"Mormonism is Insane" and Other Accusations

I recently received a comment on my Facebook post where I was sharing my blog when I got a great comment from someone we'll call "Dane." He said, "Mormonism is insane. It's not really Christianity either (which is crazy enough as is). But Mormonism is far and away completely bonkers. You believe that God was once a person and that he's from a planet called Kolob, and you believe that everyone will get to be a god when they die. Also, you believe that Jesus came to America to visit a Hebrew civilization here that there is no evidence for (and every bit of evidence against). It's completely and absolutely nuts; the only thing Mormonism does is show just how much you can delude people in mass numbers." 

Wow I've never heard that before (sarcasm). I'm just going to cover each of these topics one by one if that's alright.

1. "Mormonism is insane." 

I get it, you all think we're a bunch of weirdos. We are all VERY aware of what the world thinks of us. The Lord Himself said: "For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be an peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth"(Deuteronomy 14:2). God's people have never been very popular in the world. From the beginning the world has persecuted and killed them. They even thought Jesus was mad, called him "gluttonous" and a "winebibber," and killed Him. (Matthew 11:19)

I will let you all know that the Mormon church teaches its members that nothing is more important than family. Family is central to God's plan. We teach people to have good values, be honest, love one another, be self-sufficient, care for the poor and needy, etc. Next time there's a national disaster, check and see who some of the first responders are. American Red Cross, Mormons, and other religious organizations. Regardless of how "insane" people think we are, we do our best to follow Jesus Christ and love and serve everyone. 

2. "It's not really Christianity either." 

Oh Dane, if only you'd read my blog post found here. I explain why we are Christian but why some people think we're not. Our church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We worship Jesus Christ. Not Mormon or Joseph Smith or Satan or Mitt Romney.

3. "You believe that God was once a person... and you believe that everyone will get to be a god when they die." 

Correct.. mostly. The Bible teaches us many times about this concept: 

"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if it so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together"(Romans 8:16-18).

"Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ"(Galatians 4:7).

"To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne"(Revelation 3:21). 

God's plan for His children is for us to come to Earth in families to gain a body, be tried and tested, and return to live with Him again if we were faithful. If we follow Him and do our part, we can one day inherit all that the Father has. Essentially we can become as He is, a God. Not everyone will get to become gods because not everyone will follow Him and qualify. So we don't believe that everyone will get to be a god, only the faithful will as outlined in the scriptures.

This process is how God Himself became a God. He went through the same process we did on some other world. He overcame and was able to become a God. Lorenzo Snow, the fifth prophet of the Church today, said: "As man now is, God once was; as God is now man may be." This adds a whole new round of questions and for the answers to those I will direct you here.

4. "You believe... that [God is] from a planet called Kolob."

In case you haven't noticed, Mormons have two additional books of scripture besides The Book of Mormon. It's the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price. We just learned about additional scripture called The Book of Mormon and now I'm throwing more at you? Yes. I think if we can use more of anything in the world it's more of God's word. God loves us and likes to speak to us through more mediums than just the Bible. Get over it. Anyway, in the Pearl of Great Price is the book of Abraham. This Abraham is the same one in the Bible. This is where Kolob is mentioned. Abraham says:

"And I saw the stars, that they were very great, and that one of them was nearest unto the throne of God; and there were many great ones which were near unto it; 

"And the Lord said unto me: These are the governing ones; and the name of the great one is Kolob, because it is near unto me, for I am the Lord thy God: I have set this one to govern all those which belong to the same order as that upon which thou standest.

"And thus there shall be the reckoning of the time of one planet above another, until thou come nigh unto Kolob, which Kolob is after the reckoning of the Lord’s time; which Kolob is set nigh unto the throne of God, to govern all those planets which belong to the same order as that upon which thou standest"(Abraham 3:2,3,9).

And that's about all we know about it. Kolob is a planet that is nearest the throne of God and the time of Kolob is after the reckoning of the Lord's time. So we don't believe that God necessarily lives on Kolob, we just believe that it is a planet that is nearest to God. You can read the rest of that chapter in Abraham for further information.

5. "Also, you believe that Jesus came to America to visit a Hebrew civilization here that there is no evidence for (and every bit of evidence against)."

Yes we do believe that Jesus Christ came to visit the Americas after His resurrection and appearance to His apostles in Jerusalem.  Jesus told His disciples: "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd"(John 10:16). Jesus Christ Himself said that there are other people besides the ones in Jerusalem that He's going to visit. It's possible that the Americas were one of many other civilizations He appeared to. The account of His visit to the Americas can be found starting in 3 Nephi 11. 

As for evidence for the Book of Mormon. God of course doesn't give us evidence for everything He does because He expects us to have faith in Him. However, there is a bit of evidence for The Book of Mormon. For example, the idea of writing on metal plates was once ridiculed, but in recent years numerous examples of sacred writings on metal plates -- some hidden in stone boxes -- have been found. 

Linguists have noted Book of Mormon words and phrases that sound awkward in English but make perfect sense in Hebrew and related languages that would have been known by the people of the Book of Mormon -- languages young Joseph Smith did not know. 

In 1 Nephi 16:34, a man named Ishmael died, "and was buried in the place which was called Nahom." Cool. Where's Nahom? A group of Latter-Day Saint researchers found evidence linking a site in Yemen, on the southwest corner of the Arabian peninsula, to the name "Nahom." They located a stone altar that professional archaeologists dated to at least 700 BC. This altar contains an inscription confirming "Nahom" as an actual place that existed in the peninsula before the time of Lehi. Can you imagine Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdrey "writing" the Book of Mormon and Joseph says, "hmmm, let's have this guy Ishmael die. And we'll have them bury him in a place called 'Nahom'. Make the 'h' silent. Yeah, that sounds great. I bet they'll dig up evidence for that one day and we'll totally get them!"

Lastly, there are many small evidences found in the cultures and traditions of North and South American people. When Christopher Columbus came, the Native Americans thought he was a god because they had been told that a white god would come to visit them. Can it be possible this same "white god" they were thinking of was Jesus Christ who appeared to their ancestors 1400 years before? Many Latter-Day Saints have traveled to South America on vacation and learned that some of those people's ancient beliefs sound very familiar to our beliefs about the Plan of Salvation. 

Essentially, the Book of Mormon has been around for over 200 years and no one has been able to prove it's false. However, millions now can attest to its truthfulness. And that brings us to our last point made by our friend Dane. 

6. "It's completely and absolutely nuts; the only thing Mormonism does is show just how much you can delude people in mass numbers." 

In 2013 the Church had 282,945 convert baptisms. How do we "delude" people in mass numbers? Because it's true. There are thousands of missionaries that go out every day to teach people about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and The Book of Mormon. Missionaries don't force anyone to believe. All they do is teach them and ask them to pray to know if it's true. Those who receive an answer to their prayers are baptized into the Church. That means that 282,945 people last year received the answer from God that this is true. The promise is there: "Ask and ye shall receive." God says it over and over again. He's not kidding. Anyone can know if it's true if you are willing to experiment to see if it's true. I promise that anyone who reads the Book of Mormon and prays and asks God with faith and real intent will receive an answer. 

I know it is true and so does God and 15 million others with that number growing every day. If it wasn't true, this church wouldn't have survived. How could a silly 14 year old with a crazy book and a band of destitute followers ever survive and grow into a church with millions of followers and 88,000 young adults traveling the world to tell everyone that it's true? It could never happen unless this is God's work. And I testify that it is.

And there you have it. Six arguments against the church laid out for you. Now are you going to take my word for it or some other guy on the internet or are you going to ask God if it's true? Here's the Book of Mormon. Read it. Then pray and ask God. Once you receive your answer, let me know. (:

"And by the power of the Holy Ghost you shall know the truth of all things"(Moroni 10:5).

Amen.

Why are Mormon Missionaries Always Knocking on Your Door?

How many of you have ever opened your door to find this?

 

And then you're just like, "oh great, how do I get them off my porch?" Some people are very polite about it and others just slam the door in their faces. Rude. Missionaries are people too.

So who are these weirdos that keep on coming to your door and approaching you on the street? They are missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and they have traveled hundreds and often thousands of miles to tell you some great news! The great news is that Jesus Christ's church has been restored to the earth with a living prophet, twelve apostles, and additional scripture and because of that your family and our family and everyone's family can be together forever! Yay!

Missionary work has always been part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Throughout the Bible and Book of Mormon, the Lord sent His prophets and servants to go preach repentance to the people. In the book of Matthew, the Savior charged his disciples to "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen"(Matthew 28:19-20). Latter-Day Saints take seriously this responsibility to teach all nations about Jesus Christ and His gospel. 

The missionaries are always in pairs of two or three. Paul said to the Corinthians: "In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established"(2 Corinthians 13:1). Missionaries work together to testify of each other's words and to be witnesses of the truth. But who exactly are these people? What kind of young adults spend their time trying to tell people about Jesus instead of dating and partying like everyone else? I am happy to explain just who these people are.

There are currently over 88,000 missionaries serving world-wide. Men can serve a mission beginning at age 18 and serve for a period of 2 years. Women can serve a mission starting at age 19 and serve for 18 months. The missionaries you see on the streets are usually anywhere from 18 to 25 years old. It is considered a duty for men to serve and a great option for women if they so choose. Once a young man or woman decides to serve, they submit what we call "mission papers." They have to go to the dentist and get a physical and fill out lots of fun information. They are then interviewed by their church leaders, usually the bishop, to determine if they are worthy and are keeping the commandments. Once that's all done, they can submit their papers to Church Headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah. Once it arrives in Utah, one of the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles personally selects each and every mission call through prayer and revelation

Once their call has been assigned, a big, white envelope containing the call is sent to the excited future missionary. The mission call tells them where they are serving and when they should report. There are over 300 missions in 80 different countries that a missionary can be sent to. That mission is where they will serve for the full 2 years or 18 months. Missionaries report to one of 15 Missionary Training Centers around the world. They are there for anywhere from 2-12 weeks to learn how to be a missionary and learn their mission language if needed. Super duper exciting. 

Missionaries have very strict rules. They wake up at 6:30am and go to bed at 10:30pm every day. They can only email, shop, and have free time on Mondays. Mothers' Day and Christmas are the only days they can call home to talk to family. Every day they are out serving God's children, teaching people about the gospel in their homes, giving out Book of Mormons, and trying to be good representatives of Jesus Christ. It's hard work and a huge sacrifice. It's very tiring and taxing but these boys and girls come home as men and women. 

Missionaries leave behind their family, school, friends, sports, video games, dating, and lots of other things in order to go and serve the Lord and help others come unto Christ. As soon as missionaries get home, they go back to being regular members of the church. They can get married, have kids, start a career, and live their lives as strong members of the Church. Some have even gone on to play in the NFL or star in movies. 

These missionaries sacrifice their time and money to go out and serve because they love the gospel. It's also a way of saying "thanks" to God and giving back for all of the blessings they have received. They know that the Church has been restored, that The Book of Mormon is true, and that their families can be together forever. It has made them so happy that they want to tell everyone.

Have you ever discovered a new product, book, or movie that you just absolutely loved? What did you do? You probably told all your friends about it. When I first read the book, "The Hunger Games" four years ago, I thought it was incredible. I drove my mom and sister crazy telling them that they need to read it. I was frustrated because my sister waited so long to read it but once she did she fell in love with it as well. Sharing the gospel is the same way for members of the Church. We have discovered something that brings us joy and we want others to know about it too.

People who serve missions come from vastly different circumstances. Some were lucky enough to be born in a good home with two parents and financial security while others were born in hard circumstances where money was tight or parents weren't there. Some were born into the church and have been members their whole lives while others were only baptized a year or two before. Some missionaries' families support them wholeheartedly at home and send them loving letters and emails while other missionaries' family's resent their service and sometimes even disown them. I have met each one of these kinds of missionaries. No matter the differences in their backgrounds, all missionaries have one purpose: "To invite others to come unto Christ." 

So next time missionaries knock on your door or approach you, don't shut them down. They are just humble followers of Christ who are trying to serve and love everyone. If you have house or yard work that needs to be done, put them to work! They love doing service. You don't have to accept a Book of Mormon to accept their service or sit down and talk to them. 

I am grateful to be a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I love serving and teaching others about Jesus Christ. This gospel is life-changing. I have seen how happy it makes people and what it does to strengthen and bless families. Even though I face a lot of rejection, I keep going because Christ never quit on me so I won't quit on Him.

"Behold, I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor"(D&C 88:81). 

Amen.