Hi I am Bev.
If you’ve recently left the LDS Church, you may be asking this very question. My dear beloved one. You are not alone! I have been where you are now. I remember about the time I was in High School, I began to have serious doubts about the Mormon church. Some of my questions were:
Where are the places in the Book of Mormon and why can’t I go and visit them?
The Bible says that God will not let His Church be taken from the earth.
Why, then, did the Mormon Church need to bring God’s Church back?
HEBREWS 12:28: “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.”
MATTHEW 16:18: And I say also unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
EPHESIANS 3:21: “Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.”
1 TIMOTHY 3:15: “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”
Matthew 24:35, God promised to preserve His Word. “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”
He would never let His Words become corrupt. I was told, in Mormonism, that the Bible was “translated” wrong by men. This was impossible in my mind, because I firmly believed God was more powerful than a man and that He would make sure His Words were what He wanted me to know. I realize now, by the Mormon church challenging the truthfulness of the Bible, they can then teach whatever they want. If it conflicts with the Bible, then they say the Bible is wrong. God is not a God of confusion. His Word has stood for thousands of years. Anything else is added and changed and not from God.
I wondered why it seemed the Mormon Church targeted only the good people to preach the gospel. Why don’t we go out and teach all people, even if they are bad people, like in prisons? Bad people need to hear about Jesus too. Jesus ate with prostitutes and tax collectors. His heart was for the lowliest.
The Bible tells me I “have” eternal life with God. (1 John 5:11-13) The Mormon doctrine says I have a list of things I have to do to be able to live with God and I must be a member of that church. So why, in Mormon doctrine, do I need Jesus, if I have to do things to get to Heaven? Was His blood not sufficient enough to make me acceptable to God?
After going to the temple I told my husband, mother and father that I did not want to be a “god.” They replied that I would understand and accept this teaching “in time.” When I firmly stated I would not live with my husband in Heaven if I had to share him with lots of other wives, I was told I could choose whether I wanted to follow that command. But this only made me have more questions. If I could choose about this command, how many other commands could I choose to obey or not to obey?
If this is our probation time on earth and Jesus is our brother, and we are working to be “Gods,” how can Jesus have been God when He came to earth? Wouldn’t He have been in His probation on earth, just like we are? Jesus created everything in heaven and on earth. He created angels. Satan is an angel. Jesus created Satan. Then how can Jesus and Satan be brothers?
So then when I finally broke away from the church I was wondering, if the Mormon church is not true, what is truth? When I walked out of the Mormon church, I walked out on my family heritage and the only lifestyle I had known for 40 years. I wandered around for another 20 years before finally falling into the precious arms of Jesus Christ. HE SAVED ME!!! “Amazing grace how sweet it is.”
What does it mean “to fall into the arms of Jesus Christ?” For my whole life I was living in a religious system. My whole focus was on a church. I strived and I struggled to be good enough. How good is good enough, I kept asking myself? The difference now, I do not struggle. No more striving. My Jesus, my Savior is my strength, my hope, He lives inside me. He lives my life. I rest knowing my Lord my God is my righteousness and my goodness.
ROMANS 3:9-10 “What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:”
You may be asking if Mormonism isn’t true, so what is TRUTH!!!
God knows that unless He is the source of our contentment, unless He is where we find satisfaction and security, our life will be empty.
Today, I pray that you will ask God to test your heart to see where is your desire.
MATTHEW 6:33: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
The things of this world won’t satisfy the longing in your soul. Only Jesus will. I pray He will be the desire and passion of your heart today.
UNLESS GOD IS THE SOURCE OF YOUR CONTENTMENT, YOUR LIFE WILL BE EMPTY.
The Mormon Church sets itself up as the only true church on the face of the earth. Is that what Jesus the Christ had in mind when HE came to earth, lived for 33 years, served a 3 year ministry, died for all the sins of all persons regardless of their station in life? Without a doubt the Bible does not point to a certain religion or religious organization as being “THE TRUTH.” The Bible singly points to a PERSON, rather than a religion as being “THE TRUTH.” In John 14:6, Jesus proclaimed, “I am …the truth.”
A common trait in religions that claim to be the only way to God is to dispense a list of unique requirements that they believe proves that they are the one and only true religion. Mormons produce “17 Points of the Only True Church.” Since the Mormon Church is the only church that claims to meet all of these 17 qualifications, and believes one cannot obtain salvation in the highest level of glory apart from joining the Church, one might cling to the Mormon church for salvation. However, who compiled the list? Do you trust man? Or do you trust the word of God? Joseph Smith restored a church that was never lost. (Matthew 16:18) “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” The true word of God was never lost as claimed by Joseph Smith. (Matthew 5:18) “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.“
So, WHO IS THE TRUTH?
The teachings of the Bible do not point to a certain religion or religious organization as being “the Truth.” The Bible clearly points to the Person Jesus Christ, rather than a religion as being “the Truth.”
Through out time religion has already proved to be a failure. The Jews certainly had a religious system with a set of rules and rites. However Jesus arrived on the scene and with His gospel changed everything. No longer was there a need for circumcision, animal sacrifice and the priesthood hierarchy, temple rituals and a list of do’s and don’ts. The Jews changed the Law of the Sabbath until it was unrecognizable from the early commandment to “Keep the Sabbath day Holy.” Jesus came with the simplicity of the gospel and even warned against listening to any other gospel. (2 Corinthians 11:3) “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” The gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is so twisted and perverted from the simplicity of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the New Testament, it is unrecognizable.
First one must accept: “It is not about me!” Read Romans 3. Faith in Jesus Christ is a genuine reliance on Christ, a heartfelt trust in Him, not in ourselves for salvation. (Ephesians 2:8-9) “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.“ It is about a relationship not a religion.
We are not ask by God to follow a religious system. We are ask to know the Lord Jesus Christ, realize He is the only way to heaven, admit we are sinners, ask Jesus to be our personal Savior, rest in Him, and share the good news with the world.
A CHURCH CAN’T SAVE YOU!
JESUS CHRIST CAN!