I think the proper test is not mostly in theological disputations.

I know sometimes when I am praying that I am not alone. The Lord has healed my children when they were sick. He has assisted me when I was beset with troubles. I know my faith is not false in somewhat the way I know my friends are real.

Interestingly, I have both Protestant and Catholic friends who have had similar experiences and have come to the same knowledge of their faith. I concluded years ago that in important ways, their faith is the same as mine.

There are doctrinal differences, to be sure, and these do matter. But I don’t intend to contend with them over such things, having been assured by the Bible, which I take as the word of God, that such contentions come from the Devil.

The Crow chief Plenty Coups climbed a mountain during a troubled time and prayed for understanding, and he received a vision that guided his people through the coming troubles as new settlers entered the country all around them. I think I recognize his as a true faith leading to communication from the one living God. To be sure, I believe quite a different doctrine than the Crows, but my faith allows me to recognize truth in his faith and to understand how a loving God offers salvation to all who sincerely believe and strive to do the right things.

Best wishes to you too.

For the record I want to clear something up. The last thing I want anyone to do is denounce Christ. You are right, judgment day is not yet, but the time is short. I want everyone to truly accept Christ as their Savior. Those are my intentions.

In response to post 33:
The Book of Mormon does oppose the Bible. I’m sure that you know the scripture, but I will give the reference anyways. ! Nephi 13:26-29 speaks negatively of the Bible saying that things have been taken away from it so much that “Satan hath great power over them” that believe only in the bible. That is pretty much saying that the Bible in its current state in not trustworty. Also in 2 Nephi 29 “God” calls the gentiles fools because they believe in the bible and not the B. of Mormon. There have also been many comments from LDS leaders throughout the years.

And just to let you know a little about me. I’m not some Christian who just hates LDS or something like that. I actually lived in Utah for about 5 years. I thought of joining the LDS church because the people were so nice and seemed to really know a lot about God. They actually lived out their religion, which being brought up Christian, I heard a lot of people claim to be Christians but their lives did show it. I wasn’t a Christian my self. Oh I called myself a Christian my whole life, but I only went to church because my mom wanted me to. When I left the house I didn’t follow at all. So while living in Utah, seeing all these moral people that I cared so much about really made me question Christianity. I even read the passage in Moroni 10 and prayed with a sincere heart. I feel like I never got an answer, until about a year and a half later. One night in January at about 3 in the morning in my bedroom, God made me born again. For the first time since I was a little kid I felt the Holy Spirit. That night He showed me my sin, that I need forgiveness, and His love. After that night I was a completely different person, everyone who knows me will testify to that. The next day I read my Bible for about 5 hours and pretty much everyday after that for about a year. I didn’t go to a church for about a month after that experience. I the first Christian church I went to after that didn’t really teach what the Bible was saying, so I stopped going there and found a church a couple months later that I could tell lined up with the scripture. I also read the B. of Mormon at this time because I still needed to kinow about the LDS church. Well after comparing the scripture and what my return missionary friends taught me, I came to the conclusion that the LDS church wasn’t a Christian sect.

God can turn any situation around for the good, that’s what He does for those who love him as Paul says in Romans 8:28. My life is a testimony of His goodness.

This should be my last post. I think I’ve angered enough of you even though that is not my intention. If I knew you personally we would sit down to lunch and discuss these things and I’d give you a hug when we finished and probably do the same thing the next day.

May we all be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, that there is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus – 1 Tim 2:4

Peace Be With You
Micky

There are a great many people out there who are receptive to our message, and are not terribly hung up on the issue of whether we are Christians or not. To these, I hope to take exactly the same approach that Neal A. Maxwell did. I also admire a great deal about other faiths. In some instances, I think that other faiths are even possibly doing a better job than we are. I hope my religion can be enriched by these other perspectives.

But then you have another group of people. These people are not receptive. They have openly placed themselves in opposition to our work and our beliefs. For these people, the labeling game means a great deal. They too may be good and honorable people, but they aren’t really going anywhere.

I see little use in reaching out to them or trying to convince them otherwise. I suspect our visitor “christian” is one of these people. I think trying to argue the “are Mormons Christian” question with these people is a waste of time. It also puts us on the defensive when we have no reason to be defensive.

More than half America doesn’t take the Evangelicals seriously. Why should we?

Mormonism doesn’t make claims against Jesus and/or the Bible.

Christ makes beauty from ashes. If you think he can’t make something positive out of a human-created institution like your church, with a good deal of error mixed in with the truth it posesses, then, gosh, maybe you do believe in a false god.

So please if you feel this way about Christianity then oppose it completely, don\’t say it a positive influence on humanity.

The title of this piece is “Why I Am a Christian.” Your specious reasons for thinking that Mormons aren’t Christians are your own. But we know we are and are not about to denounce Christianity to please you any more than we are going to denounce Christ to please you. Your avidity to get us to do that is sick.

Jesus says that we are either with Him or against Him. We as humans don\’t like this. There has to be a middle ground, right? No there\’s not.

Judgment Day isn’t here yet. The tares and the wheat are still growing together and its not for us to declare with finality which is which. Why are you so avid to have us declare you a tare and consign you to hellfire?

However, some Christians may be reacting to such statements like this one from Joseph Smith (found in \”The History of the Church\”):

\”Come on! ye prosecutors! ye false swearers! All hell, boil over! Ye burning mountains, roll down your lava! for I will come out on the 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.\”

We’ve heard this all before. We, speaking generally, don’t share your personal interpretations of scripture. I’ve heard all these arguments at least 100 times in my years. I’m not trying to engage you – I’ve got no desire to butt heads with someone incapable of learning, ever again. And you’ve got all the rhetoric that we’ve heard countless times before.

The Holy Spirit is nowhere stronger than in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, nor are there any people on earth who, speaking generally, know Him better. We have our experiences reading the Bible, too. We also know that Christ saves us from our sins. Yet, how differently those scriptures sound to me than they sound to you. You seem to think the meaning is plain – but you are reading them from within your own filter of beliefs and prejudices. To me, you are plainly mistaken. In fact, the vast majority of Christians since the time of Christ have not interpreted them as you have. Your set of interpretations are comparatively young, only dating back a handful of centuries. Our ability to deceive ourself is pretty remarkable. Therefore I trust no man, including myself: “if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.” You, christian, are like me, a man. And I see know reason to beleive you. There is One that I will strive to put all my trust in – who is mighty to teach, as well as to save. We don’t get wisdom by listening to another man’s interpretation of scriptures. Rather, James tells us how to obtain wisdom: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God …” That sounds a lot like prayer to me.

Just a couple more things, then I’ll be done. Last April, as my father, a deeply spiritual and Christ focused man, were walking into a meeting in Salt Lake, a christian preacher bellowed at us as we walked by ‘you’re going to hell and you’re taking your family with you.’ I couldn’t help but wonder what he would feel if we picketed his meeting place, wherein he sought God. There was no mistaking his passion, but his Godliness seemed more than a little lacking. Say what you please, – the people who run this blog are open hearted and liberal in thier approach to other people, and will let you have your voice. But remember that you are in their space, and show some respect.

I always hated “bible-bashing.” How glad I am of teachers who tell me to seek for the good and encourage the good in other people. Because, Christ says, “I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be … Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city …”

Best to you.

~