Freed From The Mormon Church
By Al Roy (al@exmobro.com)
My testimony is the most important thing I can share with
you. I hope you will take a few minutes to read it.
I have written this document to explain how and why I have
come to believe that Jesus Christ is my Saviour and Lord, and how one can obtain
the salvation that only he can give. I have gone from believing in a system of
work-based salvation, to an understanding that one can be saved simply by faith
in Jesus Christ, which is what Jesus Christ himself taught. Becoming a follower
of Jesus Christ has been a major life changing experience for me. What follows
is a very brief explanation of what I believe, and why I believe it; and a
little bit of background about me.
I Believed in the concept of God since I was a small boy.
But as a child, I wasn't really sure who or what God might be. My parents never
talked about God, except to use His name as a curse when they were angry, and I
didn't know much about the Bible, as I had never read it. My father was an
outspoken atheist, and I didn't know where my mother stood spiritually. I don't
think I had ever been in a church except for one or two times over the years
when I would visit my Mormon grandparents. They would take me to church when I
would go to Vancouver to visit them.
As the years went by, I grew to wonder about God, and what
He was all about. But I was never serious enough about 'religion' to make an
effort to learn about Him. As it happened, one day - in my fifteenth or
sixteenth year- I was watching a movie on television called "A Thief In the
Night". I can recall that I thought the first half of the movie was pretty neat.
It was different from most movies that I had seen. The setting of the movie was
the immediate future. It portrayed a scenario where all the "Christians" in the
world got taken up in the "Rapture", and everyone else ( those who hadn't asked
Jesus to be their Saviour ) got "LEFT BEHIND" to face the wrath of a cruel,
tyrannical government controlled by the antichrist. I do not intend to comment
here about the concept of the "rapture". I merely bring it up to explain the
situation I was in at the time I saw the movie. A few of my family members were
also watching the movie, but it didn't seem to make any kind of an impression on
them. In my case however, it made a strong impression. The more I watched the
movie, the more I started to realize that the movie was written in such a way as
to put me (the viewer) in the picture. As an impressionable teenager. I was
quite moved by what the movie portrayed. Frankly, it scared me quite a bit. I
took the movie very seriously. I didn't want to be one of the ones that got
"left behind".
Sometime toward the end of the movie, I noticed a phone
number at the bottom of the screen. It was a type of 'dial-a-prayer' line. I
called it, and explained to the person who answered the phone at the other end
that I hadn't yet asked Jesus to be my Saviour. I also explained that I was quite
worried about what the movie had portrayed. The person on the phone led me in a
prayer to ask Jesus to be my Saviour.
My experience at that time, however, was not one of joy and
peace from knowing that I was saved. It was more of an emotional relief that
followed the panic I had felt a few minutes earlier. It was to be many more
years before I would understand what salvation is. But I believe that God heard
my prayer that day, and He also knew how things would turn out later. I believe
that He has had His hand over me through all the years between then and now.
When I prayed that day, asking the Lord Jesus Christ to be MY Lord, a seed had
been planted that would eventually grow and take root in my life.
Several months after that experience, I was visiting my
Mormon grandparents in Vancouver. They had some missionaries over for dinner,
and we got into a discussion about God, church, truth, and what it all meant. I
found that the things these missionaries were telling me really appealed to me,
and they seemed able to answer questions that no one else was willing or able to
answer. It also happened that I quite liked the missionaries. They had
interesting stories to tell me about themselves, and I felt that I could relate
to them. One of them had been a former leader in a street gang in LA called the
'Black Aces'. Somehow he had managed to make an exit from the gang, and went on
to become a missionary. I thought this was very interesting. At any rate, I
wanted to know more about their religion.
Some time thereafter, some other missionaries paid a visit
at my home. We had several 'discussions', and I decided, after some strong
prompting from the missionaries, to join the Mormon Church. Joining a church
wasn't something I really felt ready for at the time, and I told the
missionaries so, but I did it because I felt it was the right thing to do. I
believed what the missionaries taught me.
The missionaries told me that their church was the only
true and living church on the face of the Earth. They told me that it was the
only church in the world that God accepted as His own. They told me of a boy who
had been roughly the same age as me, who had a lot of the same questions and
concerns that I had. They were referring to Joseph Smith. I learned that Joseph
Smith was confused by the multiplicity of religions that are on our little
planet. The concept of someone my age having the same questions as I had struck
a soft spot in me. Joseph Smith's search for truth reminded me of my own search.
When the missionaries told me that God Himself used Joseph Smith to organize the
same church that Jesus Christ had set up (which they told me had been 'taken' up
to heaven by God), I thought my search had ended.
I was baptized into the Mormon church on June 13, 1981. For
the first few months after I joined the Mormon Church, I felt clean and free
from sin. That feeling was short lived, however. I was soon to learn that it was
quite difficult to 'work out' one's own salvation". In other words, as a Mormon,
one must earn one's way to heaven. After a few months, I began to realize that I
was no closer to perfection than I had been when I first joined the Mormon
Church.
The Bible teaches that salvation is by grace alone (as I
will explain below), and that grace is a free gift. It's not something one can
earn. As a Mormon, I was taught that anyone who believed in salvation by grace
alone was seriously in error. Yet salvation by grace alone is exactly what the
Bible teaches, as I will explain later in this article.
So on I went, trying to earn my salvation. And always, I
knew in my heart that I was not 'saved' at all. I dreaded the thought of
standing before God and being judged according to my works, for I knew that my
works were not good enough to earn God's grace. I had heard that one's 'calling
and election' can be made sure, but it was always something that happened to
someone else. I never knew anyone personally who claimed that their calling and
election were 'made sure'.
In my early years in the Mormon Church, I would
occasionally discuss the idea of being 'saved' with other Mormons. When the
subject came up of whether the person I was talking with was 'saved', the
comment was invariably that he or she 'hoped so'. If you are a Mormon, I hope
you will continue reading to the end of this testimony, as I will show you that
salvation really is a free gift from God. You don't need to earn it, and in
fact, you CAN'T earn it. All you need to do or can do is to sincerely receive
it.
After about ten years in the Mormon Church, I felt no
closer to God than I had when I first joined it. In fact, I felt even more under
condemnation than ever. I realized that I was still a sinner.
In 1992 I moved to Vancouver, BC, to work. One of my
neighbours was a Christian woman named Nancy. As the months went by we got to
know each other as friends.
When I met Nancy, I was not attending church regularly. At
Nancy's request, I started going to her church semi-regularly for a while, but I
believed in the gospel as understood by the latter day saints. I looked upon
Christianity with a certain amount of disdain (for I believed that Christians
did not understand the Bible. And it's true that many of them don't, but that is
another matter), but I noticed that many of the Christians I met told me that
they had peace, joy, and an assurance that they were saved by the grace of Jesus
Christ. I never bothered to argue the point with them, but I thought they were
way off base to claim that they were saved. I felt that if Mormons didn't know
they were saved, Christians certainly couldn't know that they were saved. At
that time I did not understand that the Bible assures us that if we BELIEVE in
Jesus Christ, we ARE SAVED (John 3:36).
In Romans chapter 3:28 the Bible says,
"Therefore we
conclude that a man is JUSTIFIED BY FAITH APART FROM THE DEEDS OF THE LAW. This
scripture is just the opposite of what the Mormon church teaches. There are many
other scriptures I could quote which assure us of salvation by grace, but I was
not aware of them when I was a Mormon. I have to admit that I am amazed that for
many years I had been in a church that uses the Bible, and yet I was unaware of
such passages of scripture. It wasn't like I hadn't read the Bible, but I think
now, looking back, that I was so blinded that I was unable to see what the
scriptures really say.
Sometime in late winter/early spring of 1994, I started to
get the same kind of yearning for that I had experienced as a teenager before I
had joined the Mormon Church. This time the feeling was much more intense than
before. I could feel that time was passing me by faster than I cared to think
about. I knew that I felt no closer to the truth than I did when was 16 years
old. I also knew, however, that I would no longer be content to spend the rest
of my days wondering what or who God was, and where I fit into the scheme of
things.
I decided that I would have to make an all out effort to
find out whatever I could find out. I didn't know where my search would take me,
but I hoped God (if there was a God) would help me. I came to the conclusion
that if God was real, and if He cared at all, then the only way I would be able
to know the truth was if God cared enough to lead me to it.
This then, was my new mission, to learn THE truth, so that
I could live the rest of my life without wondering what would become of me after
I died. In other words, if there was such a thing as 'TRUTH', I knew I had to
have it. And I knew that for me, prayer would be a necessary part of my search.
I hoped that if there was a God, He would not be so uncaring as to not help me
find the truth if I was sincere and made the best effort I possibly could to
learn it. It was on that basis that I decided I would begin my search.
After several months of prayerfully searching for whatever
God wanted me to find, I came back to Mormonism. This was in August of 1994. So
I decided that if Mormonism was true after all that searching, I would be the
most diligent and faithful Mormon I knew how to be. For me, this meant that I
would preach Mormonism to the whole world. I would tell everyone who was willing
to listen about the Mormon gospel. I believed in it strongly enough that I stood
up before a Mormon congregation after a testimony meeting and challenged
everyone within the sound of my voice to follow my example and go and
prayerfully seek the truth from God, if they had any doubts about the Mormon
church. I told them that since I had come back to Mormonism, after years of
doubt and confusion, that they should feel encouraged by my experience.
I started to plan how I was going to take the gospel of
Mormonism to everyone I knew personally, and then I would see it I could become
a stake missionary. I reasoned that as a stake missionary, I would be working
with the full-time missionaries, and thereby serving God to the max. I made
photocopies of some Mormon materials that I thought were particularly
appropriate for witnessing to non-Mormons. I decided to look for a potential
investigator into the church, and from among the people I knew, a certain fellow
named Adam would be the first person I would approach. I was acquainted with
Adam through my neighbour (who is now my wife), and he seemed like a reasonable
person. I felt confident that if he learned what I had learned about Mormonism,
he would be convinced of its truthfulness. I gave him a copy of a book called
'Treasures to Share' by Melvin Westenskow. My intention was to contact Adam
after giving him some time to digest what I had given him. I would then
introduce him to the Mormon missionaries, and they would teach him the
missionary discussions.
The day after I gave Adam the Mormon literature, he stopped
by my house with a copy of a book called 'Major Problems of Mormonism'. I was
shocked and dismayed. Here I had thought he was open-minded, and all I got for
taking the time to share my faith with him was what I equated with a kick in the
teeth. I decided that I would give his book back to him and tell him what I
thought of it, and what I thought of his attitude as I saw it. After giving it a
bit more thought, however, I realized that I was being a hypocrite. As I had
asked him to read what I had provided, the least I could do was read his 'book
of lies', and then give it back to him and tell him how his book was wrong.
So I
read the book, and by the time I got one quarter of the way through it, I
realized that I had been involved in a man-made religion for the last 13 years.
In order that you may understand just why I say that, I
will give a couple of examples of some things I learned about Mormonism and its
history. All of these facts are fully documented. I was not happy to learn of
them, and I suspect that you will (as I once did ) call it all "All lies". But
before you do that, please have the integrity to look into it for yourself. And
keep in mind that most of the information comes from Mormon sources. I will only
cite a couple of examples here.
One thing that I learned of is an old Mormon doctrine
called the Adam - God doctrine, which the Mormon Church denies was ever taught.
Believing himself to be a prophet of God.
Brigham Young
declared that it was his gift and calling to teach true doctrine and to guard
the Mormons against heresy: "What man or woman on the earth, what spirit in the
world can say truthfully that I ever gave a wrong word of counsel, a word of
advice that could not be sanctioned by the heavens? (Journal of Discourses:
12:127). "It is my duty to see that correct doctrine is taught and to guard the
from error, it is my calling." ("Misc. Minutes," unpublished ms., B.Y.
Collection, LDS Church Archives)
"Now hear it, O inhabitants of the earth, Jew and Gentile,
Saint and Sinner! When our father Adam came into the garden of Eden, he came
into it in a celestial body, and brought Eve, one of his wives, with him. He
helped to make and organize this world. He is Michael, the Archangel, the
Ancient of Days about whom holy men have written and spoken. He is our Father
and our God, and the only God with whom we have to do. Every man on the earth,
professing Christians or non professing, must hear it, and know it sooner or
later."(Journal of Discourses, vol.1, page 50.)
"How much unbelief exists in the minds of the Latter Day
Saints in regard to one particular doctrine which I revealed to them, and WHICH
GOD REVEALED TO ME namely that ADAM IS OUR FATHER AND GOD...He is Michael,...He
was the first man on the earth, and its framer and maker. He with the help of
his brethren brought it into existence. Then he [Adam] said, "I want MY CHILDREN
WHO ARE IN THE SPIRIT WORLD TO COME AND LIVE HERE. I once dwelt upon an earth
something like this, in a mortal state. I was faithful, I received my crown and
exaltation. I have the privilege of extending my work, and to its increase there
will be no end. I WANT MY CHILDREN THAT WERE BORN TO ME IN THE SPIRIT WORLD TO
COME HERE AND TAKE TABERNACLES OF FLESH THAT THEIR SPIRITS MAY HAVE A HOUSE."
(Sermon by Brigham Young, printed in the Deseret News, June 14, 1873)
Speaking of Jesus Christ, Brigham Young said during a
discourse given Sunday night, February 19, 1854: "Who did beget him? His Father,
and his father is our God, and the Father of our spirits, and he is the framer
of the body, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Who is he? He is Adam;
Michael; the Ancient of days." (Brigham Young Papers, Feb 19,, call # Ms. F 219
#81, Church Historians Office, Salt Lake City)
Compare Brigham Young's teaching with the Mormon Church's
current position on Adam/God: "Some dissidents would have us believe that Adam
is our God and that we have nothing to do with any other God, Which, on the face
of, is ridiculous. To say that Adam is God is, of course, opposed utterly and
completely to the scriptures as well as to our Articles of Faith".(Mark E.
Petersen, Adam Who Is He? page 14 Deseret Book, 1976)
"We warn you against the dissemination of doctrines which
are not according to the scriptures and which are alleged to have been taught by
some of the General Authorities...Such, for instance is the Adam/God theory. We
denounce that theory and hope that everyone will be cautioned against this and
other kinds of false doctrine." (Spencer W. Kimball, news, Oct 9,1976, Church
News Section page 11)
"Yes, President Young did teach that Adam was the father of
our spirits, all the related things that the cultists ascribe to him.
This,[doctrine] however, is not true. He expressed views that are out of harmony
with the gospel." (Bruce R. McConkie, Feb. 19, 1981,in a letter to Eugene
England)
I also learned of another thing: the Mormon doctrine of
racism:
"There is a reason why one man is born black and with other
disadvantages, while another is born white with great advantages. The reason is
that we had an estate before we came here, and were obedient; more or less, the
laws that were given us there." (Doctrines of Salvation, Vol.1,61. Joseph
Fielding Smith)
"Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African
race? If the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the
seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will
always be so." (Brigham Young - Journal of Discourses Vol.10)
"Any man having one drop of the seed of Cain in him cannot
receive the priesthood." (Brigham Young "Wilford Woodruff", by Mathias F.
Cowley, page, quoted in "That Ye May Not Be Deceived", page 3)
Compare the Mormon church's position (prior to 1978) on
blacks and the priesthood with the reality of human social dynamics: The
following is from an article that appeared in Time Magazine June 30, 1958, page,
"A glance tells that many Americans who are classified as Negro have plenty of
European "blood"; White people with Negro blood are harder to distinguish, their
African genes may not affect their appearance and they do not know that some of
their ancestors "passed" [into the "white" category]. In the Ohio Journal of
Science, Sociologist Robert P. Stuckert, of Ohio State University attempts to
estimate how many [so called] white Americans have some African ancestry... When
Dr. Stuckert has constructed his table for each census year, he reaches the
conclusion that 135 million Americans classified as white in 1950, about 28
million(21%) had some African ancestry. Of the 15 million classified as Negro,
more than 4 million (27%) were of pure African descent. During 1941-50, he
estimates, about 155,000 Negroes moved onto the "white" category. People with
ancestors who lived in the Roman Empire, including England and part of Germany,
are descended from a broad cut of the empire's population. "The Roman Empire had
no colour line, and streams of people moved through it for centuries in every
direction. Africans - including those with Negro ancestry - fought in the
legions, [and] travelled as merchants or seamen. Everywhere they went they left
their immortal genes. So few white Americans can claim to have none of them, and
NONE of them can prove it."
I was flabbergasted by learning of such things. I had
believed that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was God's church!
I realized that the Mormon Church had been lying to me about its history, and
about the doctrines it teaches. It claims to be the only church on the face of
the Earth that has authority from God, yet the doctrine it teaches today is not
consistent with the doctrine it has taught in the past. The church knows this,
but it lies to its church members, while concealing the facts from them. As a
Mormon, I was taught that when a Mormon prophet speaks as a prophet, his words
are to be understood as if they came from God himself. It is clear from the
quoted material above that the Mormon leaders were in these instances speaking
as 'God's mouthpiece'. I was taught that the Mormon Church NEVER taught the
things that it clearly did teach. Yet the Mormon people are being lied to by the
church. They (YOU) have a right to know the TRUTH. That is why I have put my
testimony here.
So after reading Major Problems of Mormonism, I had come
full circle. I went from confused to Mormonism to confused to Mormonism, and
then back to confused again. What was I to do?
God did not leave me alone to live in confusion for the
rest of my life. I had been prayerfully seeking truth. I was doing everything I
could to find whatever God wanted me to find. So why did He allow me to go back
to Mormonism for one week, only to have the rug forcibly yanked out from under
my feet? Well, I know now that He was indeed answering my prayers. God had a
lesson for me to learn, and He wanted to make sure that I learned it well. He
wanted me to learn once and for all that salvation is by grace, and grace ALONE.
It is a gift that is freely given to all who receive Jesus Christ as their Saviour. I mean Christ and Him only, not Christ plus works: and not Christ plus a
denomination. This was what God was about to teach me.
After reading the book, 'Major Problems of Mormonism', I
contacted some Christian people I had been put in touch with, and explained my
situation. We met at a restaurant, and had an interesting discussion. But it was
after the meal, in the parking lot as we prepared to go to our respective homes,
that I heard the words that finally made sense to my heart as well as my mind.
These were words I needed to hear for many years, and I was finally ready to
hear them. I told my acquaintance that I had often heard Christians say that
they were 'saved'. They talk about joy, peace, and a positive assurance that
they will go to Heaven when they depart from this life.. I said, "I often hear
Christians talking about these things, and I want to believe that it's all true,
but I don't feel 'saved'. I don't have that feeling of peace and joy that I hear
people talk about. What do I have to do to get that?"
The answer to my question was to the point,
"You won't have
that peace, that joy, and that assurance of salvation until you realize that
Christ really did pay the full price for your sins. You need to understand that
none of your works can save you. Jesus Christ already did the work. All you have
to do is trust Him, and accept that He has already done what you and I could not
do for ourselves. When you accept Christ as your Saviour and realize that the
work He did, not your own works is what will save you, then you will have the
peace you are seeking. Then you will know what it is to be saved."
Those words were able to penetrate 13 years of Mormon
indoctrination, and get through to me. I now have the peace that the Bible talks
about. I have the assurance that I really am SAVED through the grace of Jesus
Christ. God answered my prayers. He is a merciful God. If you are sincere, and
if you don't know if you're saved, you can know. For 13 years as a Mormon, I
never had true peace, I never had true joy, and I never had ANY assurance that I
was SAVED. It is truly a sad thing that there are some nine or ten million
Mormons (and countless millions in other religions) in the world at the time of
this writing, who don't know what it is to be saved. They don't have the peace
that the Bible talks about. And they usually don't have much joy. I wouldn't
trade the peace I now have for anything. There is no joy like the joy of KNOWING
you ARE SAVED by the GRACE of our dear Lord Jesus Christ.
There is only one name given whereby men may be SAVED. That
name is Jesus Christ. He has promised us that if we believe in Him we are SAVED.
As a Christian, I have an assurance that you - if you are a Mormon - can never
understand, unless you accept Jesus Christ as the only way to salvation. I know
that I am saved, according to the promises which are written in the Bible. If
you are a Mormon, you only hope for the best. But why only hope for the best,
when God has promised that you can have an assurance?
There are many in the Mormon Church who are sincere people
who want to serve God and receive salvation. I was one of them. Yet they go
through each day hoping that the second coming of Jesus Christ won't happen too
soon, because they know they aren't ready for Him yet. Are you one of those? If
you are, then if it IS possible to know you are saved, wouldn't you like to know
that YOU are SAVED, assuming that it IS POSSIBLE TO KNOW? Well it IS possible,
friend. Read on.
The Bible teaches us that if we belong to Jesus Christ, we
can have peace that surpasses understanding, joy unspeakable, and a blessed
assurance of SALVATION. Christians have that! I'm talking about living with God
our Eternal Father for ever! Something most Mormons who read this hope for, but
don't really expect they'll be able to obtain. They hope for the Celestial
Kingdom, while in their hearts they expect to go to the Celestial - or, if they
are lucky - the Terrestrial Kingdom. Listen to me, friend! Am I describing YOU?
As long as you believe in a religion that teaches salvation by works, you will
NEVER be ready for the Lord. Come to Jesus Christ, and Him alone, and He WILL
SAVE YOU! That's a promise! And HE ALWAYS KEEPS HIS PROMISES! As a true
Christian, you will be free to love Him - as He promised you would be -and as
you always wanted to, instead of living in dread of standing before Him to be
judged, as most Mormons do. Do you dread meeting the Lord? You don't have to;
and He certainly doesn't want you to.
It is imperative that you understand that the Bible teaches
that we are JUSTIFIED BY FAITH (Rom. 5:1). I know some people like to quote Paul
speaking of showing his faith by his works, which is a different matter
entirely. That is something all Christians are called upon to do. But nowhere
dose the Bible attribute our salvation to our works. Paul certainly didn't.
The
Bible says that good works are a MANIFESTATION (evidence) of our faith. It
doesn't say that good works can SAVE us.
Carefully read Ephesians 2:8-9. "For by grace you have been
saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the GIFT OF GOD, NOT OF
WORKS lest any man should boast."
Carefully read the following scriptures from the Bible:
John 3:16-18; "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...He WHO BELIEVES IN HIM IS NOT CONDEMNED;" 3:36; "HE WHO
BELIEVES IN THE SON HAS EVERLASTING LIFE" (not MAY have, but HAS everlasting
life) 5:24; MOST ASSUREDLY, I say to you, he who hears My word and BELIEVES IN
HIM WHO SENT ME HAS EVERLASTING LIFE, AND SHALL NOT COME INTO JUDGMENT, BUT HAS
PASSED from death into LIFE". The Lord does not use the words "MAY PASS", He
uses the words "HAS PASSED". Think about it! Why would He say 'has passed' into
salvation, if we are not saved? And why would he say that we will NOT come into
judgment? It just would not make sense. The Lord wants YOU to understand that
YOU CAN BE SAVED.
To understand how we are saved by faith, and not by works,
you need to understand the following verses as well. Please pay close attention
to what Paul the Apostle says here:
Rom. 9:30 "What then are we to say? Gentiles, who did not
strive for righteousness, have attained it, that is, RIGHTEOUSNESS THROUGH
FAITH; but Israel, who DID strive for the righteousness that is based ON THE
LAW, DID NOT SUCCEED IN FULFILLING THAT LAW. Why not? Because they did not
strive for it ON THE BASIS OF FAITH, but as if it were based on works [What Paul
says here applies to Mormonism.]. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone
[Jesus Christ], as it is written, 'See, I am laying in Zion a stone that will
make people stumble, a rock that will make them fall [He is referring to those
who trust works, instead of faith], and whoever BELIEVES in Him WILL NOT BE PUT
TO SHAME.' "
Rom. 3:19-28; "Now we know that whatever the law says, it
says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all
the world may become guilty before God. Therefore BY THE DEEDS OF THE LAW NO
FLESH WILL BE JUSTIFIED IN HIS SIGHT, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
But now the righteousness of God APART FROM THE LAW is revealed [through Jesus
Christ], being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of
God, through FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST, TO ALL AND ON ALL WHO BELIEVE. For there is
no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God [and
through trusting works, people always fall short of His glory], being JUSTIFIED
FREELY BY HIS GRACE through the REDEMPTION THAT IS IN CHRIST JESUS, whom God set
forth as a propitiation by His blood, THROUGH FAITH, to demonstrate His
righteousness, because in His forbearance God had PASSED OVER the sins that were
previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that
He might be just and the justifier of the one WHO HAS FAITH IN JESUS. Where is
boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? OF WORKS? NO, but by the LAW OF
FAITH. Therefore we conclude that a man is JUSTIFIED BY FAITH APART FROM THE
DEEDS OF THE LAW.[i.e.. works]
Rom. 4:1-8; "What then shall we say that Abraham our father
has found according to the flesh? For IF Abraham was justified by WORKS, he has
something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the SCRIPTURE say?
'Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT [i.e. believing God] WAS ACCOUNTED TO HIM FOR
RIGHTEOUSNESS.' " Notice that there is NO mention of Abraham's works being
accounted to him for righteousness. Don't dismiss this scripture out of hand.
Take it seriously.
Gal. 3:26-27; "For you are all sons of God THROUGH FAITH IN
CHRIST JESUS."
Eph. 2:8-9; "For by GRACE you have been SAVED through
FAITH, and that not of yourselves; it is the GIFT OF GOD, NOT OF WORKS..."
Col. 2:13; "And you, being dead in your trespasses and the
un-circumcision of your flesh, He has MADE YOU ALIVE TOGETHER WITH HIM, having
FORGIVEN YOU ALL TRESPASSES."
Heb. 10:17-18; "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will
remember no more. Now where there is remission of these, there is NO LONGER AN
OFFERING FOR SIN." 'Offering' is equivalent to 'works' in this context.
1 Pet. 1:23; "...having been BORN AGAIN, not of corruptible
seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides
forever...Now this is the word by which the gospel was preached to you."
If you, the reader, happen to be a Mormon, or if you are
considering becoming one, I urge you to take these scriptures to heart. You will
never find salvation through works. You will never find salvation through a man
made organization, such as the Mormon Church. You will ONLY find it through
Jesus Christ. The Mormon church is not God's church. It never was. The Mormon
gospel is one of the 'other' gospels that the Bible refers to. You should be
able to see that just from how much its teachings are in DIRECT CONTRADICTION to
the above quoted scriptures. The Mormon Church has no special authority,
including priesthood authority, and it cannot save your soul. Only Jesus can. If
you want peace of mind, come to Jesus Christ ALONE. You'll never know what real
peace is until you do so. I hope you won't wait until it is too late. If you are
thinking about becoming a Mormon, or joining any other religion, I strongly urge
you to learn BOTH sides of the story, not just the side they present they
present to you. Mormon missionaries are sincere, and they can be very
convincing, but there are many facts about Mormonism that they absolutely will
not tell you about. They themselves are unaware of many of the facts. I hope you
will contact me, or follow some of the links on this page, and find out more of
what the Mormon Church doesn't want you to know, especially if you are now a
Mormon.
I realize that many who read this are converts to Mormonism
who formerly attended Christian churches. You read these words and you say to
yourself, "If there was joy and assurance in Christianity, I never would have
come out of it!" The fact is, my friend, that you never really understood what
the Bible teaches about salvation through FAITH ALONE ON THE NAME OF JESUS
CHRIST. If you understood the scriptures, and if you had faith in the Word of
God, you would not have been deceived to the point where you could have been
convinced that you needed to join the Mormon Church to receive salvation. I urge
you to take a fresh look at Christ's teachings from a strictly biblical
perspective, not from the perspective of a MAN MADE RELIGION, such as Mormonism.
Please have another look at the scriptures quoted above, too.
Lastly I say to you....
"Come to Christ alone and receive the PEACE and REST only He can give you".
----------------------