your heart, with your head bowed and eyes closed, or in dance, know that all these things are great, but this not the worship the Lord desires most. He desires us. He desires our lives. This is the evidence of our true worship.