To The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
I wanted to look into things myself. I didn’t want to write off a whole people without looking in their eyes and Scriptures myself. I believe many are guilty of this. We were told to “stay away” and we never really know who you are or what you stand for. So I dove in to the scriptures and meetings with the missionaries to see for myself.
There were a few things that make it literally impossible for Mormonism to be a Christian faith. I noticed some things, as I honestly looked into the LDS faith, that make it impossible for the Jesus that I know, love and serve to be the same Jesus that is taught and served in the LDS faith (2 Cor. 11.4; Gal. 1.6-7). I am not setting out to expose the LDS faith to myself or to the world. I am simply taking to heart the words of Brigham Young, “take up the Bible and compare the religion of LDS with it and see if it will stand the test.” So please see these things as personal observations. I would strongly urge any LDS church member to just openly read this and look at it for what it actually is, an honest comparison of the fundamentals of Christianity and LDS Church.
The first thing I noticed was positive. I saw that most of the Mormon bible is really good. I liked it. I went back and looked at things over and over. But as I looked deeper into Mormon writings, things got dark. This is what set in motion the conclusion that my Jesus couldn’t possibly be your Jesus; a simple statement from the LDS church founder, Joseph Smith recorded in LDS church History, which forever separates his spirit from the Spirit of Jesus…
“Come on! ye prosecutors! ye false swearers! All hell, boil over! Ye burning mountains, roll down your lava! for I will come out on top at last. I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him; but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet…When they can get rid of me, the devil will also go.” (History of the Church, Vol. 6, p. 408, 409)
As someone looking into the comparison between the “restored gospel” and Christianity, this to me was not the Spirit of Christ. We boast ourselves in Jesus, not above Jesus (Psalm 34.2;44.8). His statement seemed to me a boast in himself. It is so contrary to the heart that Christ teaches to have (Matt. 5.3, 39). I don’t have any ill feelings toward Joseph Smith, but this statement was not what I have known the loving – lay my life down for others – Jesus to be like (John 15.13).
“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you (Matt. 5.44)”
It seemed to me a comparison of himself with the apostle Paul, Peter and even Jesus Christ Himself as he harshly challenged his prosecutors. Does this bother you at all?
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