Differences Between Mormonism and Biblical Christianity, by Ron Rhodes

well good evening anybody here excited about the Lord praise the Lord can't wait for the rapture I don't know about you I just can't wait in fact you know when I teach on the rapture I was thought it would be a great sermon illustration for it to happen right in the middle of it amen you know I like teaching these kind of things I remember I was teaching in Houston Texas on apologetics and I was coming down off the platform after the session and I always liked to talk to people you know and and to interact with them and these two sisters came up to me this was in Texas they had their little cowboy hats on and that they smiled just the same I mean you could tell that they were sisters and so the first sister comes up to me and she says she says you know Ron I'm sure glad I came your words like water to a drowning woman now I think that she meant to compliment me but I wasn't sure so I said why isn't that just great but then the sister hopped in and the sister said oh yes Ron why you know your your words tonight we're absolutely superfluous just absolutely superfluous so I'm thinking maybe this is a genetic thing maybe in their family when they want to say something nice there's a short circuit of some kind and they say something that's not so nice so then the first sister says to me she says Ron do you plan on publishing your sermons posthumously and I said well you know I've never thought about that but why not and so I said I think I will and then the other sister says good good the sooner the better and by this time they're both laughing and I'm saying you know what's going on with you two and they said all wrong we have to confess you know we heard these lines on a comedy radio show and we just had to try them out on a real human so I was the guinea pig I don't listen to comedy radio so I'm not I'm not up on all these you know jokes and everything but I'd be that as it may my prayer tonight is that this session will not seem like water to a drowning woman okay actually we're going to be talking about some very important issues the key differences between Mormonism and biblical Christianity and I know that there's more Mormons in this part of the country than in other parts but where I live in Texas we get regular visitations on the doorstep and so this is something that's really important for all of us to be aware of not just in terms of our neighbors and the people that stop through the neighborhood but there's some very famous Mormons out there too for example President Hinckley the late president Hinckley was often on the Larry King show I'm sure that you've seen him just as I have and he attained a very high visibility and I always took notes you know when that guy was on Mitt Romney of course is a very famous Mormon not just in terms of the political world but also in the business community if you've watched American Idol David Archuleta and Brooke white are both Mormons and you know they ran into some controversy as result of that during the competition of course Donny Marie Osmond are some of the most famous of Mormons out there of course our heart goes out to Marie with the recent loss of her son you know even if we are separated theologically from them but I pray for people when they lose a center or a daughter there's nothing like that and so in any event businesspeople writing books that sell 15 million copies my goodness wonder what that feels like 15 million copies one book the point is is that the Mormons have made many contributions and I think it's important that that we at least acknowledge that Mormons have been involved in various things like business and politics and humanitarian causes and showbiz and just a lot of other things that they've really contributed to society in their friendliness is also commendable I mean whenever they stop by my house they're always very friendly and so I always enjoy the chance that we have together and I also have some very close Mormon friends that you know we each have a lot about these things and really breaks my heart you know sometimes it really does I mean if you have the love of Jesus in your heart isn't the biggest thing you want to do is to share that with people it's not it's not like just a bunch of theology but but a living person the Lord Jesus that's who they need to meet and so you know that's what I try to do when I talk to Mormons but she's the biggest thing that I want to communicate to you is is that despite all of the great things that Mormons have done the fact is is that there are substantive differences between what we believe is Christians and what Mormons believe and you see my concern is that the Mormons that I know the Mormons that you know will not go to the heaven that we know the heaven that we look forward to and so that's something to keep in mind you know Mormons talk about scripture and God and Jesus and salvation and the church and the afterlife and just a bunch of other stuff but the thing is is that even though they use the same words we do they pour different meanings into those words and you know if you didn't know any better you might think you agree on some stuff it's still you until you start to define your words and once you find out what Mormons believe about some of these things that's when the distinctions really start to come into play here the real point is is that if theological terms are defined differently than the Christianity of the historic Christian Church is not the same as the Christianity of Mormonism amen and so if you've got a counterfeit Jesus who's preaching a counterfeit gospel what do you have left counterfeit salvation which is no salvation at all and so it's a very important issue that that we meet this weekend and you've got some of the greatest experts in Mormonism here this weekend I mean I'm in the fan club of all of them Rober the EM they've all done tremendous work and I hope you're able to not just go to their sessions but pick up their tapes I certainly commend the pastor's of this church for for handling this I got to tell you that so many churches out there don't bother doing stuff like this can you believe it there's a lot of seminaries they don't even teach on this stuff anymore and so the fact that you've got a pastor here and a pastoral team that has brought this together is truly commendable and I do want to thank them for that the doctrines were talking about tonight are not minor doctrines you know it'd be one thing if you were just talking about you know the different styles of music you know some people like a full band other people like a piano some people just like the guitar but this is not non-essentials that we're talking about we're talking about the essentials of Christianity such that if you deny them you have actually crossed outside of Christianity does that make sense and and that's that's why it's so critical to reach Mormons because even though the sound Christian by the words that they use the truth of the matter is that it's a redefined Christianity it's a different Jesus and a different God and a different gospel my motivation is several fold the commitment to love and a commitment to correct doctrine and I want to begin with that tonight I love Mormons I love Mormons a lot of people want to call the the hospital a psychiatric ward and bringing them in with the white coats when you say stuff like that but the truth is I love Mormons I love Jehovah's Witnesses I love Muslims and I'm trying to reach these people with the love of Jesus that fills my heart you see I'm just as frumpy middle-aged guy and I'm nothing special but I rep a real special Savior he is a savior that brings salvation is a free gift for people and everybody needs to hear about that and so I'm motivated by love but you know what love means caring enough to tell the truth it's tough love when you're talking about love you know if I'm if I see somebody that's only got a week to live and I do not share the good news with them and then they die have I been loving no I have not see the most loving thing that I can do is to tell the truth in the name of Jesus and so I am motivated by this love sometimes people might get angry at you for doing that but I always ask what we find in Galatians 4:16 have I become your enemy but by telling you the truth you know I'm no one's enemy I love people and that's why I seek to communicate with them I'm also not an anti Mormon sometimes I get this I'm a nice guy really I'm happily married I've got two wonderful children I've got two great cats you know it's a happy family and I'm not an anti Mormon I am pro Mormon in the sense that I want Mormons to know the truth about the gospel and so to call me an anti Norman I believe when I'm motivated by love I believe it's really kind of borders on bearing false witness so here's the deal when a Mormon shows up on my doorstep and that wants to share with me what's on his heart I'm not gonna call him an anti-christian okay I'm not gonna do that but I hope that he follows the golden rule by not calling me an anti Norman because I'm not an anti Mormon I'm a pro Mormon in the sense that I want them to know the truth and I really want to see them in heaven it breaks my heart to meet certain people that I doubt that I'll see in heaven when I get there and let's face it folks you know we don't have that much time on this planet right I mean you blink three times and your hair is falling out see we're growing older before before our very eyes and I've got one of those bathroom lights that really shows it up very clearly and then a commitment to correct doctrine this is something that is not popular today but you know what correct doctrine is so critically important you know Philip Yancey said recently if God consistently sent lightning bolts in response to incorrect doctrine our planet would Sparkle nightly like a Christmas three I think he's probably right I think he's probably right about that because we got so much heresy floating around on planet earth doubt they're certainly doctrine is very important to God himself it's not a secondary issue you remember when Jesus was talking to the seven churches of Asia Minor in the book of Revelation he gets real close to them and tells them what they're doing right and what they're doing wrong and you know he starts talking to this Ephesian Church and listen to what he says to them and everything that he could have said to them listen to what he says I know your deeds your hard work and your perseverance I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not and have found them false you see out of all the stuff he could have said to them he's zeroed in and commended them on standing for the truth this is incredibly important to Jesus by contrast Jesus criticizes the church that doesn't stand for truth he says I have this against you you tolerate that woman Jezebel who calls herself a prophetess by her teaching she misleads My servants what's wrong with you guys why aren't you standing for the truth in the midst of this heresy that's permeating your culture boy that can be convicting see Jesus knows what's going on in every church he also knows what's going on in every life he cares very much about doctrine Paul does too in the New Testament watch your life and doctrine closely persevere in them because if you do you will save both yourselves and your here's you know it's it's a very important matter likewise you must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine Titus 2:1 says it's not an option this is emphatic in the original Greek you must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine and so that's what we're going to do tonight we're going to talk about sound doctrine but it's to be motivated by love amen I mean it's not just about the answers it's also about the right attitude and if Jesus is not shining through your life you can have all the right answers in the world and you're not going to reach people for Christ I found that out the hard way you see I used to win every argument on the doorstep but I never won them to the Lord I now call that the flame thrower approach to avenge I roasted them on the doorstep but I didn't win any of them but if they see Jesus shining through you it becomes a different matter altogether now the primary focus tonight would be the following areas so we can talk about Scripture briefly the church and the priesthood God Jesus Christ man sin salvation and the afterlife you know that's a lot to cover in less than an hour and so we're going to be brief and as we cover this there's a couple of qualifications first of all there are time restraints you see it's like me to go hour upon hour upon hour I could easily do that but my wife Kari always tells me Ron get them out on time you probably like my wife carried by now right okay you know the thing is is that we can't cover all the differences that separate us nor can I give you every apologetic answer there's just not time for this I mean I teach two advanced graduate courses on this stuff that takes you know months and months but what we're gonna do is hit the high points tonight another qualification I need to tell you that Mormons don't have identical views with each other on a lot of stuff you know the fact is is that even Mormon leaders and Mormon professors have different viewpoints on things and so it's a little bit hard sometimes to talk about this but the fact is is that I'm going to talk about stuff that's held by a large majority or at least a large representative sampling of Mormons as represented in their prophets and their apostles and so forth and for that reason here's what I always do I never tell them more than what they believed I asked them what they believe okay after they tell me what they believe then I can adapt my apologetics strategy so sound wise and that's a good way to do it ask them what they believe if you find out they're a mainstream Mormon then you can treat them in that way and adapt your strategy if you find that they believe something else then you can act accordingly and adapt your strategy now let's talk about scripture first first look at this little chart that kind of gives us an overview the Mormon view is that they do use the Bible but they add other scriptures the Book of Mormon being the most important and as far as the Bible is concerned they do believe that the Bible has transmission elaire errs and we'll talk about that in a minute the the evangelical Christian view is that only scripture is the Bible the Bible is the only word of God the Book of Mormon is not the Word of God the Bible is also inerrant and it's also got solid manuscript support I mean we've got so much manuscript support that the claim that it's got transmission on errors is impossible I'm gonna show you about that just a little bit later just briefly historically you might remember that Smith had gone to bed this is Joseph Smith he'd gone to bed praying and then an angel appeared to him and informed him of gold plates and seer stones buried at Hill Cumorah and he translated the Book of Mormon from golden plates and he did so by means of these seer stones and finally the Book of Mormon was published in 1830 that's about all the history I can really give you but Smith did say I told the Brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth the keystone of our religion and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts and by any other book he also said it contains the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ now the test of truth is the burning in the bosom behold I say unto you that you must study it out in your mind and then you must ask me if it be right and if it is right I will cause at your bosom shall burn within you therefore you shall feel that it is right as I said as for the Bible the Bible is the Word of God but only insofar as it is translated correctly that they use the King James Version they say there's been faulty transmission large portions lost errors introduced by unscrupulous scribes and just listen about Orson Pratt says who in his right mind could for one moment suppose the Bible in its present form to be a perfect guide who knows that even one verse of the Bible has escaped pollution so that's a pretty strong statement isn't it you know that's a pretty strong statement and of course it becomes understandable why he would say that statement because he's really in favor of the Book of Mormon many plain and precious parts of the gospel room were removed by devious individuals we are told and many passages and even whole books of Scripture have been lost through the carelessness or wickedness of their record keepers according to Bruce mcConkie the Bible is not looking so good is it it's not looking so good not so far of course Joseph Smith came up with the inspired version McConkey at the command of the Lord and while acting under the spirit of Revelation the prophet corrected revised altered attitude and deleted from the King James Version of the Bible to form what is now called the inspired version in McConkey admits that many thousands of changes were made and you know that that's of concern I think we'll talk about that and more Smith also prophesied himself in the inspired version Genesis 50 verse 33 I'm not going to read this entire insertion but the important words are in yellow God says and that seer will I bless and his name shall be called Joseph his hand shall bring my people unto salvation now we've been joking Christians find this very curious very curious indeed to prophesy about yourself this is something that I've talked to some of my Mormon friends about and even some of the Mormon friends that I have they also find it curious and so I think that this is something that does not work in favor of the Mormon belief system also you know the Joseph Smith did this in a very short period of time and the reason I make this point is that it took a large group of the the world's you know best scholars in the Hebrew and Greek year after year up to year working on the King James Version and it took Smith only three years despite the fact that he had no knowledge of Hebrew and Greek evangelicals also find that curious you know how could that be and so these are some of the kinds of things that have come up in discussion around my house what I want to do now briefly in answer to what they say about scriptures just to give you seven brief points and then we'll fly on to the next topic first of all relying on a burning in the bosom is unwise you know what our feelings and our hearts are deceitful we're using damaged goods could I put it that way we're using buggy software in our computer ok buggy buggy software according to Scripture and we can't trust what our feelings tell us did you know you know I've studied almost every cult out there in world religion did you know that very often these guys based their beliefs in these different religions on their feelings yeah I mean these people could claim the same thing as the Mormons do burning in the bosom a burning the bosom doesn't prove anything doesn't prove anything 2nd Timothy 2 Dean says that we must study to show ourselves approved now how do you study your head you use your mind God gave you a mind when he created you and you were to study to show yourselves approved first Thessalonians 5:21 says we were to test all things and we were to be like the Bereans and test all things against Scripture whenever Paul said something the Bereans tested it against the Word of God so it's not a hard thing you know I'm not denying that the hearts involved in our religion I mean we praise and worship God with our heart right but as a test for truth a burning in the bosom is not a test God gave us a mind so that we could understand his revelation and evaluate it now secondly there have been many changes in the Book of Mormon in fact 3939 jiz were made between the original 1830 Edition and those issued through the mid 1970s and then in the 1981 Edition had over a hundred additional changes you know obviously some of these were spelling and grammar but some were substantial I'll give you an example right here first Nephi 11 21 behold the lamb of God yay even the Eternal Father is changed to behold the lamb of God yay even the son of the Eternal Father I mean that's a pretty big change when you think about it and so I have a little bit of problem here because of the way this was translated but this according to their history a David Whitmer describes the process this way Joseph Smith would put the seer stone into a hat one character at a time would appear and under it was the interpretation in English brother Joseph would read off the English to Oliver Cowdery when it was written down and repeated to brother Joseph to see if it was correct then it would disappear and another character with the interpretation would appear that means one letter at a time was given one letter at a time that really doesn't allow for any mistakes this kind of a process doesn't allow for any mistakes whatsoever not even misspellings and the fact is is that there's been virtually thousands of mistakes and so the problem becomes this what do you do with the Book of Mormon if it claims to have been in originally an errand and yet you've had multiple thousands of changes made to me that spells doom we don't find that in the Bible number three plagiarisms in the book of mormon you know sometimes it can be hard when I'm talking to my friends that I love who are in Mormonism because you don't want to share all bad news but once you develop a good relationship with them and and they know that you care you need to share this stuff with them the fact is that there's massive plagiarisms from the King James Version virtually tens of thousands of words taken right out of the King James Version now in fact we might even say that somewhere around a fifth of the of the Book of Mormon is right out of the King James Version and here's the thing it's not only got whole chapters from Isaiah but he also got the italicized words from the King James now the italicized words are the words inserted by the King James translators to make for smoother reading and here's the thing even though the Book of Mormon was translated in the 1800s the golden plates were actually something that predated the King James Version by a long long time how come we've got perfect King James English including the italicized words from the translators in the Book of Mormon I mean it doesn't look good I mean it appears to be a very direct plagiarism from the King James Version furthermore there's the issue of archaeological support I'm fully aware of the fact that some Mormons claim you know there's certain things in Central America that that prove Mormonism but you know they don't have the kind of support that the Bible has and I don't think that the support they think they have really exists we've got over 25,000 discoveries that support the Bible and many of those are made by non-christian archaeologists can you see the significance of that it's not as if we've got a bunch of Christian archaeologists making discoveries that support Christianity we've even got secular archaeologists making discoveries that support the truth of the Bible over 25,000 of them and so the archaeology is a very much a friend of the Bible for example we've discovered Jacob's Well where Jesus spoke with the Samaritan woman we've discovered the Pool of Bethesda where jesus healed a paralyzed man we've discovered Lazarus his tomb in Bethany we've discovered the bone box of Caiaphas the Jewish High Priest we've discovered the lying box containing the bones of James half brother of Jesus and right on the box it says James son of Joseph brother of Jesus and we've discovered Jesus is tuned I mean this is just the tip of the iceberg 25,000 discoveries like this that prove the veracity of the Christian Bible well that's a book I want to believe in and it's got that kind of support number five manuscripts discovery support the Bible and my friends I've done a lot of study in this I had four semesters of Greek in college and then I had eight semesters of Greek at seminary seminary level got a lot of Greek did a lot of study in manuscripts I could tell you the Bible has solid manuscript support it really does I've just mentioned a couple here you know you got the Chester Beatty papyruses which state to around 200 and earlier and when you've got manuscripts that date that early what that means is that the Bible that you are holding in your hand today is a trustworthy document because we've got the manuscripts that go back very near the time stone on which the events record and prove beyond any shadow of a doubt to what we have is accurate even the Dead Sea Scrolls which were discovered in 1947 proved the same thing they gave us manuscripts over a thousand years earlier and you know what it was 95 percent identical with our other manuscripts dated a thousand years later 95 percent identical and the five percent difference was misspellings and missing letters on occasion so you can trust your Bible folks and the Book of Mormon cannot make that claim in terms of the inspired version the revisions disagree with the same insertions into the Book of Mormon in other words when Smith made revisions to the King James Version and changed individual versus those same verses that are repeated basically and plagiarized into the Book of Mormon do not reflect what Joseph Smith did and so who's right Joseph Smith or the Book of Mormon you know is the inspired version wrong or is the Book of Mormon wrong or are they both wrong well you know where I'm coming from the fact is is that if you've got a false book it affects everything and that's one of the points that I want to make to you today if you've got a book that's not truly Scripture and that's gonna affect everything else that you believe in a negative way you see that's why I spend so much time talking to Mormons about the the trustworthiness of the Bible I also bring up the book of Revelation to make a point revelation 19:15 in the James Version says out of his mouth go with a sharp sword and with it it should smite the nation's and he shall rule them with a rod of iron but Smith changed it to say out of his mouth proceeded the Word of God and with it he will smite the nation's and he will rule them with the word of his mouth now why do I bring it up I bring it up because in Revelation 22 it says I want everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book if anyone adds anything to them God will add to him the plagues described in this book and if anyone takes the words away from this book of prophecy God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city which are described in this book you see how serious it is this is really really serious and this is what motivates me to talk to Mormons I don't want him to miss out I don't want to miss out on heaven and some of them are just so sincere in what they believe but they've been deceived and that means that you and I got to do double duty to reach them now evangelicals trust the Bible alone I'm one of them there's not only massive manuscript evidence that supports the Bible and massive archaeological evidence but it's also written by prophets and apostles whose prophetic predictions had 100% accuracy amen we've got all the prophecies in the Old Testament for example that were fulfilled in Jesus Christ you know to be born in Bethlehem Micah 5:2 one from the line of Abraham Genesis 12 from the line of David 2nd Samuel 7 pierced for our sins occurring on and on born of a virgin Isaiah 7:14 you see the Bible very specifically gives these prophecies that were fulfilled absolutely to the crossing of the team the dotting of the I but the Mormon prophecies do they have a similar track record no not if you look at what Joseph Smith and Brigham Young and these other guys prophesied the prophecies did not come true now let's switch attention to the church and the priesthoods because this is a natural progression this it's it's logical that we cover this next Mormons believe that total apostasy engulfed the church soon after the death of the last apostle but they believe it's prophesied in Scripture and because of that apostasy church offices were lost and the gospel was lost in the uronic and Melchizedek priesthoods were lost as well and so a lot was lost if they're right about that then we do need a restoration if the question is was it really an apostasy like they say we'll talk about that the Mormon Church emerges back in 1830 and the Aaronic priesthood was conferred on Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery by John the Baptist and then the biblical Peter James and John later conferred the Melchizedek Priesthood on them although evangelicals find it extremely curious that the biblical Peter James and John never had the milk as it increased hood so that's an interesting thing the Mormon Church is claimed to be the restored Church restoring the priesthood restoring the prophets and the apostles and restoring the true gospel now here's what this means folks if this is true then this was the only true church on earth if they've got the true priesthood the prophets and the apostles and the true gospel then it's the only true church on earth Calvary Chapel you've lost it babe you've lost it your pastor has misled you okay Ron Rhodes is a quack he's an absolute quack walking around but are they right are they right I don't think that they are let me tell you why I don't think that they are first of all we have a very accurate history of the early Christian church I mean we've got such an accurate history of the early Christian Church we have a full knowledge of all the isms that existed back then you know Arianism and Gnosticism and you take Ian is Amanda Pollan arianism and you know modalism and Monacan isn't just all those isms yes I've studied all of those isms every one of them but I want you to know that my wife Carrie makes me read to Christian books for every weird book that I read so I'm safe I'm safe it's good to have a good wife amen all right well you know the fact is is that when you look at the first century history in the church we don't see anything resembling Mormonism if it's true that the Mormon Church is a restored Church then we would expect to see back in the first century stuff you know a church stuff like the plurality of gods and men becoming gods and the father once having been a man there's none of that there none of that there and so history is on the side of Christianity history proves that there was no you know restored church or need for restoration what about the verses of the site Galatians 1:6 2:8 is one example I am astonished that you so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one that we preach to you let him be eternally condemned now where is there any mention of a total apostasy of the entire church in this verse it's not there it is not there my friends this is dealing with a local situation in Galatia Galatia alone Paul wrote the letter to Galatia alone and guess what after Paul wrote the letter to the Galatians was solved the guys repented okay and and so the fact is is this has nothing to do with a total apostasy of the early Christian Church such that a restoration was needed well what about second Thessalonians two don't let anyone deceive you in any way for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness has revealed the man doomed to destruction and so Mormons think this refers to this total apostasy that we're talking about but I don't think so I mean when you look at the context what's going on here this is talking about a specific distinguishable apostasy that's in the end times it hasn't happened yet it's right before the second coming and it comes when the Antichrist is revealed that hasn't happened yet you see and so to quote something that's in the prophetic future as having already been fulfilled that's got Mormon preterism or something I'm not sure how that works but the fact is is that this is talking about the end times it's not talking about something in the first century and so really what we have here is eisegesis are reading something into the text that is not really there and then number four promises to the church who created the church anyone Jesus absolutely jesus said in Matthew 16:18 I will build my church and the gates of Hell will not overcome it now what does that mean first of all building the church is his job if it's his job does Jesus fail no Jesus never fails in fact one of the things that you see interesting throughout the New Testament is Jesus's providential control over the church jesus said I will build my church he is the one who's in charge of building it and it did not fall into total apostasy in the early centuries of Christianity it just didn't jesus promised the gates of hell will not stand against a jesus also said surely I am with you always to the very end of the age now wait a minute the end of the age wasn't the first century okay into the age it hasn't even happened yet but Jesus said he was going to be with his believers in the church to the very end of the age but how could how could that be true if everybody went into total apostasy it doesn't fit the pattern in the New Testament is that Jesus is sovereign over the church that's why we read in Ephesians 3:21 to him or God be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever and then Ephesians 4 speaks of the Christian church is growing to spiritual maturity not spiritual degeneracy oh I wish I could spend another half-hour with you on this but I can I've got to move on but you can see the kind of promises that stand against this restoration Church idea what about the Melchizedek Priesthood well very often they cite Psalm 110 in support of their idea that the milk is that it priesthood is for today but you know what Psalm 110 is a messianic song and you know what that means it's talking about who Jesus the divine Messiah now verse 4 says the Lord has sworn and will not change his mind you are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek well guess what all throughout the New Testament Hebrews 5 to 8 being an example the fact is is that all these different verses of the New Testament say that this Psalm is talking about Christ alone now if you want to find out what Psalm 110 is talking about doesn't it make sense to let scripture tell you what Psalm 110 is talking about doesn't that make sense well that's exactly what we see in the New Testament Jesus himself quoted Psalm 110 and demonstrating that he was David's Lord in mark 12 36 so my point of view is is it if you interpret scripture by scripture there's no way you can end up saying that the mckissick priesthood is applicable to human beings did you know that there's not a single verse anywhere in the Bible or in the New Testament in particular of a believer being ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood only Jesus Christ no disciple no apostle no Peter no Paul no John none of those guys had the Melchizedek Priesthood nor is there a single command anywhere in the New Testament including the missiles why do I say epistles because that's where you'd expect it to be that's where God gives instructions to the church if the church is supposed to have the mark isn't priesthood that's exactly where it would be but there's not a single mention anywhere you see it's always presented as belonging only to Jesus now in Hebrews 7 23 and 24 this passage says that there are a human priests that are prevented from continuing in office because of what death but because Jesus lives forever he has a permanent priesthood Oh amen - amen you know the fact is is the jesus' are forever high priest he can never be replaced and his priesthood is not transferable to any human being how do I know that well for example now if you look at the Greek behind Hebrews 7 24 we find that the Greek word for permanent means untransferable that's what it literally means according to the best Greek lexicons we've had and folks remember I've had 12 semesters degree I know this to be true I can tell you for a fact that the word carries the idea of untransferable on transmitter Bowl you cannot communicate it from one person to another it belongs to Jesus alone he alone is our high priest and there is none other there is none other and we must communicate this to our Mormon friends but what about the ironic priesthood well guess what scripture says when the Melchizedek Priesthood of Jesus Christ came into being the Aaronic priesthood went out the back door out the back door it was ushered out the back door Hebrews 7 11 and 12 says that there was a change in the priesthood and when there's a change in the priesthood the old priesthood has done away with it has been superseded what that means is is that there is no ironic priesthood today and by the way let's point out that Mormons are not descendants of Aaron that was the number one requirement of the Aaronic priesthood you had to be a direct descendant of Aaron and not only that if you look at the study at the stuff that Mormons do who are in the ironic priesthood it bears virtually no resemblance to what you see the ironic tree stilling back in exodus leviticus numbers and deuteronomy nor do these guys go through the kinds of cleansing rituals that the ironic priests had to go through back you know back in Old Testament times so you see where I'm going with this fact is is that all this talk about that the Melchizedek and the erotic priesthoods in Mormonism is really not true and I always want to communicate this in the spirit of love to my up Mormon friends but it has to be communicated you know when I talked about love me am I talking about tough love love means caring enough to tell the truth this is what I'm talking about it's not easy to do sometimes but we need to do it bottom line there was no apostasy no total apostasy in the early church scripture portrays Jesus as sustaining and upholding the church throughout history the church thus did not need restoration the ironic priesthood has passed away and the Melchizedek Priesthood belongs only to Christ and none other this is what the Scriptures reveal very very clearly but what about the doctrine of God now this is one of those areas where I get into lots and lots of discussion with with my Mormon friends and and obviously I think you know why there's some very interesting takes that the Mormons have on this the believe that God was once a mortal man who passed through the school of earthly life in fact the way that Milton Hunter put it is this God the Eternal Father was once a mortal man who passed through a school of earth life similar to that through which we are now passing he became God an exalted being through obedience to the same eternal gospel truths that we are given opportunity today to obey is this a Mormon teaching though did you see the time magazine article back in 1997 some some of you going oh yes I remember that's got a very good memory well he was asked point-blank is this the teaching of the church today that God the Father was once a man like we are and so the lay think we said this I don't know that we teach it I don't know that we emphasize it I haven't heard it discussed for a long time in public I don't know other circumstances under which the statement was made I understand the philosophical background behind it but I don't know a lot about it and I don't know that others know a lot about it well that causes me to wonder if he's unaware for example Joseph Smith saying God Himself was as we are now and is an exalted man and sits enthroned in yonder heavens if you were to see him today you would see him like a man in form like yourselves he also said we have imagined and suppose that God was God from all eternity I will refute that idea and take away the veil so that you may see Lorenzo snow put it this way if there ever was a thing revealed to a man perfectly clearly so that there could be no doubt this was revealed to me and it came in these words as man now is God once was as God now is man may become so it strikes me as curious that Hinckley was aware unaware of statements like these I mean these statements plays such a prominent role in Mormon history we're also told that the father today has a tangible body of flesh and bones as hunter put it God the eternal father our Father in heaven is an exalted perfected and glorified person is having a tangible body of flesh and bones Joseph Smith said if you were to see him the father today you would see him like man inform God the eternal father our Father in heaven is an exalted perfected and glorified personage having a tangible body of flesh and bones and there's there's many other quotes that I could give you but you get the point it's a very clear teaching in Mormon history I asked for the Trinity it's not three persons in one God it's three persons who are three gods which is called Watts try theism try P ISM this is a heresy that crops up every once in a while in church history but it's very strongly taught in Mormonism in fact uh in or Joseph Smith said I have always declared God to be a distinct personage Jesus Christ is separate and distinct person is from God the Father and that the Holy Ghost was a distinct personage and a spirit and these three constitute three distinct personages and three gods so I mean this is very clearly not the Trinity that that you and I believe in obviously there's a plurality of gods I don't need to read many quotes to you on this but suffice it to say Brigham Young said how many gods there are I do not know but there never was a time when there were not gods and worlds and when men were not passing through the same ordeals that we are now passing through that course has been from all eternity and it is and will be to all eternity and then the Pratt has a similar statement so it's a a big part of Mormon history to recognize the plurality of gods that there's not just one God but there's many gods out there this means also that there is endless Heavenly Father's endless Heavenly Father's what do I mean by that well Jesus has a father and the father of Jesus has a heavenly father before him and the heavenly father of that heavenly father has a heavenly father before him and the heavenly father of that heavenly father of that heavenly father of that heavenly father has a heavenly father before him and so on and so forth throughout eternity now there are some Mormon philosophers who have conceded this is a huge problem and no longer believe this you know there are some that have now claimed that but nevertheless this is such a pivotal part of Mormon theology it's hard to see how you could dismiss this without dismissing a whole lot of their other theology you know what I mean I mean it's all it's all intricately related to other things and so I you know at least some of them are turning around on this Orson Pratt explained the pattern this way in the heaven where our spirits were born there are many gods each one of whom has his own wife or wives which were given to him previous to his Redemption while yet in his mortal state each God through his wife or wives raises up a numerous family of sons and daughters as soon as each God has begotten many millions of male and female spirits he in connection with his sons organizes a new world after a similar order to the one which we now inhabit where he sends both the male and female spirits to inhabit Tabernacles of flesh and bones the inhabitants of each world are required to reverence the door and worship their own personal father who dwells in the heaven which they formerly inhabited alright that's pretty long quote isn't it that's a good summary of what many Mormons believe in terms of what has happened over and over again throughout the universe now how do we as evangelical Christians respond to this well there's a couple of things to point out first of all note this comparison Christianity teaches there's only one God amen Mormonism says there's many gods Christianity teaches a Trinity Mormonism teaches try theism Christianity teaches that God is unchangeable Mormonism says that change is built-in to God I mean he went from a man to godhood Christianity says that God is pure spirit but Mormonism says that God has a physical just looking at this chart alone should show you very clearly that there are you know magnificent differences between biblical Christianity and Mormonism it's a clear teaching of Scripture that there is one guy you like my finger that that photograph of my it's pretty cool innit is there a God beside me yeah there is no God I know not any that's what God says God's not just talking about you know this world he's talking about all of reality God says I am the Lord and there is no other apart from me there is no God Deuteronomy 6:4 hero is where the Lord our God the Lord is one isaiah 44:6 i am the first and I am the last and apart from me there is no God isaiah 45:18 I am the Lord and there is no other I could get to preaching on this folks mark 12:29 jesus said that the Lord is one first corinthians 8:4 we know that an idol is nothing in the world and that there was none other god but one Ephesians 4:6 there is one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all and then first Timothy 2:5 there is one God and this is just the tip of the iceberg amen amen this is powerfully taught in Scripture moreover God is not an exalted man Hosea 11 verse 9 I am NOT a man God very clearly says rather he is a spirit John 4:24 and guess what Luke 24:39 tells us that a spirit does not have flesh and bones period if God a spirit he doesn't have flesh and bones scripture says he is invisible Colossians 1:15 even the Book of Mormon says God is that great spirit in Alma 2210 Book of Mormon also says we believe that thou art God and that thou God was a spirit and that thou art a spirit and that thou wilt be a spirit forever now I'm not trying to give credence to the Book of Mormon by quoting it I just find it curious that the Book of Mormon contradicts some of the primary teachings of Mormonism do you God is unchangeable is the scriptural teaching numbers 23 God is not a man that he should lie nor a son of man that he should changes mind first Timothy 15 the glory of Israel is not a man the glory of Israel is a name for God Psalm 102 they will perish but you remain the same and your years will never end I the Lord do not change God says in Malachi 3:6 Jesus is the same yesterday today and forever all these passages are talking about the fact that God is immutable and that's a theological word that simply means that God does not change God has always been God he has always been God let me put it in the vernacular okay God doesn't blossom he's always been in full bloom that a good way to put it he's always been in full bloom God does not blossom period he's also there's also a philosophical problem I know they're talking about philosophy at this time of night is not a wise thing to do so I'm just gonna sneak it in real quick can I sneak it in nobody will notice I'll sneak it in real quick a finite being can never become an infinite being a finite being philosophically must always remain finite adding more to a finite no matter how much more only makes a bigger finite that's it that is it philosophy 101 you cannot have the finite becoming infinite it is philosophically impossible in any philosopher that knows what he's doing will tell you that this is absolutely true and any Mormon philosopher who honestly was telling the truth would have to admit that this is true too you just you just can't have this what about Jesus Christ this is my favorite topic of all I've got to sort of pick up the speed here see that I'm running out of time Jesus Christ is my favorite topic of all so let me just fly through this real quick Jesus was the first and greatest spirit son born to the Heavenly Father one of his unnamed why's he is the first born because he was begotten first well Lucifer was also begotten so that he's the spirit brother of Lucifer Jesus is our elder brother because we were all begotten spirits as well Christ was begotten on earth later by an immortal father in the same way that mortal men are begotten by immortal fathers in other words the father came down and had relations with Mary Jesus became a God in the pre-existence he became the Jehovah of the Old Testament and Jesus worked out his salvation as well according to Bruce mcConkie Jesus kept the commandments of his father and thereby worked out his own salvation and also set an example as to the way and the means whereby all men may be saved as for the atonement Christ's atonement dealt with Adam's sin not your sin but Adam's sin leaving us responsible for our own sins the Mormons second article of faith affirms we believe that men will be punished for their own sins and not for Adam's transgression hence salvation begins with Jesus but man we got to pick up the football and run with it ourselves good works we got to do good works to get saved according to Mormon theology in fact the official gospel principles manual says that Jesus became our Savior and he did his part to help us return to our Heavenly home it is now up to each of us to do our part and become worthy of exaltation so this is a works oriented system of salvation well how do we respond to that well briefly note this comparison in the Christian view Jesus is eternal but in the Mormon view not eternal in the Christian view Jesus was uncreated but in the Mormon view he was procreated and the more in the Christian view he's the unique son of God in the Mormon view he's the brother of Lucifer and the Christian view he is the same essence as God but in the Mormon view he does not have the same essence because it's different being than the Father in the Christian view he is one with God but in the Mormon view he is a separate God in the Christian view there was no need of salvation for Jesus because he was sinless but in the Mormon view he had to earn salvation I mean this kind of encapsulate the basic differences between Mormons and Christians this is one of the reasons why I don't think that Mormons can legitimately say I'm a Christian they may say that I believe in Jesus but look at the Jesus they believed in this is a different Jesus than the Jesus of the Bible now my friends the Bible talks about Jesus as the Son of God but as the eternal son did you know that among the ancients the term son of ment sameness of nature lightness of nature the term son of the prophets meant prophet son of the singers meant singer Son of God meant god absolutely that's why whenever the Jews heard Jesus claimed to be the son of God he they immediately picked up stones to kill him for committing blasphemy so Jesus wasn't procreated as the son of God he's eternally the son of God according to Scripture Psalm 2:7 doesn't really add any ammo to the the Mormon arsenal even though they think it does this verse says you are my son today I've become your father that sounds like the father begat Jesus at first glance but you know what if you want to understand what Psalm 2:7 means don't you want to let scripture tell you what it means in acts 13 it tells us precisely what is meant by Psalm 2:7 this verse tells us that this verse was fulfilled when Jesus resurrected from the dead by the Father that's what is being talked about when it says you are my son today I've become your father it was the resurrection from the dead this has nothing to do with the father and Mary has nothing to do with the father bearing spirit babies nothing whatsoever this is a different matter altogether likewise John 3:16 is not a proof text this is the verse that says that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God and only begotten is from the King James Version nothing against King James but you know the Greek word they're monotonous it properly understood that word only means unique one of a kind Jesus is a unique one-of-a-kind son of God so he was not begotten by the father in the sense that he came into being but rather he was the son of God in the sense that no one else is he is God by nature that's what the term indicates and so very clearly that's a misappropriation of a Bible verse it is true that Jesus is called the firstborn I admit that but that doesn't mean that he was born physically or born as a spirit has nothing to do with that again if you want to talk about a word like firstborn doesn't make sense to let the Bible tell you what it means when you go back to the Old Testament we find that David was called the first porn was David the first born in his family no he was the last born son of Jesse and yet he was called the first born because of his preeminence he became king of Israel it means preeminence Jesus is called the first point of creation what does it mean he is preeminent over creation why is he preeminent over creation the very next verse tells you verse 16 says he created the creation doesn't it make sense that he who created the creation is preeminent over it that's all first point is I shouldn't put it that way that's a magnificent that in terms of God Christ being the first porn it's a magnificent understanding and that's the truth of what Colossians is really communicating because Colossians is communicating that Jesus is superior in every way what about the brother of Lucifer Jesus is not the brother of Lucifer in fact if you go to Colossians 1:16 it says that Jesus created the thrones and the powers and the rulers and the authorities Jesus did it now who are those Thrones and powers and rulers and authorities according to ancient rabbinical literature that is referring specifically to angels Christ created the angels one minute they didn't exist the next second they did and the first sight was Jesus Christ the Creator Christ created Lucifer you're talking about two different classes folks Jesus is in the class of the creator well Lucifer is in the class of the created they ain't the same they're not in the same family they ain't in the same class we say ain't in Texas sometimes okay so you just got to get used to death we also say y'all so y'all better behave yourselves tonight okay all right number seven Jesus is Jehovah and Elohim you might know that the Mormons say that Jesus was the Jehovah of the Old Testament and the father was Elohim but you know what Jesus is both Jehovah and Elohim and Jehovah Elohim are one of the same God Genesis 27 2008 tells his son the Lord your God gave me success from the Hebrew that says the Lord Jehovah your God Elohim gave me success same thing in Exodus 3 I am the God Elohim of your father the god Elohim of Abraham the God Emma he Mavs Isaac and the God Elohim of Jacob at this Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God Elohim the Lord Jehovah said I have indeed the scene the misery of my people in Egypt and then you know he instructed Moses on delivering his people from Egypt fact is this is talking about one God Elohim is Jehovah what about Jeremiah 2032 it talks about the great and powerful God Elohim whose name is the the Lord Jehovah Almighty you see Jehovah and Elohim are one and the same not only that but Jesus is called Elohim by himself apart from the father Isaiah 40 verse 3 is a prophecy of the coming of Jesus says this a voice of one calling in the desert prepare the way for the Lord Jehovah makes trained in the wilderness a highway for our God Elohim you know when that was fulfilled that was fulfilled when John the Baptist prepared the way for the coming of Jesus according to John 1:23 look it up yourself you see so Jesus is called both Jehovah and Elohim right there in the same verse number 8 Jesus is human birth it wasn't because the father had relations with Mary it was because the spirit overshadowed Mary the human nature of Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and why do I say human nature I say that only because Jesus was already God from all eternity Jesus did not need any help from the Holy Spirit or from the Father in terms of being eternal God because he has always been eternal God but the Holy Spirit came upon Mary and produced a human nature for Jesus to step out of heaven and into that womb for nine months and then was born as the god man you see that's what the Incarnation really is so the Mormons have completely missed the boat on this one what about the atonement you know what Jesus atone for the sins of all humankind not just Adam Isaiah 53 verse 6 is a good example we all like sheep have gone astray each one of us has turned to his own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all yours truly included all of you included see this was not Adam's sin that Jesus died for although Adam was included he died for every one of us and it was a complete atonement when Jesus our telling for us he didn't just buy you a resurrection from the dead ephesians 1 we are given in Christ Hebrews 7 we are saved in Christ 1st Corinthians 6 we are just a fighter declared righteous in Christ Ephesians 2 we are brought near in Christ Colossians 1 we are reconciled in Christ Romans 5 we have eternal life in Christ Romans 6 we are made alive in Christ Ephesians 1 we are redeemed in Christ man what could be more incredible isn't this the greatest news you've ever heard this is a full Redemption that Christ has provided that's measly resurrection from the dead now I'm not knocking the resurrection believe me I mean no more gray hairs no more cholesterol buildup you know no more hair is falling out best of all you can still eat food okay Jesus ate food after he resurrected so I'm looking forward to that good heavenly cooking amen now then there's a warning from Jesus jesus said on that future Judgment Day many will say to me Lord Lord did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name and then I would declare to them I never knew you depart from me now listen to me I don't want my Mormon friends to hear those words I don't I love them too much I love Mormons too much to have this set of any of it that's why I I do what I do that compassion that is within me it's the love of Christ flowing over into the lives of other people that is why I seek to reach them so that they can know the same Jesus that I do now very quickly we're going to kick into warp 9 at this point the doctrine of man this is very closely related to what we've already talked about in terms of the plurality of God's remember the statement as man is now God once was as God now is so man may become so in other words man can become God we can become God's like our Heavenly Father this is exaltation says gospel principles Spenser Kimball put it this way man can transform himself and he must man has in himself the seeds of godhood which can germinate and grow and develop as the Acorn becomes the oak the mortal man becomes a god that's the way he put it now what do we respond with well first of all humans do not become a god and I cite to you isaiah 43:10 it says this god is speaking and he says before me there was no god formed neither shall there be after me before and after our absolute terms in the hebrew absolute terms there will never be a god before the one true god of the universe there will never be a god after the one true god of the universe and no is emphatic in the hebrew before me there was no god formed there is one and only one deity that means that you and i will never deity you and I are going to be in heaven one day and that's gonna be glorious but you will never be deity I can promise you that humans are finite creatures God created man out of nothing and it is true that God created G in the image of God but that doesn't mean you become a God okay it simply means that just as the moon reflects the light of the Sun so you as his creation reflect God in the finite way in terms of being a relational creature a rational creature and a moral creature you see but it doesn't mean that you become a God so the Mormons had misunderstood that and then number 3 John 10 34 doesn't support their viewpoint this is that verse it says is it not written in your law I said you are gods that sounds like you'll become a god doesn't it but is that what's really going on there Jesus is actually pointing back to Psalm 81 where human judges are called gods jesus's reasoning goes like this if god even called human judges gods with a small G then how much more is it appropriate that I call myself the son of God since that truly is my identity or look at it this way if these judges because of their works of standing in the place of God by pronouncing life-and-death decisions over people if they can be called God's in a limited sense with a small G how much more appropriate that I be called the son of God because of my works mighty miracles you see so Jesus was basically pointing out that he truly is God whereas those folks back in Psalm 81 really weren't gods in fact jesus said they're gonna die like the men they really are that that's a verse 7 in Psalm 81 so my point to you is that this does not support the Mormon viewpoint I might also point out to you that in the Greek John 1034 is a present tense you are gods it doesn't say you will become a god it's present tense and this does not fit Mormon theology because Mormons think they will become gods not that they are gods right now so anyway you look at it John 10:34 does not lend support or credence to the Mormon interpretation now I'm going to close with sin and salvation sin and salvation is one of the most important things that we can talk about they've really got some strange views here so let me cover their view first and I'll get into the Christian view they say that the fall was a good thing one other Sunday school manuals put it this way the decision of Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit was not a sin as it is sometimes considered by other Christian churches no like us it was a transgression and act that was formally prohibited but not inherently wrong their choice did not come from a desire to disobey the Lord but from a desire to gain wisdom because of this choice we have the opportunity to come to earth and learn as Adam and Eve did how to choose good over evil express your gratitude for Adam and Eve and the choice that they made well that's just a horrendous departure from what we believe I mean we think that you know what did God say to Adam and Eve when they fell what is this you have done that's what God said to them and you can't oppose it the whole human race into sin they also teach that in Gethsemane Christ what great drops of blood from every pore when he conditionally took upon himself the sins of the world and then the shedding of his blood was completed at the cross so that means that Gethsemane played a central role in the atonement whereas the rest of the New Testament talks about what the cross the cross is where he obtained the atonement according to them Jesus paid the atonement for Adam's transgression basically and provided a physical resurrection to all mankind ask for forgiveness of personal sins it is taught to be conditional based upon repentance and obedience to the laws and ordinances of the LDS gospel LPS I don't know how I slipped in there rats I'm not an arrant oh man Jesus provided general salvation which refers to resurrection from the dead as for individual sale salvation you've got to work that out yourself as James Talmage put it he refers to justification by belief alone as a most pernicious doctrine he laments that the dogmas of men have been promulgated to the effect that by faith alone may salvation be attained one must of necessity engaged in perpetual works so in other words this idea that you place your faith in Christ that doesn't save you you've got to do good works not just good works but a life of good works and prove yourself obedient and they do talk about Matthew 5:48 be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect now Joseph Smith is also necessary as Brigham Young put it from the day that the priesthood was taken from the earth to the winding up of things every man and woman must have a certificate of Joseph Smith as a passport to their entrance into the mansion where God and Christ are I with you and you with me I cannot go there without his consent so this has become sort of a Joseph Smith thing you know the Bible talks about it as a jesus thing there's only one mediator between God and man and that's the person of Jesus Christ based on how people do though most people will end up in one of three kingdoms my father-in-law asked me if one is hotter than the other I told him that wasn't the main point but that some people might end up in the outer darkness you know but in any event depending upon how you live you'll end up in one of three kingdoms of glory and how do we respond as Christians biblically sin is a horrible reality and there's no better person to go to than Jesus of Nazareth for teaching on it Jesus taught that man is evil is capable of great wickedness is utterly lost is a sinner in need of repentance before a holy God and needs to be born again Jesus gave metaphors like blindness and sickness and being enslaved and living in darkness to describe sin he said it's universal we're all guilty none of us are beyond the grip of sin both inner thoughts and external acts make us guilty and God is fully aware of every one of them now where as they say that the fall was the good thing Jesus tells the truth about the matter sin is a horrific thing and that means that we need a magnificent salvation now Jesus perceived his death as being a sacrificial offering for the sins of mankind not to win resurrection but a full salvation and he knew that without him all humanity would perish none would survive Jesus described his mission this way the son of man came to seek and to save what was lost who's the lost that's you that's me that's the Mormons that's the Jehovah's Witnesses that's the Muslim every one of them is lost but Jesus came to provide salvation for all and again to remind you that it is a full salvation with forgiveness and justification and being brought near and reconciliation all these things are provided in the person of Jesus Christ and glory upon glory it is all by grace alone it is by grace alone by grace you've been saved through faith and this not from yourselves it is a gift of God nightbot not by works so that no one could boast I love that verse I just love it Matthew 5:48 what's going on there Matthew 5:48 is all about love it does say you must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect but it's talking about love you see the Jews said love your neighbors but hate your enemies Jesus said no no love your neighbors but also love your enemies be complete in your love for other people be perfect in your love for other people just like God is this verse has nothing to do with salvation it's dealing with showing love to other people and yet the Mormons have hijacked it as making it a requirement for salvation and then let's not forget the salvation as received by faith over 200 times in the New Testament it is said to be received by faith and faith alone not a big lifetime of works but by faith in the Risen Messiah and we are justified by faith and what does that mean we're declared righteous by Jesus if I look through a yellow glass you all look yellow some of you look yellow anyway if I look through a red glass you look red when God looks at you the Christian he sees you through the lens of the white holiness of Jesus Christ that's justification and it comes by faith you can't earn it you can't work for it Mormons need to hear it bottom line there's only one of two destinies that await us depending upon what we do with Jesus two classes saved and unsaved two destinies heaven or hell it is that simple and it all hinges on what you do with Jesus now I'm going to leave it to you with this I'm gonna close with this the lingering question remains can I be perfect enough to warrant salvation can I be perfect enough we all consider this salvation cannot be attained but rather is a free gift how many of you could climb that rope maybe two or three knots worth maybe I would die after the first one you know personally but some people in good shape they might be able to get maybe 20 knots high but then you're a goner you know fact we all fall short nobody's perfect enough you need to be better today than yesterday in fact just fielding Smith put it this way it's our duty to be better today than we were yesterday and better tomorrow than we were today why because we are on that road to perfection my folks it gets worse salvation does not come all at once we are commanded to be perfect even as our Father in heaven is perfect it will take us ages to accomplish this end for there will be greater progress beyond the grave it gets worse progress toward eternal life is a matter of achieving perfection living all the commandments guarantees total forgiveness of sins and assures one of exaltation through that perfection which comes by complying with the formula the Lord gave us leads to despair the Mormon magazine Instant magazine puts it this way perhaps no idea creates more emotional stress for some of us in the idea that we need to be perfect right now or soon and when we fail to achieve perfection in some area we criticize ourselves harshly even to the point of despair are you starting to feel that despair based upon these comments how would you like to earn salvation in this way it leads to discouragement Mormon Bishop Jeffery Jacob put it this way when I was a bishop it was my privilege to counsel with many faithful members like Janet who were struggling often valiantly to escape soul destroying cycles of discouragement and despair that came and they failed to overcome their imperfections there's no rest I read a book written by Mormons for Mormons called sanity strategies for everyday Mormons and it says this as soon as we believe it is possible for man to become God we can really never rest for long and never say okay my job is finished my work is done we must constantly push ourselves forward to greater and greater wisdom greater and greater effectiveness man I'm choking I'm choking this is way over my head at this point full obedience is required Spencer Kimball says that transgressor is not fully repentant who neglects his tithing misses his meetings miss breaks the Sabbath fails in his family prayers does not sustain the authority of the church breaks the word of wisdom etc oh man that's tough and you're accountable those who receive forgiveness and then repeat the same sinner held accountable for their former sins that's a tough one that's a real tough one Bible tells it truly though I mean the Bible's got worse news than anything there is no one who does good not even one Galatians 3:10 cursed it as everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the book of the law what does that mean I'm cursed your curse without Jesus we're gonners okay James 2:10 for whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point he is guilty of it all now it all comes down to this folks God's law impales us it goes right through the heart it shatters our self-righteousness god's law is bad news but you know what the good news is that by believing in Jesus you are made perfect forever that is what hebrews 10:14 teaches by one sacrifice he has made us perfect forever and it's a completed action in the Greek nothing else has to happen Jesus has done it all it is a done deal and all you have to do is to receive that done deal you know in Ephesians 2:8 you know this about the third time that verses snuck in here it's by grace you can't buy it you can't earn it there ain't nothing you can do to become perfect because Jesus provides you with all the perfection that you need and oh the joy oh the joy of forgiveness though your sins are like scarlet they shall be as white as snow though they are red as crimson they shall be like wool and oh the wonder of true forgiveness I could testify to you right now the joy of being forgiven I will tell you right now I am a redeemed sinner I am a sinner I know that I am a sinner did you know the more I grow in Christ and more stuff I find wrong in my life what's going on I am so appreciative of our great Savior there is forgiveness in him their sins and iniquities will I remember no more he says blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven whose sins are covered this is the glorious good news now here's the bad news right here the h-bomb of God's law dooms us all but God showers His grace on us with the free gift of salvation now what category are you in are you under the h-bomb right now or are you under the water of God's grace it is my hope and prayer that every one of you are experiencing this living water the water of God's grace that is showering down that free gift of salvation for all people I'm sorry for going over I just get carried away with myself sometimes but but god bless you god bless you let's close in prayer father thank you so much for your word which is a barometer of truth against which we can test all of the truth claims to you belongs all glory our Father we give all the glory to you for this entire weekend and thank you Lord for this conference this weekend we praise you in Jesus name Amen

Channel: Aaron Shafovaloff

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Keywords: capstone, conference, ron, rhodes, differences, mormonism, between, christianity

Id: lZ-PweMqhGM

Length: 73min 12sec (4392 seconds)

Published: Sat May 08 2010