The Big Questions These Days About Mormonism

In a very strange incident just the other day, President Obama was accused (favorably!) by Madonna during a concert – for being a Muslim. She literally told her audience to vote for President Obama – “a black muslim.”

Even as the President has a tough time convincing anyone he is a Christian, there is a lot of confusion about what Mormonism is and most people have come to think that Mr. Romney is a Christian!

It sure is a crazy world out there.

OK… so here is the deal: obviously the hearts of men are very hard to judge. So we are left with the confession of faith which they profess with their mouth. President Obama professes that he is a Christian. Some of us might take issue with some of the policies which he espouses and say that, to put it in the kindest way, he is very confused about the tenents of Christianity. However, in the end, the Christian faith is predicated on the fact that we are imperfect, generally confused, and desperately needing the forgiveness of Christ. In the end we just really have to take him at his word.

So also, when we come to Mr. Romney, we need to keep the same thing straight: Although he is a very nice person and a very upstanding citizen of this country, although Biblical Christians might agree with him on certain policy issues, it is important to note that Mr. Romney is definitely NOT a Christian. He is not a Christian because the things that a Mormon professes (and he was a Mormon Bishop for a time!) to be true about God are nothing what a Christian would profess.

No matter what popular “Christian” preachers like Joel Osteen (or anyone else, including Mormons themselves) might say, the Mormon “church” is NOT a Christian church. The craziest thing is that the Mormon church was started by man, Joseph Smith, who (by his own account) went to God in “in prayer” because he wanted to know what church denomination was the true church. He wanted to know which church he should attend. And what did God answer him? God told him that ALL the churches were apostate and false, and then He proceeded to reveal to Smith the TRUE church teachings. And now, over 150 years later, in a strange twist, the Mormon church is trying to pass itself off as just “another” Christian denomination!

But we need not be confused. A person’s faith is not defined solely by how “nice” or how good a citizen they are, or if they can talk about Jesus and how wonderful it is that he is our savior. We must not be confused or swayed. The reality is that Mormons fail in almost EVERY way in their understanding of God. The first (and historically defining) definition of a Christian is one who believes in the Triune God. It turns out that the Mormon faith clearly fails even that first test. There is really NO debate (unless you do a google search and notice how all the “Why Mormons are Christian” websites produced by the Mormon church come up at the top of the list!)

At this point I must defer to others to further explain how Mormons are not Christian – as I could go on for quite some time. I found this relatively concise youtube video that is fairly clear and might give you some idea of other important Mormon departures from the truth of Scripture.

So… whether you vote Mr. Romney for president or not, please be well informed: Mr. Romney and the Mormon church are NOT Christian.

On Romney’s Comments: The Self-Interested Vote.

I don’t care to comment on Mr. Romney’s politically foolish “off the record” comments concerning the 47% of American’s who think they are victims and will vote for Obama because they are dependent on government programs (obviously he was blowing smoke, but there have been several previous blog posts of mine that DO deal with the “entitlement” mentality that I feel is a sad and dangerous thing in our nation.) But the issue I really want to tackle is Romney’s implication that voters vote for whatever is best for THEMSELVES. Is this true? Is it out of self interest that we vote?

I feel strongly that although it might seem the logical thing that everyone should vote for the candidate/party that will serve themselves best, that is NOT how it should be. The Christian virtue of loving our neighbor as ourselves demands that we consider not only ourselves, but our fellow citizens as well (and even the benefit of the rest of the world when we consider foreign policy.) I, frankly, prefer to leave myself out of the picture completely and ask: what is best for the nation as a whole? And of course we should be paying particular attention to those things that our Lord showed concern about:  justice, mercy, care for the poor, and upholding Godly moral standards (not listed in any order of importance). As well, common sense dictates that we need good and wise management of government finances and resources.  Notice that “the economy” isn’t really near the top of the issues that our Lord is concerned about (although of course you can argue that a good economy always helps us deal with those first issues.)

As you can probably guess from the listing of issues that I look to vote on, I have major conflicts as I try to decide my vote. But however I vote, it won’t be because I am looking for any personal gain from any politician or party. It HAS to be because I believe it will be best for the country as a whole.

Thankful for my labor and blessings… preparing for a harder world

Today on Labor Day I am thankful for the beautiful vocation that the Lord has blessed me with. I am also thankful for the beautiful vocation He has blessed my wife with. The fruits of these labors have allowed us to comfortably raise our four girls – and we presently do not look with trepidation at the immediate future of our family’s well being.

HOWEVER. My heart is crying out for many in the world and our nation and community who are NOT so blessed… and I am cognizant that everything that our family enjoys is built on the VERY fragile foundation of our economy. I know that any plans I might have for the future cannot be counted upon. EVERY SMALL THING is just a beautiful gift of God FOR THE MOMENT – and I am continually trying to be prepared in my heart and mind for the very possible reality that tomorrow or the next day the world might be dealing with a very different economic and political reality. We might be called on to give up MANY of the gifts that we have enjoyed. Will I be willing to be happy in any and all circumstances? Will I be able to put my full and complete trust in the Lord and his providence?

I want to say that being destitute or homeless or without labor or sustenance would be an opportunity for me to know the limits of my relationship with the Lord. I want to think I could, by His grace, handle it and still sleep at night. I remember one day in seminary when I had $64 in the bank account and we had two weeks until Monica’s next paycheck. We made it through. God was good then. He will be good again, right?

But – we knew we had a paycheck coming!!!!!

No matter what I WANT to think, I know being destitute with a family will not be as easy as I would like to think.

So… while I still have a plethora of God’s blessings, I will praise Him for them and continue to use them to His Glory.

AND I will pray He comes very quickly!